Miners known as “blasters” created explosives by filling paper tubes with black powder and inserting a long fuse. (Dynamite came along much later.) They stuffed the explosive in a drilled hole and shouted “Fire in the hole!” Then they ran like mad. Each blast could extend a tunnel by three feet.
Mules brought the ore carts to the surface, where the gold-bearing rock was crushed in the stamp mill. The stamps were sets of iron rods with heavy, metal weights on the ends. The stamps were lifted and dropped on the ore, pounding it into fine sand. The noise was deafening.
Once the gold ore became fine particles, the gold could be separated from the worthless rock. Poisonous chemicals like mercury (quicksilver) were used to draw the gold out. After the gold was separated, it was poured into molds, where it cooled and hardened into gold bars.
Visit www.GoldtownAdventures.com to download a free literature guide with enrichment activities for Tunnel of Gold.
About the Author
Susan K. Marlow is a twenty-year homeschooling veteran and the author of the Circle C Adventures and Circle C Beginnings series. She believes the best part about writing historical adventure is tramping around the actual sites. Although Susan owns a real gold pan, it hasn’t seen much action. Panning for gold is a lot of hard work. She prefers to combine her love of teaching and her passion for writing by leading writing workshops and speaking at young author events.
You can contact Susan at [email protected].
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