The Many Lost Treasures of Mariposa, CA (Photos Added)

[Lanny in AB]

Eagle,

Just caught up on your thread again. You're a true master!

Happy New Year, and all the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

If I lived in, or reasonably close to San Francisco, I know what I'd be doing. (With permission, of course).

http://news.yahoo.com/dig-sfs-transport-terminal-unearths-artifacts-160146141.html

Notice that all of the finds shown appear to be eye-ball finds. Seems to me that they might
appreciate an experienced metal detectorist. Strictly scientific you know.

Eagle

Yes my friend, a metal detector would produce some fascinating "scientific" finds--that would be a ton of fun for sure, if they'd let you in.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Eagle,

How are things? I hope you get a chance soon to post another of your fantastic stories.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[EagleDown]

Eagle,

How are things? I hope you get a chance soon to post another of your fantastic stories.

All the best,

Lanny

Halito Friend Lanny,

I don't know what happened, but for some strange reason, I wasn't notified of your previous
posting. So please don't assume that I was ignoring you. I was notified of this post, and when
I came in to reply, I found your last one waiting.

Anyway, I'm fine. I've been doing a lot of experimenting with infrared lenses. Hoping to strike
it rich!! Unfortunetly, I don't have a couple of oz of gold to bury so that I can really
test it out. I had some experience with infrared "film" back in the mid-eighties, so I know that it
works. But, with digital cameras, I'm finding out "It's a whole different ball game".

I'll probably post the lesson on "dry prospecting" with-in the next couple of days.

Note to myself: "Self, quit getting involved in so many things at one time".

Eagle

 

[shepcal]

Eagle, been here, but nothing to say informative, so? . Appreciate your input and conversations. Had something to say, but forgot-?

Keep your bucket list full at all times

Shep

 

[EagleDown]

Dry Prospecting 101>The Hills<​

Hokay! I’m back!! (They reply: “Finally”).

This “lesson” will concern a couple of things to watch for while you’re out roaming around the hills. I won’t spend much time on sites that have obviously been disturbed by mining or prospecting, as even a ring-tailed newbie should be able to recognize a tailings pile on the side of a hill.

First of all, I prefer to do my “dry prospecting” in the late Summer, after a couple of months break while the foliage and grass is lush and green. (Though, there are a couple of things you can watch for at any time of the year).

“BRACKEN”​

No, not the sea monster from Pirates of the Caribbean! That was the “Kraken”. Bracken is a tough stemmed fern. The individual stems can grow over 30 inches long under ideal conditions. e.g.: A year-round water source.
And the need for a perpetual source of water is the main reason why the bracken can be invaluable to a prospector.

A brief course in geology: After (and during) the formation of the many mountain ranges, the continuing pressures from deep within the mountains caused an uncountable number of fractures throughout the basic formation of said mountains. Nature does not like voids and cracks are voids. So, Nature, in her infinite wisdom sought to fill these voids. She brought up water from deep underground and caused the water to flow through these voids (cracks).

Water carries many “soluble” minerals and chemicals. As the water passed through the cracks, it deposited some of these soluble minerals. First and foremost was silicate, which is what quartz is composed of. Then, before the quartz totally filled the void, minerals were deposited in the nooks and crannies of the quartz. These minerals consisted of: Gold, Silver, Iron, etc.

So now, we have a gold bearing quartz vein. (Or silver, copper, etc.)

Here’s a link to bracken (in wikipedia). Study it well, it could be your fortune and at the same time, keep you from starving. (lol) Yes Virginia, it’s also edible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracken​

So, when you’re out prospecting and you see a clump of Bracken growing on the side of a hill, separate from any visible water source, you can be reasonably sure that under the Bracken there is a quartz vein.
Will it be carrying gold?
Perhaps. Or, it could be carrying platinum, or silver, or possibly nothing. The only way to know for sure, is to dig down to find the vein, then check it out.

Please understand, when I speak of looking for a “clump” of Bracken, I’m talking about Bracken that’s growing on a hill, or the side of a mountain, somewhere that there is no visible sign of water.
This is the reason I prefer looking in late Summer, as just about everything is dried up. Then Bracken with a water source stands out like the proverbial “sore thumb”. (Also, grape vines).

