Show C WORK oy H MOULTON women gold miners in the world it all came about in a peculiar way the young women a fathers were owners of a mining claim in tho owl mountains about eighteen miles from baker there the two girls went each summer many hours watching the men at work tar back in the horizontal shaft which they had dug in the mountain side in this way they became familiar with the different kinds of quartz the lay of ore veins and the methods of blasting and timbering the walls of tunnels when later they fell heirs to the claim through the deaths of their fathers their first thought was to sell it wood ore car running on cut the offers made them en rails with a metal for the property being in sheath on top was employed with tax tracks being ideas of its true value extended back as fast as they decided to lease the the opening was made claim to someone who during the summer would work it for them months while this preliminary on shares but hero work was in again their ideas were at progress miss carmalt variance with those of and miss norwood were others as to what would practically alone in their be a fair division of the mountain home except spoils incidentally they for an occasional weekend proved that they were visit from some of not tenderfeet tender feet when it their friends came to bargaining with in baker bat in spite of the shrewd and practical the fact that almost the mining men of the als first question asked by tract then a sw visitor was don t 8 1 to one of the earls they nad b n ary ot ahne they were strong 3 h ma were of a adventurous spirit d d learned a lot about tha mining game why not work ho claim vesT it dlan t take the other one more than a sec ond to agree that that was just the thing it would bo a real bure enough lark and as for making a success of it well they would show the world what two determined girls could do even if it was supposed to be a mans work and no other woman had ever attempted it before the first thing was to arrange tor a cabin up at the mine the tents which they had shared with their fathers served well enough in sum mer but for winter when the snow was 20 feet deep and the thermometer hitting the low spots protection of a moro substantial character was necessary of course all genuine miners work the year round at least when there s anything to do and having decided to go into the thing they proposed td see it through to a finish the result was that they had built a tour room structure which while it did not make any pretensions to architectural elegance was guaran teed to defy the elements under the most als ng conditions of weather with true foresight gained by knowledge of their life in the mountains they located the cabin under the lee of a bill where it would be least exposed to the cy northwest winds and would at the same time afford an unobstructed view of a magnificent panorama of ridges and valleys stretching away to a line of snow capped peaks more than a hun dred miles distant it should be understood that when miss car malt and miss norwood came into possession of the mine it was more a likely prospect than an assured money maker evidences of gold ore were plentiful but the problem was to strike the rich veins which would yield ore in paying quan titles and warrant the erection of a mill to treat it consequently the first period of their stay in the mountains was devoted to a search tor cheso veins which they never doubted existed somewhere back in the mountains day after day through the summer and early fall dressed in overalls and with lighted candles in their miners caps they burrowed farther and farther back into the mountains frequently branching ob from the main shaft to follow a new lead much of this work in the loose stone and earth was done with pick and shovel but now and then they found their way barred by a wall of solid granite which could only be removed by blasting with dynamite with the details of this work the two girls were already acquainted however so the drilling of holes and the placing and setting off of the explosive caused tharo no con cero then as the work proceeded the passages had to be timbered and cleared of the broken lone and dirt for the latter purpose a small you nuu 11 awfully lonesome up here they declare that never tor a moment after the first halt hour following the departure of the wagon which had brought vy their last load of supplies when they had a chance to look around did they feel the slightest inclination to retrace their steps there were many things aside from their work to keep time from hanging heavily on their hands in the first place there waa always the great map spread out at their feet to study by new lights and shadows then bird and animal life were plentiful filling the air with and chatter coming to the doorsteps tor food and often invading the cabin itself frequently deer fed around the cabin in the evenings seem ing to realize that they had nothing to fear from the two human companions A couple of porcupines albo became very friendly and caused no end of amusement by using various means to fand a way into the cabin at night down by n spring where they got their water a small bear made bis home and several they found the tracks of larger ones on the trail they also beard the cries of a panther one night but they were never molested by any of these animals although they were well armed to defend themselves it the occasion demanded during the summer they cultivated a small garden and raised chickens these things added to their plentiful supply of canned goods to say nothing of the mountain orcut which they caught almost at their doorsteps afforded them a varied menu then they were always certain of a supply of delicacies when any of their friends jour keyed up from daker so the summer months passed their alfe a busy and a joyous one with the lure of hidden riches to urge them on in their work then one day in the fall the expected vein was uncovered and the two girls the discovery by turning thear last cako of chocolate into fudge I 1 the finding ot the vein necessitated a trip to baker to make arrangements for the construction of a mill and the installation of a stamp battery for crushing the ore so they locked up the cabin and started on tho 18 mile trip afoot the mill was erected that fall and while the two girls did not actually put it up themselves they took an active part in its construction and superintended super intended the work until it was completed they also helped build a little railroad for the ore cars from the mine to the hlll the following spring the stamp battery was put in place and then the real work of digging and crushing the ore but as this work was quite beyond ibe efforts of even two such industrious and ambitious young women they en a foreman and a number of men to assist in these operations there Is never any ques tion however asi to who are the real bosses ibi in these two energetic girls the moving power and the guiding hands behind tho whole project quickly and unerringly their eyes sin gle out any fault in the work then in low pitched modulated voices which nevertheless have in them a ring of command they give their orders and the men with the air of those who bow to superior knowledge of ho subject are quick to obey the development of the mine Is now proceed ing rapidly and while it Is too early to predict what material fortune the young women eventual ly will enjoy they seem to be confident that their efforts will be sufficiently rewarded at any rate they count their experience a valuable one and they have built up a und of rugged health and contentment of spirit upon which they can draw freely throughout the rest of their lives |