by posts or mounds. Its depth is twenty-six and a quarter feet,
its mean breadth about seventy, and in the "sidings" nearly one hundred.

[2] Called by the Arabs "Jebel Mousa" (Mountain of Moses).

STORIES FROM THE MINES.

Many stories are told of the manner in which the first discoveries of
gold in California were turned to account by ingenious speculators, and
among them are the following: In one district the gold-dust was mixed
with large quantities of fine black sand, which the miners--most of whom
were raw hands--blew off from the gold in their anxiety to arrive at the
ore itself. A keen old man turned their impatience to account by
shamming lameness, and pretending that in his weakly state he was not
equal to the toil of mining, and was thus compelled to resort to the
poor and profitless branch of gathering the black sand, which he sold as
a substitute for emery. He used to go about of an evening with a large
bag and a tin tray, requesting the miners to blow their black sand upon
it, and returning with it to his hut. By the aid of quick-silver he was
able to extract the gold, double in quantity to that which was obtained
by the hardest-working miner at the washings.

Tricks of every kind were played upon new-comers in search of the golden
treasures. One story is told of some American associates who had been
working at an unprofitable spot, putting up a notice that their
"valuable site" was for sale, as they were going elsewhere. A few
Germans who had just arrived offered themselves as purchasers. The price
asked was exorbitant, as the proprietors stated that the "diggings"
returned a large amount of gold, and the following day was appointed for
the Germans to come and see what could be produced in the course of a
few hours' working. The sellers went during the night and secreted the
gold-dust in the banks, so that it would come to light, as a natural
deposit, when the earth was turned up. The following morning the poor
Germans were so delighted with the apparent richness of the place that
they gave a large sum of money and two valuable gold watches for the
property. The Germans were laughed at; but they went to work, and
actually succeeded in raising a large amount of gold beneath the spot
where the others had left off. The Americans were thus outwitted in
turn, and endeavored to get repossession of the place by force; but
another company of Germans arriving, they were obliged to decamp.

An old miner