There you have it!! Pretty easy stuff to remember, but has created a couple of fortunes in the past, for the observant ones.

Eagle

 

[Lanny in AB]

Well Eagle,

I took the bracken tour, and now I know what they look like. Your little lesson on dry prospecting is a great read--I learned a few new tricks and tips that I'll plant in the brain bank for future use.

Thanks so much for taking all of the time that you do to share your golden wisdom--much appreciated.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[EagleDown]

Well Eagle,

I took the bracken tour, and now I know what they look like. Your little lesson on dry prospecting is a great read--I learned a few new tricks and tips that I'll plant in the brain bank for future use.

Thanks so much for taking all of the time that you do to share your golden wisdom--much appreciated.

All the best,

Lanny

Halito Lanny,

Thanks so much for dropping in, and for your kind words!!

Right now, I'm in the process of drafting the next part of "Dry Prospecting". I intend to center it on
recognizing 150 year old (obscure) mining activities. I sure hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew.


But, right now, I've been up since about 4am, and about to fall asleep at my keyboard. So, good night
to all.

Incidently, if you are wondering about eating the bracken, I really like the "fiddle-heads". Picked fresh
and eaten raw, they're very tender and taste a lot like fresh asparagus.

Eagle

 

[Lanny in AB]

Well Eagle,

I took the bracken tour, and now I know what they look like. Your little lesson on dry prospecting is a great read--I learned a few new tricks and tips that I'll plant in the brain bank for future use.

Thanks so much for taking all of the time that you do to share your golden wisdom--much appreciated.

All the best,

Lanny

Halito Lanny,

Thanks so much for dropping in, and for your kind words!!

Right now, I'm in the process of drafting the next part of "Dry Prospecting". I intend to center it on
recognizing 150 year old (obscure) mining activities. I sure hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew.


But, right now, I've been up since about 4am, and about to fall asleep at my keyboard. So, good night
to all.

Incidently, if you are wondering about eating the bracken, I really like the "fiddle-heads". Picked fresh
and eaten raw, they're very tender and taste a lot like fresh asparagus.

Eagle

I for one would love to have some tips on how to recognize obscure, 150 year-old mining sites, as I know the Oldtimers didn't come close to getting all of the gold, particularly now that we have the advantage of electronic devices to sniff out gold that was hopelessly hidden from the Sourdoughs.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Lanny in AB]

Eagle,

Can't wait for your next installment!

All the best,

Lanny

 

[calisdad]

Eagle, I for one would like to know how those 150 year old activities got started. My neighborhood is littered with old hardrock sites. How did they know? It can't be as simple as finding quartz and saying "Let's dig here." or can it?

C-dad

 

[EagleDown]

I for one would love to have some tips on how to recognize obscure, 150 year-old mining sites, as I know the Oldtimers didn't come close to getting all of the gold, particularly now that we have the advantage of electronic devices to sniff out gold that was hopelessly hidden from the Sourdoughs.
All the best,

Lanny

Eagle, I for one would like to know how those 150 year old activities got started. My neighborhood is littered with old hardrock sites. How did they know? It can't be as simple as finding quartz and saying "Let's dig here." or can it?

C-dad
[quote\]

Yeah, so would I!!

Just kidding my friends. Actually, I'm having difficulties in formatting the lesson. I think back to all
of the "discoveries" that I've made, then realise that most of it was due to "subliminal" indications that
led me to look around a little harder. But then, I grew up being taught to see the little things that
most people just walk by, without noticing.

Here's a little "for instance": I was walking through a forest with a friend when I noticed a little, tiny
bird about 20 ft. above us, on the underside of an oak limb. It took close to 5 minutes before I could
get my friend to see it. And, he only saw it when it made a sudden move to peck something off of the
limb. So why did I see it, and though I was pointing directly at it and telling him which limb it was on,
he couldn't see it until it moved??

I believe it all boils down to one word: AWARENESS!

And that's something I was consistently reminded of while growing up. A blade of grass that isn't
pointing in the same direction as the other blades of grass. Or is broken by a deers hoove. A rattle-
snake lying beside a dead branch on the ground. Or, the "flick" of a tiny birds tail. If it was within my
peripheral vision, I was taught to notice it. Then of course, there were the sounds that weren't quite
right. And I don't know how to describe that. It's just something that comes naturally when you are
aware.

