Morning Oregonian., January 01, 1902, THIRD SECTION, Page 34, Image 34

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34
THE MORNING OREGONIAtf, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 1902.
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MINING RESOURCES OF OREGON
Br Frank V. Drake, Portland.)
Gold Belt in the Eastern Part of the State Has an Area
of 14,000 Square Miles if Development in Other Sections
5TANDING on the summit of the
Seven Devils Mountains, on the
western verge of Idaho, -with the
Snake River thousands of feet below, a
seeming thread of blue, and looking west
ward, you may see range beside range of
majestic mountains, bald of head, their
faces gashed and wrinkled- with canyons
and gorges and bearded with dense, dark
firs, cedars and pines, the unshorn growth
of the centuries. These are the thousand
giants that hold end shield the treasure
vaults of Eastern Oregon.
Climb the steeps of the Calapoola and
from Bohemia's rugged crest you may
look upon another array of sentinels,
whiskered, like their brothers, with am
ple beard 300 feet in length. These are
the keepers of the gold In central "Western
Oregon.
Master Mount Pitt, 10.500 feet In altitude,
and from this ice-crowned monarch of the
Cascades you may review all the multi
tude of treasure keepers of Southern Ore- j
gon, that, wrinkled and bearded and silent,
await the coming of the dauntless cap
tains who hold the keys to the adamant
doors; the cheerful, hopeful, tireless men
who have learned the secret springs and
dare to break resisting bars.
Much of the mystery of the uplifting
of these hills and the phenomena of
their enrichment with the metals which
makes human progress possible, remains
unsolved; much still surpasses mortal
understanding. Through tho centuries the
delvers in the deeps have slowly, often
at points far removed, 'and like turning
the massive leaves of a. mighty book, un
covered stratum after stratum, leaf after
leaf, of Nature's records as written In the
rocks, until somewhat of the great prob
lem Is known to men. And this unfolding
of the strata, with contemplation and
comparison of their constituent elements,
position, structure and the embedded fos
sils tells something of the origin, growth
decay, degredation and rebuilding of the
rocks. So the men, learned and unlearned,
co-operating through past centuries, who
delved In and studied the deeps have es
tablished the foundations of a science,
still far removed from perfection, and
named it geology.
Rocks are decaying, their elements tak
ing new forms in growth of other rocks.
The sun, the air, the waters, heat, cold,
electricity and the incomprehensible chem
ical laboratory of the earth are at work
unceasingly in destroying old forms and
building new. Not long since geologists
and miners practically agreed that tho
precious metals existed In available quan
tities only in connection with a few pret
ty well defined rock formations and under
limited conditions. Explorations of recent
years have enlarged the number and areas
of metallic "habitats" and now when tho
eagle-eyed prospector encounters unfa
miliar conditions he does not stop investi
gation. He subjects each showing of min
eral he finds to test of knife, acid and
blow pipe, and to asay, if available. Ha
heeds the aphorism, "Gold is where you
find it." However, the "likely" formations
are well known, and experience in the field
is Indispensable to him who seeks for the
precious metals in the fastnesses of the
mountains. He knows that some of tho
rocks don't carry gold.
Nearly every known mineral Is found in
the hills of Oregon. To enumerate them
would bo outside the province of this
writing, which is chiefly directed to an
extremely abbreviated presentation of the
copper, silver and gold product and pros
pects in the state.
Eastern Oregon Belt 14,000 Ss.Barc
Miles.
Tho Eastern Oregon gold fields, lying
principally in Union, Baker and Grant
counties, embrace an area of about 14,000
square miles, an extent of country neariy
as large as the combined areas of the
states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and
Connecticut
The mineral area herein designated as
Central Western Oregon lies in the Coun
ties of Linn and Lane. Much of the area
of these counties includes the upper por
tion of the Willamette Valley; while the
mineralized portions He chiefly In the
Cascade range and its western foothills.
This mineral section, however, exceeds in
extent -at least one of the wealthy and
populous Eastern States.
"What is denominated herein as the
Southern Oregon gold fields covers the
counties of Douglas, Josephine and Jack
son, having an area of approximately 25,
000 square miles, again surpassing in size
several of the Eastern States combined.
These comparisons arc made for tho
purpose of accentuating and making read
ily clear to the hurried reader, the rela
tive size of Oregon's vast mineral domain,
full of wealth and opportunities, yet with
a population of barely more than 400.000.
What power caused those mountains to
bo exalted? Why and how were the veins
of metals so deeply laid, like arteries and
veins in animal organisms, through the
bodies of the hills? Whence came the
metals for gain of which men sacrifice
health and life and, after coinage, honor?
Man, physically, is Insignificant, but he
has accomplished much, considering he is
but an atom in the universal economy.
He has no place whereon to rest a ful
crum for the lever with which the moun
tains can be lifted, and the long con
tinued and continuing process of uplift
ing the hills proceeds without hlshelp or
hindrance. He removes the lesser hills,
and penetrates the mountains, but he can
not raise them up. To get possession of
the metals he prizes he, with power drills
and dynamite, probes the treasure-bearing
veins to the very hearts of the ranges.
With hydraulic giants he removes cement
and gravel hills, robbing them of their
gold, but he cannot restore them to their
places.
