PROSPECTING. 
83 
our “ lead” and the one in which the $,1,500 was obtained. At 
night we had another two dollars to put into the company 
purse. It is Saturday night, and we feel that we shall hail the 
day of rest with pleasure. After supper we retire, haying our 
usual serenade, and during the night one of the troupe made 
love to and eloped with one of Tracy’s boots; I imagined from 
a hint thrown out in the morning that he would have preferred 
dispensing with the music. 
Mining operations cease on the Sabbath; and miners attend 
to mending, washing, &c. Tracy and myself went to the river 
to do our washing; the vocation to me was entirely new. I 
commenced on a pair of white merino drawers which I some¬ 
times used instead of pantaloons; they looked very well when 
I commenced, but it was different after working on them half 
an hour; it would have troubled an experienced washerwoman 
to tell what color they ought to be; I first tried soap, then sand, 
but it was of no use; it appeared only to set the color. I put 
them in the river and put a stone on them; what effect the 
rainy season had on them, I have not been able to learn. I 
took my rifle, and trespassed on the Sabbath by shooting a rab¬ 
bit and several quails; we consequently spent the afternoon in 
feasting, and on Monday morning were in a condition to tire our 
machine. 
We resolved to run through two hundred buckets, and no two 
men ought, and few could do more. When night came we had 
$4 to add to the purse. We resolved to spend the next morn¬ 
ing prospecting. We started at an early hour, and after 
testing a number of points, decided upon one, and immediately 
started our machine. At noon, not liking the result, we deter¬ 
mined to spend the afternoon in a further search. We went 
some distance up the river, carefully examining every point, 
until we came to a perpendicular ledge of rocks, overhanging 
the river. We thought no one had ever attempted to ascend 
this, and by doing so ourselves might find on the other side 
what had not been examined. We succeeded in gaining the 
summit, and on going down the other side, commenced to ex¬ 
amine the crevices of the rocks. To our astonishment, Tracy 
found a piece of gold worth a dollar. We were much excited. 
It was too much to bear in silence. He opened his mouth to 