Anyway, this is kind of a long-winded explaination for why it's taking me so long to work up this
next lesson. It's not so much about what you see, but rather, HOW to see it. (Man, I hope that makes sense).

In any case, please bare with me my Friends, I AM working on it.

Love and Respect,

Eagle

 

[Lanny in AB]

Of course it makes sense. Moreover, it'll be worth the wait.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[EagleDown]

Halito Lanny and C-dad,

Hokay, after I post this next installment, I'll see if I can give a little guidance on how they
did it.

Text-book knowledge had little to do with most of the great discoveries. It was mostly,
horse-sense and luck!!

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

Finding Old Mining Sites
(The little things)​

I was riding with Jack Bass, heading down hiway 140. We were going to Merced to pick-up some supplies. (Cheaper than Mariposa). For several years, I had been noticing some evenly spaced mounds on the North side of the hiway and had been curious about them. There were about 20 of them that I could see, and they were all laid out in rows. All about the same size, height and spacing (They can still be seen to this day).

I asked Jack if he had any idea of what caused them.

He said that the Chinese were pretty much kept out of the Mariposa mining claims, so they set up their own camps along the creek that parallels the present hiway.
Those small mounds of earth were created by the tailings they had cleaned, then dumped in their individual spaces.

In later years, as I got to know Jack a lot better, I wasn’t all too sure of some of the stories he had to tell, but this one seems the only logical conclusion I can draw for the regularity of these little mounds of “dirt”, especially since I can’t convince myself that the cattle that now inhabit these pastures would have been that neat.

I’m not telling the above story so that you can run out and start looking for little mounds of soil, all laid out in symmetrical patterns, but rather to call to your attention, how signs of long lost mining activities can endure the passage of time. And so that you understand that when you are in the mountains, or hills, searching for old mines or mill sites, except for a few extraordinary circumstances, signs/clues will be there to point out where these old mines and/or mills were.

There will be level areas that just don’t fit in with the surrounding area. Also, perhaps shallow “bowl” areas that don’t fit in with the surrounding terrain. Then, chances are, the barren, clay area on the side of that distant mountain is not the “land-slide” that it appears to be to the “uninitiated.

“Landslides” in nature are a fairly rare occurrence, especially if it is confined to a relatively small area. If you see one of these apparent “slides”, use a little reason. Landslides are normally about as wide as they are long. where-as the residue from mining activities tend to be longer than wide. This is caused by the deliberate dumping of the mine tailings down the side of the mountain. In my younger years, I climbed some of these mountains to see what was at the top of the tailings, and almost invariably, found the signs of tunneling, or in most cases, the actual tunnel itself.

Should you find one of these tunnels, before you even think about going in, check out the tailings. If there was anything in the mine worthwhile, with the aid of a 5 or 10 power magnifying glass, you should be able to spot a little gold (or whatever) in the discarded ore. Look for streaks of (usually) black mineralization in the quartz. Or, perhaps a small vein of iron pyrites in situ.

Use your glass to check the outer edge of the iron pyrites for very small globules of gold, against, but usually, not within the pyrites. It was not unusual for a small 1 or 2 man operation to only keep what they could see. Anything with gold that HAD to be milled to recover the gold, they discarded, rather that haul it for miles to a mill, when they would have to pay a percentage to have the gold extracted. It just wasn’t worth the time and effort 160 years ago.

If you have spotted a little gold in the tailings, it’s only natural to want to explore the mine itself, right?

This is where “Common Sense” should prevail!!

In the early days of Western mining, there were no regulations on safety. So, of ALL of the old mines that I’ve found, though some of them had rails for carts in them, NOT ONE OF THEM had any shoring! So, my question to myself was: “Self, do you think it would be safe to go in there”?? I’m not going to go into this very far, other than to say; I felt that since the mine has had no cave-ins in the last 150+ years, it probably wouldn’t have one during the short time I would be in it. You would have to be the judge of your own particular circumstances. Choose wisely. (lol)

Oh yeah, keep in mind the possibility of rattle snakes and or animals. And always be aware of the air within the tunnel. If you start feeling light-headed, or have difficulty breathing, get the hell out, then figure out what you would need to return and go in safely. Frankly, don’t be as “macho” as I was in my youth. Have a partner with you. If you have any doubts, one of you can tie a rope around your waist before you go in, and the other can stay outside the portal to monitor the rope. i.e.: One quick yank on the rope means; Get me out of here!!! (lol)

My lesson on prospecting is not complete, but, I know all of my friends have been waiting patiently, so I’ll post this “chapter” while I’m writing more of the guide.

