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| ‘The operation which procured Brown and me the three guineas’ worth of gold is technically called tin-dish washing, and is very simply performed. The pan itself is generally about eighteen inches or more across the top, and three or four inches deep, with sloping sides. Into this vessel, the earth - which is technically called dirt - is thrown, when it is held by both hands in a slanting direction, and immersed in the water several times, in order that the looser and lighter particles of sand may be carried off by it. The pan is all the while kept agitated from side to side, to cause the gold to separate, and sink to the bottom, where, if there is any, it is soon found.’ |
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