The silver state. [volume] (Unionville, Nev.) 1870-1903, 1892-02-04
Worth Reading.

The following letter was recently
received by one of our popular rail-
road boys from an old companion in
the business, who is now mining.
The letter is given without a change
and is worth reading, although the
writer had no idea when writing it
that it would get into print:
SCHROEDER MINING CAMP,
Don't know what date, but 90f
something.
OLD PARD-While putting a patch
on to the seat of my pants the thought
suggests itself of dropping you a few
lines as being a good means OF reliev-
ing myself of this mortal ennui
(phew!) that Expresses me. We are,
to all intents and purposes, showed
in. If you were never in that delight
full predicament you have no idea OF
the exhilarating (ahem) effects OF
such case. In the summer time,
when the trail is good from the cabin
to the mine, the distance is about
tbree-quarters of mile, but under the
present circumstances | should judge
it about 10 miles with rounding of
the sand cut every 10 steps. The
most of our time is occupied in plug
ging back and forth in an almost
fruitless endeavor to keep the trail
open. But there is one great adj
vantage that we labor under with re-
gard to the trail, and that is this
that we know when we are on
it Chat is the traiD and when we are
not, and that regardless of eyesight.
When you make step and go plumb
out of sight you know d. well you
are off the trail and all you have to do
is to founder around until you find
it, repeating the operation as often as
the exigencies of the case demands,s so
you see that that is one great advant-
age we labor under. But there is one
internal disadvantage that we have
to contend with, and that is the fuel
question. Ii we were about II miles
nearer the company's coal bins that
question would not agitate us a
particle, but under the circumstances
we have to rely upon the immortal
sagebrush, which is entirely covered
with snow in this vicinity and re-
quires no small amount of ingenuity
to unearth it. We strike out from
some part of the trail between the
cabin and mine and you can easily
tell when you are on sagebrush, for
the snow is porus all around its spread
ing branches, and when you come
near down you go and If you have to
dig the snow out of you eyes and ears
you know you have struck a pretty
big fellow, but if you only 60 in to
your armpits it is hardly worth bother
ing about; but my partner has to
take the lead in that operation as l
have got fiat wheel on the right
side which incapacitates me from
working in the lead, so you see that
even misfortune has its attendant
blessings. l must tell you that /
struck what call phenomena here
Mt the cabin. / was always taught
and led to believe that the wind blew
from points designated on the COM
pass, but it blows here from point
| have never seen on any compass
yet, and that is straight down. Our
chimney is topped off with powder
can and we have put box inverted
onto the top of that and a rock of
about Atty pound weight to hold the
box on, as the wind when she blows
straight down rebounds under the
box and the rock is necessary for
ballast. The smoke don't have much
show to get out, but the velocity with
which 1t comes back down the
chimney when the wind gets slap
at it it is greatly lessened and to
obviate the grief by the smoke coming
back into the cabin we have cut
hole in the roof, all same Injun
wickiup; but, nevertheless, our eyes
make us appear as if we were con-
tinually doing penance for something,
and which we undoubtedly are.
/ wish / had that son of a gun here
that wrote Beautiful Snow" pd.fix
him SO that he would have all he
wanted of the beautiful. / would
jam him in head first and let
spring, gentle spring, thaw him out,
/ guess I'll quit now, as can't see
the end of the pen any more for
smoke. Yours abruptly,