Show 1 1 prospecting ITS HARDSHIPS AND ITS PLEASURES 1133 5 3 q 1 I would not give up prospecting and the mountains for the vest farm in the middle states this is the declaration of a mining man who has been engaged in prospecting for the past twenty years during which time he has owned a farm in iowa which has been leased every year since its owner became fascinated with the mining industry this prospector is no now operating in one of our intermountain states but recently turned his face eastward and is now on a visit to his old home to his ol 01 old d farm but it is safe to predict that his stay in the agricultural will be but brief and that th the e charm of the hills of mining I 1 the satisfaction of being alone w with ith nature on mountain heights and the excite the prospector is his own master his own boss his means may be limited his ideas of comfort and luxury may not correspond with the ideas of this subject held by the millionaire but of the two he is the most happy artificially the latter may get the most out of life but at the expense of health and tr true ue happiness for one must get close to nature must battle with the elements and luxuriate in the beauties of the forest the stream and revel in the S solitudes of mountain fastnesses fast nesses in order to realize the fascination attending the life of the prospector of the miner in prospecting the miner generally has some idea of the characteristics of the region in which he intends spending the open season and makes his plans accordingly lio RIF av L J V RR A GOOD country TO PROSPECT IN ments of following up the float step by step to the ledge from which it was broken perhaps years ago will soon overcome his longing to see the old home once more and that the first breath of spring will see him on his way back to the mountains of the west where his little old log cabin is more inore home to him than would be a brown stone front on any of the fashionable i streets of new york and where the freedom of the mountains is more to him than would be the entree to the best society of bof the east with a world of wealth at his command for the life of the mountains is perfect health and a buoyancy of feeling that 0 Q cannot experience in the crowded streets of the metropolis or in any line of f routine business if the country is rather lna inaccessible rough and heavily timbered he generally gen brally takes his supplies in with him on the backs of burros the canary of the mountains and the prospectors most tried and trusted friend it is a common practice far doiy two or more to travel together in which event they share alike in whatever may be found folind the outfit usually consists of a sack or two of flour several sides of bacon coffee beans rice sugar etc with frying pan and a few tin dishes also pick and shovel a gold pan and a gun or two no special haste is made to reach the spot desired arriving in the vicinity of the region to be prospected a camp is made the next day the hills are explored and generally a trail is blazed to the next camping place upon arrival one of the party unloads the pack animals and while this is being done another makes preparations for the evening meal perhaps the third will shoulder his rifle and take a look around for deer or perchance he will cast his hook baited with a grasshopper into some mountain torrent to be bd rewarded with delicious trout tor for supper slipper after the meal long follow as to the character of the formation of the hills above looking so solemn in the growing darkness the pipe is smoked and plans for the morrow agreed upon if the surroundings look favorable for the presence of mineral a stay of a week is made at this camp the whole of the summer months are before them and there Is no hurry to look at them one would not think that they took much interest in their mission as they slowly travel over the mountain sides or scramble and slide around precipitous and really dangerous places but they are alert and wideawake wide awake they note every change in the country rock every bevery fragment of broken stone catches their attention and every small boulder is turned over and broken and every piece of quartz is examined with the greatest care from afar they see mammoth droppings crop pings and these must be looked into before the section they are in is given up as being without mineral value possibly a change of camp is is made five or six times tim es before a section is reached that looks really good to them meanwhile they throw a little spice into their life by little hunting trips or if they feel so inclined they loaf about camp for a day or two it inay be that heavy storms come up while they are out in the hills and a bed behind some ome sheltering cliff is a feature of the nights experience A broken leg or a fractured wrist or ankle may keep one one of the party close to camp for far weeks or more and want of success in prospecting may tend temporarily to discourage the seekers se ekers for mineral wealth at last however near a canyon stream a piece of qu quartz artz is found which is speckled and flecked with the yellow metal buoyed up with hope a persistent search is made for the ledge edge from which it came on their hands and knees the members of the party scour every inch of ground in the direction from which this float must have come sometimes weeks are spend in this work but slowly they work their way up the mountain side every piece of rock is examined the very solf soil is panned for colors and in this manner progress is made until way up near the summit possibly under some towering cliff the cropping of 0 f the ledge is found nearby a camp is established it has been demonstrated that the ledge of quartz is gold bearing for the native metal can be seen in the rock or it if