The Cordova daily times. [volume] (Cordova, Alaska) 1914-1947, 1919-02-01
PIONEER DAYS
0FPR0SPECTOR
ARE NO MORE

DENVER, Colo, Feb. 1.-Fanciful
dreams of the Fastener who comes
to the mountain states expecting TO
find the picturesque figure of the gold
prospector searching the hills In
never-ending chase of the precious
metal are greeted with a rapid dis1l-
lusionment The roughly-clad lndl-
vidual, with pack mules, pick ana
shovel, exists largely now In the
movies, though occasionally one
comes across survivor of the OLD
day to whom the appeal OF hidden
treasures remains irresistible.
With the exception of the years OF
1915 and 1916, when the discovery OF
tungsten brought horde OF wealth
seekers to the Colorado hills, the
search for gold in this and neigh
borhood states has steadily dimin"
ished since the height of the gold rush
some twenty-five years ago. At that
time, old mining men say, the noun
tains were full of prospectors search
ing for new veins and placer miners
panning the streams for gold depos-
it's. The new generation has not fol-
lowed in the footsteps of the old, and
one of the picturesque features OF
Western life is becoming extinct
The explanation is simple. Pros
| peeting does not pay. This is the
statement from mining men familiar
with the situation. The big majority
of old prospectors spent their lives
in the hills without winning the for
tune they sought. They managed to
exc out bare existence, occasionally
making a strike which would tide
| them over winter in Denver and
give them the start for the next
years chase. But they lived and died
poor men, most of them finding a
! resting place in the hills which they
made their home Discovery of their
bodies in their cabins or caves built
| in the sides of the mountains told the
tale.
If a good vein is located, the cost
Of developing is prohibitive. Expen-
sive machinery must be installed. The
| prospector must interest capital in
his find, and uncertainty as to
whether the vein will fulfill expecta-
tions tends to discourage the treasure
seeker.
Officials of the state mining COM
mission. are of the opinion that. the
really big gold strikes already have
been made, and they attribute the
disappearance of the prospector to the
almost certain knowledge that his
quest will be unsuccessful.
All over the mountainous region of
Colorado small abandoned tunnels
bored into the solid rock bear mute
evidence of the shattered hopes of
some prospector. Abandoned sluices
and smelters speak of the days that
are no longer, and of streams whose
deposits of the precious metal have
been panned out. In certain regions,
notably in, the vicinity of Cripple
Creek, the ore is mined in paying
quantities, but it is by means of
costly machinery that the gold is sep
arated from the crushed ore. Mon
eyed interests have taken the place
OF the individuals who found fortunes
here while the country was yet being
developed. n.
Occasionally in the winter one finds
in the cheap lodging houses some
grizzled veteran of the hills whose
spirit still is alive with the hope of
success in the following summer, and
ne sets out in the spring as trust
ingly as he has started out into the
hills every spring for score of years.
But these are becoming fewer every
year, and the old life of the noun
tain country lives only in the movies
and memories of the early days.