The Gold Rush was one of the most significant events in U.S. history. By the beginning of 1849, word of the Gold Rush movement spread quickly, encouraging people from all over the world to sweep into California hoping to strike it rich. Individuals looked for effective ways to obtain their gold. One of the most basic ways included panning for gold.[1] However, desperate to become wealthy fast, miners often worked together to develop more complex and effective methods to search for larger amounts of gravel for gold. This eventually resulted in the advancements of gold recovery techniques.
The use of mining techniques evolved greatly during the Gold Rush. One of the earliest methods was the placer mining, also known as “panning for gold”. Miners used shallow metal pans carefully mixing the water with the soil from the riverbed. By swirling the pan in a circular motion, the lighter soils would be washed away, leaving the gold to work its way down toward the bottom of the pan.[2] Winnowing gold was another method that miners used. This was an original dry placer method and involves screening out coarse gravel and placing the goods onto a blanket and tossing it in good wind. Lighter particles were often blown away leaving the heavier valuables on the blanket. [3] Crushing quartz or hardrock mining was also another technique used to obtain gold. Many thought of this method as extremely slow. In this method, pieces of Quartz were crushed between a heavy stone above and tightly fitted stones underneath. The fine particles of soil were then put through mining techniques. Shafts were sunk and enormous machinery was used to remove the veins of gold from the quartz rock. As time went on, gold mining became extremely sophisticated. Miners began to look for new ways to effectively obtain gold within a short amount of time. Most turned to the method of the rocker or cradle, also known as the “long tom”. Miners would use the long tom by shoveling dirt into it, pouring water over it, and rocking it like a cradle. This machine was worked by 6 to 8 men and would be put up in a slight slope, facilitating water flow. While one man shoveled the dirt into the long tom, the other would mix the water and dirt while taking the big stones to avoid damaging the sieve. At the end of the day, the dirt was taken out and washed in a pan. Lighter dirt and tiny rocks would be washed away leaving the heavier gold in the cradle. One of the problems that the early gold miners faced was the amount of labor that was required to process the gravels. Most miners worked individually or in small groups costing them a lot of their time. Hydraulic mining was their answer to their problem. It required the use of high water pressure to wash the gravels, allowing for a semi-liquid mixture called slurry to run through a sluice box that can be used to obtain gold. [4]This method proved to be an efficient way of getting large amounts of gold.
The California Gold Rush played an impactful role in the lives of many. Through the advancement of technology and techniques, people were able to acquire gold with less manual labor and time.
[1.]” Evolution of Gold Mining,” California Gold Rush, accessed May 1,2014,http://www.calgoldrush.com/graphics/evolution.html, paragraph 4
[2.]”Summary of Gold Mining Techniques in Western United States 1842-1996,” Tchistory, accessed May 1,2014, http://www.tchistory.org/ tchistory/more_gold.htm, paragraph 2
[3.] John Umbeck, “ The California Gold Rush: A Study of Emerging Property Rights,” Exploration in Economic History 14 (1997): 207
[4.] “Giant Gold Machines-Hydraulic Mining,” Gold Fever, accessed May 1, 2014, http://www.museumca.org/goldrush/fever19-hy.html, paragraph 1
The use of mining techniques evolved greatly during the Gold Rush. One of the earliest methods was the placer mining, also known as “panning for gold”. Miners used shallow metal pans carefully mixing the water with the soil from the riverbed. By swirling the pan in a circular motion, the lighter soils would be washed away, leaving the gold to work its way down toward the bottom of the pan.[2] Winnowing gold was another method that miners used. This was an original dry placer method and involves screening out coarse gravel and placing the goods onto a blanket and tossing it in good wind. Lighter particles were often blown away leaving the heavier valuables on the blanket. [3] Crushing quartz or hardrock mining was also another technique used to obtain gold. Many thought of this method as extremely slow. In this method, pieces of Quartz were crushed between a heavy stone above and tightly fitted stones underneath. The fine particles of soil were then put through mining techniques. Shafts were sunk and enormous machinery was used to remove the veins of gold from the quartz rock. As time went on, gold mining became extremely sophisticated. Miners began to look for new ways to effectively obtain gold within a short amount of time. Most turned to the method of the rocker or cradle, also known as the “long tom”. Miners would use the long tom by shoveling dirt into it, pouring water over it, and rocking it like a cradle. This machine was worked by 6 to 8 men and would be put up in a slight slope, facilitating water flow. While one man shoveled the dirt into the long tom, the other would mix the water and dirt while taking the big stones to avoid damaging the sieve. At the end of the day, the dirt was taken out and washed in a pan. Lighter dirt and tiny rocks would be washed away leaving the heavier gold in the cradle. One of the problems that the early gold miners faced was the amount of labor that was required to process the gravels. Most miners worked individually or in small groups costing them a lot of their time. Hydraulic mining was their answer to their problem. It required the use of high water pressure to wash the gravels, allowing for a semi-liquid mixture called slurry to run through a sluice box that can be used to obtain gold. [4]This method proved to be an efficient way of getting large amounts of gold.
The California Gold Rush played an impactful role in the lives of many. Through the advancement of technology and techniques, people were able to acquire gold with less manual labor and time.
[1.]” Evolution of Gold Mining,” California Gold Rush, accessed May 1,2014,http://www.calgoldrush.com/graphics/evolution.html, paragraph 4
[2.]”Summary of Gold Mining Techniques in Western United States 1842-1996,” Tchistory, accessed May 1,2014, http://www.tchistory.org/ tchistory/more_gold.htm, paragraph 2
[3.] John Umbeck, “ The California Gold Rush: A Study of Emerging Property Rights,” Exploration in Economic History 14 (1997): 207
[4.] “Giant Gold Machines-Hydraulic Mining,” Gold Fever, accessed May 1, 2014, http://www.museumca.org/goldrush/fever19-hy.html, paragraph 1