Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-11-24

Less Danger and Less Noise In Them Thai
in Any Of the Large cities.
There is a fascination about mininl
life which, once having possessed .
man, cannot easily be shaken of.
miner who has made a good stake by
selling his locations at first proposes tc
himself to travel. then to settle down
in his own original home; but after a
little while he discovers that he him
self has changed, that old ties have
been broken and that he is disappoint-
ed In his former associations. Things
at home seem to have inexplicably
dwindled. An almost irresistible i'm
pulse, a transferred nostalgia, a long
ing for the clear, bracing mountain air
and the liberal ways of the mines then
seizes him.
1t is difficult to content ones self
with the monotonous life of the staider
communities after having tasted a
more exhilarating one. The attraction
of the mines is not all i'm the hope of
gain, though that of course has much
to do with it. The friendships formed,
the freedom of thought and custom,
the spirit of canaraderie, and the en-
tire absence of commercial competition
have their influence as we'll So num-
bers of men, having acquired a COM
petence in mining, make their head
quarters still in the mining country as
matter of preference, not necessity.
In, fIo haI -
taking short trips away, and are to be
met with all through the highways and
byways of travel 10 be able to lead
this pleasant Independent life is the
dream of the less fortunate ones Min
ers are very apt to disparage their call
ing while they are actively engaged in
it; they may term it "a dogs life," but
let them once be freed, mark how they
banker after it
Some people suppose that a mining
camp is an unusually dangerous sort of
place, full of desperadoes and "bold |
ups" where every man carries his life
in his hand The misconception has
been handed down from rougher, wild |
er times, and has been kept alive by
the romancing of tenderfoot newspa-
per correspondents. A man is far safer
in mining camp than on Cherry Hill,
New York Tar Flat, San Francisco or
large areas in any of our cities; much
more indeed than in parts of London
or Paris. So far as robbery is con-
cerned one is not safe anywhere, in the
~, L., tl,n tD,,-a
AS to affrays of other kinds, q man
who is sober, minds his own business
and does not set up as a fighter would
always be let alone. II he does not
carry gun" so much the better for
him, for there is among the toughest
characters a certain sense of chivalry, ,
which they would call ''squareness,
that prevents attack upon an unarmed |
nan. The practice of carrying arms is I
lot at all universal in the mountains. 1
When pistols are worn they are kept
,ut of sight Indeed, there is not much q
lse to peaceful man in carrying arms q
It ALL .
If he is "held up" by the road s
gents" he is always at disadvantage, +
'eing taken unexpectedly, and when s
hey have the drop on him a motion
oward the hip pocket would be to take @
arge chances. If the custom, so far as h
t goes, of carrying weapons may some s.
lines lead to unpremeditated fatal en- a
it also has the effect of max a
ng men quiet and cautious about giving s
,ffense. Albert Williams in Engineer a
no :.