Beginning: of Mountain and Land.
x'he hills began to rise when the earui
was young. A crust of crystalline, shape
less .amorphous) material, composed
chiefly of quartz, feldspar and mica, fused
by water and lire, encompassed a molten
mass. This crust was the primary rock.
All the elements which composed these
and the later forms of rock existed from
the beginning. From these primitive,
granite rocks and the later erupted mat
ter came all the material for the sedimen
tary rocks. Chemical and mechanical
agencies acting on these materials have
produced an almost infinite variety of
rock formation.
Probably a relatively thin sheet of wa
ter, condensed vapors, covered this pri
mary crust for a long period. The heat of
the huge, globular mass began to radiate
into space: the earth was cooling off.
With this cooling shrinkage began. The
contracting crust met resistance from the
enclosed molten mas?. As cooling and
shrinkage progressed in the deepening crust
it began to wrinkle, crumple, lifting a por
tion above the waters at some points and
correspondingly depressing adjacent por
tions. Thus tho formation of land, as
small Islands, or ridges began. Limited In
oxtent at first, these upliftlhgs were suc
ceeded by subsidences, until some of the
corrugations became at last permanent
in the form of low islands of the primitive
rocks. As the then plastic crust cooled
and hardened, cracks or fissures occurred,
sometimes above the waters, less frequent
ly below. Through these cracks lava poured
up. Increasing the height and area of the
land. This erupted irfatter filled the fis
sures, overflowed and supplied new mate-1
rial. Water attacked this new matter
and the granite, both already In process
of slow decomposition, and began the
work of building eedimentary rocks. Wa
ter is the great universal solvent. It
attacks, absorbs and carries away ele
ments of one rock to deposit them where
conditions favor for the creation of new
rocks. It has been doing this from the
beginning; it Is doing so still, and pro
digiously. Creation ot the Gold-Bearlngr Ledges.
As the process of slow uplifting pro
gressed, the waves worked steadily at the
shores, disintegrating the granites and
lavas to sand and sediments and deposit,
ing the tiny grains of quartz In long",
submerged reaches, where the silica took
the new form of gneiss, schists, quartzlte,
shales or slates. These were the first
stratified rocks, and were formed on the
bed of the primeval ocean.
There was no life in those early periods
of tho world's history. Ages passed; the
cooling and shrinking processes continued;
marine life appeared, seaweeds grew pro
digiously; multitudinous millions of shell
flah swarmed the seas, died and left their
shells to bo mixed by the waves with sedi
ments torn from the low-lying shores and
consolidated Into solid rock, thereafter to
be exalted for the -coming of the then
far-distant man. The pretty "animal flow
ers" of the sea, In myriads beyond com
prehension, flourished in the yet warm
waters, died and left their fairy skele
tono as coral reefs, to become the lime
stone of today. And this wonderful pro
cess still goes on in the warm Southern
seas. Pressure, heat and chemical action
metamorphosed some of the ancient lime
stones into marble, and now men quarry
It for its utility and beauty. Of these
skeletons from the ancient sea6 art wine
her greatest triumphs, and conlmerce
makes a profit Weird, wonderful story.
Slowly the crumpling granite rose until
permanent Islands appeared above the
waves, the genesis of fixed and stable
land. Some of these were the beginning
of the continent of North America.
Cycle followed cycle; rock building went
on multiplying forma in structure and
mixture of elements. Oscillations between
sea and land (moro plastic then than now)
disturbed the stratification In place?.
Gradually other sections of tho corrugat
ing crust rose out of tho ocean, forming"
vast troughs or basins filled with bodies of
sea water. By breaking of weak barriers
some of these waters were returned to the
place whence they carae, and evaporation
completed the removal of these saline
floods, much of the salts being assimi
lated or taken up in the earth. Copious
rainfalls filled the troughs with frosh wa
ter, forming vast lakes or Inland seas.
On the marshy shores and Islands of these
lakes vegetation prodigious and dense,
unlike that of today, grew abundantly.
Periodical floods brought silt pebbles and
sand from the adjacent lands and burled
this vegetation, which became peat, then
coal. The superimposed deposits became,
under the pressure of other accumulated
material, metamorphosed into shales,
slates, sandstones. Successive layers of
these deposits occurred, probably in part
altered while covered by the water where
subsidence had occurred. There were
successive epochs, varying with localities,
In the formation of coal deposits. Pre
adamlte animals came in abundance,
sqtno attaining enormous size. AH these
were destroyed in some later cataclysm.
Their skeletons, with remains of vege
tation and shells of extinct shell fish, are
frequently encountered by miners and sci
entists, widely dispersed on this continent
The most wonderful of these are found in
Oregon and Wj-omlng.
And so, through successive ages, the
rocks grew, water, heat, pressure, me
chanical mixing and chemical action all
operating to destroy old forms and make
new. The crust still thickened, still con
tracted, lifted old mountains higher, rais
ing new ones in cordllleras and trans
verso ranges and continents, chiefly made
up of torn and ragged hills, became es
tablished. Volcanoes threw ashes, cinders
and tufa high In air and spilled lavas
down their sldea In the later movements,
as crests of new corrugations rose, they
necessarily lifted all the stratified sedi
mentary rocks and limestone beds resting
upon them, tilting the strata upward at
various angles. There was great crushing,
breaking and folding at such times. Fis
sures, miles in length, cracks and scams
between strata, and through granite and
strata, were made. Faults descending to
great depths, tapped reservoirs of molten
rock which flowed out and over the land
In vast sheets. The shocks, occasioned
by breaking of the rocks and the settling
to rest of the divided parts, must have
produced earthquakes on the surface, and
a breaking up of adjacent country Into
lesser parallel and cross fissures. Such
conditions are most favorable for subse
quent filling of the spaces by mineral
matter.
