, 1880-03-15
Descending the Humboldt Mine.

Descending the Humboldt Mine.
Entering q rough wooden building
you may see steam engine turning an
immense drum, around which is coiled
wire rope. On chair sits, with each
hand on lever, the bright. watchful
engineer, his eyes fixed on the drum,
now nearly covered with the coil. In
another minute, click the machinery
has stopped. and out Of an opening in
front, like Harlequin in Christmas
pantomime, has come a grimy figure,
who stands there smiling at you, with
lamp fixed on the front of nis cap,
and his feet on the rim of a great iron
bucket. He steps of, the bucket is
emptied of the load, not of rich ore.
but of very dirty water, which it has
brought up. and there is an air of ex-
pectancy among the workmen. and an
inquiring smile on the face of Mr..
Thornton, the superintendent. Some
thing is clearly expected of you, for it
is established that you are not what
is called by the miners specimen
tiend," or unmitigated sample collect
ing nuisance, and it is assumed that
when you came hither to investigate
you "meant business" You take the
hint, aud follow Mr.. Thornton to a
room. where, amid good deal of jok-
ing, you put on some clothes-and
such clothes ! If you have one spark
of personal vanity, "all hope abandon
ye who enter here" for even your
kind guide has to turn away to hide a
smile when he sees you in Overalls
which will not meet in front, and are
precariously tied with a ragged string,
an ancient flannel shirt. the sleeves of
which hang in tatters around your
wristbands, and cap which might
have come over in the Magtlo,cer. and
has smoky lamp hooked into Its fast
decomposing visor. AS you approach
the mouth of the shaft, the engineer
genially remarks that there "ain't
much DANGER" and when the bucket
has come up and been partially emptied,
the by-standers repeatedly advise you
to be careful about getting in. AS
you climb perilously over the side, you
think of the Frenchman who. starting
in the fox-hunt, cried out: Take
noteece, mes amis, zat l leafe every
zing to my wife y And when you are
crouched down so that Mr.. Thornton
can stand on the rim above, you do not
think at all, but know, that you are
what Mr.. Mantalini called "a dem'd
moist, unpleasant body" Mr.. Thorn
ton makes grim remark about it be-
ing as we'll to have some matches in
case the lamps go out, gives the word,
and down you go. Understand that
there is just about room for the bucket
in the shaft, that the latter is slightly
inclined, and that you catch and jar
and shake in a nerve-trying way; and
understand, further, that a person
should carefully study his tempera-
ment and possible disabilities before
| he takes o contract to go into deep
shaft.
At certain derth-it may be 500 or
| 1000 feet I'm some Nevada mines it is
2, 500)-you stop at side drifts or cross
cuttings in which men are at work, and
here you see, walled in by rock, the
fssure vein. Some are stOplng," or
cutting pieces away with the pick.
others holding the steel wedges, and
others striking them tremendous blows
with sledge-hammers. They are, by
the-way, in the habit of accompanying
these blows with gutteral sounds, the
hearing of which induced special
correspondent of the gentler sex-ig-
noring the fact that they receive three
dollars per diem. own chronometer
watches, and have fine bank accounts,
and silver spoons on their tables-to
write soul-moving description of the
poor down-trodden miner, imprisoned
far from the light of the blessed day,
uttering terrible groans as he toiled his
life away for the enrichment of the
bloated and pampered capitalist. Other
men, again, are drilling, loading, and
tamping for the "shots," which are to
tear the rock in pieces; and you will
probably remember pressing engage
ment to "meet man" at some dis
tance from the mine, and induce Mr..
Thornton to ring for that moist car, and
and take you up before they light the
match. A. HAYES, Jr. in Harper s
Naqazine.
VIRTUES OF A NEVADA Nut Pine
nuts are now to be found on sale at most
of our fruit-stanas where other nuts are
kept. They are Nevada production,
and are therefore suited to the require
ments of our people in the nut limo
good to be eaten in this climate. They
are quite sweet and agreeable to the
taste, notwithstanding faint favor of
rine or balsam. 1t has long been known
that these nuts were excellent for all
diseases of the kidneys the early set
. 80