ing. He had brought along a stout ass, which he told Captain Nelson could be used that day in dragging the wood to the water's edge. By the way, sassafras wood was then in great demand in England for cabinet-making.
In good season in the morning Ralph set out for his mine, leaving his brothers to assist in loading the vessel. He was armed with his musket, sword, and pistols. He carried the pick and shovel before-mentioned, and in a large leather pouch, slung over his shoulder with a stout strap, he carried, among other things, a small sledge and two gads or steel wedges with which miners split rock.
He found the place he sought with little difficulty. It had not been molested. After a short rest, for his journey and his burden had tired him, he set to work. With the shovel he removed the dirt from the ledge for a space of five or six feet square, and put it carefully in a pile. Then with his pick and gads he attacked the quartz dike that surrounded the gold. The quartz was much cracked and fissured, and its removal was not difficult. He soon uncovered three masses of gold five or six inches thick, and eight or nine inches in length horizontally. They were shaped like human heads. Digging
