New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-01-14


prospecting on my own account. There's Moth
ing like the mining fever when it once gets
you- The vision OF sudden riches is warming
to the imagination and the quest of wealth hid
den away in the bosom of mother earth fur
nishes the groundwork OF some OF the finest
ronances in the world.
so became miner. and my partner was
man called Suffering Brown. Brown was
something OF character. One OF his griefs was
that he had been through New-York but had
never seen it, He used to speak of il over and
over again When I told him OF the wonders
OF the city and anticipated the time when
should return 10 it Brown would again go over
the story of passing through New-York and
never seeing it, always with anguish.
HE a West Virginia Confederate soldier
and captured and sent North He was
shipped 70 Elmira. where there was federal
prison. and he went through New-YOrk both
times in closed car. After the war he sot
all fixed two three times TO go to New
York, but something happened to prevent il.
and finally he drffted to the Southwest with
out ever setting foot Manhattan soil.
Brown was a good SQUARE chap, but an awful /
sufferer. They used 10 say OF him that ha !
would stutter mile when he got started Once
we were riding through Sonora. and i asked ,
him how far il to the next watering place. I
He began 70 try 10 tell me. and finally wound
up with:
'Wh-wh-wh-when you-you axed me f-f-f-
first, it w-w-was eight mi-mi-m rni-rniles. bus
now it's o-o-o-Only sev-sev-seven"
We located gold and silver mine down near |
Nacosari. at that time about 115 miles away !
from a railroad Now there is railroad to
Nacosari and a great big copper plant owned |
that time everything was in the rough. IT was I
hot and dry. We had good mine mines 1
run, the ore running about S12 a ton gold and
500 a ton silver TO the ton OF ore. When things
went well made about $50 day. But say.
IT work. and heathenish work at that. Do
you know what an arastras is? No? Well. an
|
getting the precious metals out OF rock. There
is a little rock lined pit. with sweep. TO which
is attached bUrro whatever you've got to
run II with. heavy beam is arranged with
one end running TO pivot in the middle OF tho
PIT and az tne end or the beam 10 whicn
the burro Is hitched there is attached a rock
hanging vertically like great tooth. The burro
walks around with this beam and the tooth
grtnds II ore which you pitch into the mill. II 3
a good enough and cheap enough way TO grind
up the ore If you haven't anything better:
but good Lord it's work. especially when tho
sun is about 10 degrees In the shade. It's
worth all Of $40 a day TO grind up!
the ore in this primitive fashion. for after tho
ore is ground up the gold and silver must be
Suffering Brown and I started in with a
good deal OF enthusiasm, and we worked like
dogs for months. In our digging we turned up
old copper spoon and silver crucifI1. Left
In the old dggings by the Spaniards go years
before. A find of this sort fred imaginatonS
for day or two. but romance peters out of a.
one-horse mine when you running aras-
tras. I got awful sick Of it. 7 was confident
\ I
had the money 1 could develop IL and make a
fortune. But that IS the case with hundreds ot
small mines IN Northern Mexico. where the min
eraltzatton is pronounced II you have the
| money you get rich. but If you don't have
the money you can't get rich. and that's all Tiers
! is TO IL.
| Tt came along about Christmas time and r
/ was getting buer by the minute. Our grub
\ had run short and for three weeks tventy-ono
| times a week we lived on beans. Now. beans are
| proper food. and they'll keep from starv-
| ing. At the same time. when you've had beans
II ~T,,, 49,
| there looms UP before you vista Of perhaps
\ another three weeks with nothing but Just beans.
i this time that my Imagination conjured up a
| vision OF the old home in New York. and what
| my brothers were having for Christmas dinner.
| I knew that instead Of just beans they would
| be having turkey. and jellies and cranberry
sauce. and roast pig. and nuts. and raisins, with
i innunerable deIicacies following in tn. holiday
| week Then I looked over at Brown and our
| bag OF beans
q Brown said Z Jumping up and taking a
/ walk around. I'm going 10 quit this ding blasts
ed country and go back East. where can get
something for Christmas dinner besides Just
| beans"
| " 'B-B-b-h- beans and sow-b-b-b-belIJ- amt so
/ Odd burned b-b-b-bad.' said Brown.
| " oh, blast the beans and SOW belly said r.
| My brothers to-day stufing themselves
/ with turkey and cranberry sauce. and thew ara
| singing old songs around the old piano, and
wondering what I'm doing down here. And here
\ we are working Ike dogs on that old arastraS
and living on beans I tell you. Brown. I'm
| going 10 quit
! Observation-Disclosures th-tn-tn-think IL over satt
/ Brown.
\ Well continued the Commissioners, IT dif
/ think IL over. and the more 7 thought IL over
| the more I hated tbs sight Of the old hole In
i the ground. I got an offer that same week OF
I, S1,SOo for my share In the mine and was glad
10 get II. l guess IL that particular man hadn e
| come along T would have sold IL for thirtee.
cents. could have almost danced for Joy when
| got back to Bisbee and heard the whistle OF a
| locomotive and realized that would ba
| on my way back East
There isn't much more TO the story" said tbs
doctor. The fellow who bought me out went
ahead with the mine and after a few month q
/ along came the representatives OF a syndicat9
organized In London. and what do YOU think ?
me syhdlcate took over the mine for S2OOOOO
in cash. The new owners ran IL slccessfrIITv-
/ opening new veins Of good ore. and few years
/ ago they sold IL for S5Je.O00. It's a rne bfN
mine at this time With a good mill on IT. Fvsrve
Christmas think Of the high price paid top
my Christmas dinner"