Those various lines of fracturing af
forded channels for eruptive rock and min
eral waters. Tne igneous matter soon
hardened to rock and became a part of
the "formation." Sometimes metal-bearing
quartz seems to have accompanied
the porphyries, or, at least, to have In
truded therein previous to hardening of
the mass.
Theories Regarding: Metal Deposits.
How and when these, metals became
deposited in the fissures, forming what is
known as lodes, ledges or veins, has been
a subject of much research, speculation,
argument and theorizing. The matter
has not been determined to the satisfac
tion of all. It seems that more than
one "theory" is necessary to account for
all the deposits. It is conceded that the
primitive rocks contained all the chemical
elemenf forming, the earth's crust, in
cluding the metallic minerals, gold, silver,
copper, lead, etc. Water Is nature's
great solvent of the minerals. When
heated and under pressure, and alkaline.
It may be said to be all-powerful. It
has always been an active agent In dis
solving elements from one system and
transporting them to other places for
combination with other elements. Sea
water contains gold, sliver, copper,
lead, zinc, cobalt nickel, manganese, Iron
and many other elements In solution.
Carbon and organic matter act as pre
clpltants of these Into their various salts,
sulphides, tcllurides.
Some arguments support the theory of
metallic deposits in the veins (fissures),
which were created before the general
upheaval turned them edge up Into their
present position, tho exponents claiming
this to be true particularly of the older
veins; but the frequent presence of au
riferous true fissure quartz velas, which
have cut through and across all strata
and formations in their localities, cannot
be explained on this hypothesis. Until
recently denunciations, hot as the theory,
were fulminated against all doubters of
the doctrine of fire that gold came up
from the deeps molten, or sublimated,
then condensed on reaching the moist
and cooler upper regions in the veins.
There are several conditions Inexplicable
by this theory, not necessary to mention
here. Some argument is made that the
metals are derived from adjacent rocks
and deposited in the veins by the action
or movement of water, etc.
The "thermo aqueous" theory meets
known conditions more completely than
do the speculations above referred to.
Water, more or less heated and alkaline,
takes golo. copper, silver, silica and all
veinstone materials into solution. The
fissures in the rocks afford channels for
the flow of this burdened liquid. Whether
the materials were absorbed from the
depths, or upper rock formations, or both,
is undetermined. Silica Is almost invari
ably a constituent veinstone where gold.
silver 'or copper is found; often It com
prises practically .all the gangue of these
meiai-oearing veins, Jn this quartz
gangue the pure metals are often most in
timately intermingled with the densest
crystalline material, the metals finely dis
seminated all through the body of the
quartz. Both the silica and metal must
have been precipitated at the same times
and through the same agency water.
Similarly, such deposition could have been
made In the cases whore the metallic salts
occur. It is well known that copper is
rapidly precipitated on iron from the wat
ers! of copper veins. The "theory". is
that the mineralized water, on reaching
upper zones. Is relieved of pressure and
heat, and, particularly in the presence
of reagents, precipitates the minerals in
practically one operation.
In many places iron., and silica and
copper, have been found on walls and
roofs of old workings. Instances can be
seen In this state Gold, iron and silver
have been extracted from solid mine
timbers which have been submerged for
a long time. Hundreds of persons, in
cluding the writer of this, have observed
the growth of regular quartz veins car
rying preoious metals, at Steamboat
Springs, in Nevada. In a bare, rocky
valley, at the base of the foothills of
Mount Davidson, some 12 miles from
Virginia City, several fissures traverse tho
locality for a half mile. They carry hot,
mineralized water. Some of theso were
still over a foot wide In the early 663,
Steam and hot water jets then issued,
geyser-llke, from vents along the fis
sures, with a sound, appearance and reg
ularity of the exhaust of a steamboat The
fissures are numerous (some short), and
nearly parallel. Their activity la de
creasing, and some of the once open As
sures have been closed by quartz de
posited by tho waters, forming true
quartz fissure veins. Some are partly
filled with quartz, and are being percep
tibly closed from year to year, as. tha
observers can testify. The hot water
can be seen in violent agitation, and its
rumbling heard at points where roofed
with quartz. The spouting steam and
water have deposited a bed of quarts
along tho field of flssurlnc some 30 feet
deep. The quartz is distinctly banded!
riDDon quartz and contains free gold,
olnnabar and sulphides of iron and cop
per. Tho hot sulphur springs a Sulphur
Bank, Colusa County, California, are de
positing slllclous matter, containing cin
nabar and gold, in some features quite
similar to those, in Nevada. Truly the
building of new rocks and deposition of
metals continues uninterruptedly, May
hap the process 1b slower than Jn ages
gone but who knows?
However the earth was formed and
the hi)ls exalted, when man came due
preparation had been made for him, and
the mountains were practically as we
now find them, save that time and hte
servants have been busy in the high '
places, and where gold Is. They labored
long to fit tle world for human habita
tion. Action of "Water.
