Crawford avalanche., 1892-09-22

Camps That Have OutIived Their
Booms-Most Miners are American
-Prospectors' Luck.

~ picturesque unpcCt, anu WucthCi STU
ated in the dark shadow OF some rocky
gorge, through which rushes some noisy.
snow-fed torrent, or upon a rocky and.
PERCEPTIONS hillside, the scene il, equally
wild and romantic.
The little cabins nestle In sheltered
hooks, where n bit of ground can be-
found large enough to hold the miniature
structure, with usually sentinel pine at
the door, and wcll-worn path to the
stream, which lashes and foams along its
rock bed, or they cling to the steep
mountain sides, where winding trails.
lead to the ravine below.
The hills, the gulches, the very rocks
are literally honey-combed with dark
tunnels and prospect holes" where
men have searched with pick al d powder
for the Precious metals, and m, NJ hope
lies buried in these excavations where
che white "clumps" gleam like new
graves among the gray rocks and the
green pines.
The camp that has outlived its, boom
has an especially desolate mir. The old
shaft houses, with their tall smokestacks
leaning like the tower of Pisa, the long
tunnels, the deep, dark and gruesome
the earth, with their rotten timbers and
damp, slippery ladders which erst have
borne the feet of merry workmen to
their labors, give one chill of horror to
look down into the yawning depths, and
one can fancy he sees the ghastly light of
the miners candle fickering here and
there in the gloom.
But the busy camp, the camp that is
booming, is anything but quiet At z
O'clock whistles blow and swarms of men
begin to disappear into the earth like
prairie dogs into their burrows, and
hundreds of feet below the surface, by
the pale light of tallow candles, they
drill and blast the solid rock all day.
At they come up pale and half blinded
by the sunlight, while the might shift"
goes down in their place to continue the
work through the night.
Once miner always miner seems. to
be the rule. Perhaps it is the, spice of
danger ever present in the probability of
an exploding cap of the giant powder, a
falling rock or the falling of timbers or
machinery that lends a fascination to
many whose nature it is to toy with dan
ger. AT any rate real miner seldom
uOuuuOHo OSCupuOlOu, AC
may meet with countless mishaps or lose
months of pay in some dishonest COM
pany.
The majority of gold miners are Ameri-
cans. and are mostly an intelligent, inde-
pendent and reliable class Occasionally
a squad of dagos go into the mines but
their cowardicc and approximations rem
der them nearly useless. No Italian eau
be induced to enter mine wherean acci-
dent has ever occurred. especially if it has
| been of fatal nature. Cornishmen are
often employed and usually are good
workmen, but their queer dialect and
peculiar habits make them the butt of
unmerciful ridicule. Foreigners just over
show an amazing fear of bosses, as was
shown in the case of raw Frenchmau
. recently, who worked with such unusual
diligence during the visits of the super
intendent as to rouse that officials
suspicious. 1t was rather the habit Of
the men to cease their work and chat
familiarly with the boss, at the same
time giving their attention to his instruc-
tions. But the poor Frenchman, who
was really good fellow anxious to hold
his job, worked with such untiring en-
crgy, that it seemed evident that his eff
forts were strained for the purpose of eff
feet. The boss was disgusted and
threatened to discharge him. A few time
ly hints from,his fellow-workmen. how
ever, induced the Frenchman to desist
from such extreme efforts and to sit
down upon his wheelbarrow at the next
visit from the official, while his uneasy
and frightened appearance caused the
laugh to 90 round
While the work underground has it's
attractions for the brawny arm and
skilled hand, that of the anxious pros
pector above, proving among the rocks
and searching every seam and crevice in
search of gold is full of alternate hope
and despondency, and many man grown
gray in the work has finally laid down to
die broken in heart and bt.ly in this mad
following of the most eyasperating will
o. the wisp that ever lured men on to de-
spair. And if ever the gentle Goddess of
Hope transforms herself into demon it
is when she beckons with her alluring
finger through mountain Businesses while
her victim plods with weary step,
ever searching, sep by step, for
that which he will never fKd.
Man may be learned IN mineralogy
and may be able to tell at glance the
nature and quality of ore. He may ex-
plain to you the difference between telIu-
ride and tellurium. He may know all
the different strata and formations and
be able to survey the distance through
mountain to an inch. And while this
learned man canters gayly along, fally
equipped for a successful prospecting
tour, some poor tenderfoot or green
hobo, plodding by abstractedly, kicks
over rotten stump or digs his heels into
the ground as he rests in the shade OF a
pine; and, To- the precious metal is in
sight. The tendcrfoot may or may not
know that the rusty ore beneath his feet
is worth 81, coo per ton. The smart man
may ride along and offer him fair price
for his find or hoot ut the idea OF its
value and eventually get it all; and
again, the finder may be smart enough to
hold on to it. These things are just as
they happen, and nature herself seems a
selfish and capricious parent, pouring
into the laps of her favored children vast
streams of gold from her veins and
cruelty Withholding from others even the
smallest portion of her wealth. Such is
the feverish and ovcrwrought life of the
gold-sceker II Omaha World.