A TRIP TO THE CAMFORNIAN MINES IN 1861.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 127, 12 April 1862, Page 6

A TRIP TO THE CAMFORNIAN MINES IN 1861.

ToMe Editor of'the Otaoo Daily Times.

■ Sir,—Sacramento and Stockton, the former a city, of some 20.000 inhabitants, the latter 8,000, are the! principal places of departure for the mines in Call-;1 lornia. As a short description of one road will serve: for both, we will take the .Southern; Stockton. For, the first five miles the line of .road is dotted on each;1 .side with market gardens, orchards., small dairy faivns, | &c..to rupply llie wairU.of the city;.the proprietors;' being e-iseone'-'d in neat, airy cottages, suitable to the: warm climate. As we proceed along the roivl, the; cattnsts atul green patches become less numerous. AI drean-monotony tikes tho place of life and activity.; With'tlia exception of the large mule teams we pas;;, i nothing is moving: thu very herds of cattle 'seem to; have no desire to"move from under the shade of thoi oaks that afford, them shelter from the scorching rays) of the sun : for we must presume it to be summer i time. As we journey on, we might naturally aski ourselves why so much valuable land should ba lying! uncultivated, for there it is on each side, as far as thej eye can reach, until every object on the horizon seem*: to be dancing in the mirage. I believe the land, inj question is covered by a Spanish grant, and s.-iui grant] is in dispute. We have already parsed over 20 miles: of the road, and the scenery begins to improve fts we jog along. Public houses arc much nearer together, j and, being ver> thirsty from the effects of heat audj dust, a good sherry "cobbler will do us no harm. I While sucking it through a straw, we will just cast I our eyes about the room, and listen to the conversation fiinson. iinvhich cveryoneeanjoin who thinks proper, he topics are the civil war and state elections. In regard to the former, it. is an easy matter for a casual observer to note whether the Northern or .Southern sympathy prevail. Having satisfied ourselves that there are two parties even in California, we will take to the road again. The country we ara now passing through bears a striking resemblance, geologically, to the Keilor Plains, Victoria, but farms are much more numerous here than in Victoria. We have now arrived at the Spriug Valley Hotel, the valley so named from the numerous springs that are in it. Here the traveller will at once notice a. change in the scenery. (rentle rises in the road become more frequent," and sharp gradients oscnsicnally occur ; now and then huge masses of rock ara men cropping out of the hill sides. The timber, which was almost exclusively oak on the plain below, is now mixing v/ith pine, bosiiUw Wo or three other kinds peculiar to California. One or more gullies have already been crossed, in which a stream of thick muddy water is slowly wending its way towards the sea. These indicate the vicinity of the miner. As we journey on, the small holes in the giiiiies and hill-sides, i.e., prospecting holes, become more numerous, and a sudden turn in the road brings us in full \ Tew of a party at work. As you have never seen a practical sluicer at work, come with me, and I will explain the process as well as I can. BOX SLUICING.

From 10 to 20 boxes are the usual length of a string for box sluicing1, Kach box 12 feet long, tapered at one end so as to fit into each other. It will require 37 feet of timber to make each box, viz., 13 feet in the bottom, and 12 feet on each side, independent of the ripples, of which there are three or four kinds. Those generally preferred in California are batten ripples. They (the boxes '!)arc simply three 3 in. battens 12 feet long, fastened at each endandin the middle three ripples are put close to the bottom of the boxes, and are held in their proper place by means of buttons. Each box should have not less than six inches fall, so lhat it often becomes necessary even with this method of washing to cut long tail races. In order to keep the boxes as low as possible, the water generally enters the string from the ground which is being worked, thereby saving hose, which otherwise would be necessary. In washing up, the miners can not he too careful. Experienced miners •will always begin at the bottom of the string, working with the fork to the top end, and through and through untilallthe ripples are bare. Two-thirdsofthe stream should be then turned offund the ripples should be lifted one by one, commencing at the bottom of the sstring. At this stage of the proceedings a hoe is a very good thing to loosen any sand that may have caked, as it wiii give the gold a chance to get on the bottom. When the sand is reduced to one or two dishfuls, sweep down, lift the bar ripple, sweep into the dish, and all is done but panning off. That done the process is complete. I omitted to mention that in box sluicing, the dirt has to be lifted by shovels. Being satisfied with this, the first step in sluicing, we will proceed on our journey arriving atthcMokeliniue Hill where we shall stop for the night, and resume our journey in the morning.

Whcrei. s the gold digger who lias not a vivid recollection Oi nis first night on a gold-field. Does he never recall to miucl his dreams of big nuggets and bugs of the yellow dust. In my imagination Iliad a whole lot, and was stowing them merrily away when a, loud knock laime at my bed-room door, which banished not only my dreai'iis of gold but also my sleep, and fully awoke me again to the stern realities of life. After a hasty breakfast, we will again sally forth, this time among the ground sluices.

