Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1890-02-19

cut Is scarce and must be economical. 80 |
the ever accommodating bowlder pile is
"faced up" with neat wall. laid with
out mortar, but with some care and
skill. The bed rock is under our feet
We are undermining the bank and keep
ing the stream turned in as much as
possible to the part undermined. The
gravel for foot or six inches is pretty
hard, and the stones here are harder and
closer packed than those nearer the sur.
face. There the gravel is lighter. Many
of the stones are light and rotten; blow
with the pick dashes them to pieces. This
streak Just above the ledge and for few
inches in the crevices of the ledge is our
"pay streak" where ages on ages ago
some stream ran, depositing, as all
streams do. the heavier gravel on the
bottom and the lighter above. Occasion
ally the pick strikes a firmly imbedded
bowlder hard and square Oh its point. in
such way as to send the vibration like
a shock along the iron, up the handle
and into ones arm and "crazy BONE
Our bank of dirt is about eight feet in
height. A few inches of the top is a
dark mold. below that are three or four
feet of ''hard pan." below the ''hard
pan" light sandy gravel and rotten bowl
ders. and near the ledge is the pay
streak This order of formation has
varied as we have worked up and into
the bank. At first, near the rivers edge,
there was only mold OH very light alll--
vial sand This was readily washed of
and paid 81 or S. per day. little far.
Their back we struck the edge Of the red
gravel streak. This for time paid bet
ter. Farther still came the deposit Of
light sandy gravel. and lastly came in
the accursed hard pan"
Our claim. on being first prospected.
was reported to pay three cents to the
pain from the top down. We believed it
at first. not having learned that three
cents to the pan from the top down
means the biggest kind Of luck Ii you
get an average of half a cent pan from
the top down. and the dirt would wash
easily, We should make money. 1t was
hard even for an "honcst miner" to give
as a result of a prospect anything less
than "three cents to the pan" But
hard pam is our foe. Hard pan" is
the essence of brickbats. Its consistency
is about that of chalk. 1t seems the
finest kind Of sand cclnented and pressed
together. 1t can he carved into any
form with knife. 1t takes as much
time to work of a square foot of hard
pan as ten square feet Of soft gravel.
When. after half II days labor, we sue
coed in getting down n cave, it goes into
the ground sluice in a few great Jumps.
which must be battered to pieces with
our picks before the water will slowly
dissolve them into mud. And it docsn' t
hold II "color" of gold. The work in
hour. Pick and shovel and scrape
scrape and shovel and pick the water
meantime tumbling and roaring ovcl
the bank and making it diificul. for II:
to hear one anothcrs' voices. The SUI
climbs higher and gets hotter. TIL,
water pail is frequently visited. The
backs of the gray shirts are wet will
perSpiration, In an easy. companion
able claim. where the partners are al
good fellows and on good terms and no
too insane in the matter Of getting III
; enormous quantity Of dirt through tn
; sluices each day, there may be more o
~
, when all hands lean on their shovel
. and talk politics. or horses. or last night
, poker game. or have y short service q
, tobacco smoke. with the usual solem
, preliminaries of cutting the plug an
filing pipes. But if the ajority of tn
{ company" are Il mean, Grabbed. clos
listed lot. the misery goes on withou
cessation.
, \ qucerlv assorted group are we thu
= laboriny together. Jack OWN impellin
!, hope and life's idea is to earn enough t
: pay his passage home 10 Philadelphia
+. and buy him q suit CT clothes. y dcccl
n suit llc has not earned these five year
a He would lie the terror ard distress {
i, his relatives if ever he got back. for vii
!. him s. in his pocket over expenses an
|, sobriety are an impossihility. McEadde
" dreams of cabin, COW, some & e:
|. and goats. u horse and Il wife, and is
;. n fair way of realizing them all. L
!. saves most of his earnings. gets drum
+" wisely Only on holidays, pays his deb
y regularly. hates the English, lives i'll til;
;, little black. hrownish cabin up yondc
! docs al his cooking in two tin pots. slec
Y in one pair of ancient blankets and
\ most di>rcrutablc bed quilt. and So W
Il cover the cost of all his domestic iittin!
- and utensils iNil FWrnca. n French {
= madam, has ariftel here into this hole
T., the foothills very much as he drifted i'll
~ the worll-wi,hout aim or object in h
# save present enjoyment He is Il 500
~ wo,kerand works because he was Oro;,s,
~ up to it and cant help it. He Is Il go,
Il boatman, II good logger. a skilled WOO
"a. cutter. IL ,lerotec of poker and general
u a successful one. an entertaining scam
10 full OF wit and originality, quick To ia
in in the pecliarities ard rcccntricitios
ID others. something of a dandy, rs far
ir dandviSnl can be INDUCED in this out
r. the way place. aud IL born scamp. glib
. tongue. unreliable. and socially the be
Nv man of the crowd.
NJ 1t is near II O'Clock. There stands
=, "A cool corner OF the claim and careful
= shielded from any stray flying pebble