Chinese miners washing gold sands with a rocker

1862

An engraving of Chinese miners working a rocker, the hand-operated box used to separate gold from river sand, published in the French travel journal Le Tour du Monde. Chinese labourers arriving through San Francisco made up a large share of the goldfield workforce and were frequently pushed onto claims others had abandoned. Drawn by Gustave-Adolphe Chassevent-Bacques.