PREFACE. 



To the lover of natural history, no matter in whatever part 

 of the world he may travel, each tract of country offers 

 object after object, subject after subject, of interest. He 

 reads sermons in stones and rocks wherever fate happens to 

 direct his footsteps ; and, if he wanders over the bypaths of 

 untrodden ground, derives a pleasure and satisfaction from 

 the wonderful works of nature, such as no one who has not 

 been privileged to experience it can realise. 



Geological formations, strange to the eye accustomed, 

 perhaps, to some particular locality, continually attract his 

 attention ; while each river-bed, each mountain-side, and 

 each precipice merits an inspection, if not a close exami- 

 nation. 



Accompanied by very many hardships and dangers though 

 the life of a prospector must necessarily be, it doubtless 

 possesses an intrinsic fascination ; certainly there must be 

 some extraordinary charm about his free-and-easy manner 

 of living ; he constantly, during his arduous and hazardous 

 explorations, is buoyed up with the pleasing hope of, some 

 day in the future, he knows not how soon or how late, 

 being fortunate enough to reap a reward for his plodding 

 labour, or, using his own phraseology, to " strike something 

 rich." 



After traversing the mineral fields of New Zealand, New 

 Caledonia, New Mexico, and Colorado, I feel fully con- 

 vinced that some simple guide or handbook for the use of 



