The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1906-09-20
The Mother Lode Fever.
From the New York Sun.

''rf you are going to hunt f0- gold
don't fail To get inoculatcd for the
mother lode fever" says n man who
has been digging for precious metals
for forty odd years. In my time. In
California. Ia South Africa and In the
klondike. l have seen many cSpcr-
fenced miners fall III OF that disease.
You get out among a big Rangt OF
men. where everybody In struggling to
uneerth treasures. and you get IN that
frenzy that makes you work with SUI
perhumnn strength and endurance. But
II you have heard or rea somewhere
that those deposits OF precious metals
In the streams and all others that are
located similarly have been washed
down from up there In the hills that
story will echo. Ia our ears while you
work. and az night u would be the sub
JcCt uf your Grtn' -. Then you've had
the mother lode fever
THAT is. you'd have u unless you
were an ~unConlmonly well EDUCATED
miner or one endowed with u rare
quantity az good sense or os those
la2y hcggars that think It's tru hat
everything comes To- him who'll walt,
In many ways the theory of the
mother lode seems plausible. Even the
scientists haven't decided for sure tina.
there's nothing IN IL. IL Is suggested
that the gold discovered I'm the streams
~ ~ iAufi vi u WIS III 'hsllbf sltt anu
the klondIkc, comes from the noun
tains and WAS lodged there by couvul-
sions Of nature In bygonc days. The
theory OF the mother lode IN hat In
these commissions great quantities 81
gold were deposited I'm the mountain
ranges and that what the average
miner finds Is that part that has been
washed down by the water. Sounds
plausible enough. doesn't Il?
one who has set his mind on reach
lng the great fountain hca 81 the
stream of gold In thoroughly convinced
that somewhere baCk in the mountains.
where the mining explorations have not
yet been made. lies tho great deposit.
To be sure, he might pick and wash
here In the stream and gather tugeth-
CT enough To- give him n fair COM
petcncc for life. but why potter about
with the small things when there. just
above. lies wealth that would mak OF
him "A modern Midas
Ever hear of Lem HOLSTER first
met Lem In California, and found him
hot on the trail of the mother lode
so he thought. Placer mining was no;
very profitable thcn-lt had been played
Out. ! didn't know much about the
+ mother lode theory then. nobody did,
a guess. for u was something lew.
Lom had picked M the theory some
where. and he was sure IL would pay
him In the end.
He vas n sccrctlve cuss. Lem was,
He'd work NJ placer mining for quite
n spell. never saying anything To- us.
bat always seeming To- be thinking u
lot. When he'd gathered up "A little
pile he'd sell out his mine. whether he'd
worked II out or not. and away he'd
go up In the mountains, alone. lie
seemed ia think he could discover the
mother lode without assistance, hc
didn't want To have To- diVvy with ans
nne. or course he never found u. When
his siaSc was gone he'd come back anu
dig IN again 10 make another.
Mex, time | saw Lem was nj Nome,
I was one 81 the first mes 10 ~ there
from the states. but Lem WINS there
ahead ~ me. We staked claims In the
same locality and Lem worked faith
fully. and did we'll.
You'll soon have enough laid by Co
make you independent | said TO him
one day.
Yes. I'm GoIn' fairly well. consider
in" h" said.
You don't think you'n flnd the
/ center lode UP here. do you l asked.
Not II / keep dIggiu' away here.
! he rcvlicd. somewhat; suurly. | thought
| wondered then " he siill chung To his
crazy idea. but didn't say q more,
\ few days later he disappeared. !
felt pretty certain us 20 where he'd
gone. I'd heard others talking az ind
ing the mother lode iu the klundike.
ION" day several months later | mot
/ HOLSTER in Dawson. His first CxT'di-
| ton had failed: he had returned. made
| another stake and was going out again,
| His recent experiences had told on him
ne didn't look TT for mother journey
into those unknown regions.
Lem I told him. Gon't you be n
! fool now. You're getting on fairly well
here and you ought to be satisfied.
Fairly w,ll!' he snccred.
Better than lots OF the boys ]
argued. What you've got doesn't look
big here. but down In the states II Will
You won't have To work any more II
you live TO be $50 " you keep on at
placer and hang n your findings.
IT'S too slow and too hard he re-
piled. I might rs we'll be working on
/ the section. I've looked into this moth
ar lode matter carefully, and my 9TH
or searches have taught me "A lot. I'D
b. a fool to give up now. Why. I'm
on the point of finding IT, That
straight
Il might rs well have argued with
the wind. He never came back
Il got pretty much Interested I'm the
\ mother lode theory myself. but | never
got the idea into my head that could
md IL. Not !. Ia seen too many Of
It's victims