The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1929-02-08

Slderatum, having nau tleiT iuboT iV
their palms. Yet this sally was not
without some practical and beneficial
results.
The Man They Left Behind.
"The country was more perfectly ex-
plored, some rich diggings were found
and, as usual. few among the many
were benefited. new field for en-
terprise was opened and within
month roads were made and traversed
by wagons, trading-posts were estab-
lished and a new mining country was
opened which really proved lin the
main to be rich, and had 1t not been
for the gold-lake fever it might have
remained many months undiscovered
and unoccupied.
"From the mouth OF Nelson's crees
to its source men were at work In
digging. Sometimes the stream was
turned from it's bed and the channel
worked; in other places wing dams
were thrown out and the bed partially
worked; while in some the banks only
were dug. Some of these, as is the
case everywhere in the mines, paid
WE'LL. some fair wages, while many
were failures One evening while wait
ing for my second supply of goods
strolled by a deserted camp. | was
attracted to the ruinS of shanty by
observing the effigy of man standing
upright in an old torn shirt a pair Of
ragged pantaloons, and boots which
looked as If they had been clambOring
over rocks since they were made-in
short, the image represented lean,
meager, WORKOUT and woe-begone
miner such as might daily be seen at
almost every point in the upper mines.
On the shirt was inscribed in a good
business hand, My claim failed-will
you pay the taxes? Gan allusiOn to
the tax on foreigners.) Appended to
the figure was paper bearing the
following words:
CaifOrnians - Oh, Californians,
look at mel Once fat and saucy as
privateersman, but now-lOOk yea
miserable skeleton. In a word, ! am
used-up man.
q truthful commentary on the efforts
of hundreds of poor fellows in the,
.godea land This company had pene.
trated the mountain SHOWS with in
finite labor in the early part of the
season, enduring hardships of no or
binary characterized patiently toiled
for weeks, living OF the coarsest fare;
had spelt time and money In building
a dam and digging a race through
rocks TO drain off the water; endured
wet and cold in the chilling atmosphere
of the country, and when the last stone
this labor, they did not find single
cent to reward them for their toll and
privatiOns, and what was still more
aggravating, small wing dam on the
very claim below them yielded several
thousand dollars. Having paid out
their money and lost their labor they
were compelled to abandon the claim
and search for other diggings where
the result might be precisely thu
same" ...
The Threshold of Vice.
Delano offers realistic picture OF
the earlier months in the gold country
when the majority of the workers
were industrious and orderly, and then
for contrast picture of the time
when the rascals, the professional bad
men and the professional gamblers
gathered in force to start their nefari-
Gus and corrupting operations, with
the result that condition sprang up
which grew steadily worse until that
grim day of the gilantes-earnesf
honest men who framed their own
primitive code of laws and themselves
enforced these laws, being by turns
criminal-chasers, jurors. judges and
sometimes eXecutiOners.
After this fashion he sums up the
period of transition from the first of
these stages TO the second and dis
reputable one:
"The population of Independence
represented almost every state in the
Union, while France, England. Ire
land, Germany and even Bohemia had
their delegates. AS soon as breakfast
was dispatched all hands were en-
gagged in digging and washing gold in
the banks or in the bed of the stream.
When evening came, large fires were
built. around which the miners con-
gregated. some engrossed with thoughts
of home and friends, some to talk of
new discoveries and richer diggings
somewhere else: or sometimes a sub
ject of debate was started and the
evening was whirled away in pleasant
and often instructive discussion. while
many for whom this kind of recrea-
tiOn hal not excitement enough, re-
sorted TO dealing monte on small
scale. thus either exciting or keeping
up a passion for play.
.:J "Some weeks were passed in this
way under the clear blue sky Of the
mountains. and many had made re-
spectacle piles. highly enjoyed the
wild scenery, and quite as well. the
wild life we were leading, for there
were many accomplished and intelli-
gent men; and subject for amuse-
ment or debate was rarely wanting.
AS for ceremony or dress. II gives US
no trouble: we were all alike
At length a monte dealer arrived. with
a respectable hank.
"a change had been gradually com
ing over many of our people, and
for three or four days several indus
trious men had commenced drinking,
and after the monte bank was set up
it seemed as If the long smothered
fire burst forth into fame. Labor,
with few exceptions, seemed suspend
ed and a great many miners spent
their time in riot and debauchery.
The monte dealer, who in his