The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-02-28
STORIES ! Of
THE WEST
ARE | R'|E[0 ! Il
How Miners and SmeItersP Play
ed Sharp Tricks Related
by 0ld-liimers.

4 py UlQ- liners.
DENVER, Col, Fen. 27.-stories 81
famous steals put across when ore
was sampled In the old fashion ed way
are being retold by old time miners
OF Denver. Tales Of the stirring days
when Leadyille was city. OF tents
and Colorado miners, hot FLOODED
young fellows who came west to dig
gold from the earth or die, are being
circulated around hotel iobbies and
Office buildings Of Denver, Just as they
went the rounds of Colorado miniiig
camps forty years ago. ss',l
The story OF the $4l 600 difference
between the Cresson .fiine people and
their smelting company over the as
saying Of samples taken from the
wonderful golden cheamber. .discov-
cred In the great strike in their Grip
pie Creek property has quickened the
memories Of the old miners and has
brought to their recollection tales Of
the good old days when they welded
the pick and shovel.
es, 4 suppose smelling compan-
les we're cheated out OF hundreds OF
thousands and perhaps millions OF
dollars by crooked saMpling deals 10
the old days. said one old time pros
pector .And, on the other hand, GER
tain practices of theirs shortened up
the profits OF the miners considerably
so guess 1t was about an even
break.
Old Fashioned Sampling.
You see. the old fashioned samp-
ling Of ore was done this way. The
ore haulers drove across the hills
from the mines TO tine smetter. haul-
ing tae orc in great, heavy wagons.
AT the smelter the custom was to sam
pie ten to 10C-ton lots CT the ore. The
wagons would drive up to the smeiter
and the husky hauler would throw
one shoyelful into the sample bin
then three shovelfuls into the gem
-eral bin, in succession, until the loaa
was exhausted. p
Some of the smelling companies
beat the miners out OF good deal OF
money by always turning IN an ASSAY
report a little below that Of tie min
ler. There they'd offer to split the dit-
ference. Surprising the miner spli,
With the company on two-ounce
difference in silver smelling: that
would make 100 ounces 10 the hun
dred ton. With silver at S1.1s an
ounce, which It sold for in the old
days, that made 1920 lost to the min
er with the smelling OF every hum
dred-ton lot, the sum being put ina
the pocket OF the smelter owners.
One way some OF the miners got
1t back on the smelling companies
was in the loading Of their sample
wagons. They would put a layer OF
the highest grade ore procurable nj
the sbottomsof the wagons. Then they'o
fill them up with lower grade ore
When the hauler bent his broad back
over the shovel at the smelter he
had a distinct understanding with his
employer that he was to shovel from
the bottom Of the wagon into the
sampling bin. and from the ton into
the general bin. ss'S
odd 0ne-Eyed Ike of Leadville
pulled a Very neat trick on smell
ter company Ike ,dade strike in
his silver mine. A good deal Of it
was Just fair grade OF ore thing
wonderful. But Ike wanted TO get
rich quick. So he fixed up "a rubber
bulb which fastened under his arm
With a long tube running under his
ceat sleeve to his left hand. i;s !. 3.
The yulb was full Of chloride of
silver. When the sample would get
down small, Ike wot:l: press his arm
en- the bulb and add good dealof
weight to the sample, that would rrisi,
out OF the tube. He got by with this
trick for months. But finally the
smelter people began to think that
Ike's samples were running pretty
high. So they began to watch him
They couldn't find thing wrong. ex-
cept that he wore his old blue Goa,
right through the hottest days.
Old Ike and the Bee.
Ike was hopping the sweat rro,n
his brow with his old red bandanna
one sultry August noon, when bee
lit on his left hand and crawled up
his sleeve. An expression Of agony
stole into likes one bleary eye. He
squeezed the bee through his coat
sleeve, but 1t only stung harder. I
Il couldn't tell you what he said.
Nobody but AN old time miner would
be qualified to pass on likes language.
Finally. he could stand the torment
of that singing bee no longer. He
tore on his coat, revealing the tube
and ran for the creek. tearing ms
shirt to ribbons on the low hanging
branches of the pines and spruces
The snelter man noticed the tube