MINING. 259 



to the upper end of it. Across the bottom of the cradle-box 

 are two riffle-bars about an inch square, one in the middle, the 

 other at the end of the box. The dirt is shovelled into the 

 hopper, the " cradler" sits down beside his machine, and while 

 with one hand with a ladle he pours water from a pool at liis 

 side upon the dirt, with the other he rocks the cradle. With 

 the water and the motion the dirt is dissolved, and carried 

 down through the riddle, falling upon the apron which cari-ies 

 it to the head of the cradle-box, whence it runs downward 

 and out, leaving its gold, black sand, and heavier particles of 

 sand and gravel behind the riffle-bars. The man who rocks a 

 cradle learns to appreciate the fact, that the " golden sands" 

 of California are not pure sand, but are often extremely tough 

 clay, a hopperful of which must be shaken about for ten 

 minutes before it will dissolve under a constant pouring of 

 water. Many large stones are found in the pay-dirt. Such 

 as give an unpleasant shock to the cradle, as they roll from 

 side to side of the riddle-box are pitched out by hand, and 

 after a glance to see that no gold sticks to their sides, are 

 thrown away ; but the smaller ones are left until the hopper- 

 ful has been washed, so that nothing but clean stones remain 

 in the riddle, and then the cradler rises from his seat, lifts up 

 his hopper, and with a jerk throw^s all the stones out. The 

 w^ater and the rocking are both necessary. Without the 

 w^ater, the dirt coidd not be washed ; and without the rocking, 

 the dirt would dissolve very slowly, and the gold w^ould 

 most of it be lost. The rocking keeps the dirt in the bottom 

 of the cradle more or less loose, so that the particles of 

 gold can sink down in it, whereas if the cradle stood still 

 the sand there would almost immediately pack dowm into a 

 hard floor, over which the gold would run almost as readi- 

 ly as over a board. The w^hole business of washing with a 

 cradle is a repetition of the process already described — some 

 dirt, about one third or one-fourth of what the hopper w^ould 

 hold, if full, is put into the hopper, and while the cradle is 

 rocked with one hand, the other pours in the water. The 