The fervent sun, daily, through the
ages, with active zeal, expanded, opened
somewhat the crystalline doors In tho
exposed peaks and crags fon admission
of water. No quartz Is so dense but
water crowds among Its crystals. The
water, raised as vapor from convenient j
seas ana orougnt to its allotted places,
fell as dew and rain on crag and peak,
and, .entering the open doors, crept in
among the crystals. It brought carbonic
acid from the air, and attacked the min
erals. There was daily expansion, and
nightly contraction. Frost came, made
tiny wedges of the water drops, break
ing down the minute crystals of quartz,
prying up little slabs of mica, splitting
mineral particles everywhere. AH these
were carried down the mountainsides by
the ever-willing water. When vegetation
appeared, organic acids gave aid to the
work of disintegration, dissolving min
erals by chemical action, and saxifrages,
with intrusive and swelling roots heaved
under the rocks to throw them down
upon others below, to break and grind
their lesser fellows Into pebbles and sand.
Glaciers came and carved vast gorges
and canyons In the ranges; they broke
down huge masses of material and ground
them Into dust
The tops of mountains and hills were
worn down, and In this wreckage and
romoval of material the upper portions I
of metal-bearing veins were Involved.
The gold resisted the action of the acids
and water there was relatively no heat
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c- iressure and remained Intact in sub
stance. Freed from Its gangue, and be
ing heavier, its movement toward the
feet of the hills was slower than that
of the sand, pobblcs and detritus of the
broken rocks. Water could not transport
It far, so It lodged In the bottoms of the'
gulches and streams and was burled
with the gravels and sands that finally
settled Into place? as bars and narrow
valleys. Here are found the placer mines.
Very fine, flaky gold Is. carried long dis
tances by rapid streams In times of
flood, and widely distributed; but when
finally deposited do not form what Is
known as placers.
Vegecatlon decayed Into loams, and soils
are formed on the tops of gravels and
sandy beds in the low places, all brought
Into place by the industrious waters. Sea
beaches and valleys, prairies and plains
expanded; grasses, flowera and fruits
came; tho Garden of Eden grew and the
earth was ready for man.
Placer Mining.
Copper and silver are mined from tho
veins; gold is mined from placers and
veins. Tht development of practical and
scientific work- In exploitation of mines
In recent years has never been rivaled
or approached In the history of civiliza
tion. The recital of achievements obtained
requires libraries. Ores, lode and placer,
but recently unavailable, can now bo
mined and worked profitably to a sur-
pricing extent It foretells the production
of values by many hundred millions of
dollars, hcretoXore unanticipated.
It is but fu generation since the placer
miner tolled singly with pick, shovel and
pan In his "work of getting the gold from
bedrock. Nothing but richest deposits
paid. He dug a pit or an open cut to
bedrock, where the coarse gold lay. Gath
ering -the auriferous gravel Into his pan
and carrying It to a pool of wuter, he
wi(h dextrous skill separated the gold
from the gravel, saving the gold; and
repetitions of this process constituted his
dally tolL This was placer mining, some
times, and temporarily, profitable. He
wanted & dollar's worth of gold to the
pan and he deserved it When the gravel
was bjuried under deep deposits, he dug
a' hole, bottomed on the best bedrock
channel, or depression, under the bank,
gathering and panning the bottom gravel
deposit as he went. This was "drifting
on bedrock," and often the drifts holes
extended long distances under the banks.
It was slow, tedious work, and the pay
streaks gave out Everything that did
not pay satisfactorily for this work was
left
The rocker, a simple machine, easily
constructed and operated, was an Im
provement on the pan, and generally
tSLt' IHk pIII
Browning Photo.
Col. Frank V. Drake.
adopted. To save the fine gold quick
silver was used in this machine.
Ground sluicing, where water was plen
tiful and -the fall or declivity of the
ground considerable, was a great step In
advance. The water was diverted by
wing dams against the banks. The miner
with -pick and bar broke down the banks
antl the dirt and gravel, falling Into
the running water, were carried away,
leaving the particles of heavy gold lodged
In crevices and depressions In the bed
rock. When the banks were romoved the
gold-was gathered out of Its hiding places,
with tool for the purpose, then finally
cleaned In rocker or pan. By these means
ground which would not pay for drifting
was profitably worked.
Sluices, long, square-built troughs, laid
at uniform Inclination in the bedrock or
bottom -of the ravine, were often more
effective still. Strips, or blocks of woods,
or polef, laid lengthwise, or small stones
of uniform size, were secured in the bot
tom of the sluices, forming riflles for
lodgment of gold. Water was turned Into
these sluices, and the gravel shoveled into
their upper ends: the rushing water car
ried away the dirt and gravel, leaving
the gold In the riflles; sometimes quick
silver was sprayed Into the head of the
sluices for saving of fine gold, which
might otherwise be carried away.
The long torn wae a sort of combination
of rocker and sluice.
"Hydraullcklng" was Introduced In
California by the never-satisfied Ameri
cans. The business of picking and shov
eling was hard work. Worse still. It
was slow. So ditches, for pressure or
water, were constructed. The head or
upper end of each ditch was commenced
well up the rapid mountain etreams, con
tinued on grades for easy flow around
ACKMIXE, VICTOR, JR., GOLD MIXIXG
the hill sides, and across gulches by
flumes on trestllng, until the desired point
wo reached above the placers to be
worked. Hero a penstock, a huge box,
was set, into which tho water flowed.
