a ladder leading down, by which, they invite me to descend. Their plant consists of long-handled shovels, tubs of water, a cradle for washing gold. The sides of the pit in places are streaked with lines of fine black metallic sand, about two inches thick. They give me a shovel and, with it nearly full of sand, direct me to shake it gently in the water till all the sand has gone, and then round its rim is a thin line of gold, fine as dust, enough to cover a threepenny bit. This is the easiest way of getting gold, so easy, it is called "Hay-making," but it will not last long, as the black sand brought down by the river, with its gold, from the mountains, and cast up on the beach, where it has lain for centuries, is of limited extent. Looked at with a lens, the gold dust is composed of tiny angular nuggets, and is so pure that its value is four pounds an ounce, though the miner, after paying the duty on gold, and the expenses, only realizes about three pounds, seventeen shillings. This gold dust is so sharp that it is difficult to carry in the ordinary chamois leather bag, which it will actually penetrate. Blotting paper is found the best material in which to pack it.
I have found that miners are very chary, with ordinary visitors, as to their gains. "Yes," they say, "doing a little, making tucker." But as I never ask inquisitive questions, and perhaps because I'm a parson, they seem to trust me. There were four men in this "claim," Welshmen. The claim was not expected to last more than six months before being worked out, and they were making about ten pounds a week per man.
Back to breakfast, then to the School, which I have begun in a rough wooden building, having lit upon a good master and mistress. We have already some
