The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1920-05-28

suburb Of Phoebe an honest
miner who had whole series 81 faults
he called them veins-which he val
ued at nifty thousand dollars This
mine was situated on. surrounded by
and supported with rocks Of cambfian
which. as everyone knows.
Is an older aud richer family OF rocks
than the silurians. TO say nothing OF
the recent upstairs Not only was the
mine located right in the Cambrian
block. but right amid the highest class
the real upper Potsdams. II such
location is worth fOrty-fve thousand
dollars. as seems to be the case. judg-
Ing from many mining deals. then the
distance from the railroad was worth
the balance of fifty thousand
The miner held the property for
eir hteen years and il had steadily in
creased in value. much the same as
cts lot on Broadway. only not so much
so In the first year the acreage, now
distinguished from the rest OF the des-
ert by the monuments of stone upon its
corners. was worth one thousand doll
lars NJ he could sell il; and he was
frankly looking for some sucker. TO
whom he could peddle IL for that high
figure. when. he overheard promoters
value an adjoining claim. The mine
then scared in price from one to one
hundred thousand. and at that. II half
what the promoters said were true.
the mine still carried ballast.
OF course Ut times the valuation
would reach million. and at times II
would drop to thirty cents the fluctua-
tions following the collisions of The
81 "a. with
vegetable stains on the rocks. which
he insisted were bromides OF silver;
with geological theories; with popular
accounts of Jackling's lucky strike one
day of the Utah Copper. or with the
colder brutalities of the greedy mer-
chants who demanded money for goods
which they themselves bought whole
sale.
Alas and alack. but such is life! Ups
and downs, ups and downs; because.
mentally. mankind has chicken to eat
for one year and feathers to eat the
next day. and the miner. while a mill
lionaire when at the mine, was but
pauper at the store.
When the prospector Is pioneering
across the interesting places OF the
earth, with little to eat but bacon,
which at sixty cents few merchants
can afford to eat themselves; and those
beans which are cultured in Boston and
highly treasured elsewhere. and the
STAFF of life--which to the prospector
is life itself-carried in precious
demi John, safely wrapped within the
bed roll; when the prospector. drunken
with pleasureable anticipation, is wan
dering over the golden hills, running
his health with mountain air and out
door exercise; when the prospector is
snoring comfortably beside some rip
ping stream and dreaming of that day
when his dreams come true: what, dur
ing these times is tho merchant who
grubstaked him doing? The merchant,
sometimes from mining towns, some
times from cities. who furnishes the
beans and bacon which civilized the
west.
This fairy story would not be fair to
the little tots did it not describe some
angel; and since the man who puts up
| the money Is the nearest to an angel
| that prospector or miner can reason
| ably hope to see, after his first descrip-
ton of the trip or mine. perhaps it
would be well to mention the few good
deeds of merchants who have served
towns and counties. communities and
states-or, more interesting, to tell OF
hardships which they also undergo.
| For 1t may be said that for every
mile the prospector wanders of his owl
free will, the merchant is bosset
around three and ordered to marcel
when tired and ordered to march wher
| i'll; that for every hour the prospecto'
works the merchant puts in two; ant
that for every Unconscious cerebratioi
of the prospector the merchant regis
ters one hundred and good hare
thoughts at that; and while the pros
pector and the miner sleep, the mer
chant burns the midnight oil in optim
istic search for treasure in the aban
doned mine ~ bad accounts, through
which he tolls to find some diamond II
the rough and from which he usual.
returns toward dawn, poisoned by tn
yellow green tarnish of the boldene
brass Astounding there, And whe
such men can keep their faith in hu
man nature and take up their dali
toll each day they need no wings TO
J little tots to see the angel.
. But to return to the miner and hi
; mine
BY silent snakey, shiny motor cam
. one day to the cabin of the miner
willy mining maggot, whose sinister de
signs against the mine We're refiecte
by his polished manners, polished nail
and pol shed voice and shoes and poi3
. In vain did he try to mask the pun
pose of his visit, which was to stef
the mine from the honest miner, b
pretending to be manufactures {
tacks, and wearied slightly by IA
, monotony of that work which. Will
profitable, was neither exciting nor &c
mantle, since during the good old year
/. before the merger he was willing
put up some money to develop SON
|, good mine.
He offered thirty thousand dollar
. with most transparent villainy an
! used that brawed all ahccent which !
distinguishes the foreign Harvarde
; If the mine was worth thirty thousar
to such man, was II not worth Mt
sixty, seventy five thousand dollars
its rightful owner? OF course 1t wa
Was not the miner the rightful owne
OF course he was--if you passed light
over the years when the assessme
work was faxed by relocation W.
not the visitor, for all his polish. b
,iriA Of