Thanks for your patience!!

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

Halito to all my friends,

Lanny and C-dad wanted to know how the miners knew where to start mining. Or, if you will, how did they know where to dig into the side of a hill or mountain. And how did they know that there was gold there.


If you recall, in an earlier post I explained how the "placer" miners went up the streams and rivers panning, until they found where the gold was entering the stream/river. This method will also hold true even after you're away from any water source.

The "old timers" that were first on the scene were actually "High Graders". They spent most of their time on the streams and rivers looking for the "easy pickings". About all they needed to be able to eke out a living (or for a very few, to make a fortune) was a pick, shovel, gold pan and for the more enterprising ones, a sluice box. Most sluice boxes were joint efforts, with several men digging, bringing materials and dumping them in the Long-Tom sluices.

Now, for the ones who think that these early miners got all of the gold out of the streams, the truth is; they only recovered a fairly small portion of the gold that went into the sluices. But, that’s beside the point and I might get back to that later. (If I remember).

Anyway, by the time the second wave of hopefuls arrived, the known gold
bearing creeks were elbow to elbow with miners.

(Today, it’s simply amazing to me that they could take out as much as $130+ worth of gold in
ONE shovel full of materials, at $18.00 an ounce. That's over 7 oz of gold in one shovel).

But, as more and more miners arrived, it’s only natural that since there was no space left to place a claim on, they would start to fan out into the surrounding hills and gulches in their search for gold.

It’s logical to think that these miners would have gone up a gulch, that during the rainy season would have dumped the run-off and possibly gold into the creek. I know from experience, that most of the gulches that dump into the Merced river only have 1 to 3 feet of materials before you get down to bed-rock. So, what’s a hour or so of digging, when you have high hopes of finding a large amount of gold when you get down a couple of feet and hit bed-rock?

Now, don’t get the wrong idea here! They didn’t just dig here and there hoping to find some gold, No, they picked places where they knew it was most likely that gold would accumulate. Places like the down hill side of large boulders, or the lower end of an “inside” bend. Anyplace that the water flow was disrupted or suddenly slowed down is an ideal spot for gold to stop for a rest. They also checked places where the gulch suddenly widened out. because when the flow of water is not so confined, it will slow down. You can prove this by turning on your garden hose and laying it on the pavement, or bare ground. The water coming out of the hose is under pressure, and right at the hose, will wash away some of the soil. But, a couple of feet from the hose nozzle, the water spreads out and rather than washing soil away, it merely wets it as it flows on across. Keep in mind, the run-off in a gulch is not as confined as it is in the hose, so, when it spreads out, it will slow down much quicker.

To be continued. (If possible, tomorrow afternoon).

Thanks for reading!

Eagle

 

[Lanny in AB]

Yes, please continue! You've got some great tips in your writing, and some things I needed to be reminded of. One day we'll have to have a face to face so I can learn from the master. Well done Eagle--unselfish, generous, and very frank advice--that's your trademark.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[EagleDown]

Yes, please continue! You've got some great tips in your writing, and some things I needed to be reminded of. One day we'll have to have a face to face so I can learn from the master. Well done Eagle--unselfish, generous, and very frank advice--that's your trademark.

All the best,

Lanny

Thank you Lanny,

I did have the best of intentions of getting back in here and posting the continuation
a couple of days ago. But.............................So often I get interrupted and held up
from what I want to do.
Right now, I've got an order to get out in the next couple of days, so I'll be writing
whenever I have a few minutes. But, I'll get it out for you.

Love and Respect,

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

Now, you’re in a gulch, perhaps a mile from the nearest flowing water. You’ve dug a few holes on the way up the gulch and found a fair amount of gold in each sample that you’ve “dry-panned”. So, what’s next?

