CHARLES GUYON. 173 



demanded pay for letting me live in his house. Of 

 course the house was built, and I did not hurt it by living 

 in it; but he had put a man out because he did not 

 pay. Then there came a day when a really serious bit 

 of thinking over the sordid spirit of man had been in- 

 dulged in for fully ten minutes, when Charley Guyon 

 came along. 



"Say/' he began, "you ain't doin' anything, an' I want 

 a pardner to sink a shaft. I think I know where we can 

 make a strike, an j I've got all the tools. What d'ye say, 

 will you jine me?" 



"Well, Charley, I was just thinking that it was about 

 time that I went at something; but I don't know the first 

 thing about lead mining. Tell me all about it; how do 

 you do it?" 



"It's just like this: A man owns a piece of land, and 

 he throws it open for mining or he keeps it for other pur- 

 poses. Suppose he throws it open; then any one can 

 dig, and he takes one-tenth of the mineral for rent. A 

 windlass, rope, bucket, pick and spade are all the tools 

 we use. Mineral may be struck at ten feet, or it may 

 be at sixty; but we go down until we come to hard pan; 

 it never lies below that. You may get some "drift" that 

 will pay or may not; it's all chance. You may work a 

 week and not get a dollar, and you may strike a lead*; 

 and then you drift in and follow it. You see, there are 

 lots of abandoned shafts which were sunk ten years ago, 

 when mineral was worth ten dollars per thousand. Now 

 it is worth thirty dollars, and two men can make wages 

 if they get a thousand pounds per week." 



"And a fellow has to work down there under ground 

 like a mole to do this?" 



, *This is pronounced leed in the mines, and is a corruption of lode. 



