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66 Friday November 30th 1849. Began to work on the island - the bar which has yielded so much gold since its discovery. It is a pennisular rather than an island and has been formed by a curve in the headlands causing the deposits of the stream to accumulate until the water has been entirely turned from its original channel. The soil is composed principally of sand and various sized stones - through which the gold is unequally distributed. The chief deposit lies next the granite - partly because I suppose - it would catch by its irrigularities the floating particles of metal and partly - because it receives all the siftings of the upper soil. It lies beneath the surface some 6 or 10 feet. This fact - explains the reason why the miners labour so earnestly to reach the solid rock - for often the stratum of soil lying next it - pays well when the surface soil is hardly worth unshing. Like the diamond mines of Sincura - there is a strtum of soil richer than the rest - and this stratum can only be found by digging down to the granite rock. I suppose there are about 50 persons now mining on the island - and with all kinds of success. Some making over an ounce $16.00 per day and some not $4.00. We cannot tell where to dig - for the gold is unequally distributed and gives no indication of its location. If there be any virtue in witch hazel - this is the Country for it. Our success to day. Senor and myself was $14.00. I do not expect to do over that sum while we mine on the island. Never was there a spot of ground so thoroughly as has been this Mormon Bar. Its stones and rubble have been turned again and again - its soil thrown hither and thither. The first miners were content only with 2 or 4 oz per day - and so threw away the loose soil - the next get - content with one oz washed the ground which had been overlooked before. And now we the third - feeling satisfied with a yield from $4.00 to $8.00 - wash the refuse of all who preceeded us. So we go. We are somewhat in the position of Old Don Tucker - too late to make the 4 ozs per day. We make philosophy do for our pockets what gold did for the first miners. Keep patient and contented. So as to improve the working time.