Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
The ride had comforted Pin a little; but when they had passed the chief stores and the flour-mill, and were come to a part of the road where the houses were fewer, her tears broke out afresh. The very last house was left behind, the high machinery of the claims came into view, the watery flats where Chinamen were for ever rocking washdirt in cradles; and O'Donnell dismounted and opened the door.
The field never looked better, and the hard-driving, well-paid, jolly mining life was going on just the same as ever; every one making money fast spending it faster and no one troubling themselves about anything except how much the washdirt went to the load, and whether the sinking was through the false bottom or not.
Rogers had hidden the gold in Frank Hardy's boot, and Shine salted his washdirt on the creek with Silver Stream gold, and the slug he pretended to take from Frank's crib bag was hidden in the palm of his hand when he took up the faceman's billy from the floor of the searching shed. Joe Rogers appeared before the bench of magistrates at Yarraman on the following Monday.
To one end of the beam an old horse is attached, who, as he slowly walks round the circular track, causes the harrows and drags to so puddle the washdirt and water in the great wooden enclosure that the clay is gradually disintegrated, and flows off with the water which is from time to time admitted. The clean gravel is then run through a "cradle," "long Tom," or "sluice," and the gold saved.
The parcels contained sovereigns and there were small bags of silver and copper a miser's hoard. The detective dropped the bag, the nugget, and all the other articles of value out of the tank, and with the assistance of Keel carried them into the kitchen. He examined the material in the hide bag, and found it to be washdirt showing coarse gold freely.
And so, since no more washdirt would be raised from this hole, the party that worked it made off for the nearest grog-shop, to wet their throats to the memory of the dead, and to discuss future plans. All but one: a lean and haggard-looking man of some five and forty, who was known to his comrades as Long Jim.
Ned set up this belief merely for the pleasure of demolishing it. He had it at first hand that great companies were being formed to carry on operations. These would reckon their areas in acres instead of feet, would sink to a depth of a quarter of a mile or more, raise washdirt in hundreds of tons per day.
All were finding a little gold, but even the most fortunate were not making more than "tucker." By puddling eight tubs of washdirt I found that we could obtain about one pound's worth of gold each per day; but this was hardly enough to keep hope alive. The golden hours flew over us, but they did not send down any golden showers.
Word Of The Day