Tricks of Dishonest Miners 1881

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November 20, 1881

"Tricks of Dishonest Miners"

Most mining companies whose ledges contain what is known as "specimen ore" sustain heavy losses through the tricks of dishonest employes. One trusted employee of a well - known mining company that frequently developed "pockets" in the course of its operations, had a practice of lighting his tobacco pipe every time he was coming off shift, and enjoying a smoke as he rode to the surface and walked homeward. The pipe had a bowl that held almost a handful of tobacco, but despite this extravagance, the man, in addition to having a good bank account, lived in good style, dressed his family nicely and gave his children quite an expensive education. How he could do so much on $3 a day was a mystery for several years. Finally one morning as he stepped into the dry-room, after ascending to the surface, the bowl of his pipe separated from the stem and rolled to the floor. The superintendent of the mine happened to be there, and it rolled to his feet. He courteously stopped to recover it for the owner. As he did so he observed it was very heavy, and turned it over in his hand with curiosity. The miner saw the motion and got nervous. The superintendent noticed the peculiar action of the miner, and a ray of suspicion entered his not over-astute mind. He walked out of the room with the pipe, leaving the miner in a greatly excited condition. When he got to his office he made an examination. In the bowl he found a rich specimen covered by a thin layer of tobacco. The smoker never worked in that mine again.

Another instance was where a miner who was regarded as eccentric, because he let his hair grow nearly to his shoulders, used shoemaker's wax to fasten speicimens close to the roots, and he is supposed to have carried on the robberies for some years before detected.

Another was the object of frequent jests because of the size of his nose in the vicinity of its bridge. The nostrils were contracted at the outlet, and expanded as they went upwards. It was not until some one finally detected him in smuggling nuggets out of the mine by putting them in his nostrils that the advantage of such a nose was appreciated by his fellow workmen.

A dentist in this city recently had a call from a miner who was suffering with a toothache. While examining the offending ivory, which was a hollow one, he pried out a small piece of quartz heavily charged with gold. He accepted it as pay for his work and considered himself well remunerated. It is probably unnecessary to add that the quartz was not put there by a dentist.--(Nevada City Transcript.