“The simplest method of getting gold out of the dirt it’s mixed with is to ‘pan’ it. That is, take half a panful of the gold-bearing gravel and put water in the pan. By moving the pan with a circular motion you can wash away, over one edge that you tilt down, most of the water and gravel and dirt. The gold, being heavier than the dirt, goes to the bottom of the pan and lodges there. You may get a couple of dollar’s worth from each pan of dirt you wash, or you may get a cent’s worth—it depends on the dirt.”
“It’s a sort of chance,” suggested Chot.
“That’s it—just a chance,” agreed Uncle Tod. “If you want to work the washing-out method on a larger scale, you build a flume box, or a rocker. Both work on the same principle. A flume box is a long, narrow box of boards with cross cleats all along the bottom. You wash the sand and gravel down this flume with water and the gold, being heaviest, goes to the bottom and lodges against the cross cleats where you take it out later on—after a day of washing.
“A rocker is a flume box on a small scale, only instead of the water rushing down an incline you shake, or rock a box with cross pieces in it, tilting it on a slant while you do it, and the gold—if there is any—lodges on cross cleats also. A rocker box is like a pan, only better.”
“Is that what you mean when you say ‘pan out’?” asked Rick.
“That’s it,” assented Uncle Tod. “Some dirt doesn’t pan out worth a cent after all your work. Well, here, we used the flume method,” he resumed, “that is we did while Sam had water. But all of a sudden Lost River proved true to its name and we had to stop work. The gold, what there is—and the copper—is so fine that we can’t get it out without a deal of washing. As a matter of fact I don’t believe it’s over going to pay to go after copper this way—not at the price copper brings now—since the war is over. But we might make gold mining pay if we could get water.”
“Where’s the water of Lost River gone?” asked Mr. Campbell.
“That’s what we’d like to know,” said Uncle Tod with a smile. “Where is it?”
“Have you looked in the cave to find out whether it hasn’t dropped through a hole in the bottom, and is flowing along somewhere beyond you—farther down the valley?” asked Mr. Campbell.
“We tried it—yes,” assented Uncle Tod. “But it isn’t altogether healthy—going in that cave,” remarked Sam, with a look over his shoulder. “I won’t go in again. If I did I wouldn’t come out alive!”