Well, if you’re one of that “second wave” of prospectors, you’d probably stake a claim right where you are!

But, let’s suppose that you got there at the tail end of that “second wave” and are a little more knowledgeable than most, you might look around and say to yourself, “There’s quite a bit of “free gold” here and it’s got to be coming from somewhere”. So, logically, you’d want to find where it’s coming from.

O.K., now we go back to basics. As in my earlier post where you’re checking up a stream, you’d do pretty much the same in this scenario. You sample, then sample some more, until you determine where it’s coming into the gulch from the mountain. There’s also another thing to watch for: Quartz! Realistically, the closer you get to the source, the more likely you will find gold that has bits of quartz still clinging to it.

Remember, quartz is pretty much what glass is made of; >silica<. So, it is brittle and breaks quite readily when struck between two rocks. But gold, is malleable (and heavy), so when the quartz is crushed, the gold simply falls out and tumbles along with the detritus and water, but only as long as it takes for it to bury itself as deeply as possible. Depending on its weight and the looseness of the overburden, it could sink a couple of feet, to bed-rock in as little as 3 feet from where it landed in the flowing water. These would be the exceptionally rough pieces that you should watch for. When you start finding these very rough pieces, you can be pretty sure you’re very close to the source.

Personally, at this point, I would stop digging in the gulch and start scanning the edges of the gulch for pieces of quartz. If you really take a good look, you can almost always tell how high the water has flowed in the gulch. Look for twigs, branches and/or leaves caught in the brush on either side of the gulch. That would be your “water-line”.

Check along where you’ve determined the water-line to be. Somewhere, you will most likely find an accumulation of quartz in a small area. Check this quartz carefully for evidence of gold in situ. If you can see gold in the quartz, then check up the side of the hill. In all probability, you’ll be able to spot signs of erosion coming down the side of the hill to where the quartz is accumulated. Follow the eroded “trench” up the side of the hill. As long as you can see pieces of quartz, large or small, you’re on the right track. If the pieces of quartz disappear, stop and back up until you see it again. At that point, you might see a little of the quartz vein exposed and again, you might have to do a little digging to find it. Usually, if it has been eroding into a creek, or in this case, a gulch, it won’t be deep, if it is buried.

I have been asked on occasion, how did the quartz and gold get broken out of the vein, to wash down the hill into the stream or gulch.

In some cases, the quartz might have been exposed to the elements to where it could be affected by its surroundings. Imagine a large vein of gold bearing quartz exposed on the side of a hill. Now up the hill, perhaps a hundred feet, or a hundred yards, or even a thousand yards, there is a two ton boulder just waiting for a chance to make a charge down the hill, just like its former neighbors have done in the past. Then, one day, it starts raining and the soil gets saturated around its base. Then little rivulets of dirt start washing out from around and under the boulder. But just when it thinks it will have a chance to escape, the temperature starts dropping and it stops raining. RATS!, now it will never make it to the gulch. But, the temperature keeps dropping and dropping, until, the moisture in the soil around the boulder is freezing. and the solid rock under the boulder has a pool of water on it, directly under the boulder. Of course you know that when water freezes, it expands to at least half again its wet size. But, did you know that this same freezing water can lift a two ton boulder as it freezes?? Fact! So, the water that is pooled under the boulder freezes. And as it freezes, it slowly lifts the boulder just enough that gravity takes over and the boulder shifts ever so slightly. And that’s all it took for the boulder to start its trip down the hill.
Down it comes, picking up speed with every foot it travels. Below it, the still unsuspecting quartz has been made even more brittle by the sudden freeze. The boulder, by now, is probably traveling at about thirty or forty miles per hour by the time it strikes the extra brittle quartz vein. You can imagine what happens to the exposed part of the quartz. Though the boulder will keep rolling down the hill until it lands in the gulch, (it might even carry a little of the quartz and gold down the hill with it) the larger part of the quartz and gold will remain there until there is enough of a run-off from a thaw or rain, to wash it on down the hill and into the gulch.

Sorry, it’s about my bed time and I am tired,
so, I’ll be back ASAP with a little more about what freezing water can do.

Eagle

 

[Lanny in AB]

You're doing great Eagle--keep it coming!

All the best,

Lanny