Show the prospector and his burro J A the last time I 1 was in this section said the prospector to his burro there was only one prospect here but it was a good one and caused the wildest excitement As a matter of fact a stampede was on and the country had been staked for miles and already four tent saloons were in full blast there was one tent hotel or rooming house in the camp and a store and restaurant since then a wonderful change has taken place for this is a regular inland city now on every hand we can zee see fine hoisting plants superb milling plants and hundreds of men are at work while the rattle of thu the chips and the whirring of the wheel in the thirst parlors shows that money is in circulation cu lation here at a lively rate it is wonderful and shows the magic way in which a new and rich discovery will transform the desert into a great mining camp which teems night and day with life and vigor the last time I 1 was here was not my first visit however as three months before the first discovery of gold was made here I 1 passed through this region and you had my bedding and camp supplies on your back we had traveled all day and you were beginning to get grouchy when we camped by a spring two miles further down the canyon it being my intention to return here the next day and prospect around in this vicinity it was rather late when we had finished our suppers and while I 1 tried to conserve with you as is tay my usual custom you seemed soggy at the knees and fax far from pleasant and so I 1 let you alone and was soon cuddled up in my blankets fast asleep the next morning you were not to be found for you had wandered far down the canyon and it was not until late in the afternoon that I 1 found you hiding in the brush when we finally reached camp I 1 discovered my blankets on fire for I 1 had not used my usual precaution in leaving my camp thinking you were near at hand and a shouldering ing stick had caught in my blankets to make matters worse desert rats had about destroyed my provisions so there was nothing left for us to do but to hike out for the nearest camp or settlement to replenish our supplies before I 1 returned this great district was found and the result was that I 1 never obtained a foothold here 1 I see that you feel sorry that you were the cause of my losing a bonanza but that does not set the matter right with me repentance pen tance is a good tiling thing if sincere but you would probably do the same thing again if you had a good chance for there is nothing a burro loves more than to stray a long ways from camp thoughtless to be sure but often fraught with disaster and incurable results and in this respect you do not differ much from some two towo legged companions I 1 have had with me in the hil hills s from time to time these invariably preferred loafing to hard work in tracing up float or the sinking of a prospect hole every day with them as a general thing was a holiday such as you delight in and this is why of late years I 1 always prospect alone with only ia a burro with me if you faili faildo to do the right thing I 1 can raise a welt well or two on your back and you are most submissive m asive and careful but the two legged companion is always of the opinion that all men are born equal and they get huffy and and quarrelsome if attention in ia called to their mean way of treating a partner and this brings trouble into camp that in a little while reaches a very acute stage 1 I want to tell you old long ears con eluded the prospector more people lose out in this western country because their associates are thoughtless wild and unruly than because of lack of merit in mining properties the mine superintendent who starts out for the mine in the morning stops at a saloon and stays there nearly all day thus disregarding his duty and obligations at the mine is just as bad as you were when you strayed from camp that night and lost me a bonanza the man who goes on shift and loafs most of the time when the shift boss is in some other portion of the mine may not be a bad man at heart but he is shiftless and careless and in reality is robbing his employer just as you robbed me of a fortune when you strayed away from camp that time the mine manager who thinks more of having a good time than he does of his duty to his company is in the same sailie class with the thoughtless burro the loafing miner and the easygoing easy going mine superintendent they are all of the same nature even if of different breeds plentiful as blackberries in a new york fence corner but a great drawback to the mining industry and there you are and then some 1 n |