The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-01-24
BEYOND THE MIRAGE.
A study Of Life on the Mojave
Desert.
BY JOHN r. SPEARS.
CHAPTER VII,

with his muscles strengthened and his hands
caioused by tho work he had done In the Weep
ing Mother Gulch. Enoch Halo found himself
able to do days work in the Dolly Warden to
tho satisfaction OF the foreman OF tho shift In
which he worked. He did. indeed. lack skill
and the foreman recognized that at once. OF
course. but Hale more than made up for this.
There we're other differences than that of skill
between him and tho rest-one difference. for
instance, being that between q man eager to
learn and ono eager only for pay day.
Tho truth 10 the energy he displayed was we'll
nigh getting him into trouble with his as
sociates. and he would have been disciplined by
the miners union. which ho was com PEELED to
Join at once. only that he had by this time
made large number OF personal friends among
the men of the camp. When he left the Mills
boarding house TO 60 to that at the mine no
found that his reputation as u good fellow had
preceded him. and he at once confirmed It
among his new associates.
There Is oIe feature OF the cause Of Haie's
popularity that is worth n moments considera-
ton. The miners learned Immediately after he
came among them that not only was he man
OF education and refinement but that one OF the
substantial leather trunks was filled with O Sc
lection OF books most excellent under the cir
cumstances. Those acquainted with the N etal
hunters OF the wilder parts Of the United States
know that OF all trades or guilds of wagework-
ers there Ia none that takes greater pride in
having q man like Hale with his books as an
associate. IL is not, as some may suppose, tn at
the miners as class arc themselves
either cultured or refined TO any es.
pccial degree. As matter of fact one
has only to look In on them at the
dinner hour to SEQ an unwashed drove swig aud
swill their food with such crowdinr and grunt-
"a M mr. n 70 At Iaas al .
accustomed to better things. And as to their
taste In literature ono finds the standard of the
average well set fo-ih by the motto Of the
White Arab. That was n mine camp and not n
family paper. Nevertheless there are In every
gang OF miners q saving fow-graduates Of
Columbia or the German Schools OF Mines
and. rarely. one who may write A. VI. after his
name. The most degraded OF these nnlet,ered
herbs Is proud OF these men as associates. and
plume. himself on tho reputation which they.
thanks to the story writers, have given to the
whole guild
Moreover. Enoch Hale's books wero especially
well selected. as said. for the region. He had,
Hrst OF all. work, on geology. with Pacific Rail-
way survey and Hayden reports. The miners
laugh at tho airs Of a book mineralogist but
they read the books when they got the chance.
And then there were complete sets OF standard
novels in convenient form-Thackcray and
Scott and Irving and Cooper among the rest.
with q volume Of Emerson's essays. Thoreau's
Cape Cod" and tho "Autocrat OF the Break
fast Table"
Hale was as.onished as we'll as pleased to nd
that three or four OF his associates were init.
mstely acquainted with Pendennis. He was
amused to hear one sigh because Bocaccio had
been left behind. lie was delighted when no
found that one fully appreciated the fact that
I'D had la. an hau nd In ha .an al in
OF a woodchuck and fooled In silver with
willow catkin.,
The men who had seemed at frst rs repulsive
q. savage.. IL not brutes came TO seem like as
soc lates good enough for AM body as they gath
cred about the lamps In the board In house sit
ting room and read and discussed these book,
for an hour or so every hight Hale worked At
first in the day shift and varied this with
stories Of experiences In other camps or OF won
drous luck. both good and bad. when prospect
ing Al arst there was All occasional reference
to Hale's scare In tho newspaper ONCE, though
this was soon seemingly forgotten. and rs for
the refusal to accept Clough's ofYer Of
S. 900 for q prospect hole they never
did cease 10 make merry over Uale's re-
mark that he was glad he hadn't accepted
the Offer. But Enoch Halo was the last
maa TO take offense at such pleasantly Rad. in
fact the more ne thought about It the more
foolish tho remark he mad made seemed to him.
Hadn't Cough been really betting $1,000
.,,I,s, . nIllIo, 81 IN .n,aky Enoch Usl, haJ
:, ~, -
enluy"d tue "o'Nso OF ihor'au pechuhe ne too'
mad the spirit OF n poet naturalist, but he had
.I,,a,. f.It cont,np, for IN, idea. ahont nron.
-
erlE displayed ny Inc hermit OF Nalueh ponu.
Now. II happened. one day. that a man came
"a ,h. mo. .di,s hou.. looLIny for work who -, i'll
10 'no o""'"'"s ''"'' 'ooA "s 'o' VII ""' s"''
lie didn care very inuch whether ne got u or
not, because he was Just travelling from camp
,o..m, ,ol.ar, m. d..sr, coun,rv II. Ind h..,
''s"u'o w zoo w ~ 10 49,
over year coming from Montana TO DaGgett
because he " had worked his passage" Enoch
iii. 20. ,,,.,..,.d In tia, man NJ onc. and
'"'. "a' :. 80 ,'nn w ~
watched his doInss cIoseiy, although n" oneeIse
paid more than ordinary attention to him.
so,,h.,n.n.a .h,,, . ,v..L .,,.r n. -riy.a
''N ''' 49,
that Hale saw him pick up a piece OF rock in
tn. trail that led from the mouth OF the main
.h.,, -, ,h. T,ouy Va rd., d,wn IN n.,,.,,
sm"'' W '"' ' '" "es'
The chunk had oeen knocked from cropping
OF what the miners called country rock by "a
,,.u Io,,.d .pn,lv wagon rbi. ma, b,.v tho
we'.'"" .upp' ""so" '''' h s, Wv ,ae
dust from the rock. wiped II on MS overails,
spit on 1t and looked carefully at the moistened