Paul Thrush's Dictionary of Mining (US Bureau of Mines 1968, p. 123) defines booming as "The accumulation and sudden discharge of a quantity of water (in placer mining, where water is scarce". This is taken verbatim from Albert Fay's Glossary of the Mining and Mineral Industry (US Bureau of Mines 1920, p. 95)
That usage would date from the mid-nineteenth century in California, so I don't know if it is helpful for the eighteenth century.
Peter Bell
> On 20 Nov 2016, at 5:00 am, Tanya <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> In Dictionary of the American West Win Blevins gives the following...
>
> BOOM (1) A rush of water used to wash out deposits of gold (also called a
> boom flume); similarly, a rush of water in a river.
>
> Blevins, Win. Dictionary of the American West: Over 5,000 Terms and Western
> Expressions from AARIGAA! to Zopilote
>
>
> Tanya
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