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Show 16 PERSONAL ADVENTURES out to California for the purpose of dig·ging and washing gold, the great n1ajority have been found quite useless. There are t\vo or three of thetn, however, that have been einployed with great success. I have made a sketch of those rnost in use amongst the diggers, as my readers n1ay feel desirous of acquainting then1selves with the late~t improvements introduced in the art of mining, as practised in this country. They consist, in the first place, of the 'vashing-rocker, or " .cradle,'' which has, in numerous instances, formed the model for ruder machines, constructed by the miners themselves whilst jn the mountains. The lid, at the bottom of which lie the holes through which the gold and soil pass, is fastened by hinges at the back, in order that it 1nay be raised up the more readily to throw off, fro1n time to time, the stones that accumulate. Three men are required to work this rocker w·ith success, and there are few processes in which a smaller number could operate without extraordinary labour. One person throws the soil upon the |
