Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1868-03-24
THE WAsHoE MINER.

tue WIN, "Ne
ever pursuit or employment allotted 10
tho laboring classes Of mankind, there
is o n where more risk Of life, limb, or
general health is incurred than in the
arduous and dangerous business OF
mining, yet how important to the in
terests of every country and the world
Mt large are its mines. Those mines
will not developc or work themselves
naught but tho strong arm and direct
energy of the braye-hearted miner
do that. We say brave hearted, for
truly it requires men of nerve and true
courage to face known danger, disaster,
or death, in any of the callings or aTo-
cations Of the world.
Look OF the life of the miner in Cali
fornia or Nevada, for instance. The
surface mining Of the gold "placeres
is attended with comparative little dam
ger, but where deep cuts, shafts or tun-
nels are called into requisition, then
perils multiply and nre over but too APP
parent. From the time n miner disap-
pears beneath the surface Of the ground
he is in constant, ever-prcsent, unceas-
ing danger. Even in . small prospect
ing shaft, the breaking Of u rope, or
carelessness or iueficiency in the a
agement Of the windlass, might easily
precipitate him to his death, or crush
him beneath the weight Of a heavy
laden tub. At the depth Of no more
than twenty feet or less, q stone no
larger than ones fist, falling from tho
top, down upon the miners head, has an
injurious tendency, and ut the bottom
Of a hundred-foot shaft, small gravel
stones from the surface, or shaken from
the tub in hosting, sting terribly on
ones back. Even in the best ordered
shafts Of this State, where every pre-
caution is taken to guard against all
possible danger, accidents still OCCASION
ally will and do occur through misman.
agement, defective operation, ~breakage,
OF some unforeseen cause or other.
Not one Of the hundreds Of tunnels
run into the bowels Of old Mount David:
son but bears its sad record Of acci-
dent, disaster or death, from the pre-
mature discharges Of blasts, the falling
| or caving Of rocks, earth, and treacher-
Gus clay, unlucky strokes of picks and
sledge5 or similar liabilities. Down
among the many winding drifts, cavern
| Gus chambers and narrow WINES in the
solemn depths Of the mighty Comstock,
where the very mir seems condensed into
~perceptible thickness by the ponderous
pressure surrounding, where huge tim
bers larger than a mans body are
slowly, but surely crushed in as easily
as so many rye straws, and all by that
peculiar Swelling" or Stacking pro-
cess created by the action Of the atmos-
pherc on tho tough clay or rock, so fa-
miliar to miners, there tolls the nan on
whom the country depends. Stripped
to the waist, begrimmed with sweat and
dirt, by the light Of dim candles he
deals vigorous blows with pick or sledge
spon the yielding ore, his strong arm
nerved by the thought Of his wife and
little ones at home, his aged parents, or
others dependent upon his daily earn
iugs for their support. Day after day he
tolls in the depths ; he walks freely and
confidently past open shafts, gangways
and wines where the least misstep could
so easily p~rccipitate him to his death,
or tolls in breasts or chambers where n
small mass Of orc from the unsupported
roof, falling upon him would almost
surely badly %injure him, and perhaps
render him a cripple for life. Yet he
patiently and willingly thus does toll
seven days out Of q week, his only
chance for rest from such incessant labor
being sickness, injury or death.
Verify, "'tho laborer is worthy Of his
hire" and the type of Washoc miner Of
whom we speak, we'll earns his allotted
wages of four dollars per day. But
who is to take care Of him and his,
when by some unforeseen mining acct:
dent he is Frustrated, and from the SHIFT
which he descended but n short hour or
so ago full Of life and vigor, he is hoist
ed bleeding and helpless, with broken
bones and bruised flesh? Alas ! had he
now no friends, other than the corpora
ton he was working for, he would be
poor and unfortunate indeed. Some
mining companies in such cases
pay the doctors bills, and perhaps con-
tribute to tho support of the poor VIC
tim, but sooner or later they get tired
and quit. Such corporations have souls
to q considerable extent, while others
have sonls Of so limited n character,
that they would rattle inside he shell
Of q tobacco seed.