White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1911-07-16
THE PROSPECTOR
HIS BURRO
HOW AN EASTERN COUNTER
JUMPER FOUND A FORTUNE IN
A SPOT RUN OVER FOR A
QUARTER OF A CENTURY.

D
the prospector to his burro, but any
one hearing you and seeing your
signals of distress need not imagine
that you are a tenderfoot, none what
ever; for II there was ever an old
veteran of the hills you are one, for
you have travelled over more miles OF
mountain trails than would reach
from here to Boston, from which
effete section a great many tender
feet yearly come to give us old-timers
the benefit of their vast accumulation
of mining lore, the greater portion of
which Is purely theoretical and hard
ly applicable to hard service In the
wild and woolly west, where 1t is the
man in overalls, and whose school
has been the tunnel and stope, that
generally finds the cropping and the
ledge from which great fortunes are
ultimately made.
You say hat you see no
ton between your sore feet and the
beaneater from Massachusetts. and
there really is none, for you are as
far removed from each other as the
faro bank player generally is from
the stack of chips piled up In front
of the dealer; but a mere play upon
words caused my imagination to
jump from you to the enthusiastic
but inexperienced individual whom
we all designate as being a tender
foot which Is a condition of mind
no one could ever attribute to a
burro, however refined or highly
moral he or she may be. The line Of
thought produced by your complaint.
however, recalls to my mind an ex-
perience | had with a tenderfoot
several years ago, and now that We
have finished supper ! will tell you
how this fellow found a fortune in a
section which had been run vel by
prospectors for a quarter of a cen
Jury, VI moics anu "hiSh "oS hoe
considered as being mineral-bearing.
The incident / am about to relate
to you," continued the prospector,
occurred in the Mother Lode region
in California. In the early days al
most fabulous wealth had been TAX
en- from the mines of that section,
but, at the time of which | speak,
mining was in the dumps Whereabouts
and but few men were in the district
and these were carrying on pocket
mining more than anything else. /,
myself. was engaged in panning the
surface and following up the most
likely-looking stringers, when. one
day. a young man came along who
had been a 'counter-Jumper' in the
east, and who had become inoculated
with the mining fever. He had all
kinds of strange buds with him. his
outfit including almost everything
but pick, shovel, gold pan. frying pan
and coffee pot. How he expected to
get along | could not imagine. But.
he was as full of hope as a crummy
bed is of unpleasant sensations. and
vas fully confident that he would
nake a fortune inside of 80 days. He
and finally asked me where he should
go to prospect. Just for the fun of
the thing | directed him to the base
of an oyerhanging cliff about three
quarters of a mile away; a spot in
plain sight of my cabin, where |
could watch him at his work and
kind of keep an eye on him; for |
wished him no harm. and he was
getting to be good company to me,
with his genial and cheerful ways. |
had NO idea that there was any gold
anywhere lear the cliff, for the for
nation was hungry-looking with no
lodges in sight. The boy took me at
my word borrowed shovel and pick,
n liked out Tor MS destination
early in the morning, taking his dog
with him; a sorry-looking mongrel
that the tenderfoot had picked up on
the road out of sheer pity for his
forlorn condition. 1t was rather
hard climbing and Scroggins, for this
was the boys name. was somewhat
tagged when he reached the cliff. So
he sat down to rest while the dog
enjoyed himself in chasing ground
squirrels. Finally the cur drove one
into his hole and began to dig In
order to get him out. His yelps final
ly interested Scroggins, and he for
got all about mining and the gold
mine he was to find, and, with pick
In hand. began to dig in order to get
- tho souirroI Tho ground wac