Gilpin observer., 1909-01-28
The Prospector and His surro.
(From Salt Lake Mining Review

er averse to the employment of q
long. l know that you think that
long finger nails are sign of gentil-
ity and good breeding; and so they
are, but the nails should never be
too long, even in the very best of
society and when you see a man with
nails sticking out of the end of his
digits for half an inch or more, you
may set it down that he is fop,
and that, probably, he parts his hair
in the middle also, and there is a
possibility that he signs his name j.
Lovely Goodlooker, or something of
that sort; and this class of individ-
uals, l am free to say often have
empty spots in their craniums where
brains ought to be, and it is well
to steer as shy of them as the mine
manager used to do of millmen wear
ing long finger nails.
Il see that you seem mystified con-
cerning what | say about millmen
wearing long finger nails, and that
you think they have as much right
to follow this style of adornment as
dudes, poets and people of fashion;
and perhaps he has when he is off
duty, but he should cut them close
when engaged in the cleaning of
plates of the mill of amalgam, for
hA
may be shy, in value, say from ten
to fifteen plunks. and this to the
pecuniary benefit of the millman and
yet he might not be held legally re-
sponsible for theft perpetrated; :; none
whatever.
Il know" continued the prospect
or, that you sometimes feel rather
chesty over boquets thrown to the
mild and trusty borro, and imagine
YOU are an animal of conse-
Cuence ,and so you are in some ways
but when it comes to knowledge OF
some of the methods employed in
the west in the early days of min
ing, you do not stand knee high to
a duck: and there you are. But go
ing back to the long fingers of the
mill man, l tell you, for your bene-
fit, that these nails are not for or
namental purposes, but they were
employed in securing gold from the
plates when a cleanup was In pro-
gress. and this by the simple means
of scraping the fingers along the
plates and getting all the gold pos
sible between the nails. OF course.
as you might imagine, the mill man
was man who was exceedingly care
full of his toilet, and when he went
off shift. he was sure to manicure
his nails with painful care. This was
right and proper, but the observing
man might have noticed that he took
mains that the cleanings from his
finger nails were not thrown in the
slop jar On the contrary, they
were religiously saved. and when an
ounce or more of the debris had been
secured the accumulation went, Sc
cretly to the melting pot, the retort
showing a goodly sized button of the
yellow metal. In course of time, you
will see, even If you are rather slow
when 1t comes to jigging your intel
lect. these gold buttons would help
very materially in swelling the man S
bank account.
II want to tell you, Old Long Ears, '
the prospector went on to say, long
finger nails in a stamp mill beats
bucking the tiger or playing your
four-bit pieces on the roulette wheel
The tiger may swallow all of your
earnings or the ball drop onto the
wrong number in the wheel, but lone
finger nails beat four aces or bob
tail flush, for once the gold Is lodged
firmly beneath the nails returns are
as sure as IL the owner of these or
naments had government bonds ant
had only to repair to the privacy o
his cabin to cut off the coupons.
You want to know If the Ions
finger nail practise is popular thes'
days, and l know you Will Keep
lookout hereafter for gentry OF TIM
character. But you will notice bu
few, for times are now more modern
lied, and the new methods of holding
up mine owner or n mining com
pany are more far reaching and In
clude many practises with which yol
are not familiar, while the emolu
ments are frequently larger. Th
same principle. or lack of principle
is involved, however. and the new
methods are no improvement over tn
old ones; none whatever"