Newport weekly independent., 1901-06-21
MODERN PROSPECTORS.
Their Gun Play Not Up to Tradition of
 Mining Towns.

correspondence of the Boston Tran script, the mining camp of to-day is passably orderly; life and property in reasonable security. Hold-ups do oc- cur now and then; shooting atfrays- gun plays'-take place occasionally, but the members of the community see to 1t that an order of things which threatens their lives or pocketbooks does not obtain a foothold. Dance halls, gambling, women and drunken ness are permitted, and these are vir- tually impossible to eradicate in a mining camp. But the business and mining men who have their money invested do not allow matters like murder and robbery to get headway. as well from sound business motives as from those of self-security.
 In our Republic camp there has been only one man shot in the last year, although curious shooting af fair did occur some weeks ago. Two prospectors got into quarrel about a claim. Presumably unarmed at the time, theyseparated, swearingtr trouble. At eight o'clock that evening they came in sight of each other on the main street of the town; one supplied with a Winchester rifle opened fire from the middle of the road on the other standing in a saloon door and armed with a long barreled Colts re- volver. The street was crowded at the time, the busiest of the evening" The men were now separated by 20 paces. They fired seven shots. The extraordinary point was that neither hit the other, nor anyone else. either on the street CT in the surround ing buildings, although every place was crowded. The bullets were found in saloons and stores nearby, while one went on 50 yards down the street to a more distant gaming house. The men were fined $100 each the next morn ing, and it was a generally accepted doctrine that they should have got an- other $10O each for not shooting straighter.
 This incident would point to the fact that the present day prospeetor is not so formidable shot as Deadeye Dick of 30 years ago. Indeed, the present day prospector as seen about the streets of Republic appears to be more concerned with putting his claim than in watching his gun. Let us walk up the street and talk to one of them a moment, but remember, easterner, that this is the most democratic coun- try in the world, and that prospector is as good as you are and rather better for you are an customer.
 We approach hairy individual, leaning against the Butte saloon. He is chewing tobacco with certain slow dignity. He impresses Us as looking resolute and dirty When you get to know him better you will find he is a pretty good sort of fellow, with many of the primitive virtues and all the vices.
 ''Well, how're they coming?" ask as we stop beside him.
 "Oh! They're stacking up pretty good. My partner and me was work ing some last week up on them Bear creek claims. You know them, eh Look at that! How's that for pretty rock?"
 He digs a bit of stone out of his pocket and hands it to us: "That runs $3S0 to the ton, and we're only down ten feet"
 "Got much of that?" l ask.
 "Well, there ain't such a lot of that there stuff, but good average assayll run ten dollars or $12. We've got a ledge four feet wide, and she's going to be wonder. We're going to havean- other Le Roi there before we get through. We wouldn't take S10,000 for her as she stands. No, $10,00O wouldn't look at her"
 The property our friends spoke of comprised, as l knew, two fair looking claims, with little low grade ore in sight. Present value, on the chance of it getting better, perhaps $500