344 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 
impossible for them to know beforehand whether a mine con- 
tains much rich ore or dirt. But if we look a little further at 
this explanation, we shall find that’it has no good foundation. 
It is not true that the prudent business man always avoids great 
risks; in other words, prudent business men often make in- 
vestments with a probability that the entire investment will 
be lost, but in clear view of a possibility that an immense 
profit may be made. 
It is a mark of sound judgment and prudence in a business 
man to avoid risks that may much endanger the loss of his 
whole fortune, but he will not necessarily refuse to venture a 
tenth part of his fortune, if he see a possibility—as of one 
chance in five—of making a profit of a hundred-fold. It is 
under the guidance of principles like these—stating the risk 
in its least favorable aspect—that mining for gold and silver 
is conducted throughout the world, to the great general profit 
of those engaged in the business, and it is in view of princi- 
ples like these that mines of all kinds have a certain market 
value. They may be hidden hundreds of feet under the earth, 
but there is a probability that a metalliferous vein, if tolerably 
rich, and similar to other veins not far distant, and found to 
be rich through a considerable extent, will also be rich in like 
manner in other parts out of reach. There is such a chance 
for profit that a high value attaches to mines where there is 
not even a regular vein or layer of mineral to guide the miner. 
For instance, cinnabar is not found in veins, but in masses, 
usually connected with each other by little seams. At New 
Almaden, sometimes a mass of ore is found ten feet cubic, and 
when it is worked out, only a little seam indicates where other 
masses may lie. Whether they do lie there is a matter no 
way certain. The Enriqueta mine, which promised about two 
years since to rival the Almaden, has fallen to the level of the 
Guadalupe. Some rich masses were found ; and more may be 
found, but nobody knows whether they will be, and so with 
the New Almaden; and though these facts are perfectly 
understood, the latter mine is worth millions in the market. 
