Coyote Diggings: Small shafts sunk by the gold miners in California, so called from their resemblance to the holes dug or occupied by the coyote. This animal lives in cracks and crevices made in the plains by the intense summer heat.
The coyote diggings require to be very rich to pay, from the great amount of labor necessary before any pay-dirt can be obtained.- Borthwick's California, p. 138
From: Dictionary of Americanisms, 1889, p. 156.
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