Early Success

Many of the first prospectors easily collected large amounts of gold — as much as the equivalent of thousands of dollars per day. In fact, even the most average prospectors could make upwards of 10 times the daily pay of an East Coast laborer, earning in six months what it normally took six years to amass. By the time the forty-niners and larger influxes of people began to arrive, though, it became harder and harder to find significant amounts of gold.

Two prospectors pan for gold in the above photo.