Tour of the Gold-fields 201 



out in every direction, so much so that we tried to 

 "prospect" for ourselves, and we lost three days. 

 We found the men already there kind and polite, 

 showing the mode of working and washing, of 

 digging and drawing most willingly, and tomor- 

 row open a pit close beside some of the most 

 fortunate. 



The uncertainty of digging renders the life of 

 the miner, for profit, that of a gambler, for most 

 of his good luck depends on chance. At times you 

 may see two pits side by side, one man getting two 

 ounces a day, and the other hardly two dollars: 

 we heard of one instance of much greater disparity; 

 two friends working next each other found that at 

 the end of the week, one had an ounce of gold, 

 worth about twenty dollars, the other gold worth 

 six thousand dollars. So it goes, and we shall all 

 have to work hard. Again and again I am over- 

 whelmed by the thought that I am at these dreary 

 mines — I, who started intent on drawing and 

 obtaining new specimens — to have so different a 

 destiny thrust upon me, is bewildering. 



The ground here is beautiful rolling valley of 

 sandy clay, so like the post-oak country of Texas 

 that one might almost fancy himself there. A few 

 pines are scattered about, the cones are very large, 

 say six inches long, and three in diameter; the seed 

 is a pleasant nut, about the size and shape of a 

 small, shelled almond; the quantity of resin con- 



