claims; but "dust," "nuggets," and "pockets " still form the burden of
conversation in the village barroom or the cross-roads saloon. Now and
then a "strike " is made by some lucky - or perhaps it turns out, unlucky -
prospector. This for a few days kindles anew the slumbering spark of
"gold fever" that lingers in the veins of the people here, ever ready
to kindle into a flame at every bit of exciting news, in the way of a
lucky "find" near home, or new gold-fields in some distant land. These
occasions never fail to have their legitimate effect upon the business
of the bar where the "old-timers" congregate to learn the news; and,
between drinks, yarns of the good old days of '49 and '50, of "streaks
of luck," of "big nuggets," and "wild times," are spun over and over
again. Although the palmy days of the "diggin's" are no more, yet the
finder of a "pocket" these days seems not a whit wiser than in the days
when "pockets" more frequently rewarded the patient prospector than
they do now; and at Newcastle - a station near the old-time mining camps
of Ophir and Gold Hill - I hear of a man who lately struck a "pocket," out
of which he dug forty thousand dollars; and forthwith proceeded to imitate
his reckless predecessors by going down to 'Frisco and entering upon a
career of protracted sprees and debauchery that cut short his earthly
career in less than six months, and wafted his riotous spirit to where
there are no more forty thousand dollar pockets, and no more 'Friscos
in which to squander it. In this instance the "find" was clearly an
unlucky one. Not quite so bad was the case of two others who, but a few
days before my arrival, took out twelve hundred dollars; they simply,
in the language of the gold fields "turned themselves loose," "made
things hum," and "whooped 'em up" around the bar-room of their village
for exactly three days; when, "dead broke," they took to the gulches
again, to search for more. "Yer oughter hev happened through here with
that instrumint of yourn about that time, young fellow; yer might hev
kept as full as a tick till they war busted," remarked a slouchy-looking