"I may as well mention here, that of the various new machines manufactured and sent out to California for the purpose of digging and washing gold, the great majority have been found quite useless. There are two or three of them, however, that have been employed with great success. I have made a sketch of those most in use amongst the diggers, as my readers may feel desirous of acquainting themselves with the latest improvements introduced in the art of mining, as practised in this country. They consist, in the first place, of the washing-rocker, or 'cradle,' which has, in numerous instances, formed the model for ruder machines, constructed by the miners themselves, whilst in the mountains. The lid, at the bottom of which lie the holes through which the gold and soil pass, is fastened by hinges at the back, in order that it may be raised up, the more readily to throw off, from time to time, the stones that accumulate. Three men are required to work this rocker with success, and there are few processes in which a smaller number could operate without extraordinary labor. One person throws the soil upon the lid, another pours on the water, whilst a third is engaged in rocking the cradle by the handle attached to it for the purpose. In this way these men keep each other constantly employed; and, indeed, this cradle, like its prototype, has often proved the bond of union between individuals who would otherwise have separated, for this simple reason, that one man could not work it half so profitably alone. The cross pieces, observable at the bottom, serve to intercept the gold as it flows towards the smaller end of the machine, whilst the dirt is carried off by the admixture with the water produced by the continual 'rocking.' As the earth becomes thoroughly dissolved, the gold naturally gravitates to the bottom; and thus it is impossible for any but the very finest particles of the ore to escape. "The second machine, in importance, is the gold-borer. It is particularly useful in examining the bottom of streams, and consists of a short conical cylinder at the end of a long handle, containing inside, at its lower extremity, a valve, arranged so as to admit the earth and gold, and prevent their escaping when the receptacle is full. This instrument is used in the same manner as an augur. The third machine, the pan, is also of late introduction, but has been found rather too deep for the purpose for which it is intended. "Notwithstanding the success which seemed to attend the labors of the Sonomeans, I subsequently discovered that the entire quantity of gold thus painfully obtained, disappeared at the gambling-stalls. They were generally clad most wretchedly, many of them wearing nothing more than a dirty shirt, a pair of light pantaloons, and the wide _sombrero_ peculiar to the inhabitants of this country and Mexico. Some few sported a _serapa_, but they were men of superior native rank, of which this garment is a distinctive characteristic.