66 GREAT MOTHER LODE OF CALIFORNIA. 



to 15 or 20 dwts.. Under favourable circumstances even 3 dwts. 

 can be mined and milled so as to leave a small margin of profit ; 

 wbile almost any mine wbicb is capable of yielding large quan- 

 tities of 6 to 8 dwt. ore can be made to give good results, even 

 wbere steam-power has to be be employed. 



The treatment of free milling gold ores is a very simple 

 process. The ore is usually reduced by means of the well- 

 known and very effective Oalifornian stamps so as to pass through 

 a No. 30 grate. In some instances mercury is placed in the 

 battery, but whether this be so or not, the pulp on leaving the 

 battery passes over amalgamated copper plates, and subsequently 

 over either rifB.es filled with mercury or over blankets. The 

 amalgam is '' cleaned up " from time to time and retorted, yield- 

 ing in most instances gold of remarkable fineness When the 

 sulphurets also are treated they are concentrated from the first 

 tailings on Frue Vanners, or other suitable machines, roasted, and 

 then ground with mercury in an iron pan. In this way a second 

 portion of amalgam is obtained, which is sometimes of very 

 considerable value. The chlorination process is also in use for 

 the treatment of tailings in some places. 



The miners employed are of various races. Of course the 

 ubiquitous Cornishman is often met with, and I also came across 

 Germans, Italians, Irish, Swedes, Norwegians, Mexicans, and a 

 few native born Americans. 



The wages paid at present are from 2^ to 3 dollars per day ; 

 but as the cost of food, lodging, and clothes is much higher than 

 at home, the men are not very much better off than they are in 

 Cornwall. 



