Gold Rush Glossary

AlcaldeThe mayor or judge of a town

AmalgamAn alloy of gold and silver and/or other metals mixed with mercury — used to separate gold from debris

AssayerA person who evaluates the mineral content of ore by chemical analysis — determines what your gold is actually worth

BarA bank of sand or gravel that extends into a river; also a place where gold is found in river deposits

BateaA flat bowl used by miners — especially Mexican and Indigenous miners — in place of a metal pan

BonanzaA rich body of ore, above or below ground — a big strike. The opposite of a humbug.

Boom townA town that grew fast, usually as a result of a nearby strike. North Bloomfield went from nothing to 500 people almost overnight.

BullionGold or silver melted and poured into bricks or bars for transport and trade

ClaimA piece of land legally held for mining — officially recorded and marked by stakes or monuments

Claim jumpingTaking over someone else's mining claim — one of the more serious offenses in Gold Rush law

Cleaning-upSeparating gold from the debris collected in the bottom of a sluice box

ColorAny trace of gold found in a pan or sluice — even a tiny flake counts. "Did you find color?" was the question everyone was asking.

Cradle / Rocker boxA short sluice box built to rock back and forth while gravel and water are added — separates gold by weight and motion

DredgeA large barge mounted with chain buckets or suction pumps to bring up and wash river deposits for gold

Dry diggingsMining without water — digging gold out of cracks in rocks or dry riverbeds

DustMinute particles of gold found by placer mining — too fine to be called nuggets, but gold all the same

FlumeA wooden aqueduct used to divert river water or carry water long distances to the diggings

Ghost townA town where few or no people still live — North Bloomfield became one after the Sawyer Decision ended the mine

GrubstakeA loan of food, supplies, or money given to a miner to get started — to be repaid from whatever gold they found. No gold, still owe the debt.

GulchA deep, narrow valley or ravine — often where water ran and gold settled

HumbugA lousy claim — one that looked promising but paid nothing. Also the original name of North Bloomfield, given by disgusted miners.

HydraulickingThe process of excavating gold-bearing earth using a high-pressure jet of water from a hydraulic monitor

LodeA large vein of ore-bearing rock — underground gold, as opposed to placer gold found in riverbeds

Long tomA long sluice box — processes more gravel than a rocker box, but needs a steady water supply and more workers

MonitorA metal high-pressure water nozzle mounted on a swivel, used for hydraulic mining. At Malakoff: 500 PSI, 16,000 gallons per minute.

Mother LodeA mile-wide belt of gold-producing country, 120 miles long along the Sierra foothills — the heart of California's gold country

NuggetA lump of gold large enough to pick up — every miner's dream

PanA shallow metal dish for washing gold-bearing earth — the most basic and precise mining tool

PlacerA place where gold is found by washing — gold that has eroded from rock and settled in riverbeds and gravel deposits

PocketA small, concentrated deposit of gold-bearing gravel — a lucky find, but usually doesn't last long

PokeA small bag used to carry gold dust or nuggets — every miner's wallet

QuartzA whitish mineral that sometimes contains gold — lode gold is often found running through quartz veins

QuicksilverMercury — used to create an amalgam with gold, separating it from gravel and debris in the sluice

RiffleRaised strips of wood or stone in the bottom of a sluice box — they catch heavy gold as lighter material washes past

RunThe period of operating a sluice box between clean-ups — how long you work before stopping to collect what you've caught

Seeing the elephantThe Gold Rush experience itself — the adventure, the cost, and the unequaled sight. To "see the elephant's tail" meant turning back. See the full story below.

SlickensFine sand and silt suspended in water — the grey sludge that poured out of hydraulic mines and buried farms downstream

Sluice boxA long narrow box with riffles on the bottom — gravel and water flow through, gold settles and is caught

Stake a claimTo mark the boundary of your mining ground with stakes or rock piles and officially record it — the first thing every miner did

StrikeA new-found concentration of gold — the word that started a thousand stampedes

TailingsThe leftover material after gold is washed out of ore — at Malakoff, this became the debris that buried farms and rivers across California

VeinA zone of rock clearly separate from surrounding rock — gold-bearing veins run through the Sierra Nevada granite

The Story Behind the Expression

"Seeing the Elephant"

No expression captured the California Gold Rush better than this one. Those planning to head west announced they were "going to see the elephant." Those turning back said they'd seen the "elephant's tail" or the "elephant's tracks."

The origin: a farmer heard the circus was coming to town. He loaded his wagon with vegetables — he'd always wanted to see an elephant. On the way, he met the circus parade, led by the elephant itself. He was thrilled. His horses were terrified. They bolted, overturned the wagon, and ruined every vegetable he'd brought.

"I don't give a hang," said the farmer, "for I have seen the elephant."

For forty-niners, the elephant was both the high cost of the adventure — the myriad ways California could ruin you — and, like the farmer's circus elephant, an exotic and unequaled experience. The adventure of a lifetime, even if it cost everything you brought.

"I think that I may without vanity affirm that I have 'seen the elephant.'" — Louisa Clapp, California Gold Rush, 1851

"color"

Any trace of gold found — even a single flake

"come down with the dust"

Pay in cash at the time of purchase — no credit

"pan out"

To work out or succeed — originally meant the gold was gone from a pan

"throw down the box"

Stagecoach robbery command — the strongbox holding the gold shipment

"whip"

The driver of a stagecoach — named for the tool of their trade

"seeing the elephant"

The Gold Rush experience itself — see the full story above

Words and phrases you might have heard if living in the 1850s. Some of them never left.

"By the great horned spoon!"

General exclamation of surprise or emphasis

"Flatulent balderdash!"

Unbelievable — complete nonsense

"Swop lies"

Tell stories around the campfire

"How passed the night?"

Good morning

"Wet my whistle"

Get a drink

"Honeyfogle"

To cheat or swindle someone

"A blowhard"

A braggart — someone who talks big

"High-fallutin"

Pompous, pretentious — putting on airs

"Disremember"

To forget

"Whilst"

While

"Fortnight"

Two weeks

"I reckon" / "I allow as how"

I suppose / I guess

"Hells bells!" / "Tarnation!" / "By dang!"

Exclamations of surprise or frustration

"Horse manure!" / "Hogwash!" / "Bull!"

No way — I don't believe you

"Indeed!"

Totally — absolutely

"Hereabouts"

Around here

"Trundle along"

Roll along slowly — move at a leisurely pace

"Down yonder" / "Over yonder"

Over there — in that direction

"Coffin varnish" / "Red eye" / "Rot gut"

Cheap whiskey — the stuff in the barrels at the general store

"The blue" / "The jimjams" / "The shakes"

Symptoms of too much alcohol — what happens after too many nights at the saloon

"Gag" / "Josh" / "Kid"

A joke; to joke around with someone

"Frisco"

San Francisco — where the investors lived and the gold was shipped

"Seeing the Elephant"

Expressions in the Gold Fields

1850s Slang