Mining In Wales. A Long Time Ago

Mining has long been a staple occupation in Wales starting in small-scale in the pre-Roman British Iron Age and passing to an industrial scale after the conquest of the Romans in 78 AD. . Substantial quantities of gold, copper, and lead were extracted, along with lesser amounts of zinc and silver. Mining would continue until the process was no longer practical or profitable, at which time the mine would be abandoned. The extensive excavations of the Roman operations at Dolaucothi provide a picture of the high level of Roman technology and the expertise of Roman engineering in the ancient era.

Gold mining was sophisticated and technologically advanced at Dolaucothi, suggesting that the Roman army itself pioneered exploitation at the site. The construction of such dewatering machines is described by the Roman engineer Vitruvius writing in 25 BC, and their use for irrigation and lifting water in thermae was widespread.

The Romans were the first to extensively mine for gold and lead. One of the largest lead mines was at Cwmystwth where in the 18th century silver was also mined. Dolaucothi near Pumpsaint is the site of a Roman gold mine, the only one in Britain. The gold near the surface was exploited by open-cast working and the deeper ore was reached underground by galleries. The galleries were drained by a timber water-wheel, part of which can be seen in the National Museum in Cardiff. Each wheel would have been worked like a tread wheel, from the side rather than at the top, but it would have been a hard and lonely activity for the miners working these wheels lifting water from the mine bottom. Since the fragment of a reverse overshot water-wheel was found 160 feet below, it must have been part of a similar sequence at Dolaucothi to that in Spain. Underground coal mining began in Wales over 400 years ago.

In the past, superstitions were rife in all the coal mining communities and were always heeded!
In South Wales, Friday is associated with bad luck. Miners refuse to start any new work on a Friday and pit-men always stayed away from the mines on Good Friday throughout Wales.
In 1890 at Morfa Colliery near Port Talbot, a sweet rose-like perfume was noted. The perfume was said to be coming from invisible 'death flowers'. On March 10th half the miners on the morning shift stayed at home. Later that day there was an explosion at the colliery and 87 miners were buried alive and subsequently perished in the disaster.

A robin, pigeon and dove seen flying around the pit head foretold of disaster. They were called 'corpse birds' and were said to have been seen before the explosion at Senghennydd Colliery in Glamorgan in 1913 when 400 miners died.

Many precautions against bad luck were taken. If a 'squinting' woman was met on the way to work, the miner would go back home again. The women-folk also tried to banish any bad luck. When lots were being drawn for a position at the coal face, the miner's wife would hang the fire-tongs from the mantle-piece and put the family cat in the un-lit oven!

Lost Gold Of Dead Mans Gulch

The name of the state of Utah was derived from the name Ute. The word Ute means "Land of the sun" . "Ute" possibly derived from the Western Apache word "yudah", meaning "high up." This has led to the misconception that "Ute" means people high up or mountain people.

The Utes occupied significant portions of what are today eastern Utah, western Colorado, including the San Luis Valley, and parts of New Mexico and Wyoming. The Utes were never a unified group within historic times; instead, they consisted of numerous nomadic bands that maintained close associations with other neighboring groups. Unlike many other tribal groups in this region, they have no tradition or evidence of historic migration to the areas now known as Colorado and Utah — ancestors of the Ute appear to have occupied this area for at least a thousand years. The last time the Ute ever migrated was in the year 1885.

Back in 1859, prospectors from the "Gregory Diggings" poured over Kenosha Pass into the South Park country. Most of them found gold, but a few found tragedy and death. At that time the beautiful South Park country was a perilous land to enter. The lush park was the abode of the Ute Indians who treasured its pure springs, abundant game, and mild climate. The Utes resented the presence of white prospectors who, in their search for gold, fouled the streams and decimated the game. Very early on, they responded to the white invasion with deadly violence. In both South Park and nearby Taylor Park, the Utes hunted down and massacred parties of prospectors.

That year, a party of 6 prospectors was caught by the Utes in the Gunnison country near Taylor Park. In a canyon that came to be known as Dead man's Gulch, the miners were annihilated by the besieging Utes. Two years later, the bleached bones of the prospectors and their horses were still lying in the gulch.
That same year of 1859, some of the first prospectors to enter South Park were killed by marauding Ute Indians. Near the headwaters of the South Platte River, a small party of 3 prospectors was caught by the Utes. The Indians killed Burt Kennedy and Dr. I. L. Shank while William Slaughter managed to escape from the ambush. Another account describes the fate of 7 prospectors who were discovered by the Utes in a canyon located just west of Kenosha Pass. The Utes killed every last one of them. When other prospectors stumbled upon their bleached bones in the canyon, they named the place "Dead Man's Gulch". Now, there were two canyons named for the dead miners found in them.

Prospectors were drawn to Dead man’s Gulch, because almost every stream in this part of South Park is gold-bearing. The mining history of the area is rich and varied. But Dead man’s Gulch also holds a secret. Somewhere along its headwaters, a rich lode of gold lies hidden.

The history of the Lost Mine of Dead Man's Gulch begins in 1863, four years after the initial rush to South Park. During that year, two German prospectors discovered a rich lode of gold somewhere up the gulch. Rumors circulated that the two prospectors took out $7000 worth of gold ore during their first week of digging. But their good luck was not to last. One of the German prospectors died suddenly and the other left South Park forever.

