Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1880-11-04
The West for. Young Men
PROM the Provisenee Erenlng pross

home, to try his fortune in he ia
West? Are there better opportuni
t'es for young men of spirit and en-
terpriso 10 the mining regions Of ID
ROCKY Mountains than in the com
meroial and manufacturing center
of The East? Where shall / 90 an,
what shall | do, if l conclude 10 q,
West? These are questions wbicl
| am very frequently requested t,
answer, both by letter aud by per
sonal interview, and / shall attem D
to give briefly in this article SOM
information which will enable on,
who has the "W estern Fever" t,
decide the matter for himself.
1t is good rule for every youns
man who . doing moderately wei
at home to make no change withou
the most careful consideration
Pluck, energy aud application arr
sure to win almost anywhere, anc
while IL may be true that the re
wards OF enterprise may come NOR,
quickly and in more abundant
1
measure In d new country than ia
the old one, 1t is also true that there
may be most excellent reasons WHY
ore who is moderately successful il
the east should remain at home and
not seek to court fortune in untried
fields. There are hardships and
privations to BIO endured, of which
people IN the older portions Of the
country know nothing, and the
game may not, after all, be worth
the candle, even if it is caught.
But it is true that there are wider
fields for enterprise and more album.
dant opportunities for making
money IN some parts of the Far
West, especially for persons who
possess only a limited capital, than
in most OF tho cities and towns on
the Atlantic coast. The risks are
greater the expense of conducting
every kind of business is increased
I'd of necessity, the profits are as
they ought to be, larger. Again, to
q young man who is on the frontier
and ready to take advantage OF cir.
cumstanoes as they arise, there are
many opportunities for entering up.
on new enterprises which promise
and actually bring very quick and
abundant retu.ps.
La the first place, no young man
should think of going to the mining
regions of the Rocky Mountains to
engage in euy kind of business un-
less he is coDtented 10 trough it. +"
| do not wish to be understood, by
this remark, to convey the idea that
all the paop!o who live in mining
camps have few of the comforts and
none of the Injuries of life. [ have
seen elegant furniture, expensive
musical instruments, books, paint
ings and bric-a. brio in the log cabin
Of successful miner al the foot of
some rugged mountain ard far from
the centers of trade and population
of the gold and silver country. But
the man who goes into the noun.
tains expecting to find these things
is in great danger of being disap-
pointed. He is much more likely
TO have to live in a tent or a rude
log cabin, to cook his own food, and
to engage IN kinds of labor which
he would scorn to do in the east.
The West is no place for drones or
mandy pamby people. Men are not
estimated in the mountains by the
clothes they wear, or the work they
do, if the latter is respectable. If
you do go West, make up your mind
to take things as they come. and
make the best of them, and if you
cannot dc that, stay at home.
again, 10 young man should go
to the mining regions without capi-
tai, unless he is sure of employment.
Every thriving mining camp of the
West is thronged with men who
have nothing to do and who have
followed the crowd of excited for.
tune seekers expecting to pick up
gold nuggets or silver bricks IN the
gulches or on the hill.sides, only to
be disappointed. The cost of living
10 frontier towns is very great, and
the expense of travelling, except on
foot, is even greater. A stage driver
on the Leadville road,not two years
ago, told two passengers who COM
planned because they could not get
outside seats where they could view
the scen cry, that they would have
ample opportunity to admire the
scenery when they walked back.
And thousands OF people have
walked back from Lsadville, and
hundreds from every other mining
camp over which there has been
great excitement, and have slept on
the open prairie in the snow, and
have eaten their bacon with an ap-
petite such as nothing but short ra'
tions and plenty of exercise caE
give.
Mining 10 The last thing that east
ern men should undertake to en-
gage in until they have learned
something about the business by
living some moths in mining
camps and carefully studying the
subject. There are five buhdred
mining claims located and recorded
tor every one that ever pays dol.
lar to the discoverer or purchaser Of
them, and get it would be Difficult!
to ind prospector 10 the west
who would net make stranger be.
ieve, if he could, that every one Of
his prospect holes was q bonanza
Miners do not seem to think thai
they are under moral obligations to
tell the truth ABOUT their mining
property. and 'tender.foot," thai
is, d stranger III the country, car
very seldom tell, by their appear
Rnoe, the difference between barren
rock AID rich ore. There ia nc
easier way for an eastern man tC
lose money than by investing it il
minss. 1t is pretty good rule tc
bs suspicious of all mining claim'
that are offered Cat sacrifice" oil
of which share is sold 'just as 6
/ favor" "Good mines are as scarce
as hens teetb," 80 Jack Gilmer o
Salt Lake City said to me, and thC
owners of them generally know