Tonopah bonanza. [volume] (Butler City [i.e. Butler], Nev.) 1901-1909, 1905-08-05
The Pathfinder.

p~rospector is the pathfinder" in
mining operations. He is the pio-
neer, the vanguard Of an army OF
mining men and investors who fol-
low In his wake; and, in his sphere,
he is just as important, and more
so, than is the man who eventually
takes advantage of and profits by
his discoveries. And, but for him,
many OF our now great mining
camps, many of our great producers
and dividend payers, would not ex-
list today; would be unheard Of, says
the Salt Lake Mining Review.
As a general thing the p%rospector
is in a class all by himself. 1t Is not
often that he is a skillful miner; it
is usually the case that he has had
but little schooling; his knowledge
Of geology and mineralogy is nil;
surface indications appeal to him
only, and mis- ignorance of formation
and the composition of ores often
leads him into grevious errors, into
mistakes which his victims charge
to a desire to deceive, to exaggera-
ton, on his part; and yet, every lit
tie while the prospector will find out
the hidden treasures of Nature and
as a result of his toll, the endurance
of many privations and hardships,
the world is gwen another source
of great mineral wealth.
Then again, there are p~rospectors,
and they are few in number, who
have given a great deal of thought
and time to the study of geology,
m%ineralogy, metallurgy, chemistry
and assaying, who are thoroughly
versed in the mining laws of the
land, and who go about prospecting
for the precious metals with as much
method and system as envelope the
banking business or any other i'm
portant occupation, and because OF
this knowledge, Of this essential in
formation they make fewer mistakes
and their discoveries r generally
of much more value than r those
made by their less fortunate COM
peers.
The average prospector is the an
Choir to which the mining industry
is tied. He may make mistakes, and
yet his intentions are good and hon
orable. His Imagination may be
vivid, but his e-xaggerations are only
the echo Of rie hopes and the lacl
of real knowledge about mining af
fairs.
All men arc not fitted for the lif'
Of a prospector. His is the longini
to be alone with Nature. He enjoy
the solitude, the sublimity of tn
!, mountain Businesses. For month
at a time, with a companion, he lin
gers in the canyons, in almost inaC
cessible places in isolated localities
: and is happy. Get him into the cit
or busting mining camp and b
) soon tires for the freedom of tn
G mountains. The pavements hurt h
/ feet, the routine Of business is tire
e some, his friends and acquaintance
are too busy to keep him intereste'
and he soon t~ransplants his wearie
self to localities more eongenial
q his nature. there to climb the rugge
hillsides in his search for the ledg
r from which came the promising lool
ing float found a month or so ag'
He may not shine in society, an
e could not lead the german in a 81
cial function, but through his e
II forts the money medium of tn
world is constantly increasing; an
for all of his rags, and notwitl
standing his peculiar makeup, he
, a pathfinder all the same, and jul
u as important in his sphere as is tt
Napoleon of Finance or a Ca
tain of Industry"