Gold is also found intermixed with sandstone, iron-stone, and white and blue clay. In fact, it is found in many conditions, unknown in California and elsewhere, and this state of things has given rise to some curious incidents.
During the first years of the golden age in Australia, many miners went thither from California. They looked at the ground with practical and critical eyes, and some of them declared that the whole story of rich deposits in places where they were said to exist, must be wholly false, as gold “could not” be found there, according to their knowledge of mining matters. A party of them went one day on a prospecting tour up a small valley, and returned in disgust. No gold was or could be there.
A JOKE AND WHAT CAME OF IT.
While they were at supper in their tent, three or four freshly arrived gold hunters came up and innocently inquired their way to a good place to dig. As a joke, the Californians told them that they had that day visited a valley which was very rich, and would make a handsome return to anybody who worked it.
Bright and early next morning, the strangers, who were novices in gold digging, were on their way to the new mines. They found nobody there, somewhat to their surprise, and hesitated for fear they were in the wrong place. One of the Californians followed them stealthily, and finally saw them begin work. Then he returned to his companions, and all had a good laugh over the “sell” upon the new comers.
The latter worked diligently, and in almost complete ignorance of mining rules. The first two days they found nothing, but on the third day, they struck a rich lead and were happy.
The Californians had forgotten the sell upon the strangers, when, a couple of weeks after the perpetration of the joke, one of the latter came around and asked why they were not at work in the place which they said was so rich. The Californians laughed, and one of them said:
“You hain’t been working there all this time, have you?”
“Of course we have,” was the reply.