too fine to be easily detected with the naked eye it Is broken and grounded to a powder after which it is washed in the pan leaving a string of colors which gladden the hearts of the sturdy mountaineers and which gives assurance that in their discovery they have the making of a bonanza of a wealth producer that will make them independently rich this necessitates the establishment of a short of credit the prospectors in their find which they have partially developed have a proposition worth many thousands from which they are unable to derive a cent for their maintenance buyers may be dis inclined to investigate into its mer va Z 00 jl MINERS CABIN IN THE MOUNTAINS permanent camp at or near the discovery but first several claims are located monuments and stakes are built and driven and the location notice is duly written out and signed then comes the building of the log cabin or if lumber is to be had within a radius of a few miles a small building is erected and arrangements are made for shelter for man and beast after these matters are attended to the real serious labor of the enterprise begins the boys have a prospect but it is not a mine to make it a producer will require the labor of several years even if good fortune attends them trails and wagon roads must be made to the nearest traveled thoroughfares for provisions and supplies must be brought in when this is accomplished the real work of development begins for before the prospect can become productive before it can be transformed into a paying mine one that will appeal to the inventor the capitalists tunnels must be run shafts must be sunk upraises up raises cross cuts and drifts must be made and the property must be opened in such a manner that with the arrival of the engineer of the expert the ore bodies can be measured as one would measure cordwood and its it value as easily determined in dollars and cents as one could add up a column of figures at this stage one would think that everything would be plain sailing for the prospectors pec tors but it is one thing to find and develop a mine while it is an entirely different matter to profit by its possession being poor and without means and possibly its the mine may be so far from transportation por porth tation tion facilities that the ore although althou gh of high grade may not be able to stand transportation and treatment charges and still return a profit or it may be a great attention of the right man is directed to his property and its real value is realized reali sed by him A prospector rarely ever develops his mine beyond a certain point in the first place it was never his intention so to do and were he so inclined the condition of his finances prohibits him from pursuing such a course the result being that in the winter he will work for some mining company for wages to return to his claim in the summer taking his family with him during this period of waiting with his companions he will work the mine in a desultory manner now and then taking a day or two off for the purpose of hunting and fishing or in visiting the camps of other prospectors who have already become interested te in the new and promising district it may be that one or more of his partners have become restless and somewhat discouraged and have parted with their interests for a few hundred or a few thousand dollars but the one with the greatest confidence with the greatest patience will hang on until some day an investor most strongly impressed with the value of the property will negotiate for its purchase and with the final payment made the prospector will retire with from to in his pockets hope long deferred mabeth the heart sick but with success at last crowning his efforts the prospector soon forgets his former hardships his many trials he moves to town buys a fine homp home arranges for the comfort of his family and with a al ac a c ar za oz lamel YA ja 7 4 A Y preparatory WORK IN PROSPECT development low grade proposition that will require reduction works before reaching a profit paying basis under these conditions the prospector is stalled and he must wait until public c favor extends lils his way until his bis district becomes popular or until the few thousand still in the bank takes the trail strail again in the spring for the mountains where he again goes through his former experience the only difference being that this time he is better fixed has a better outfit and has established a stand standing iiii in mining and financial circles which will enable him to find a more ready purchaser should he be fortunate enough to discover another bonanza in the meantime the purchaser of his former property has been active in its development A company has been formed for its more successful operation hoisting works have been built fine boarding houses and other mine buildings have been erected and large reduction works have been installed the mine is a heavy shipper of crude ore and bullion the property has reached the profit making period and the company is paying regular dividends A town has sprung up in the canyon where the prospectors made their last camp churches school houses fine residences and costly business structures line line the one or two streets of the camp A railroad has come also the telephone telegraph and electric lights other mines have been found in the same locality and the district is famous in two continents but the prospector is out in the more remote wilderness he is blazing the trails and opening the way for a new civilization he is preparing the way so that incoming capital may take advantage of what he may find and he is finding the key to natures store houses so that the avenues of trade and commerce may be kept full to overflowing with the money metals of the world with imperishable wealth |