Every-day Incidents. I: Nat’s Job

EVERYDAY INCIDENTS. NAT'S JOB. Outward accidents conduce much to fortune, but chiefly the mould of a man's fortune is in his own hand. The most frequent of external causes is, that the folly of one man is the fortune of another. For no man prospers so suddenly as by others' errors.— Bacon. There certainly was no pressing need for it, and perhaps no good reason, but Nat Tompkins had constructed the seat to add another mite to his comfort. I say there was no pressing need and perhaps no good reason; neither was there, except to satisfy human nature which, as you all know, is about the same in every- bodj . It reaches out for more — no matter how much nor how little it enjoys at present. Nat Tompkins had been given an easy job at the big reduction mills, at $3.50 per day. He was a "character" in the camp, about thirty years old, and unmarried. In fact, it was generally noised around that he had offered $100 to any person who could find a woman who would be willing to live with him. But so far the $100 reward was unearned. His work was very simple, and consisted mostly in holding a shovel, and with it directing the ore now and then, on its way to the huge grinders, to prevent it from clogging the chute in the great mill. But why stand to do it? It was easy, why not make it easier? Sd he set about and ingeni- ously constructed a chair to sit in, and a foot-stool to place his feet upon, in order to thoroughly enjoy himself. On this impro- vised chair he was sitting, like a prince on his throne, one day as the superintendent of the mine suddenly came along on a tour of inspection. "What's this? What are you doing here?" And our friend was obliged to tell the story of his invention — his lazi- ness.

EVERYDAY INCIDENTS. 687 The result was dismissal. 'Why not be satisfied to stand * and work? You don't seem to appreciate 'a snap' when you have it, but must still seek something easier. Go to the office for your pay. Your services are no longer needed." He is also said to have used other strong language, not necessary to repeat. So Nat was discharged. Then he decided to make a living in some other way. He noticed that the tailings of the mill were full of metal which had escaped the tables. Why not gather and sift up the sands running to waste in the creek below and thus "get even" with the superintendent? Rights to do so were ob- tained from owners through whose land the creek made its way to the river. And soon Nat was panning from eight dollars to ten dollars per day from the ore which escaped the mill. There must have been $200,000 in the pile of sand around the mill, and more was gathering every day, much of it being sent down in the turbid waters of the creek. went to work shoveling out So he and washing the sands, and they yielded him a handsome har- vest. A little later, instead of doing it himself, he hired men to throw the glittering sands from the stream, and again he sat in an easy chair, this time on the porch of his own cabin on the hill side, earning money. The superintendent saw it, and was chagrined. He decided to save the sand on his own ground. He shipped tons of it to the smelters and reaped rich results. But much still escaped him. Then, to further prevent loss, he invented new machinery, and by repumping and other devices saved thousands of dollars which theretofore had eluded the separators. He perfected the mechanism so that one would think it impossible for any of the precious metal to be carried away. All day long, and at night, the beautiful electric motors and the ponderous machinery are singing the work-song of fortune to him. Deep in the bowels of the earth, many men are toiling to bring to the surface the ore which is ground to dust and separated on the slime tables to en- rich the owners and to pay the workmen. Three shifts each day take out between two and three hun- dred tons of second-class ore. The first-class ore is shipped direct to the smelters.The work of grinding the former goes steadily on, and each month sees from five thousand to six thousand tons crushed

688 IMPROVEMENT ERA. and washed, and the concentrates shipped to the smelters in the valley. But with all the care taken, the silver sands below are to this day yielding Nat a rich income. His hundred dollars reward has long since been claimed. He has now a wife, from the mountains of West Virginia, to share his cabin. Every morning as the miners trudge up the narrow canyon and down again at night, their shoes scatter the silver sands until all the way to the camp, which has been entitled city, the particles of silver shine upon the walks, and glitter in fascinating sheen upon the banks of the little stream. You may see the pretty sight for yourself, if you have patience to climb and observe. Besides, the scent of pine, the rare atmosphere, and the cool air from the snowdrifts yonder, intoxicate the climber with the joy of living. As you trudge up the road, sweating on the steep hill- sides, you may ponder Lord Bacon's maxim, or decide for yourself whether it would have been better if Nat could have remained in the easy chair which he lazily occupied in the first place. Salt Lake City, Utah.