The Arizona sentinel., 1897-01-09
The Old PfOspectOr.

pector, yet full credit has seldom
 been given him for the importan
 work he has performed in the wa,
 of advancing the development 0
 the industry of mining the preciou
 metals in the Pacific Coast states
 Not few look upon the prospecto
 as sort of shiftless, rowing creatur
 who wanders about the wilds of th
 mountains in a pro6tlsss way
 But the fact is that the prospecto
 occupies a very important plac'
 among the members of the mining
 industry. He IS the pioneer ant
 leads the way in the exploration Q
 new mining fields, scouting ou
 into the wilds far in advance o towns and settlements. Before mines can be opened and worked
 by capital they must be discovered and it is the prospeetor who salliei forth and does the necessary work
 The prospector may be said tc havs been born in the days o ''forty-nine," when the harvest ot gold of the California placers be- gan. AS soon as "borA" the pros pecter began scouting out into the wilderness, and he has been at il ever since. "Once a prospector always prospector. " A working miner may at times do something in the way of prospecting, but the real prospector is one who is always dreaming of undiscovered veins of the precious metals in-, far-away mountain regions, and whose great est delight is to roam and camp in new and unexplored fields. The prospector has in his composition something of the nature and dis position of the old hunter and trap per. He braves all manner of perils, and endures a thousand hardships in pursuit of his favori!e occupation.
 In the opening up of the mining regions of the Pacific coast the prospector has everywhere been in advance-has led the way. He it was at the front who first met the arrows of the red men, battled with the wild beasts of the mountains, and encountered the dangers of the waterless wastes. First the min ing field is discovered, then the miners push forward and a camp is established, which presently grows up to be town or city.
 In Nevada, Idaho; Arizona, Mon. tana, Washington, Oregon and almost everywhere else the pros pector has been obliged to fight his way among savages, and in several sections of the Pacific coast mining regions he is still on the warpath in rugged mountain wilds. AL though the prospector is always, day and night. dreaming of great wealth, he is seldom wealthy. He is a man of little means, and when he finds 8 good mine he generally sells at price far below it's real value.
 Hundreds of these pioneer pros pectors have left their bones on the desert and in the mountains, and not few have lost their scalps in battle with the savages. Still men are found on the trails on the mountains who are ready to brave the dangers of any region in which gold may be found, from the burn ing sands of New Mexico to the ice-bound regions of Alaska. The true prospector always sees some where ahead a sort of paradise. There is a fine camping place, with. plenty of wood and water; with grass for his burro in a natural meadow, and all else convenient. There, in this little miners, heaven, he places a wonderfully rich mine "a mine in which all is glitter ing with geld and silver. There are men who began prospecting 40 years ago who are still meander- ing the mountain trails, though now old, wrinkled and white-haired. They are still after the big thing that is always little way ahead.
 The genuine prosrector is not at all inclined to settle down to the hard every day toll required in the development of a mine There