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

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tSH--Ay tie stiff in the
morning. Or if not stiff, they lacked
action. Working all the day previously,
possibly in the water. or with it splash
ing all about, Juggling ut heavy boulders,
shouIiering wet sluices, to say nothing
of the regular pick and shovel exercise,
would make itself felt even when the
Dressing was short job. A pair of damp
overalls. a pair of sochs, pair of shoes, or
possibly the heavy rubber mining boots.
Flannel shirts we slept in. face swab-
bling with cold water in the tin basin
outside and click and promise" for
the hair with the comb. That was about
all for week days. Vanity of apparel
there was little for the working miner.
Who WAS there to dress for? Woman?
The nearest was half a mile, so years OF
age, and married. Then breakfast. The
| fire kindled in the contrary little stove.
| Possibly it was necessary to attack with
an axe that dried old stump near by and
hack of n few chips to cook with. The
miners wood pile was generally small.
He got in fuel on rainy days, or at the
odd intervals to be spared from work.
You put on the worn tin teapot, lowered
the gauze covered meat safe from the
tree, cut II steak from the chunk of bull
mahogany within called beef, sluny n
dab of lard in the frying pan, put therein
the meat and let it sizZle. Two or three
boiled potatoes might be sliced, fried
more or less brown in the gravy, and
this, with bread and tea, formed the
breakfast. The bread was the bread of
your own laborious baking, the loaf of
an irregular shape, the crust very hard
and thick, the color often ''picd," being
black where it had burned. brown where
it had baked, and of palid Wilderness
where it had not baked at all. Within
the loaf might be close, heavy, and in
color either a creamy or a canary yellow.
in proportion to the improper amount of
yeast powder used.
The table is Il broad shelf against the
wall. There is no tab!cc!oth. You did
not always wash up after breakfast, for
the dishes. rs they stood. were all in
place for dinner. Some fastidious min
ers washed their dishes after each meal;
most of us did not. 1t was too much to
expect Of hard worked humanity The
cabin door is open while you eat and
from it you look forth ON the claim.
There lies the bank of red earth as YOU
1T it yesterday after the "cave.
there is the reservoir full of coffee col
cred ditch water which had run in dur
ing the night after being used for wash
Ing in u dozen claims up country.
Then YOU draw on those damp. clammy
rubher boots, either to the knee or hil
high. the outside splashcd with the driet
. reddish mud. and smelling dsagreeabl.
!. of ruhbcr..s you pulled them on an,
y smelling worse as you became heatct
= and perspiring. In these you waddle tt
tho claim. forgot. Breakfast over
one of the most important acts of thu
= day was next on the programme. Tina
was the filing. lighting and smoking o
your pipe. Nothing could hurry yo,
through this performance. The filling
was cut in slivcrs with Il careful ant
;. solemn consideration: the weed was care
fully bestowed in the howl; the mate!
was applied with II deiiDcral!on savorin:
J. of IA religious act; the first putt rose il
the air rs incense To the early morn. AM
smukin. thus YOU wedd!ed in your III,
~ boots to the claim. There you met you
three partners. all likewise smoking
. There they stand on the bank. looking
into the ground sluice. There is no goo
morning" or other greeting: If anything
yrunts. There lay the tools-shovels
picks. crowbar and sluicc fork-hcll
lessly about. As left last evening.
little muddy water triclles through tn
line al sluiccs. One of us goes to tn
reservoir, few hundred yards off. an
turns on tho water. Another goes I
the tail of the sluices with the sluic
fork. Then is heard the clicking OF IN
pick and the grating of the shovel agains
the rcd dirt: down comes the mudd
water over the bank and the days wor
has fairly commenced.
We stand in II row. allowing sutlicier
room between eac,, for swinging tn
pick. We are undermining the banl
the water running at our feet and b'
tween us and the bottom, Of the hanl
Each Chunk of red dirt Gislo,!ged by til
pick falls into the running water. all
II it be hard and will not readily Gis'ols
it mus, I've broken up by pick or sho7'
- to keep the stream clear and unimpede,
Thu large powders are picked out b
IL hand and thrown behind us-no; III I'll
B, nJercd fashion, either. Room IN u.