or's outfit. Gold is a heavy substance, and as it
washes down the mountain sides and into the gulches from some quartz
vein, its weight finally takes it to the bed-rock beneath the sand
and gravel. With his pick and shovel the prospector can reach the
bed-rock. He takes some of the gravel from its hiding-place close
to the rock, places it in a pan filled with water, and then, with
a peculiar rotary movement, washes away the lighter materials,
leaving the heavier substances and the gold, if there is any, at
the bottom of the pan. If there is no trace of gold, the prospector
goes on to another creek; but if some of the yellow metal is washed
out, he tests the place thoroughly for more.

In searching for ledges the prospector spends his time in the smaller
gulches and upon the mountain sides. Every piece of detached quartz
that meets his eye is examined, and if any specks of gold appear,
the search is directed toward the vein or ledge from which the
specimen came. With the hammer, pieces of quartz are broken from
the veins which here and there rise above the surface of loose
and crumbling rock. When the worker finds a piece that is stained
with iron and has the appearance of carrying gold, he places it in
his bag and keeps it for further examination. At camp, the pieces
of quartz are pounded to a powder in a mortar and then washed in a
horn spoon. A string of fine grains of gold tells of the discovery
of a rich vein.

[Illustration: FIG. 97.--A PROSPECTOR'S CABIN IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS]

It is not usually an easy matter to find home of a piece of stray
quartz upon the mountain side. Days and weeks may pass while search
is made up the slope, for the fragment must have come from some
point above. But the ledge, once discovered, is traced along the
surface for the purpose of determining its direction and extent.

When a promising bed of gravel or a vein of gold-bearing quartz
is found, the prospector posts the proper notices of his right
to the claim and has them recorded at the nearest land office.
Then he makes a permanent camp by cutting down trees and building
a cabin. The interior of the cabin is very simple. Its table and
chairs are made of split lumber. One end of the single room is
occupied by the bunk, and the other by a large fireplace. There
may be no windows, and the roof may be made of earth piled upon
logs, or of long split shingles commonly known as shakes.

Sometimes, after discovering a very rich quartz