Small miner's pick - made in Alton, Ill. From the History Information Station: Object: Two picks. Steel heads with wooden handles. The short-handled short-pronged tool was known as a "Chinese pick." History: Picks were part of every forty-niner's pack when he started for the mountains. The long-handled pick would be used standing up. The miner could take a full swing at a rock ledge or a hillside with it. The shorter tool was for close work. When the miner had a crevasse or a narrow "lead" of gold, he could use this pick to get the ore out.