Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Interesting Info:
Tools of the Gold Fields
Goldrushminersusedthesimpletoolstheycouldcarryintoorfashioninthefield.Themost
popular method of mining was to dig a shaft, line it with timber to support the sides then
bring up the gravel one bucket load at a time with a hand-operated hoist. This gravel would
be dumped at the side of the shaft, stockpiled till spring when melting streams provided the
water to sluice the gravel for gold. Thus the term for this pile, “paydirt.”
Of course everyone hoped for the big find in the form of solid gold nuggets but many miners
managed to eak out a living by carefully working their pile of pay dirt each spring for the
gold dust.
One of the biggest challenges presented by the extreme cold was that of thawing the perma-
frostsotheycoulddigthegravelout.Initiallythiswasdonewithwoodfiresbutastimewent
on mechanization arrived with the introduction of steam. Fire-fed steam boilers bubbled
away on the surface, piping steam into the shaft where the miner could focus it on the spots
he wanted melted.
By 1905 the sight of an independent miner working his claim with pick and shovel had
largely been replaced by the highly mechanized machinery of big industry, the dredge.
Dredges
These massive, now rusting machines can be seen dragged up at the edges of creeks and
rivers all over gold country. Weighing in at 3,000 tons or more, it is hard to believe they
clawed their way up and down the valleys. But so they did, with some reports saying there
were dredges that processed up to 700 ounces of gold a day.
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