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The Old-Time Prospector
(1889 Chamber's Journal of Popular Literature)
A description of the American Prospector by the Chamber's Journal of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Letters From California #1
(1850 Newspaper)
"Large numbers are coming down daily from the mines, some with a pretty good quantity of “dust,” but the greater number without any. It is very sickly up there, and most of the operatives are coming down to spend the rainy season. The sickness and privation here is appalling, and I have about come to the conclusion that this is the greatest humbug that was ever started."
The Discovery of Silver (Comstock Lode)
(1895 New England Magazine)
This incredible story describes the first discovery of the fabulous silver veins of the Comstock Lode by Allen and Hosea Grosh, a tale that ends in tragedy for the brothers. The location of the veins was lost with the brothers, and the Comstock riches would remain hidden for another two years after this initial discovery.
The Prospector and His Burro - Gold is Where You Find It
(1906 Salt Lake Mining Review)
"I want to tell you, old long-ears, that the trouble with the majority of prospectors is that they are too set in their ideas. They have formed opinions which they stick to, whether they are right or wrong. They attempt to dictate to nature and refuse to see anything good in the mineral line unless it exists according to their preconceived ideas."
The Prospector and His Burro - Bonanzas of the Early Days
(1906 Salt Lake Mining Review)
"In looking at what is left of this old camp the veil of the past seem to be raised for me. To the tenderfoot this discovery would seem to take one back to prehistoric times, and yet it is not more than twenty-five or thirty years ago since these hills were full of life, and since these old mines were actively operated; on a primitive scale, to be sure, and yet with profit."
The Prospector and His Burro - Wrecking a District
(1906 Salt Lake Mining Review)
"I want to tell you, old long ears," continued the prospector, "that it is too bad to wreck a promising district in this fashion. One or two things have happened here. The mining men who built the hoist and these mills were either ignorant of actual conditions, and erected reduction works with the expectation that they would have plenty of ore to treat, or they were put up by boomers and fakers for stock-selling purposes. In either event, the district has been given a black eye, and it will be years before it will recover."
The Prospector and His Burro - Grubstake
(1907 The Salt Lake Mining Review)
"In mining parlance 'grubstake' means that one man or more has agreed to furnish some other man with provisions and supplies, and a certain amount of money to be used on a prospecting expedition; the man furnishing the 'grubstake' to share with the prospector in anything that the latter may find."
The Old Mine on Lost Priest River
(1900 Salt Lake Mining Review)
The story of a pair prospectors seeking a lost gold mine in the Four Corners area of the southwest US - "having the gold craze once does not vaccinate a person from having the same disease once or many times more."
The Prospector's Story
(1899 Salt Lake Mining Review)
A prospector describes his search for a lost gold mine in Death Valley, and his discovery of the remains of miners in a remote mining cabin.