To a hole cut low down on the side of
the penstock a hose was fixed. It was J
made of heavy canvas, well sewed, and
long enough to reach tho claims to be
worked. At the lower end of the hose a
nozzle, somewhat similar to those used
by city firemen, was attached, and tho
water turned in. The. results were satis
factory for a time. It was a big thing;
the water rushing through the nozzle
under the pressure and directed against
the obstinate banks, tore up things in
grand style, and great profits resulted,
with little use of pick or shovel. Where
boulders were few and dump room ample,
things were "exceedingly lovely." Dump
Is the accumulated rocks and gravel at
the lower end of the workings. When the
ground for dump fell off, pitched down-
ward steeply, there was no trouble Qn this
score. The water and materials were usu
ally conducted by sluices, riffled as be
fore, 'from the point of operation to the
dump.
But troubles came at times In the form
of boulders too big to move; they covered
good bedrock, and Interfered with the J
use of the hose. Men could move the
small boulders, tho derricks larger ones,
and .soma required blasting. Thl3 meant
hard work and expense, and when t.he
dump room failed, things were serious.
Furthermore, the hose would leak, buck
and wriggle the nozzle out of the hands of
the men, and thrash wildly about, to the
danger, and occasional .destruction of life;
and it would burst at times, suspending
operations or repairs. All these difficulties-
and obstacles were to be overcome in
good time. '.
Hydraulic Machinery That Displaces
Boulders.
Iron pipes closely fitted and carefully
laid supplanted the hose, and the buck
ing nozles were displaced by the firm
fixed giants, which quietly control tho
course of streams, that kill like a cannon
shor and tos3 boulders like feathers In
the air. The giant is an Ingenious Iron
machine, constructed with a nozzle pipe
fitted to a globe-shaped chamber on a
ball-and-socket principle, so that the
pipe with nozzle atttached can be easily
turned In any desired direction. The wa
ter flows Into this chamber and through
the pipe with force proportioned to the
pressure. The giant is made of different
sizes and Is a great success.
The hydraulic gravel elevator, a re
cent product of American determination
to overcome obstacles, and to be de
scribed In connection with later reference
to Oregon mines, has to a great extent
supplied the place of natural dump room.
With adequate pressure It can do almost
anything in the way of piling rocks and
boulders to a half-ton weight In heaps
and banks 70 or more feet In height And
it does this automatically; all It needs,
when set, is water and an occasional
visit from its master to look after repairs.
The gojd-dredglng machines, one of
which Is now being brought to a high de
gree of efficiency, on the John Day Riv
er, near to and below Canyon City, Grant
County, of this state, are effectively over
coming the difficulty of getting the gold
from gravel beds where no dump room
exists and water is scarce. The capacity
of the best of these modern machines is
quite surprising. Floating in a pond,
or reservoir, from which pumps draw the
wa.ter for washing the material brought
up) by the ponderous steel buckets, the
quantity of earth, gravel and bedrock
handled by a dredge dally Is astonishing.
The water, as used, flows back Into the
pond to be utilised again and again, so
that a small Inflow Is sufficient for the
biggest machine, and the saving of gold Is
quite equal to that of the Best sluices;
in fact, the material, after being thor
oughly disintegrated in a huge revolving
trommel which disposes of the larger
rocks by a simple device, Js "sluiced"
In much the tarne way as In the best hy
draulic mines. The detritus Is "dumped"
be"hlnd the machine as It progresses, eat
ing its way through the gravel bed. There
are thousands of acres In each of the
several mining districts of tho state
which are susceptible to treatment by
these modern machines. Some of the
river beds of the state have been tested
by small machines, with varying success,
at several points. The gold which has
reached the main water courses Is gener
ally very fine and difficult to save.
The Ruble elevator Is a very late de
vice for overcoming the difficulties ex
isting in "flat" sections, where the slope
of the ground Is too slight for sluicing
and for dumps. It Is an adaptation of tho
principles of the "undercurrent," often
used with the common sltitriv ami nt ha
I hydraulic gravel elevator, and is, or cer
I tainly will be, made a success. It Is a
new intng, inexpensive, and the product
of Oregon genius. It can probably bo
improved In some matters- of detail, but
the principle Is all right Roughly de
scribed. It Is a stout, deep and very wide
sluice box, some 30 feet long, placed near
the foot of the bank to be worked, one
end resting on or In the bedrock, the
other raised to an angle of about 30 de
grees from horizontal, so that an eleva
tion approximating 20 feet Is attained at
the upper end. Heavy riffles, steel-capped,
about one Inch apart, are fixed transverse
ly the full length of the box, the lower
half of the riffle frame resting tightly on
the bottom of the box. At the upper "half
the bottom of the box Is "dropped" or set
down some 10 Inches below the bottom
line of the riflles, which are maintained
rigid and on the same grade throughout
This foimp a grizzly of the upper half of
the machine. At the lower end of this
depressed half ot the bottom of the box
a suitable trough Is fixed, which dis
charges at one side of thfi marhlnp intn
J an ordinary sluice riffled to catch gold.
