Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-07-07
OBSERVATIONS OF A
MINE SEEKER

Communities frequently learn more
OF their local affairs through the oh.
servations OF strangers than they 9th.
erwise could learn. During the past
two months Durango has had many
visitors who came to learn something
of the situation in the La Plata mining
district All have been looking for an
opportunity. the greater number look
ing fer investment in mining property
Strangers with all the different ideas
that people can have. go about on gen
eral lines. looking for information and
they institute inquiry indiscriminately
in all the channels of possible infor-
nation In doing this they get up
against about everything
Some of the men who have been
here have seen nearly all the peculiar
phases of mining camps. Some of
them have risen out of conditions that
bai'led human hope. and these are the
kind who study and observe as they
go along. Around the resorts and
public places frequent discussions of
experience in the La Platas navy he
heard
One widely known operator who
says he wishes to stay here awhile
longer and SAYS he does not wish to
antagonize anybody. says he has met
about all the conditions he ever ex
perienced before in his life. He said.
Il had more advice here than was
ever offered anywhere else. and sun
I tA
in which it was given. if / only knew.
I ran on to fairly good prospect the
other day. and the owner in the
course of conversation referred me To
one of his friends in town. han
pened to find his friend. and | told
him where | had been. Now. do YOU
know that prospector made one of the
greatest mistakes in his life. His
friend said the prospector had been
monkeving around for years because
he didn't want to work: that there was
plenty of work; that he wouldn't give
= man quarter of dollar If he was
going to prospect and he concluded
by saving that if thought of buying
anything in the La Platas had bet.
~ h'tp MY n'tutN III INV DOrkpt.
wouldn't that kill YOU? Many time
I might have done better if | had kent
my money. but do you know what
killed me? That fellow had no idea
of what he was talking about. How
did he suppose man would find a
gold mine in the La Plata district If
he worked in a sawmill all the time
nirtEpd pnttnn
But you know there are times when
knock is boost and 1t is so in this
case. There is another case which
would knock a man off the dump.
When | first came in I had a dozen
tips" to keep away from a certain
fellow and ] avoided him for two or
three weeks. When had been around
the hills bit | found people who
kept telling me | ought to get ac-
anainted with this same fellow, and
| did and | am glad of it. The first
thing he told me was that he didn't
have a pound of shipping ore. and
then proceeded to tell me of other
people who had property from which
ores had been shipped, and which he
thought development would make
mines of. In this way | got the first
idea of something that | think my
people will want.
When you go into a new country
you have got to take everything as it
comes and then size it up yourself.
but you soon learn to watch the antics
of the knocker | ran onto bunch of
these boys in Idaho and they are scat
tered about more or less everywhere,
but you are very well fixed for them
here. Men that are out to get any
thing rarely give them much atten-
tion, unless they are too persistent.
Then there is always a way to get
back"