"Now," Abe said, "I should suggest that we makes a big cradle, fifteen feet long by three feet wide, and hang it on cross poles so as to be able to rock it easily; then we will dam up the stream at the top of the fall, and lead it down straight through a shoot into the cradle; of course the shoot will have a sluice so as to let in just as much water as we want, and that way two men will do the work of eight or ten washing." Abe's plan was agreed to, and all the men set to work to construct the dam, cradle, and shoot. It took two days' hard labour before all was in readiness, and then the work began in earnest. Two men swayed the cradle, four others shovelled the gravel and dirt into it, three continually stirred the contents and swept off the large stones and pebbles from the top, while the other two carried them away beyond the boundaries of their claims. At the lower end of the cradle was a sheet of iron perforated with holes, large at the top, but getting smaller lower down, and altogether closed four inches from the bottom; through these holes the sand and gravel flowed away. All day they worked vigorously and without intermission, and great was the excitement when, at the end of the day's work, they proceeded to clear-up by emptying the cradle and examining the bottom. A shout of satisfaction arose as the particles of gold were seen lying thickly in the gravel at the bottom of the cradle. Very carefully this was washed out, and it was found that there were over fifty ounces of gold dust. "I believe," Abe said, "that we have hit upon the richest spot in Californy. Ef it's like this on the surface, what is it going to be like when we get down to the bed rock?" The next morning two diggers arrived on the scene; they saw at once by the methodical manner in which the place was being worked that the party must have found gold in paying quantities. "Is it rich, mates?" they asked eagerly. "Ay," Abe replied, "rich enough for anything. There are the boundaries of our claims, lads, and ye are welcome to set to work below them." The miners threw off their coats, and at once set to work, and a shout of exultation greeted the result of the first bucket of stuff they washed out. "Another week," Abe said, "and every foot of ground in the gulch from here down to the Yuba will be taken up. The news will spread like wildfire." His anticipations were justified, and no one who came along a fortnight later would have recognised, in the scene of life and activity, the quiet wooded valley which Abe and his party had entered. The trees on the lower slopes were all felled; huts and tents stood along on the slopes from the head to the mouth of the valley, and several hundred men were hard at work.