-Material iauing tnrougn tne grizzly is
COMPANY, JOSEPHIXE COUNTY.
every mine In Oregon,
caught In this depressed bottom and flows
down and backward'to the trough, thence
to the sluice proper. This contrivance,
therefore, is designed to get both tho
necessary "pitch" for the sluice proper
and a dump for coarso material. One
giant washes the gravel, movable rocks
and dirt to tho foot of the "ejovator,"
where another giant Is manipulated to
force all the material and water from
the first giant up the inclined sluiceway.
When the water, rocks and disintegrated
material 13 half way up the lnollne, It
passes on to the section where the bot
tom has been "dropped" below the lino
of riflles, so that from this point up
ward all tho fine material, with most of
the water falls between the riflles onto
the depressed bottom of the elevator;
tbence down and out over the sluice set
to receive it and save the gold. The
coarse material Is carried on and over
tho upper end of the elevator and
"dumped."
Some ot the auriferous gravel deposits
are very deep, and in localities form
vertical hills covered with soil, bearing
forests of trees from 100 to 300 feet In
height, and dense growths of other vege
tation. Maiy valuable deposits have
ben and are being found In the up
lifted channels of groat ancient rivers,
much larger than any of the present
streams.
Many thousands of acres of gravel beds,
with situations and environment indicat
ing deposits of gold, remain unprospected
in each mineral section of the state.
The amount of gold which has been
taken from the placers of Oregon can
never b known, but the total Is enor
mous. In the early years nearly all of It
was taken directly to San Francisco,
where the Government has assay office
and mint, where commerce centered and
"fun" was plentiful. Tons of it went
there. Banks received it on deposit to be
checked against as coin; .merchants re
ceived it in payment of bills; faro bank
ers gave blue chips for it; landlords re
ceived it, and real estate agents accepted
it It was a satisfactory "circulating
medium" got mixed with California gold
and California got credit for its produc
tion. This Is how Oregon's output seemed
small, when, in fact, it was great
Railroads have come at last to fetch
supplies and machinery to the camps,
and, mark the prediction, Oregon's near
future will be bright with gold.
Unless all the "signs" mislead, and
"prospects" fall and geology is at fault,
the demand for copper will meet a quick
and big response from Oregon.
Beginning: of Q.nartz Mining:.
The gold of the placers came from veins
in the hills. Time and his servants broke
down, disintegrated and removed to
gulches, bars and valleys the upper parts
of the quartz veins (or ledges), in the
work of destruction .on mountains and
hills; the remainder Btill lies encased in
the rocks, some of them rich with the
metals. Some ledges, harder than the
adjacent rock, and better resisting decay,
stand as reefs on the hills, and are easily
found; others have been eroded with tho
general formation. Formation is a term.
in general use when referring to tho
character and mineraiogical structure of
rocks in a given locality.
Accumulated detritus, soil and vege
tation have buried the greater number
of veins far out of view from the surface,
and prospecting for mines bearing pre
cious metals has grown to be, in a sense,
a profession or calling. The words vein,
ledge, lepd, lode, are In general, indis
criminate use in designating mineralized
filling of fissures.
THe Prospector.
The largest mine ever opened was, at
first, a mere "prospect" The business
of the prospector is to find a vein large
enough and rlfch enough to be developed
into a mine. When a vein is found and
sufficient work done on it to disclose Its
character and probable dimensions, and
It carries valuable ore, it Is, in common
parlance, called a "prospect." If he la
able, singly or with assistance, to "open
it up," and put it in condition fot ex
tracting ore In quantities sufficient for
shipment or for milling at a profit, ho
has a mine, and usually it is exceedingly
good property. If he Is unable to de
velop his find, he has a prospegt for sale,
and Is ready to enter ino a contract with
others on terms or conditions mutually
advantageous. Hpre Is opportunity and
there are many of them-for the Judicious
but fearless use of money. The niggard
ly doling out of petty sums for develop
ment of a prospect to a mine is as sense
less and often as futile as attempting to
build a steamboat with the prico of a
yawl, or to establish a department store
with a stock of haberdashery, It is not
necessary to squander money on studs,
fancy vehicles, packs of hounds and wine
cellars to open a mine, as has so often
been done to the ruin of many splendid
! properties. What Is needed Is ample
funds at hand to push anu pay ior nara
work sensibly directed. Heavy expendi
tures are very rarely necessary to de
termine whether a prospect can be made
n. mine: whatever expenditure Is deter-
mined upon should. not be doled out, liko
dropping nlckles in a slot macnine, Dy a
board of far-distant directors, rivaling
each other in dissertations of economy in
the administration of to them unfami
liar affairs. If a competent manager can
not he had and trusted, keep out of the
business; but if one is secured, back him
up as Is done In other lines oi Dusiness.
Failures will not be frequent: he will quit
If the "prospect" doesn't "develop." If
a mine is opened out the investment will
promptly pay four-fold, or better.
Furthermore, many good properties have
been left unproductive for years through
Intrigues of cliques in boards of directors,
or among stockholders, to "got control"
and absorb small holdings. It is a criti
cal time for the management when big
pay ore is struck and the -prospect proven
to be a mine.
Opening a Prospect.
With a vein of promising ore In good
formation disclosed In the prospect hole
sunk on the vein (or n open cut or tunnel
If the vein be found on a steep hilslde)
the work of opening It up is commenced,
always following the ore. If possible.
