The prospector needs little capital except health and strength, but he must be willing to lead a rough life. He will be more likely to succeed if he knows something about the different kinds of minerals and rocks, and is able to distinguish the valuable ones from those which are of little or no worth. The prospector may have a pack-horse and a second horse to ride, or he may go afoot with merely two burros to carry blankets, provisions, and tools. A burro costs little and will live upon almost anything. The variety of food that can be carried is not large; such things as bacon, flour, sugar, beans, and coffee are the most important. With the rifle one may frequently add to the supply. This, you may think, is pretty hard fare, but life in the open air will make one hungry enough to relish almost any sort of food. The prospector does not need a road or even a trail. He seeks the least-known portion of some mountain district where he has an idea that gold may be found. Through the canons he goes, and over the mountains, either on horseback or driving the burros before him. Water and grass are usually abundant, and the little cavalcade stops where night overtakes it. In the desert prospecting is more difficult and often dangerous, because of the scarcity of water. It is necessary to know the location of the few scattered springs, and to make one of the burros useful in carrying water kegs. A spring must be the starting-point in the morning, and a sufficient amount of water must be taken to last until the traveller can get back to the same spring or until he can reach another. A pick, a shovel, and a hammer are among the most important parts of the prospector's outfit. Gold is a heavy substance, and as it washes down the mountain sides and into the gulches from some quartz vein, its weight finally takes it to the bed-rock beneath the sand and gravel. With his pick and shovel the prospector can reach the bed-rock. He takes some of the gravel from its hiding-place close to the rock, places it in a pan filled with water, and then, with a peculiar rotary movement, washes away the lighter materials, leaving the heavier substances and the gold, if there is any, at the bottom of the pan. If there is no trace of gold, the prospector goes on to another creek; but if some of the yellow metal is washed out, he tests the place thoroughly for more.