Show the prospector and his burro it is a dangerous thing to strike a pick into a missed hole bole said the prospector to his burro sometimes the dynamite will not explode but it is more likely to go off and blow the miner into the dim distant future than the hall ball in the roulette wheel is to drop into the slot having the right number it is always dangerous to monkey with powder or to tickle the hind feet ot of a burro with a straw it is also hazardous to match coppers or quarters with strangers around the temple block at salt lake or to buy a mine upon another mans sampling for samples taken by some men should be accepted with a grain of salt talking about salt and I 1 see that the subject is a pleasing one to you for you like to nozzle around a salt lick yourself reminds me of how easy it is to salt ore on the tenderfoot land and it you will give me your attention I 1 will relate an incident which came to my notice not long ago and which shows that appearances are not always to be trusted and that a pipe is not always as guileless and innocent as it may appear no this is not a pipe dream not on your whiskers but an actual happening and one which came very near losing a tenderfoot a wad of the long green this tenderfoot it appears had the mining fever bad at first he thought it was a case of hay fever but in due course of time it broke out all over him in spots as big as a washtub wash tub and he was never easy or happy unless he was examining the beautiful samples of ore which the chair c lair warmers of the hotels had been carrying around with them since the year one at last one of these seeing that the tenderfoot would make an easy mark told him that up in the mountains in idaho there was a great bluff situated on the banks of the snake river that was nothing if not a great mass of gold bearing ore and he offered to let the tenderfoot in on this bonanza proposition for a very modest sum say to say that the tenderfoot was pleased would be drawing it mild As a matter of fact face he was delighted de lighted 1 and within a week he was on his way to this wonderful deposit of gold with the chair wa warmer as a compan ion on and guide they had a most enjoyable trip and sampled the gold bearing bluff from center to circumference from the top ton to its base and the samples were taken to the river crushed and panned in every in stance the bannings pann ings showed long strings ot the yellow metal some of which was vas quite coarse they even brought a number ot samples home with them and these also panned values going up into the hundreds the tenderfoot could not sleep at nights on account of his good fortune he raved about his great mine and could hardly stand up under his load of enthusiasm in short he was about to pay over the and get deeds to the mine but wan va persuaded by a friend an experienced mining man to make another visit to the property before he depleted his bank account reluctantly luct antly the tenderfoot agreed to the proposition ion taking the friend with him but leaving the chair warmer at home the bluff was vas re sampled and a hike was made to the river A dozen samples or more were carefully panned but nary a color was to be seen the tenderfoot was puzzled and almost heartbroken heart broken while the friend knew that something must be wrong and began to entertain suspicions or of mine salting but how could this be done when the tenderfoot was with the chair warmer all of the time and the samples had been taken from a hundred different places do you smoke asked the friend no answered the tenderfoot der foot but I 1 never saw anyone who I 1 smoked as much as the chair warmer did while we made our trip together and now that I 1 think of it every time we made a panning the bowl of his pipe would fall off the stem into the pan and he would swear at his carelessness 1 I have it said the friend the tobacco he was smoking was loaded with gold dust and this is why the bannings pann ings always showed such long strings of colors this discovery of course queered queerer the deal did the tenderfoot buy you ask none whatever when we reached home the chair warmer had vanished and ever since the tenderfoot has been more careful in his dealings he has the fever still and has made several good deals since but he does not hit the ceiling in his bis excitement cit ement when he is shown a piece of quartz in which lumps and chunks or of gold stick out as large as hazle nuts and pigeon eggs for he is growing in mining experience and knowledge 1 I want to tell you old long ears concluded the prospector that really things are not to be picked up on the streets like presents on a christmas tree the street loafer and hotel lounger never have a bonafide proposition to offer 13 stranger gold is not so co common emoi that every ma man n can possess a pay paying in mine ine and in to b be e shown sao these days the investor has that the valt values ies are there before buy bucins inar and there you are and then some |