The bank is rapidly undermined, the gravel is loosened,
violently rolled together, and cleansed from any adhering particles of
gold, while the fine clay and the sand are carried off by the water. In
this manner hundreds of tons of earth and gravel may be removed, and all
the gold which they contain liberated and secured with greater ease and
expedition than ten tons could be excavated and washed in the old way. All
the earth and gravel of a deposit is moved, washed, and carried off
through long sluices by the water, leaving the gold behind. Square acres
of earth on the hill-sides may thus be swept away into the hollows without
the aid of a pick or a shovel in excavation. Water performs all the
labour, moving and washing the earth in one operation, while in excavating
by hand the two processes are of necessity entirely distinct. The value of
this method and the yield of gold as compared with the older one can
hardly be estimated.
'The water acts constantly with uniform effect, and can be brought to bear
upon almost any point, where it would be difficult for men to work. It is
especially effective in a region covered by trees, where the tangled roots
would greatly retard the labour of workmen.
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