THE POCKET HUNTER 



twenty years. His working outfit was a 

 shovel, a pick, a gold pan which he kept 

 cleaner than his plate, and a pocket mag- 

 nifier. When he came to a watercourse 

 he would pan out the gravel of its bed for 

 " colors," and under the glass determine if 

 they had come from far or near, and so spy- 

 ing he would work up the stream until he 

 found where the drift of the gold-bearing 

 outcrop fanned out into the creek ; then 

 up the side of the canon till he came to 

 the proper vein. I think he said the best 

 indication of small pockets was an iron 

 stain, but I could never get the run of 

 miner's talk enough to feel instructed for 

 pocket hunting. He had another method 

 in the waterless hills, where he would work 

 in and out of blind gullies and all windings 

 of the manifold strata that appeared not 

 to have cooled since they had been heaved 

 67 



