mining county of the state. Within its limits the tom, sluice,
under-current sluice, and crinoline hose were invented, and the ditch
and hydraulic power were first applied to placer-mining; and
quartz-mining was first undertaken extensively. In 1859 there were
thirty-two quartz-mills in the county, and twenty-eight mining-ditches,
with an aggregate length of three hundred and ninety-four miles. No
part of the mineral region of the state is better supplied with water
than Nevada county. The richest quartz district is in the vicinity of
Nevada City, which has fifteen mills, and Grass Valley, five miles
distant, has seventeen. The great Allison mine, which has the richest
lode in the state, is in Grass Valley.
The quartz mines here are much troubled with water, and during the
winter of 1860-61, many of the mills were compelled to stop for weeks
until the shafts could be drained by steam engines, after having been
filled by a long and heavy rain. The annual gold yield of Grass Valley
has been estimated at four millions of dollars. North San Juan has the
finest hydraulic claims, and Sweetland the largest tail-sluices. The
Eureka Lake Ditch Company has more ditching and water than any other
company in the state. Their main ditch is seventy-five miles long, and
there are one hundred and ninety miles of branches, making a total of
two hundred and sixty-five miles, which have cost nine hundred thousand
dollars. The daily sale of water is six thousand inches, with a weekly
income of six thousand dollars. The principal mining towns are Nevada,
Grass Valley, North San Juan, Rough and Ready, Orleans Flat, Moore's
Flat and Humbug City.
INDEX.
PAGES.
Chief Industry 3
Metals obtained 3
Gold Mines 3
Placer Mines 5
The Sluice 7
Amalgamation 9
Cleaning up 11
Riffle-Bars 12
Double Sluices 13
Rock-Sluices 13
Hydraulic Mining 14
Blasting 16
Tail-Sluice 16
Tunnel-Sluice 17
Ground Sluice 17
Long Tom 17
Cradle 18
Pan 20
Dry Washing 22
Dry Digging 22
Puddling-Box 22
Quicksilver-Machine 23
Tunnel-Mining 23
Shafts 24
River-Mining 24
Beach-Mining 26
Mining-Ditches 27
Prospecting 27
Quartz-Mining 27
Distribution of Gold in Quartz 28
Prospecting Quartz Rock 30
The Divining Rod 31
Quarrying Quartz 31
Arastra 32
Chilean Mill 34
Stamps 34
Separation 34
Sulphurets 36
Chief Quartz-Mills 36
Silver Mining 37
Quicksilver Mining 38
Platinum 39
Del Norte and Klamath 39
Siskiyou 40
Trinity and Shasta 40
Plumas and Sierra 41
Yuba and Butte 43
Nevada and Placer 44
End of Project Gutenberg's Hittel on Gold Mines and Mining, by John S. Hittell