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The Mining Business in Four Scenes, letter sheet published by Britton & Rey, RB 48052 #94
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By the middle of the 1850s, miners had an impressive arsenal of tactics they could employ to extract gold from its hiding places, with surface mining pursued by individuals giving way to much more elaborate approaches.
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Hutchings' California Scenes—Methods of Mining, letter sheet published by J. M. Hutchings, RB 48052 #18
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Most argonauts arrived in California convinced that diligence and skill in mining would guarantee them success. Their experiences in what one described as "Nature's great lottery" eroded such confidence, however. Many eventually abandoned the mines in disappointment like the two portrayed in this letter sheet satirizing the mining business.
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"The Sluice Box," a handwritten newspaper from Orleans, California, October 6, 1856, uncatalogued
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Wherever miners might congregate, local newspapers like the handwritten The Sluice-Box sprang up to feed the popular taste for news, humor, and gossip.
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