The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-07-01

How to prospects, That is a question often
asked. There is no set rule. Some who
are superstitious may ask teller,
and when they find mountain or gulch like
the one she describes, they may try their
luck there. Some have faith i'll a divining
rod OF crooked stick, and when 1t turns
there is the place to dig But these are su-
perstitions, and although many miners are
superstitious they put little faith in these
stories. They are more apt to be supersti-
tious in the development Of q mine, for
there have been instances where men have
worked properties under the advice of for
tune tellers | will not youch for the truth
of it, butI have the statement from Den
yer fortune-teller that $40, 900 has been spent
in the development of Colorado mine
under her direction.
II dare not give you the name of the man
or the mine, said the witch, 'for it would
hurt my business"
But these are side issues. The only way
to find mine is to HINT for one till you do
find it, A prospector follows up. the float.
What is a f1oat1 Rock that contains gold
or silver or both. 1t has been broken off
the vein at the surface, and the miner usu-
ally finds it far down the meunUain side
where the rains and melting SHOWS have
carried it. Finding q specimen which he
thinks may contain mineral, the prospector
begins TO slowly climb the mountain side,
examining the outcropping Lodges till he
finds what he supposes to be the vein from
which the specimen or piece of float came.
The blossom rock, or Outcropping of the
ledge, is so often oxydized that it is difficult
to tell whether it contains mineral or not
So the miner begins to pick away at the
ledge, and breaking off pieces, closely ex-
amines them with his prospecting glass. If
the ledge has indications Of being a mineral
vein, he begins to work on it, calling his
partner, who perchance is near, to assist.
''It looks mighty rich," he says, and off
go his coat and vest, and i'll a vigorous
manner he begins delving in the earth. OF
course, he is liable to find nothing, but
it is pleasant to feel rich, if only for mo-
ment.
If the prospector thinks the vein is worth
developing, he names it and drives a location
stake, giving the boundaries aud name of
the lode. What shall he name it, Men are
superstitious in naming claims What will
bring good luck9 The name of wife, baby
or sweetheart is always a favorite. If a
Young man calls his claim Mary" 'Jen-
ME, n"Alice," or some such name, you may
as general rule, mark it down that that
is his girls name As l have SAID. men are
more or less superstitious in mining, and
you never yet saw young fellow who did
not think his girls name would bring him
good luck. Fathers like to name a claim
for the baby States and towns, politicians
poets, steamboats,, kings, queens, rivers,
islands, and even days in the week are
names used. The incidents or circumstances
under which the mine is located often have
an influence in naming a claim. The fol
lowing in an illustration. The writer and
four others once while prospecting, several
wears ago, made location, and the ques-
ton came up as to what we should name
it. Various names were suggested, but
were unsatisfactory. II have it," said one
of the party. -Four of us are masons; let
MS name it the -Four Masons.'