MINING MACHINERY
We find among the machinery on exhibition at the Mechanics' Fair, three inventions by Mr. Fauchery, which are well worthy the attention of all who are connected with the mining interests of the Pacific Coast. They consist of a new-fangled turbine wheel, a quartz breaker, and a quartz pulverizer. The two latter are situated in the vicinity of the Pacific Foundry Company's large steam engine. In these machines the inventor's chief object was to produce a combination of cheapness with simplicity, of little room and much work--and this compound desideratum he has attained. The first of these machines is Fauchery's turbine water wheel, of which five are now in operation varying in capacity from twenty to fifty horse power--one at the Fellows Quartz Ledge, Sierra county; one at the French Milll, Canada Hill, Nevada; one at the Nonpareil Company's Mill, Big Oak Flat; one at Downieville; and one at Little York, Nevada county. The little working model at the Fair is calculated to possess about one horse power, although it is so small that is requires much less space than a common sewing machine. The second of Fauchery;'s inventions is the Crocodile Quartz or Stone Breaker--a sort of colossal nutcracker, standing eight feet high by ten inches wide. With a power of two or three horses, and one man to feed it, this crocodile jaw is able to reduce daily twenty-five tons of quartz to the size of a bean. The expense attending the wear and tear of the two shoes of chilled iron inside the jaws will not exceed five dollars a month, and the shoes can be changed in five minutes. The half pulverized quartz passes through a couple of short troughs into Mr. Fauchery's third invention--his Quartz Grinder or Pulverizer, and is reduced to impalpable powder in a moment, almost. This machine is simply a light cast iron pan in which an artificial millstone is set in motion by a two or three horse power; this grinder is made of horizontal iron bands welded to a hard cast iron body. The advertisement says, "The difference of hardness in the two components produces by the friction a rugosity which is performed by the quartz itself, and saves the old necessity of often sharpening the grinding surface." The object of this last machine is to do away with all the heavy and expensive quartz crushing apparatus now in use, and it seems in every way qualified to perform its mission. It crushes wet or dry with equal facility, and will do the work of a twenty-stamp mill at a fifth or a sixth of the expense. To build one and set it up costs nothing as compared with the outlay necessary to erect an ordinary quartz mill, and an ordinary parlor would hold three or four of them.
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A SPECIMEN CASE. - An example of the suits that Judge Shepheard is daily expected to entertain, for the gratification of somebody's personal malice, was presented yesterday, in the prosecution of Antonio De Oliverra for grand larceny. The subject of the alleged larceny was a bill of sale of a house, situated on fifty-vara lot No. 284, for $90. The bill of sale was made to a woman with whom defendant was living as man and wife; he furnished the money, and there was a general understanding between them. After a while, they fell out and separated. The defendant got hold of the bill of sale, kept it a while, and returned it. Other parties interested themselves in their matters. An old Spanish woman was prominent, and among them they brewed this prosecution against De Oliverra, Jose Maria making the complaint. After hearing enough of the prosecution to satisfy himself of the character of the prosecution, Judge Shepheard sent it higher nor a kite, and drove the whole array of prosecutors, with their patches of paper, and bushels of wisdom, and wise advisers, clean out of Court.
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STRANGE COINCIDENCE. - It was observed, yesterday, on Montgomery street, by the able contributor who has charge of the Extinct Indian department of the Evening Bulletin, and who writes those charming astronomical things about the Moon, and Venus, and such like, that it was a curious fact in the world's history that during any two centuries, every year has fallen on Sunday, except the one which preceded it; and so startling has been the similarity between them, that no two have been precisely alike, except the one just mentioned, and in which the wisest men of all ages have uniformly differed as to the cause of it. The subject is of more than astronomical interest, and if it would work no detriment to the extinct Indians, we are sure it would gratify the public to see it elaborated and explained.
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