, 1897-10-01
"PYRITEs SAM"

Dut were not aOSolutely certain until
the night he came in with his pockets
full OF pyri,es Of iron, and taking each
man aside privately informed him, with
many injunctions as to secrecy, that he
had discovered and located a brass
mine. As a rule we had grown very tired
o; Initiating every tenderfoot that came
along into the mysteries Of quartz min
ing; showing them the difference be-
tween g~old-bearing quartz and country
rock; between a true fissure and on
tact vein: between granite, porphyry,
schist. spar. serpen.ine. quartzite, ETC.:
OF trends. dips, spurs, angles. etc.; OF
shafts, tunnels. Slopes. wines, and
drifts; Of the manipulation of the horn
spoon or gold pan; how to distinguish
the resultant sediment, il gold, from
mica. pyrites or sulphurets; in a word.
teaching chem in an hour or two all we
had learned after years of toll and pri-
walton. We had reached this stage Of
the tired feeling" when Sam brought
in his brass specimens, and not a
man OF us would tell him what it was.
"Uh-huh," we said. as ne carefully ex-
hibited his deceptive-!ooking find. What
did we think of it? Why. 1t was a great
find and very hlgh,grade ore-if it was
brass. 'R'-why. OF course it was
brass: look at it; anybody could see what
1t was. We admitted that they could;
yes, anybody that knew anything a. all.
ignorance on his claim for two weeks
until he received returns from the
sample sent to Los Angeles for assay.
Then the Brass Monkey" as Sam call
ed IL, shut down, and he went to pros
pecting again. We never asked him any
questions, but he volunteered the in
formation that 1t was good ore, but at
that distance from a railroad 1t could
nc. be handled at a profit. One day
one of the boys found his certificate
blowing about the camp. 1t contained
no figures, only a statement OF what his
And consisted, and that hereafter to in
sure an answer he had better inclose a
stamp. as the office could not afford to
lose the postage in replying to the
tacked this on the postoflce door. but
Sam only grinned. and said I'VE all go,
to learn"
He was SO persistent and industrious
In his determination to Strike it rich
that we finally began to have a fellow
feeling for him and to appreciate his
pluck; sympathy he did not need. He
was jolly and ~good-natured, did not
drink to excess and never known TO
turn a card at money. In a friendly
game In his tent the suggestion Of
draw" at only a dollar limit was al
ways me- by his quiet statement that
he never played for money, that he was
raised differently and. besides. mis- mon-
ey came so hard" that he knew he
would be a loser. He was always ready
with his sympathy when another's ledge
"pinched," "petered" or broke off,"and
encouraged him all he could; always had
a song or a story for a bad night. and
in the event Of sickness or injury had
some simple remedy in the way Of poul-
tees that his mother used to use" In
fact, he was one OF those happy-go-lucky.
l!ght-hearted fellows. handy abou. camp
and a friend to everybody, bu: one could
not get rid OF the impression that he
didn't have any more sense than the
law allowed" Therefore, 1t was &C,
copied as a matter OF course, when a
tenderfoot struck camp one day in the
first stages Of desert fever. that Sam
should take entire charge Of him and
dose him with wild sage and "squaw'
tea and concoct apetizing dishes from
bacon, beans. rice and -four. Some OF
us dropped in occasionally on our way
to or from work to learn the patients
condition and to offer suggestins. but
Sam was considered head nurse.
AS a 'stayer." malarial or Chagres
fever Is not to be compared to desert
fever. The latter drags along and hangs
VII way itN 10Y, vSCh pAlC "C1n' IL
although the patient may be able to
crawl about he Is weak, debilitaated and
nerveless and don't care a rattle OUT Of
the box" whether he lives or dies. This
was the condition OF that tenderfoot.
During the middle OF the day he drag.
ged himself about the camp in the sun.
but The remainder OF the time he spent
In his bunk in his tent. One night,
when most Of the boys were assembled
In the Bedrock" Sam came in and, go
Ing up to the bar. drank alone. con.
trarv to his usual custom, then turned
his back on the crowd, leaned his Ell,
bow on the bar and gazed NJ into the
darkness. at .ahe same time twisting hfs
mus.aohe fercely, as II worried over
something.
whats wrong. Sam? Patient dead?.
some one asked.
NO" said Sam. but he's a layin' up
there wishin' he was. I tell you. pard-
ners," he continued, turning to the
crowd. I've been in f.ard luck myself
-so've all of US, I euess-an' seen oth>
ers In hard luck. but that poor cuss up
there's In the hardest streak Of luck l
ever wee. He's PUN down to bedrock
an nary color"
That's nothin'. Sam: we've all been
there many a time. Whats the mat.
ter. out Of Grub?"