152 SILVER-LEAD DEPOSITS OF EUREKA, NEVADA. 



Extracting ore under the tribute system has also been introduced in 

 the Richmond as well as in many other mines of the district, and it has 

 been found to work very well. 



Advantages and disadvantages of the tribute system. The tributei'S SOmetimeS fill Up 



drifts and other workings which ought to be kept open, and injure the mine 

 generally, but this is the case only when they are not properly restricted 

 and the foreman of the mine does not attend to his duty. Ground worked 

 under the tribute system soon acquires an ill-kept, disorderly appearance 

 not calculated to impress visitors favorably. The approbation which orderly 

 galleries excites in the mind of a mining man is not founded on love of 

 neatness, however, but on the fact that it facilitates the operation of the 

 mine. It must be remembered that the ground is not given over to tributers 

 until it has been practically abandoned by the company, and that the ore 

 which is obtained in this manner is nearly clear gain ; and since the ground 

 left by the tributers is entirely valueless, there is no object in maintaining 

 it in working order. In fact, extraction under the tribute system is analo- 

 gous to cutting away the pillars of a coal seam rather than to more regular 

 mining operations. 



Although some tributers are fortunate and discover valuable deposits 

 of ore, by far the greater number do not make miners' wages ; but men gen- 

 erally, and miners in particular, prefer to run the risk of making nothing if 

 at the same time they have the chance of getting extraordinary remunera- 

 tion for their labor. The difficulty of obtaining continuous employment at 

 day's pay also acts as an inducement, to tributers. As the large ore bodies 

 are worked out, the demand for such labor decreases and many miners are 

 thrown out of employment who prefer to work on tribute to seeking their 

 fortunes in new camps. As adopted in Eureka District the tribute system 

 has been very successful. 