Local prospectors swarmed up Dead man’s Gulch in search of the abandoned mine. They combed the entire watershed but found nothing. In 1885, a local rancher stumbled upon an exposed mine portal in Dead man’s Gulch. Unfortunately, the mine contained only low-grade deposits of gold. The rich lode discovered by the Germans back in 1863 still hasn’t been located.

Mining In Australia. A Little Tid Bit Of History

There is no evidence that the Aborigines who inhabited Australia for over 40,000 years ever used gold or other metals. The first discoveries of gold date well back to before the rushes of the 1850s. In those days, all gold belonged to the Crown. A shepherd named MacGregor regularly appeared in Sydney with small nuggets, but vanished before he could be followed.

In 1823, Mr. J. McBrien, a government surveyor, reported the discovery of alluvial gold on the Fish River, NSW and in 1839 Sir Paul Edmund de Strezlecki found gold near Hartley, NSW, but did not publish his find until 1845.

The authorities hushed up these finds in fear of a rush. The Rev. W.B. Clarke, an amateur geologist, found gold in 1841 near Cox’s River. When he showed the Governor his small nugget, Governor Gipps said
Put it away Mr. Clarke or we shall all have our throats cut.
(Phillip V, Gold, Bay Books, Kensington, NSW 1984 p.4)

Ophir was the first place payable gold was discovered in Australia in 1851, when a couple of large nuggets and 113g of panned gold was taken to Sydney by Edward Hargraves. This sparked Australia's first gold rush, which proved to be short lived and did not lead to the establishment of a town.

Tent towns sprang up overnight on some diggings and, with the lure of easy gold as temptation, many crimes were committed. The Colonial police, called troopers and traps, not only maintained the peace, but also enforced the heavy licence fee which the government imposed on all diggers. Much of the police force came to be made up of ex-convicts from Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) as the original members gave up their careers to try their luck as diggers.

In the early years, the diggings were not considered a suitable place for women. As a consequence, many families were left in tent towns like Sandringham, in Melbourne, while husbands and brothers sought their fortune. Those who did make the move to goldfields were often in a minority and faced great hardships. (By 1854 , there were 4,023 women on the Ballarat goldfields compared to 12,660 men.) Some, like Martha Clendinning, were bold enough to operate their own businesses while others took up the arduous work of mining. A few, like Lola Montez, found fame and fortune in the fledgling towns while many, faced with poverty and destitution, were forced into prostitution to become "fallen angels". During the mid 1850s, the 'civilising' influence of women was sought for the male-dominated colony and many young, single women were encouraged to migrate.
Unfortunately 10 months after the Ophir strike, it dried up leaving Ophir today as a reserve only.

Today the Ophir Reserve is a picnic and camping area located 27 kms north east of Orange where Summer Hill and Lewis Ponds Creek converge. You can still walk around the old workings and tunnels and see the site of the original find.

In the 1890's the focus of gold mining moved to Doctor's Hill about 3 kms from the camping area. Gunnadoo Gold Mine continues to operate, producing the gold for the medals at the Sydney Olympics.

Dead mans gulch Bodie California Gold Mines

During the California Gold Rush, a time when gold fever plagued even the most innocent and content of men, legends and stories of gold mines filled the hearts, souls and minds of prospectors, driving them into some of the most dangerous and desolate lands in search of gold. The desire for gold can be so great that it motivates men to endure unbelievable hardships including starvation, dehydration and death.

O land of gold, you did me deceive, And I intend you my bones to leave, So farewell home, now my friends grow cold, I’m a lousy miner; I’m a lousy miner, In search of shining gold. The Lousy miners, gold Rush-era song

The dry desert lands of the U.S. have been the location of many famous mines and gold discoveries. Mining towns such as Tumco, Bodie, Oatman and Randsberg were once booming with growth due to the mining operations.

Bodie began as a mining camp of little note following the discovery of gold in 1859 by a group of prospectors, including W.S. Bodie (first name uncertain). Bodie perished in a blizzard the following November while making a supply trip to Monoville (near present day Mono City, California), never getting to see the rise of the town that was named after him. Townspeople felt that poor Bodie deserved a proper burial so in 1879 a W.S. Bodie services were held creating a monument on his behalf, but two years later after President Garfield was assassinated Bodies monument was adapted for Garfield and erected in the cemetery. No one is sure were in the cemetery Bodies remains are.

In 1876, the Standard Company discovered a profitable deposit of gold-bearing ore, which transformed Bodie from an isolated mining camp comprising a few prospectors and company employees to a Wild West boomtown. Rich discoveries in the adjacent Bodie Mine during 1878 attracted even more hopeful people. By 1879, Bodie had a population of approximately 5000–7000 people and around 2,000 buildings. One idea maintains that in 1880, Bodie was California's second or third largest city, but the U.S. Census of that year disproves the popular tale. Over the years, Bodie's mines produced gold valued at nearly US$34 million.

The first signs of decline appeared in 1880 and became obvious towards the end of the year. Promising mining booms in Butte, Montana; Tombstone, Arizona; and Utah lured men away from Bodie. The get-rich quick, single miners who originally came to the town in the 1870s moved on to these other booms, which eventually turned Bodie into a family-oriented community. By 1920, Bodie's population was recorded by the US Federal Census at a total of 120 people. Despite the decline, Bodie had permanent residents through most of the 20th century, even after a fire ravaged much of the downtown business district in 1932.

A few mines are still being actively worked today, but most mining companies that have tried to revive the old mines have been unsuccessful. The stories of lost gold mines still lure prospectors, even today. Many believe it is easier to find a mine that has been lost, than to discover a new location.