Gilpin observer., 1909-11-11
THE PRosPEcToR
AND HIS BURRo.
(salt Lake Mining Review.)

looks so alluring and innocent. Lo.
co is bad dope for horses and cat
tie, and for burros, as well. and Is
fatal, in the end. to the animal get.
ing into the habit Of eating 1t. No,
just bite or two will not have any
serious effect, but the appetite grows
and is consuming, and In the end
the victim becomes q regular dope
fiend, as 1t were; finally becoming 4
raving maniac, and in the end whirls
round and round like a spinning
wheel, and then drops dead. The
boy who. with nervous trembling.
places a dime on the roulette table,
is not ruined If he stops then, but
If he keeps on he will end up as a
regular gambler and faro fiend. So
1t is with the loco plant dope which,
If burro once acquires taste for,
means a dead jack In due course of
time.
aside from the vegetable plant,
loco" continued the prospector,
there are many conditions connected
with the mining industry which have
the same effect. morally, as the loco
weed has physically. The claim own
er who. makes misrepresentations re-
garding his property is in fair way
to become locoed. He may not be
conscious to the fact at first, any
rt1n ho -
good horse sense. and yet. in the end
he will become saturated with the
idea Of wrongdoing that he loses all
standing with honest men. The
fakir who bleeds the investing public
has the lcco in his blood. He may
succeed fer while but in the end
the intoxicant goes to his head, all
reason and preeaution is cast aside,
and the first thing he knows the
strong arm of the law has him by
the neck and seat of his pants, and
he winds up with stripes on his back.
The dishonest mining company, al,o,
while seemingly prosperous for
while, Is in the sa me condition as
the locoed horse or burro, and in due
time drops out Of sight with no one
but its victims on the mourners'
berch.
Il once knew man who had the
confidence of his neighbors and ac-
quaintances. He was active in church
work and leader in the Y. NJ. C. A.
He was progressive and rustler
from way back. In time he butted
into the mining game. secured
promising piece of property and in
the course of time had the mine well
developed and equipped with a mill
his way; but not fast enough to suit
him, and so he began nibbling at the
loco weed on the threadbare argu-
ment of the drunkard that one drink
would not hurt him. Little by lit
tie he began to doctor the ore sam
pies from his mine. The ore was good
enough in the first place. but hardly
enough to suit his get
tendencies; none what
ever. And so he went on and on un-
til he had the local mining world ex-
AS a matter of fact. he had a big
sale on, and final examination was
being made by the would-be pur-
chasers. While this was being made
the man in question sought to raise
the grade of the ore by the injection
of a solution of chloride of gold into
the samples. Through mistake the
samples taken were small, while the
sailing was overdone. The high as
says raised the suspicion of the buy
ers; an investigation was made. and
But, this was not the worst feature
Of the transaction. for the affair was
given publicity; but the mining man
was not prosecuted because of his
family connections, but he was dis
honored, disgraced. Mortified, but
not repentant. he left his home. the
loco serum still in his blood. and.
from. a mere tyro in wrong-doing he
became n reckless. bad man. and to.
day he is regarded as the mere offal
of the lowest dregs Of society
II want to tell you, Old Long
Ears" concluded the prospector. "it
is always the proper caper to steer
clear of the loco weed. Good sage
brush is always safe. even II 1t does
not give you that high tention Of the
blood that the loco does. Even salt
grass will not leave the evil effects,
and your moral tone. will be unim-
paired. 1t is better to hump along
at the regular four-mile gait than to
partake of perniciois weeds with the