GOLD AND SILVER MINING.



FROM various expressions in the Bible, we learn that gold and silver have ever been regarded as of great value, and their possession seems to have given influence and power to those who have obtained them.

The search for these precious metals has, evidently, engaged man's attention from the earliest gathering of the human race into nations; yet it remained for the present generation to develop the work of mining into one of the great industries of the world.

There are different ways of mining. 

Silver is produced only by "lode" mining, while gold is obtained by both "lode" and "placer" mining. "Placer" mining is more, simple, being usually done in gulches where the gold is washed out of the dirt, and lasts but a short time in any one place. 

But " lode" mining is of much more importance, since the quantity of metal contained in quartz and ore is much greater than the gold of alluvial deposits.

A "lode" is a mineral vein, or, in other words, a longitudinal fissure in the solid rock, filled with ore-bearing matter. These veins vary in width from two or three inches to the same number of feet, and are worked either by "drifting" or "sinking."

The usual way to open a mine is to commence at the top and dig, or "sink," down, 

the same as one would to dig a well, until the "pay streak" is reached; then a horizontal course is taken, and the miner "drifts" in whichever direction the vein leads. As the work of drifting progresses, a track is laid, and the ore is drawn over it on a car to the perpendicular opening, or shaft, and hoisted to the surface, from which point it is taken by teams to the mill, where the precious metal is separated from the ore, and fitted for the mint.

The accompanying cut is designed to represent tunnel mining, which is done by making an opening " in the side of a mountain large enough to admit a car drawn by a mule as seen in the engraving. 

In some cases these tunnels ex- tend a long distance into the mountain, and the cars for removing the ore are drawn by steam. This is a great improvement over some methods employed in the early days of mining in the Rocky Mountains, before so much time and labor saving machinery had been invented.

A very novel way of transporting ore, before the "tramway" came into general use, was with the "drag," which is described by a certain writer as follows: "It was made of a fresh ox-hide sewn together at the ends; an aperture was left in the middle for the reception of the ore, the opening being looped up with ropes when the 'vehicle' was loaded. An iron brake, with long, sharp teeth like those of a rake, was fastened to the tail, while the mule's traces were connected at the other end. Fifteen hundred pounds of ore could be hauled in one of these, over the snow and ice covered trails of the steepest mountains. If from the steepness of the trail the 'drag' threatened to slide upon kicking heels, the 'engineer' straightway jumped upon the brake and sank its teeth into the snow."

There has ever been a fascination attending the search for gold and silver, which time rather intensifies than diminishes. 

Under its magic influence, men have flocked to the mountains of the far West, willing to endure toil and privation, for the sake of gaining a little of that which perishes with the using. How much better the "gold tried in the fire," the "true riches," the " enduring substance" to be obtained through our Lord Jesus Christ.





J. O. CORLISS