With the prospect hole for a starter the
explorer and his assistant, for he mubt
soon havo one, sinks the hole, which now
becomes a shaft, deeper on the vein. At
10 to 15 feet a windlass, with rope and
bucket attached, Is adjusted and the dirt
and rock raised from the bottom as worK
progresses, one man Id the shaft, one at
the windlass. Presently as depth Is at
tained a whim Is bought, or a rude one
constructed and a horse taken Into associ
ation. A whim Is a simple machine, espe
cially If not patented or Is home-made,
whereby a horse, the older and more crip
pled the better. Is attached to a long
sweep which revolves a drum as the horse?
pursues a circular track around and
around. A rope, long enough to be ex
tended or let out, as the shaft deepens, is
fastened by one end to and wound about
the drum, the other end, passing over a
pulley or sheave above the shaft. Is at
tached to a bucket. As the horse pur
sues his deliberate way In his allotted
field the rope Is wound around the drum
and the laden bucket raised to be emptied
and returned by the "partner" In charge
at the top. Miners while working togetner
and on the same shift are "partners."
The veinstone and ore Is carefully In
spected and rested for values frequently
as work progresses. Every change of min
eralization Is specially noted.
The whim suffices for a depth of 200
feet or more, unless water In considerable
quantity Is reached, but 200 feet Is a rair
limit for direct horse-power. Hoists, with
steam or gasoline engines, are necessary
if greater depth is determined on, If the
vein shows well and the miner has fol
lowed It, drifts on the vein each way at
points 50 or 100 feet from the surface are
run as far as practicable, as well as others
from the bottom of the shaft By this
time a pretty fair estimate of the pros
pect can be made. Of course, faults may
be encountered, dikes may have cut off the
vein, and many things, Including the char
acter and condition of the walls of the
vein, must be considered, as well as Its
slzo and ore-bearing "habit"; but the
foregoing will give an outline. Indistinct
because of abbreviation, of how prospects
are prospected. Where tunnels can be
run from the hillside and the vein fol
lowed and depth gained rapidly by reason
of acclivity of ground above the tunnel
level It Is by far the best method of open
ing, testing and working a vein. With
rare exception veins dip or descend at an
angle from the horizontal, so that the
prospect shaft Is put down on an Inclined
plane, which may vary In Its dip and ren
der It unfit for working to the deep? but
usually such work can be so planned as to
render It available for air courses to later
workings.
The Mine Opened.
One unfamiliar vwlth tho operations of a
great mine being carried to the deep ana
wnere sloping of the ore Is In progress
can have at best but faint conception or
the realities and conditions attending such
enterprise.
Hundreds, a small army, of men. each
skilled In his work, report for duty and go
to their allotted stations underground
where miles upon miles of tunnels, drifts,
winzes, stopes ramify the heart of the
mountain in labyrlnthlan maze, with the
regularity and quiet of disciplined sol
diers. The mighty engines, with scarcely
audible exhaust hoist tho triple-decked
cages, loaded with tons of ore, from the
?000 feet station below' to the surface
while you count GO. Meanwhile another
three-storied cage descends the adjoining
compartment of the huge shaft Ajiother
engine moves the deep breathing com
pressors as they fill receivers, built
like flueless great steam boilers, with
air to be sent below, through miles
of stout piping, there to run the
lesser pumps, the small engines of
underground hoists, the noisy machine
drills and supply air for men when
needed. Another engine, a monster
machine, drives the great pumps which
throw a river to the surface in steady
flow. The engineers, silent and attentive,
note every pulse beat of the giants which
hcy control; quietude, precision. Titanic
force everywhere. Step onto the cage,
it Is safe as the best elevator in your
city, and drop a half mile In a minute to
the station, roomy as a house. Electric
lights do not dispel the blackness of these
cavernous deeps, gloomy and silent as a
tomb save for the far-away throbbing or
the little alr-drlven engines in the dis
tant drifts and the rataplans of the drills
boring holes for dynamite. Men, bare to
the waist, fair of skin as babes, but
muscled like athletes, dispersed at facts
of drifts and stopes, with well-schooled
eyes and skillful hands are revealing some
of Nature's mysteries, digging gold from
tho fissured rocks rocks long ago fash
ioned under the waters of ancient seas.
Each day's labor adds to the wealth of the
world above; discloses some new mystery,
some new beauty. There is no tint of
rainbow or flowers, no color In sky" or sea;
no hue eye ever saw but is duplicated
down deep In the mines. It is not all
gloom; there Is cheerlness here, and con
tentment and hope and kindness in the
hearts of these men who do not stop to
note your presence. A thousand dangers
have proved their courage. Moreover,
every skilled toller here gives Indirect
employment to at least two workers In
the forests, fields, factories and marts of
the outer world. It has been estimated,
probably correctly, that the quartz miner
at work requires employment of four men
In ordinary avocations to supply his ma
chinery, tools, timbering, lumber, explo
sives and food, clothing and family needs.
This industry, therefore, is both, a pro
ducer of wealth and a patron of all the
economic industries.
Redaction of Ores.
The Korean mill was probably the first
device for crushing auriferous quartz to
fineness sufficient for separation of gold
from Its gangue. It consisted of two large
long, hard stones, one trough-shaped on
Its upper side, the other dressed so that
one rounded face would fit into the
trough of the other; the first was firmly
bedded, trough face upward, and the sec
ond placed In it Bamboo handles were
fitted to the upper stone and manual
power gave it a rocking motion. The ore,
introduced in small quantities between tho
two, was ground to fineness between these
rude upper and nether millstones.
