Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-08-24
MINING CAMP LIFE.
THERE ARE MANY ELEMENTS OF
THE PICTURESQUE ABOUT IT.


Life in 4 mining camp bears an ideal
~ picturesque aspect, and whether sis-
tuated in the dark shadow of sonie rocky
gorge, through which rasies noisy,
snow fed torrent, or upon a rocky and
PERCEPTIONS hillside, the scene Is equally
wild and romantic.
The little cabins nestle in sheltered
hooks. where Il bit OF level ground can
be found large enough to hold the
miniature structure, with usually sen
.inel pine at the door and well worn
n,th To the stream, which iashes and
teams along its rock bed, or they cling
to the steep mountain sides, where
winding trails lead 10 the ravine below.
The hills. the gulehes, the very rocks
are literally honeycombed with dark
tunnels and prospect holes, where
men have searched with pick pow
for the precious metals, and man
hone lies buried in these excavat
where the white .'clumps' CLEAN like
new graves among the gray rocks and
the green pines.
ne camp ttlsii fieto tfttAa'NNA 49, 'S-A'
has an especially desolate air. The old
shafthouses, with their tail sinokestacks
leaning like the tower of Pisa, the long
tunnels, the deep, dark and grewsone
shafts going down hundreds Of feet into
the earth, with their rotten tlmbers ana
damp, slippery ladders which erst haze
borne the feet of merry workmen 10
their labors, give one chill or horror
to look down into their yawning depths,
and one can fancy he secs the ,hastly
light of the miners candle tlickerin.
here and there III the gloom,
But the busy camp, the camp that Is
booming, is anything but quiet. At J
o'clock whistles blow and swarms OF
men begin to disappear into the earth
ike prairie dogs into their burrows, and
hundreds OF feet below the surface, by
the pale hight of tallow candles. they
drill and blast the solid rock all d.y.
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 Il miner always II 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 pow
der, ii falling rock or the falling Of tim
beers or machinery that lends a fascina-
ton to many whose nature 1t Is to toy
with danger. AT any rate real miner
seldom abandons his occupation, al
though he may meet with countless
mishaps or lose months of pay in some
dishonest company.
The majority of gold miners are
Americans, and are mostly an lutclll-
gent, independent and reliable class.
No Italian can be induced to enter Il
mine where an accident has ever occur
red, especially if it has been of 4 fatal
nature Cornishmen are often employed
and usually are good workmen, bnt
their queer dialect and peculiar habits
make them the butt of unmcrciful ridi-
Guile. Foreigners just over show an
amazing fear of bosses, as was shown III
the case of I, raw Frenchman recently,
who worked with such unusual dill
gence during the visits of the superlu
teudent as to rouse that officials suspi-
cions.
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 hi, instructions. But
the poor Frcnchman, who was really Il
good fellow anxious to hold his job,
worked with such untiring energy that
it seemed evident that his efforts were
strained for the purpose of effect. The
boss was dis"astcd and threatened to
discharge him. \ few timely hints
from his fellow workmcn. however, in
duced the Frenchman TO desist from
such extreme efforts and to sit down
upon his whcclbaIrow at the next visit
from the official, while his uneasy and
frightened appearance caused the laugh
to go round.
While the work underground has its
attractions for the braWny arm AMI
skilled hand. that of the anxious pros
pector above, prowlinS among the rocks
and searching every scam and cTevice in
search of gold is full of alternate hope
and dependency, and many man
GItN II SloN III tiif h'I ~ has lttiftiif ltilt
Down to die broken in heart and body
in the mad following Of the most cxas,
perating will-o the wi~p that ever lureA
men ON to despair. And l. if ever the
gentle Goddess Of Hope transforms her
self into demon it is when she bcclion-
with her alluring finger through inoull.
tain Businesses while her victim plod.
with weary step, ever searching step by
step for that which he will never find.
Man may he learned in nincralogy
and may h. able to tell at a glance the
nature and quality of ore. He may ex
plain to You the difference between tel
hurdle and tellurium. He may know all
the different strata and formations and
be- able TO survey the distance through a
mountain to an inch. lAnd while this
learned man canters Gayly along, fully
equipped for successful prospecting
tour, some poor tenderfoot or green
hobo, piodding by abstractedly, kicks
over a rotten stump or digs his heels into
the ground as he rests in the shade of a
pine: and 10. the precious metal is in
sight.
lHe ttilitlibot may VI may iot kl''W
that the rusty ore beneath his feet is
worth ~ 600 per ton. The smart man
may ride along and offer him a fair
price for his find or boot at 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 capiicious parent, pouring
into the laps Of her favored children
vast streams of gold from her veins and
cruelly withholding from others even
the smallest portion of her wealth. S1ch
is the feyerish aud overwrought If of
the oidseeker,-Omaha World Herald.
Tick Of THE American Watch.
The United States is fast crowtling