Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1885-12-27
HOW LONGS SYNDICATE.
The Adv enturss of Bill Sye and II Junta
Of Journalists In u Mine.
R..l-n EEDhs

Receiving another notice Of assessment
on my stock in the Aladdin mine the other
day reminded me that | was still interested
in a bot;omless hole that a supported st
one time to yield funds, instead Of absorb,
ing them. The Aladdin claim was located
in the spring OF IL BY a syndicate OF jour
~nalists, none OF whom had ever been openly
accused Of wealth. If we had been we
could have proven an abb.
We secured a gang Of miners to sink on
the discovery, consisting Of a Chinaman
named How Long. How Long spoke the
Chinese language with great Auency. Be
ing perfectly familiar with that language.
and a little must in the trans Missouri
English, he would converge with US in his
own language, sometimes By the hour. cour-
~teously overlooking rhekiact that we did
not reply TO him in thu same tongue. He
would converse in this way till he ran
down, generally, and then lie would refrain
for a While.
Finally, How Long siguids1 that he
would like TO draw his salary. OF course,
he was ignorant of our ways, aud and as
innocent Gs the child unborn. So be had
gcne 20 the President OF cur syndicate,
and had been referred 10 the s~uperinien-
dent, and he had sent How Long TO the
auditor, and the auditor had told him 10
go to the gang-boss and get his time, and
then proceed in the proper manner after
which, if his claim turned out to De all
right, we would call q meeting Of the syn
dictate and take early action in relation 10
It By this the reader will readily see that,
although We were rot wealthy, va know
how 10 do business Just the anne as though
We had been a wealthy corporation
How Long attended one Of our meetings
ard at the close Of the session made a few
remarks. AZ near as | am able 10 recall
HE language il was very much IS folio va:
China boy no sabbee YOU dam siynoi'
cate. You alice same toolee me too nuchee
How Long no chopee big hole in the
glouEd alice day for health. You Mclean
boy Laddee silver mine ell ans funny
business. Me no like Syndicate. Slyn-
dictate heap gone all same woodoine. You
sabSee me? How Long make EN- slyndi-
cate pay t%ention. You April tooles me.
You make me tired. You puttee me too
much on EN- s4ate. Syndicate no good.
Alice time stanemof China boy. You alice
time chin, chin. Dividend alice time heap
gone"
Owing to q strike which then took place
in our mine, We found that in order 10
complete our assessment work We must get
il another crew or DO the job ourselves
Owing to scarcity Of help and q feeling OF
antobonism on the part Of the lsboriug
classes toward our giant enterprise, q feel.
ing OF hostility which naturally exists be-
tween labor and capital, We had to go out
TO the mine OURSELVES. We had heard OF
other men who had shyveled in their own
mines and were attegward worth millions
Of dollars, so we took ONE bacon and
other delicacies and hied US to the Aladdin.
Back, our mining expert, went down
first. Then he requested Us to hoist him
out again. We did so. | have forgotten
what his first remark vas when he got out
of the bucket, but that dosen't make any
difference, for | wouldn't care to use i.
here anyway.
1t seems that How Long, owing to his
heathenish ignorance Of our customs and
the unavoidable delay in I'D iustng his
claim for work, labor and services, had al
lowed his temper to get the better Of him,
aud he had planted a colony or American
skunks iu the shaft OF the Aladdin.
Ii 10 not q very good mine if q man
wants it as q source Of revenue, but 1t
makes a mighty good well. The water is
cold and clear as crystal. Fit stood in
Boston, instead Of out here in northern
California. where you can't get at it more
than three months i'll the year, it would be
worth $3.50. The great fault Of the Alsd'
din mine is its poverty as g mine aud It's
isolation as Q well.