On
the 8th he went out prospecting with a pan, and satisfied himself that
the country in that vicinity was rich in gold. He then made a rocker and
commenced the business of washing gold, and thus began the business of
mining in California.
Others saw how he did it, followed his example, found that the work was
profitable, and abandoned all other occupations. The news of their
success spread; people flocked to the place, learned how to use the
rocker, discovered new diggings, and in the course of a few months the
country had been overturned by a social and industrial revolution.
Mr. Humphrey had not been at work more than three or four days before a
Frenchman, called Baptiste, who had been a gold-miner in Mexico for many
years, came to the mill, and he agreed with Humphrey that California was
very rich in gold. He, too, went to work, and, being an excellent
prospector, he was of great service in teaching the newcomers the
principles of prospecting and mining for gold--principles not abstruse,
yet not likely to suggest themselves at first thought to men entirely
ignorant of the business.
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