The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1890-10-09
Life I'm the Mountains.

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The following letter is from member O.
a railroad surveying party and was writer
from the camp in the mountains of Mon
tana. 1t will be interesting to the reader.
of THE MIRROR:
DEAR FRIEND: Your letter came tt
hand a couple of weeks since, but did no
have an opportunity of answering sooner
l get THE MIRROR regularly; it is now the
most thoroughly read paper that comes tt
camp. and it is rather amusing to note the
change of opinion it has wrought on thing.
pertaining to the convict.
Well. we are still here on our old ground
and are about six hundred feet in the all
above the river. and do our best we cannO
develop more than two miles of line in {
week. We worked three days last week OF
two thousand feet where snow slide haC
lodged. If you will just imagine mount
ain covered with heavy timber, then star
two miles up it and NOW down everything
to the ground and heap the timber, rocks
ETC., in huge pile at the bottom and you
will have some conceptions of one of these
lodges There are eight of these slides in
the first twelve miles from the summit, anG
they will frequently shoot across the river
and plOw furrew and pile the debris 9
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will all have to be tunneled, as when they
once start in place they come regularly
each spring afterward.
We had two feet of snow here on the 7tf
of this month (Sept.), but it is all gone
again. 1t was the first snow storm ever
saw accompanied by heavy thunder and
lightning. All the vegetation here. except
the evergreens, is dead and brown and We
are suffering the consequences. A light
smoke. or mist, is perceptible all over the
mountains. and mountain fever has got its
auger into us in good shape. Three of the
party will be packed out on Monday.
There is not one of us but has touch of it.
but the only ones who get knocked out
completely are those who give up and lie
down.
wish to goodness you could be out here
in the spring. l know just how you would
enjoy it. AS to fishing. we are so tired of
fish that no one will catch them any
more. About three weeks ago We began to
see some monsters in the river. but they
would neither raise to fly nor take bate,
and as we had no spear we had to let them
alone. But the cook and l put our heads
together and made spear out of the end
rod Of wagon. We heated the ends and
cut good barbs and tied them on sticks and
started out. We were back in less than an
hour with fourteen fish that ranged all the
way from five to eighteen pounds each.
They are the land-locked salmon. and no
better or gamer fish swim.
Now want to tell you of the time we
had here couple of weeks ago. Last
Fourth of July a couple of fellows came in
here to work. One of them was good fel-
lOw but the other was would be bad man.
For the first month the bad man" never
went out even on the line without big
gun strapped to his hip. He claimed he
had just sold out mine in British COlum-
bia and was out prospecting through these
parts. From his talk he had been every
where and done everything that any other
man had ever done. The boys soon began
to find out that there was more wind than
anything else in him. About six weeks ago
he cut his foot and, although it got as we'll
as ever. he kept lying around the camp.
| Well. one afternoon about two weeks ago
three OF us were standing beside big
ledge that cropped out. and the conversa-
ton turned on to this man (S-)and one
of the boys suggested that we trade of a
half right to this ledge to s. for his
gun. So Fin (my bed fellow broke off two
or three pieces of it and rubbed their sur
face with the brass handle of the chain.
That evening when he came in they raised
big outcry about their rich find. Steve
and Fin of course owned the mine. but
Steve said he would have nothing to do
with prospects and would sell out for the
first offer he could get. s. offered
him $25, but Steve said that if he would
give him the big gun he would give him his
share in the mine. and the gun changed own
ers. Now Fin took the victim in hand and
made all arrangements for starting in to work
the mine. Of course the first thing necessary
was to put up location notice at the point
of the find. So they made it out ready to
put up as we would be passing. that way
next morning. Steve and made out an
other location notice in my name. Next
morning the victim reported himself ready