The arastra, another ancient device, is
still In use In remote localities of this
state where expensive machinery cannot
yet be installed. It Is an efficient saver of
free gold, but a very slow machine. It is
aiding in the development of rich veins,
and In testing the various ores of localities
for free gold. Omitting some variations in
size and minor details of construction, the
machine can be roughly described. A
suitable place is cleared to a level, well
hardened, smoothed surface. In the cen
ter a stout post some two and a half feet
In height Is firmly placed In the ground,
the. top of tha post fitted with a strong
pin. A circular floor some 10 feet in diam
eter made of flat, hard, carefully fitted
stones, bedded and tightly tamped at all
points, Is laid on the place prepared for It
With equal care the outer edge of this
floor is closely fitted with a rim of
stones carefully selected andj joined,
resulting in a huge dish or basin
of stone 10 feet in diameter and some
IS inches deep. Everything Is made
tight . to prevent loss of quicksilver.
A long pole or beam with a suit
able hole, bored for the purpose, is placed
horizontally on the post, the pin fitting the
hole, the Jong arm of this beam extending
beyond the outer rim of the basin, the
Short arm loaded to balance It Two or
more large, flat-faced, hard stones, dressed
to proper shape for grinding, are plucui
in the basin and attached by ropes o1"
chains to the beam above them. Now
place In the basin a supply of ore, broken
fine as means permit, Introduce water,
hitch a mule (for some Inscrutable reason
a mule Is best) to the outer projecting arm
of the beam, start him circling around and
your machine Is In operation.
The large stones attached to the beam
are dragged over the bed as the mulo
hurries along hjs allotted path and slowly
grind the ore to a pulp. Quicksilver is
sprinkled In as needed during the grinding
and tho gold as freed from the pulverized
quartz is amalgamated and settles at the
bottQm of the basin. At one point a piece
of heavy board or plank, some G inches
Wide, forms a part of the "rim. Holes
at various elevations in this board are
fitted with plugs. When the operation of
grinding and amalgamation Is complete,
the plugs, beginning with the top one, are
withdrawn and the pulp washed out of
the basin by Introducing more water. Care
Is exercised In this operation to prevent
loss of amalgam and quicksilver. The
amalgam Is gathered, placed In- a piece of
buckskin or wetted cloth, and tightly
squeezed and pressed: practically all the
quicksilver not attached to gold oozes
through the Bklp, or cloth, and la saved
for further use. The remaining, (dry)
amalgam is subjected to a low red heat,
which drives tha quicksilver off In vapor
leaving the gold. By placing the dry amal
gam n a deep Iron bowl with tight fitting
top, in which, a bent tube is inserted and
applying heat, this quicksilver can. he
saved; the vapors pass through the tube
to its outer end, which Is Immersed in a
basin of water. On reaching the water
the vapors Instantly condense to metallic
form and pure quicksilver i3 the result
This process la the retorting of quicksil
ver. The Chilean mill, a device in some re
spects similar to tho araatra, has never
been used In this country. Its distin
guishing feature consist of largo stone
Wheels, Instead of the stone drag, of tho
arastra. These stone wheels shaped much
liko the wooden wheels of tho logging
camps, were rolled over the ore by the
circling sweep of the axles, which, piv
oted to the center post at one end. and
projecting like the beam of the arastra,
extended beyond the rim of the annular
crushing bed, by applioatlon of animal
power. It Is supposed that oxen were used
for these ponderous and clumsy machines
rather than the speedy mules, which
American miners find so useful in their
hardy employments.
Of course, where water Is available it Is
utilized for power' in driving arastras;
and the expense of running them is in
considerable; but the best arastra is a
slow crusher.
Tne 3Iodern Stamp M11L (
It is a far step from the humble aras
tra and Its long-eared power to the mod
ern mill with 300 stamps weighing a halt
ton each, rising and falling nine Inches
100 times a minute; supplied with rocK
crushers, automatic feeders, kickers, jigs,
vanning machines, copper plates, revolv
ing barrels, amalgamating pans, mercury
extractors, laboratory, retorting furnace,
electric lights, and all the appliances In
cident to the operation of the great estab
lishment In the arastra ore producing ?2j to tne
ton Is barely, If at all, profitable under
favoring conditions. The big mill gives
steady and liberal dividends from oro
yielding less-than $.1 per ton.
Originally men broke one stone by strik
ing It with another which was harder or
tougher. A mass of Iron was better. Ham
mers, bars and pestles were grand
achievements. For fine crushing a heavy
pestle for battering rock In a hollow ves
sel, was really necessary and was adopted,
but the lifting of and striking with a ver
tical pestle was hard work and men found
some relief In a prototype of the stamp
mill, the "dolly." This consists of a sim
ple contrivance. A beam of wood, shod
with iron, fitted with a pin on either side
for handles Is suspended vertically from,
a suitably adjusted spring pole, or a flex
ible sapling, Under this, on a. block set
grain upright and well bedded, a tree
stump Is better, a mortar Is pjaced so as
to be a few Inches lower than the Iron
shod end of the suspended beam. Ore
placed in the mortar is crushed by apply.