The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-04-05
POOR PROSECUTORS.

Praspectors who find the rich rock that
We read about. the beautiful gold and silver
tearing quartz which assays away up IN the
thousands. ought to he pretty rich. and yet,
as a general thing, they are not. They have
much TO contend with, and have need OF al
patience in their search for the wealth thai
earth hides so iealously in her bosom. Tbs
Arizona Sentinel-an ever-weicome Terri
tnriaI exchange-tells us something OF thu
struggles and trials, and explains why it Il
that. even in favored Arizona, "prospec-
tors seldom get rich" Our contemporary
reminds the large class who regard % rich
as a gold mine" in its proverbial accepta.
tion that large expenses attend the opening
Of n mine. digging and blasting thrr
solid rock, making opening for workin.
ventilation. When fully understood
one will ask why one person does not sue
seed. If his bank account be large enough
he will. Look at the cost of the openings
and the machinery on the Comstock, the
richest Of the rich. Does any one think one
individual could stand it? So it is with
the prospector. He finds the mines, and
as n miner knows he cannot 60 into ths
earth and open up the mine on a paying
basis he knows he must contend with hard
rock, must timber, must open levels and
air passages he needs machinery to pump
aud to hoist, and then, after his ore Is on
the dump, what has he? A lot of rock
containing precious metal, with n lot Of
hase metals. This must go through n pro-
cess of working that requires more ma
chinery. He has no bank account, owes
the tailor for his clothes, and the grocer
for his grub. and must sort out the besf
Of his rock and sell it at a sacrifice to keep
him in daily bread. Is it not wise to sell
his claim .for n few thousand dollars and
return to his old home in the land OF
civilization ? Yet how few do it. He can.
not resist the love he has for n miners life,
the charm of being away from all the
works of man, alone with God and nature,
dclving into the mountain, prospecting the
gulches and r~ayinos. in hope OF finding the
miners greatest hope, a bonauza Of gold
near the surface, as was found in the early
DAYS of California, in plncc Of which he find,
silver, lead or copper. II these show well
he tries them, hoping that he will develop
something that will attract the moneyed mer
Of the cities, and then make another stake
for himself and visit his old chums al
hnme.
Mining. like all other business, must b,
conducted with economy, and wants O prac
tical miner at its head. Nearly all the
failures of Eastern investments have beer
caused by sending out some friend or rela.
ton of some of the company to take
charge of the mines, who has not the
slightest idea OF how silver and gold min
are found, let alone how they should be
worked. What can such persons be ex.
pocted to know Of milling ore to get th'
precious metal away from the base
Theory is good n practice is better
but theory aud practice are above eitheI
alone. Let your metallurgical students e
into the mines and there learn to swing
the pick, to drill, to blast, and to distin
suisb ore from barren rock; let them g
into the field and become familiar witt
the practical part OF mining life, n Their
less money will DO thrown away and squan'
dered, and many n valuable property, ir
place of being condemned, will be made
to yield many returns for the money in.
vested.
Man doubles all the evils Of his fate by
meditating upon them. A scratch becomes
n wound, n slight becomes an injury, a jest
becomes an insult, n small peril a Great
danger, and a slight sickness often cndi
in death by brooding apprehensions.