Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1930-07-10


med quicksilver mine Mexicans. About
80 per cent were afflicted with annoe-
bic dysentery, tremendously serious
thing. When we have people coming
who know nothing about sanitation
the tendency for all disease epidemics
among them to spread in our popu-
lation is very great
An 1853 map of the CALIFORNIA; Sier-
ran Gold Belt shows such names as
Massachusetts HILL" Michigan Bluff"
Iowa HILL Arkansas Creek" Him
oistown." plymouth" Mississippi
Bar" Georgia Slide Boston Ravine .
Even "Pinchemite" crystallizes into his
tory a christening struggle between
Maine men, who wanted it called New
Portland and South Carolinians, who
insisted upon New Charleston" The
compromise came when the camp
adopted the nickname of the big swede
saloonkeeper With no coins available,
gold dust was the currency. Miners ad-
monished Ole not to be too greedy in
the pinches his thumb and forefinger
levied upon the gold-dust bag.
CALIFORNIA; early miners thus fire.
uuently named new camps with loca-
ton names from back home These
latter had, in 1849, nearly 100 per cent
Nordic populations. The pioneers were
almost to a man red or yellow bearded
Nordics with blue or grey eyes. They
were Longobards of later age who
had crossed, not Alps, but Sierras, to
delve into the red dust for gold. While
the Placer Age changed into the begin
Ev,ach fhou r.
sisted. Then came industrial organlza-
ton of quartz mining with insistence
on ever cheaper labor. Followed sue
cessive invasons of Irish, Sicilians,
Slavonians Each group displaced its
predecessor. Today pour in from
Guanajuanto, Zocetecas, Sonora, poems
of the notch pole mining ladder type.
Among these coolies were the
brothers Joaquin and Mateo Gomez.
Having served, in the big square Guam
iuato Jail, several sentences together
for highgrading it became expedient
to migrate. Stories filtered through OF
big wages in Alta California, of unus-
ual ore stealing opportunities, because
there this form of thieving was almost
unknown. Joaquin, Mateo found jobs
together in Mother Lode mine. Its
quartz to use miners slang, was lousy
with free gold With wages twenty
times Mexican standards, with wonder
full chances to highgrade. the day soon
came when Joaquin and Mateo could
ask for vacations. Proceeding to Sac
ramento, they bought respectively
fourth hand, fifth-hand tin Eliza
beths." Six weeks later they were mot
orinp back to the Mother Lode. One
Ford contained wife, eight children
Into the other, around the black
shawled mother, nine were sandWiched
The mining superintendent, welcoming
his returning cheap laborers, little
dreamed that, down gulch, at their
shacks, were two machines pougn,
largely with his company's high-graded
gold.
The retired Italian miner who gave
This history of Joaquin and Mateo
concluded by saying that two boys o.
the formers. one of the latter had
during intervening years, Reform
School sentences. Several other cnli-
dren became Juvenile Court wards, AL
babies born subsequent to the return
from Mexico first saw light at the Tree
County Hospital Both families wert
habituallv on Community Chest lists
Cheap labor was proving costly 10 EN-
ployer, to community.
III
Near Aguascalientes squealine
porker, seven chickens, some thirteen
children were co-tenants OF rura
adobe. To it dinrinutive Patrick Don
ahue led us. We had met him adowr
trail. had struck up an acquaintance
Though the Border was miles north
ward he spoke English as well as Span
sh. A gift of stick candy had Wor
his good will Observing the sweets
supply was not entirely exhausted, NJ
had asked that the remainder o.
brought to his home for brothers ant
sisters. Patrick, red-haired, blue-eyed
seemed to belong to the heather-pur
| nled mountain that runs down to Lake
Killarney.
AS we entered through break II
the cactus hedge around the adobe
he said, Give her some--thats m.
sister Guadalupe" Guadalupe showed
no Irish features Grinding meal on
stone metate, she was miniature
souaw, red bronze skin, straight biacl
hair Next we were introduced to
Bridget, to Jose, to Mike to Concep
ton. The brood constituted a serie
of hybrics. Some had blonde hair
brown eyes. Some had wiry black hail
yet gray-green eyes Patrick was q
the Nordic-Irish extreme, Gaudelup
at the Amerind end There were ais
Mary Ellen, Ynez, Conchita Innocentt
Pedro and Pablo, Amerind representa-
tives of the Saints Peter and Pau
were Identical twins, as similar as Nv
kernels Of the maize ground on Quad
] elupe's metate. Last came the make
baby, Jesus Maria, who cooed like tn
cactus doves that bachelor prospector
], insist are calling who? Who? Is cook
ing for you-oo-oo?'
J; The father of this brood was Coun
ty Kerry man, strayed hither year
, ago. He long had consorted with, Ia
ter abandoned, native woman. II
was what north of the Rio Grande
called "squaw man." Amerind wome
1 are markedly prolific The peon
; northward trek, now a mass movement
has, therefore, become menace to tn
. old American seed stock. The stimu
to this migration are, %, high wage
(2). desire to avoid enforced conscrir