tUtOUKI) SLUICIXO Is conducted after this manner. We will take a company of four as an example. The first thing' that is done is to select a claim, and it is of the greatest importance that the ground should he selected with a view to a constant supply of water; and it is also necessary to select the grbund with a considerable natural fall—from sft. to 7ft. in the 100 will do. The Iboxes are generally made of square timber ; the bottoms are usually butted together, as also are the sides, the joints being broken with 2x3 scantling. In laying1 up ground sluice-boxes, they should be laid as straight as possible; if a change in direction has to be made, do it with a curve in the boxes, they will free themselves much better. Where the bod rock is hard enough to resist the friction of theVater, and soft enough to cut smooth with a pick, a great saving in lumber can be made by cutting the ground-race the exact size of the boxes. In some instances batten ripples are used for this method, but in most cases the bottom of each box is laid with pieces of a log-sawn at right angles to the grain; these pieces should be about 2J'inches thick. They are got in this manner: a tree is felled, and, as it lies on the ground, each side should be hewn the exact size of the boxes; when that is done two men with a cross-cut saw will slice it up until they have a supply. With these pieces no ripples are required—the cracks between each piece serves to catcli the fine gold, as well as coarse. The manner in which the ground-sluice is worked, is this: we will suppose we have a face of -iO feet from bottom to top; the water is turned on and guided into the boxes; three men out of the four will step into the stream, and, with picks in hand, assist the water down to the bed-rock—the water washing the dirt away aa fast as it is raked; when down to the bad-rock the dirt should be brought down in falls —always taking care to keep the water in as narrow a channel as possible, and, as the claim is worked ahead, put in another box, or cut the ground races the proper size, and work ahead. When it is desirable to wash up a few boxes at the top, pursue the same course as in Box Sluicing. JITMAULIC SLUICING. California seems to have been at one time subject to earthquakes, which must have altered the entire! face of the country, for it appears to he covered with a network of old river beds—some of them a thousand feet above the rivers of the present day. These old channels are fdled up with a gravelly deposit, mixed with washed boulders of every imaginable size. Some of these deposits are 150 feet deep, with the " color "of gold the whole depth. The boxes for a hydraulic sluice are laid in much the same manner as ground sluice boxes. The bottoms, though, in many instances are paved with stones. In order to tighten them, turn on a small stream of water, and let a few barrowfiils of sand be thrown in ; the water will carry the sand down the boxes, and so effectually tighten everything. No ripples are icqnired, as the joints between the stones form excellent ripples, in which the gold will collect. The hose for a hydraulic claim shouklbe at least twice as long again' as the face of the hill is high. The hose are mostly made of leather, but No. 1 canvas will make a very good hose. A small aqueduct.from fifteen to twenty feet in height is usually constructed with a large tub. secured at the top of the end next the work. A round hole is cut in the bottom of the tub ; the hose is then brought up through, and is fastened on the inside. On the lower cud of the hose is fastened the first piece of pipe; the nozzles are usually three in number, made so as to screw off and on —No. 1, 1$ inch : No. 2, 1 inch : No. 3, jj inch in diameter. The person in charge of the hose usually has a sling over his shoulder, in which to rest the pipe. The water is now turned on, theperson in charge of the hose directing the stream so as to undermine the hill at the base, when c.own it will come in hundreds of tons. When a fall has taken place, the stream is turned on the fallen mass until nothing remains but the boulders and the gold. The stones are then removed to one side, or thrown into a truck, which runs on a tramway, and are shot down the hill. All this time the stream is playing on the face. If you require money, set a few boxes temporarily, and clean up where you have been washing. Once in six months clean up the whole string. As you work ahead, extend your sluice forward.

A great saving in water can be effected by making a small drive thirty or. forty feet in length, into the hill; then cross-drive for ten feet; .make a small! chamber ; put into the chamber a keg of powder, or as much as you can afford ; insert the fuse into the charge : fill up the drive, tramping well as you fill up until you are satisfied that there is no vent, set,

\ ire to the fuse, and clear out. After the explosion ye will go and look at the effects. Independent of die lar je masses it has thrown down, wo find the hill full of small cracks. Turn the water down these cracks, and the whole hill will crumble to pieces. This completes tiie process.

Some hydraulic claims are opened in this manner : |—A shaft is sunk to the bed rock, to ascertain the !depth. A tunnel is lieu driven up so as to intersect ■the bottom of the shaft. ' The boxes are set. in the funnel up to the shaft; the water is then turned Idown the shaft, and ground sluicing commences, and lis continued in until the operatives find themselves 'st-.indinj; on'the bed rock. Sometimes shafts will :choke up,. a:id many lives have been lost 'in tapping them. In order to tap a shaft i without risking iii'e, cut a niche lnrsrc enough for one person to stand comfortably i". It is generally cut ■on the left hand side of the tunnel, seven or eight feet from the shaft. A good, strong door is hung, so ;as to suing towards the mouth of the tunnel, and 1 you iiui-t not forget to have a few air holes in the top iof the door, or otherwise it will be anything but pleajs ant-tor the tapper. I When all is ready, the person who has volunteered ifor tliisi duty will, with a tapping bar in hand, take up; 1 his position'in the closet, while all who are interested j will remain in anxious suspense outside. A few blows •wirh the bar are often sufficient to cause a leak. Whs-nj !a leak it; observed you cannot by too careful, for when iyou least think down comes the mass of water and Isr.ones, striking against the door, and shutting the ! man in the closet from all harm. A moment suffices1 |for everything to run away—when out will come lour hero'of the tapping- rod, none tha worse for being shut up in a manner so unceremoniously. I have the honor to remain, Your obedient servant, In jny next I will describe the manner in which miuir.tr is carried on in British Columbia. PitOGKJ3£S.