GOLD    IN    UINTA    COUNTY,   WYO.,  AND    ON    SNAKE    RIVER.  77 
DAVIS  DIGGINGS. 
• 
The  placer  workings  on  the  Davis  claim  are  on  a  low  terrace  along 
the  east  side  of  Snake  River,  extending  from  the  mouth  of  Bailey 
Creek  about  half  a  mile  to  the  north.  They  are  in  the  vicinity  of 
those  opened  by  Stantiford  in  1870.  There  are  two  distinct  terraces 
here,  and  Mr.  Davis  is  at  present  working  parts  of  both.  The  fine 
flour  or  flake  gold  of  a  high  degree  of  fineness  occurs  all  through  thp 
gravel,  but  is  much  more  abundant  in  some  streaks  than  in  others. 
One  of  the  main  pay  streaks  near  the  Snake  River  channel  is  from  4 
to  6  inches  thick  and  is  overlain  by  4  to  6  feet  of  gravel  that  contains 
much  lower  values  in  gold  and  is  in  turn  overlain  by  a  nearly  barren 
gravel  bed  4  to  5  feet  thick  that  extends  to  the  surface.  The  rich  pay 
streak,  from  8  to  10  feet  below  the  surface,  makes  it  profitable  to 
work  the  entire  bank.  On  working  back  into  the  bank  away  from  the 
river,  these  seams  are  found  to  rise  and  a  new  pay  streak  about  6 
feet  thick  and  richer  than  the  other  one  is  encountered.  The  new 
pay  streak  drops  slightly  farther  east  and  probably  represents  the 
deposits  of  an  older  channel  of  Snake  River.  The  lifferent  placer 
mines  and  even  parts  of  the  same  terrace  vary  considerably  in  the 
character  of  the  deposits  and  arrangement  of  their  beds. 
Water  for  hydraulicking  is  brought  in  a  ditch  from  a  point  some  dis- 
tance up  Bailey  Creek  and  used  to  break  down  the  gravels,  wash  out 
the  gold  and  fine  particles,  and  sluice  through  the  flume.  Sometimes 
the  gravel  is  shoveled  into  the  sluice  boxes  and  in  both  methods  the 
large  bowlders  are  piled  up  in  rows  between  the  boxes  so  as  to  retain 
as  much  of  the  grade  as  possible  and  still  work  the  lower  pay  streaks. 
The  fine  material  drops  through  a  series  of  steel-punched  screens  near 
the  lower  end  of  the  sluice  and  is  diverted  at  right  angles  through  a 
distributing  box  onto  a  series  of  inclined  tables  about  4  feet  wide  and 
several  feet  long,  covered  with  canvas  or  burlap,  on  which  the  gold 
and  concentrates  readily  settle.  About  four-fifths  of  the  gold  and 
heavy  concentrates  are  caught  on  the  first  few  feet  of  the  tables  and 
are  swept  into  a  tray  every  few  hours  by  diverting  the  pulp  and  turn- 
ing on  clear  water.  In  order  to  catch  the  gold  that  may  have  escaped 
from  the  tables  several  boxes  are  placed  in  the  path  of  the  water 
between  the  tables  and  the  river  and  the  material  collected  in  these 
boxes  is  run  over  the  tables  a  second  time.  The  concentrates  and 
gold  are  stored  until  a  sufficient  batch  is  accumulated  and  are  then 
placed  in  a  small  churn,  or  grinding  pan,  which  is  run  by  water 
power  from  the  sluice  box.  Quicksilver  and  warm  water  are  added 
to  the  concentrates  and  the  machine  set  in  motion.  The  gold  amal- 
gamates readily  after  a  few  hours  of  grinding  and  is  then  run  into 
bars  or  sheets  ready  for  the  market.  The  gravels  at  these  terraces, 
as  shown  by  the  workings  for  the  last  few  years,  run  from  3  cents  to  $3 
