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Show 14 PERSONAL ADVENTURES block of wood, which they held in their hands, dexterously cast the contents up before them, about four feet into the air, catching the sand again very cleverly, and hlowing at it as it descended. This process being repeated, the sand gradually disappeared; and from t\vo to three ounces of pure gold ren1ained at the bottom of the bowl. Easy as the operation appeared to me to be, I learned, upon inquiry, that to perforn1 it successfully required the nicest management, the greatest perseverance, and especially robust lungs. The men I saw had lighted upon a productive sand; but very often, indeed, those who adopt this mode of gold-,vashing toil long at barren soil before they discover the uselessness of labouring thus arduouRly. I noticed, that althouo·h the laro·est pro- o 0 portion of the gold obtained in this ID<-lnner prt'sented the appearance of a fine powder, it was interspersed, here and there, with large scales of the precious deposit, and with a few solid lumps. The metal was of a dingy hue, and, at a eursory view, might easily have been IN CALIFORNIA. 15 mistaken for particles of yellow clay, or laminm of stone of the same colour. The Sonoreans placed the product of their labour ill buckskin bags, which were hung around their necks, and carefully concealed inside of their shirts. They work in this fashion at the mines in their own country; but I doubt if any other than a native constitution could very long bear up against the peculiar labour of " dry-,vashing" in such a clin1ate and under such difficult circumstances. I felt half tempted to try the process myself, for the surface of this sandy bed was literally sparkling ·with innumerable particles of the finest gold, triturated to a polish by the running of the waters-as I conjectured : but I soon dis .. covered ho\v fruitless my efforts would he. Had I possessed any chen1ical agents at hand, however, I might soon have exhausted the bed of its prec·ious contents, and should, doubtless, have realized an immense weight of the metal of the very purest quality. I may as well mention here, that of the various new machines manufactured and sent |