The Elk Mountain pilot., 1881-09-15
NINE SHARKS.

and thrive OF the csedu.ous and the
inexperienced. They are well up in
all the w!ies and subtleties of the
business. They know every lead,
lode and indication within a wide
circle; and are ever ready to sell, for
song, property which will soon ex-
ceed the Lee and Robinson in value.
and woe be to the innocent tender
foot who plants his shekels without
careful Examination IN person, and ac-
companled by an expert OF character
and standing. Should he do SO he is
just as certain to lose it, in nine cases
out of ten, as he would be were he to
sit at the table covered with green
cloth.
Now, all this tends to bring legiti-
mate mining operations into discredit.
and embarrass those who are gagged
honorably in this, as in any other
business, and while it is thus general
in its bad effects the poor impoverish-
ed subject of the swindle crawls away
10 hide his distress and his suherings
from the eyes of those who have
wrought his ruin. The business o.
trading and specializing in mining
stocks is as intricate and as difficult as
the grain and cotton futures which
ruin SO many men annually. 1t mat
tiers not If the man who sells them con-
ducts his business behind i fashionable
and costly desk and is attired in
broadcloth and diamonds, or if he is
encased in rough California duck and
pu.sues the business on the street cor
ners or in the slums of State or Chest
nut streets-the result is the same,
loss to the investor and distress to his
family.
Every simmer great numbers of
men come here to see the sights and
revel in our fine mountain scenery.
These are rich plucking for the mine
sharks. A few hundred dollars viii
induct these innocents, fresh from the
states, with all the aroma Of inexperi-
ence. hanging about them, into the
mysterious delights of the mining op-
orator, Visions of great wealth-of
Little Pittsburgs, Morning Stars; r.
E. Lees and Robinsons-hash before
the eyes of the novice: A Beautiful
villa on the Huds6n, palace on Fifth
aVenue, or trip to Europe, at the
very least, is the istant plan, and moth
ing short of it, or all of them, can be
tolerated for moment. Time passes,
and oh how quickly. The first of
January comes and the assessment has
not been worked, and away goes the
title: and false, Missionary and tant-
alizing appears that place on the
American Rhine, and that palace on
the boulevard of Shoddy.
The vast number of litter failures in
this way are never taken into account.
1t is only the few successes which at
tract attention and comment. The
broken hearts: broken lives and crush
ed hopes are pushed aside, and that is
the last Of them, while the whole
world surrounds the car of the bonan-
"a king and fills his ears with the
plaudits which always attends success,
no matter how won: 1t IS the same
old story, as old as the hills in whose
breasts are hidden the treasures which
are the first cause of nearly all the
misery of this lite.
Nor can we see that there is any
safeguard against the swindling oper-
ations Of bad men in this way They
violate no statute; they simply prac-
tice upon human credulity, and the
very best that can be done is to warn
those who are likely to fall into their
clutches. This has been done fear
lessly and frankly, times out Of num-
Der by the press. And we utter and
repeat the warning ssain, with an ad-
ded earnestness, because of recent dis
tress from this source. There is a
good wide margin in legitimate mi
ming operations, but they must be
conducted as other business opera
tions are, and the idea of sudden and
vast wealth must be very promptly
dismissed. Hard work, close, careful
economy, and strict attent,on-to
business will accomplish as fnuch in
This way as in any other business, but
one must steer wide of the mine
L @f