The Marble times and Crystal silver lance., 1900-10-12
The Optimists of Optimlsts.

it is utterly impossible to discourage
him, says Mining Reporter.
With his pipe in his mouth, his
trusty Winchester in the hollow of his
arm, and his diminutive donkey walk
ing by his side, he sets forth on his
journey to find a pine. All he owns
in the world is packed on the donkey IS
back, and consists, for the most part,
a sack of flour, piece of 'sowbelly, "
(bacon) few potatoes, little coffee,
and sometimes a little dried fruit.
These, together with few cooking
utensils and his tools, which are al
ways of the best, make up all that he
needs to make him happy.
The weather may be bad and usually
is at this time of the year, for your
true prospector seele the hills as early
in the spring as the ssow will permit
A storm comes up before he has gone
ten miles and drenchss him to the skin,
but he doesn't care for little thing
like that; he has been out in worse
storm many time-and he never gets
sick; man with hope as strong as
his, rarely does. After a while he
comes to a place where the snow has
not melted, and then, perhaps for miles
he will wade through snow nearly up
to his waist, and have to help his don
key along. Finally, long after dark,
he finds place where it is dry enough
to build fire and having tethered his
donkey, he rolls himself in his blanket
and sleeps as only a prospector can
sleep.
Is this his first trip? BY no means;
this may be the 29th or Both spring
that he has started out in the same
M manner, and with hope just as high.
70 be sure he has failed to make a
strike all these years, but that was
hard luck, and anyhow, he will this
time: he feels just as sure of this as he
would if he had the mine patented and
syndicate ready to purchase-for of
course he does not intend to keep it,
prospector meyer does: if he should
keep it he could no longer prospect.
And then, day after day, week after
week, month after month bis search
goes on. He goes over the ground
inch by inch, sometimes erect, some
times almost creeping on his hands
and knees. He climbs sheer precipices
for hundreds OF feet, and cuawls into
creyices so high up in the face of the
cliffs that it makes mans blood run
cold to watch him. He stands up to
his waist in water-courses and throws
out the gravel. Nothing escapes his
eye. He examines every rock, every
pebble, the ground about him, the con-
tour of the hills, and even the wild
flowers he knows that many
of these flowers will change their color
when growing in certain rich mineral
deposits always looking for that piece
OF float which shall lead him to his
mine. Always hoping-nay, expect
ing-that the next piece of rock he picks
up will be it.
Perhaps. some day, he finds the float
he has been looking for. His eye tells
him at once what it is, and he immedi-
ately looks around for more. ANOTHER
piece is found, and another, all lead
ing in the same direction. He knows
that he is on the track of his mine and
his heart beats high. And at last,
after creeping oyer sharp stones. wad-
ing thp9pgh water little colder than
ice, aHd undergoing hardships that
would turn any other mans hair white.
1t is found. There is no doubt as to it
being vein: to be sure it is not very
rich on the surface-would probably
run couple of dollars to the ton-but
he feels sure that if he can only get
down a few hundred feet it will develop
into one of the richest lodes in the
state. But to reach this depth will
take money and he has nope: There
are those who have the money, how
ever, and gathering up the richest
samples he can find he tramps back to
Denver to secure the assistance of q
promoter,
Now begins what would be to any
other man the most heart-breaking
part of all. For days and weeks and
months he haunts the Offices OF pro-
moters, capitalists, and others whom
he hopes to induce to back what by
this time has grown to him to be a
second Isabelle. Some turn him off
at once, while others tell him to call
again, only to decline in the end to
have anything to do with it.
At last he realizes that with samples
no richer than those he has he cannot
raise the money to get at fabulous
fortune, and SO he gives it up. Dis