HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



235 



Iron and copper pyrites, but from them it may be 

 readily distinguished, being softer than steel and very 

 malleable ; whereas iron pyrites is harder than steel, 

 and copper pyrites is not malleable ; for although the 

 latter mineral yields easily to the point of a knife, it 

 crumbles when we attempt to cut or hammer it, whereas 

 gold may be separated in thin slices, or beaten out 

 into thin plates by the hammer. There can thus be 

 no possible difficulty in distinguishing these various 

 minerals in a native state, even with nothing but an 

 ordinary steel knife. From any other minerals, as 

 mica, whose presence has also misled some persons, 

 gold is easily known by very simple experiments with 

 a pair of scales, or even by careful washing with water, 

 for gold being much heavier than any other substance 

 found with it (except platina and one or two extremely 

 rare metals,) will always fall first to the bottom, if 

 shaken in water with mud, while mica will generally 

 be the last material to fall. This is the case, 

 however fine or few the particles of either mineral 

 may be. 



Gold therefore can be distinguished by its relative 

 weight or specific gravity, and by its relative hardness, 

 from other bodies which resemble it. . It is described 

 generally as soft, completely malleable and flexible, 

 but more accurately as softer than iron, copper or 

 silver, but harder than tin or lead. It is useful to 

 know facts of this kind, as a simple experiment that 

 can be made with instruments at hand, is often more 

 valuable than a much more accurate examination 

 requiring materials not immediately available. Thus 

 if it is found that a specimen (perhaps a small scale or 

 spangle) is readily scratched by silver, copper or iron, 

 and scratches tin and lead, it may, if of the right 



