The Frankfort roundabout., 1892-01-16
LIFE IN MINING q. CAMPS.

Less Danger and Less Noise In Them Than
In Any of the Large Cities.
There is fascination about mining
Ife which, once having possessed a
han, cannot easily be shaken off, A
miner who has made good stake by
selling his locations at first proposes to
himself to travel, then to settle down
In his own original home; but after
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 im-
pulse, 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 in 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 camaraderie, and the en-
tire absence of commercial competition
have their influence as WELL So num-
bers of men, having acquired COM
petence in mining make their head
quarters still in the mining country as
a matter of preference, not necessity.
Such men are much in the habit of
taking short trips away, and are to be
met with all through the highways and
byways of travel To 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 "hold
ups" where every man carries his life
in his hand. The misconception has
been handed down from rougher, wild
or 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
mountains or in the towns.
AS to affrays of other kinds, man
who is sober, minds his own business
and does not set up as a fighter would
always be let alone If he does not
carry gun" so much the better for
him, for there is among the toughest
characters certain sense of chivalry,
which they would call "squareness
that prevents attack upon an unarmed
man. The practice of carrying arms is
not at all universal in the mountains.
When pistols are worn they are kept
out of sight. Indeed, there is not much
use to a peaceful man in carrying arms
at ALL
If he is "held up" by the ''road
agents" he is always at disadvantage,
being taken Unexpectedly, and when
they have the drop on him a motion
toward the hip pocket would be to take
large chances If the custom, so far as
II goes, of carrying weapons may some
times head to unprecedented fatal en-
counters, it also has the effect of max
ing men quiet and cautious about giving
ofiense. ALBERT Williams in Engineer
in0.