ooked about, like a bent elbow, and
widened out a little.

Many of the miners were already at work when our little company passed
up the ravine on their way to Holt's Gulch, presenting scenes of the
greatest interest and novelty to the unaccustomed eyes of Thure and Bud,
as they dug for the precious metal, sometimes up to their knees in mud
and water, sometimes so far away from the water that all the pay-dirt
had to be carried on their backs to the creek and there panned, but
always cheerful and hopeful that they "sure would strike it big soon."

"Now, what might those fellows be doing there? They look as if they
might be winnowing wheat; but, of course, that can't be what they are
doing," and Thure turned a puzzled face to Ham, as he pointed to where a
small company of Mexicans, lank and skinny and black as Arabs of the
desert, were gathering the loose dry dirt in large wooden bowls, tossing
it up in the air, where the wind could blow away the lighter particles,
and dexterously catching it again in their bowls, as it came down, or
allowing it to fall on blankets or hides spread on the ground at their
feet, in a manner very similar to the ancient method of separating the
grain from the chaff.

"Them are a breed of Mexies called Sonorans," answered Ham; "an' they
are a-throwin' that dirt up in th' air an' a-catchin' it ag'in tew git
th' gold out of it. You see th' wind keeps a-blowin' th' lighter dirt
out an' a-leavin' th' gold, 'cause it's heavier, until thar's nuthin'
left but th' dirt what's tew heavy for th' wind tew blow away an' th'
gold-dust, which is cleaned by blowing th' heavy dirt out of th' bowl
with th' breath. That way of gittin' gold is called dry-washin'; an' is
tew slow an' dirty for Americans or anybody else that's got much gump
tew 'em; but them tarnal Mexies seem tew thrive on it. I reckon th' good
Lord made 'em nearly black, jest so they could live an' work in dirt,
without th' dirt showin' through much. That sort of thing would kill a
white man in a week," and Ham looked his disgust.

"Say, but this gold-digging is no fun, no matter how you do it, is it?"
and Thure's eyes swept up and down the ravine, where hundreds of men
were toiling like ditch-diggers.

"Fun! Gold-diggin' fun!" and Ham grinned. "Th' feller what comes tew th'
diggin's a-thinkin' that th' gold is a-goin' tew jump up right out of
th' ground, 'cause it's so glad tew see him, is a-goin' tew git fooled
'bout as bad as Dutch Ike di