Another plan used and a better and faster method, was to use what they called the long tom. This was made of plank on the sides about six feet long and three feet wide. The planks were cut curved on the lower end, so that the sheet iron with the holes in it, would turn upward. The upper end of the tom, was made of planks sawed sloping and drawn in until it was wide enough to lay their water hose in, which furnished the water for washing. When they washed the gold with pans, they would throw all the top dirt away until they got down deep enough to find it sufficiently rich to pay, then they would pan out the rest of the dirt to the bed rock. When we mined in California, we washed with sluice boxes, whenever we could get plenty of water. Sluice boxes were made by sawing the bottom board two inches narrower at one end than at the other so we could place the end of every box in the upper end of the next box. We had slats nailed across the top of the boxes to keep them from spreading. There were slats for riffles, two and a half or three inches wide, fitted down tight on the bottom, for the gold to lodge against. The gold, with the sand and dirt would then be removed and panned out as in the other methods mentioned above. * * * * * * List of transcriber's corrections - so be [we] would strike the lower end of the island. - This was the "pipe of of [pipe of] peace" - huddled and and asked [and asked] uncle - and then skirt the [Rattlesnake] Rattlsnake - Grand Canyons, of world renoun [renown] - and he would do some of thier [their] work in exchange. - a nice place to pull out on the side. [period added] - River, cutting a canyon through it. [period added] - in the same fix." [replaced period with comma] was the reply. - fill it two-thirds ful [full] when their backs were turned - where the dam was made across the McComa [McCosma] River