The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1870-04-05


The Omaha Herald has correspen-
dent from whose letters we extract the
following
THE Ups AND DOWNS OI MINING LIFE.
Then there was the original Aurora
mine, which always had doubtful chars-
ctcr. Two men, brothers, came from one
of Ncvada's "played-out' mining towns
and managed to lease the Aurora, not
because they had any money, but because
the Aurora was considered quite worth
less. \ few months later these men
sold their lease for snug pile, and went
down to Frisco" the Ultima Mu(e OF
every miners golden dream-the place
where every old Pacific coaster goes
when he ''makes a strike"
knew one old hummer in White Pine.
who oftimes depended on his friends for
whisky and meals, and who was worth
three or four hundred thousand dollars Il
a short time before White Pine was dis.
covered. Men came to White Pine dur.
ing the Summer OF 1865 without suffci.
ent coin to pay weeks board, made ten
or fifteen thousand dollars in as many
weeks went to Frisco :" in other words,
down to the Bay; . lived as miners are
wont to do when "tush,' came back iD
the Spring of 1869, aud in the following
summer might have been seen wandering
around White Pine like the uneasy
ghosts along the river Styx, which Virgil
so wildly portrays, or walking out to IL.
ko, distance of l20 miles, because they
had nothing better to do, and no money
to pay stage fare OF some half dozen
prominent mercantile firms, which com
manded thousands of dollars and were
flush with coin during the winter Of
1869, only one was on its last legs the
next summer and fall knew two in.
telligent,' industrious aud very temperate
men, having control of much.talked Of
mine at White Pine, who had been knock
ing around the Pacific coast excitements
for ten years without making the long.
looked for strike" White Pine "soured
on them both, though at one time they
were considered to be on the verge OF
that happy state known as rich and re-
spectacle. well remember one elderly
man, member of prominent firm in
Treasure City, which, during last winter
handled thousands Of dollars worth OF
goods, and owned claims that would have
sold amy day for many thousands Of dol
lars The latter part of last summer the
same man was trying to borrow money
enough to take him from White Pine to
Sacramento.
About the latter part Of 1865, or early
in 1869, certain town in Idaho COLI
tained fellow who was invited to leave
the town for the towns good. This spec
linen of the genus homo" was Familiarity
known as Jack, the gorilla gambler
We'll, the atmosphere Of Idaho becoming
rather warm for him, he wandered off to
the newly discovered White Pine mines.
Having signally failed at gambling, as
well as all other tricks that he had tried,
he concluded to become real estate op-
orator. He pitched upon the present site
of Hamilton. BY pure good luck he held
his claim, and dealt out his claim into
town lots, which increased in value with
magical rapidity. This proved to be his
winning deal so he became rich, and OF
course respectable" Indeed, he was
quite gentleman in White Pine, and die
nothing very glaring except to appropriate
another mans wife. Last summer he,
too. went down to the Bay" and pur-
chased fine ranch near San Jose, for
which hc paid s65,OO0. Probably he
can now visit Idaho as the wealthy Mr.
-, and not as the bushwhacking
bullwhacking Jack, yho was cordially il.
vited to "make himself scarce" in Idaho
If this is not a case of genuine luck,
then what is it Surely it is not due to
any good qualities or merit in the man
himself. | well know 4 genial, kind.
hearted chap, who at one time possessed
money, town lots and teams, whom l at,
terwards saw propelling mules up and
; down Tennessee Hill for n livelihood seem.
ingly quite as happy as when "in luck "
There was another chap who was eonsid
cred one of the lucky ones in White Pine.
whom | met in Elko. He went through"
at White Pine, tried the new district
Cope, and walked back to Elko without
a dollar. When met hin he had Just
"corralled" square meal" for the first
time in many days, and assured me that
he had paid for that in Jaw bone" which
simply means that he talked to the ven
der of "hash" like parson or Dutch
uncle.
am altogether too well reminded Of
another poor devil, who knows what luck
is, at least in White Pine. He, too, had
a brief hour of happy expectations and
bright dreams of riches and respectable
ty. But those sad ssters-the Fates--
were too much for him In other word,
he was not born lucky, and if any first
class bad luck was lying around loose, hr
was sure to get his full share of the anti
Gle.
Retrospection is highly edifying when
one has been such an inspired ass as 10
let every golden opportunity slip from h-
grasp.
The ups and downs of mining region
are an amusing and philosophical study,
Pure luck there reigns supreme, for the
careless, registering bullwhacker is as H.
able to make a "big strike" as is the most
intelligent, industrious, sober-minded man.
Luck is gay and festive old fellow,
and We may as well put up with his mad
pranks with the best possible humor,-
though it is not every one who can take
such as cody as did the old fellow at
Montana, who, when informed that his
son had been hung by the "yigilants,"
,oaralv said nRillia ont of luct -