‸(“Prospect” from “M. H.” ledge sticking to piece of yellow paper in middle of this page.)‸ 1
Esmeralda, Sunday, May — 1862.
My Dear Brother:
[ D—d— Well—] if you haven’t “struck it rich”—that is, if the piece of rock you sent me came from a bona fide ledge—and it looks as if it did. If that is a ledge, and you own 200 feet in it, why, it is a big thing—and I have nothing more to say. If you have actually made something by helping to pay somebody’s prospecting [expenses,] it is a wonder of the first magnitude, and deserves to rank as such. If that rock came from a well‐defined ledge, that particular vein must [be] at least an inch wide, judging
[gold sample]
from this specimen, which is fully that thick. When I came in the other evening, hungry and tired and ill-natured, and threw down my pick and shovel, Raish gave me your specimen—said Bagley brought it, and asked me if it were cinnabar. I examined it, by the waning daylight, and took the specks of fine gold for sulphurets—wrote you that I did not think much of it—and posted the letter immediately. But as soon as I looked at it in the broad light of day, I saw my mistake. During the week, we have made three horns, got a blow-pipe, &c., and yesterday, all prepared, we prospected the “Mountain House.” I [ bo broke] the specimen in two, and found it full of fine gold inside. Then we washed out one-fourth of it, and got a noble prospect. This we reduced with the blow-pipe, and got about two cents (herewith enclosed) in pure gold. As the fragment prospected weighed rather less than an ounce, this would give about $500 to the ton. We were eminently well satisfied. Therefore, hold on to the “Mountain House,” for it is a “big thing.” Touch it lightly, as far as money is concerned, though, for it is well to reverse the code of justice, in the matter of quartz ledges—that is, consider them all (& their owners) guilty (of “shenanigan”) until they are proved innocent. If, without buying, you can get another interest in the “M. H.,” do so—put it in my name—and I will give it to Raish, and we will go and freeze to it and put it through astonishingly—that is, work a shaft on every claim in [it.—]and a dozen more beside, if the mills could keep up with us. Get another claim of 100 or 200 feet if you can, but don’t buy it. If the owners [ know knew] R.’s talent for managing these things as well as I do, [ that they] would willingly give him 10 or 15 feet apiece to get him to take charge of the mine. Try them.
La Rue probably showed you a remarkably fine specimen from here. Raish and I, and Mr. Fowler,2 hunted for the ledge it came from, for 2 days, but we couldn’t find it. It probably came from a mere boulder, or piece of float rock;3 but that made no difference. If we could have found out what hill it was on, we could have found the ledge it came from. Which reminds me that if your specimen came from a boulder, the ledge is not far off, and can easily be found.
We have got interests in the first W. extension of the “Flyaway,” and in second E. extension of the same.4 Will get into the original if possible. Yesterday we took a spirit level and got the [ e angle] of the celebrated “Antelope” ledge, and to-morrow we shall commence a hunt after the second E. extension of it.5 We may find it and we may not. The thing has often been tried before, but with no success. If we find it, our fortunes are made—if we don’t,—they ain’t. Of course. Unless the “M. H.” proves “all my fancy painted her.”6 If I had a few thousands (to spare) I would make this search with a tunnel—the only probable way of finding it.
Still progressing slowly with the “H & D.” tunnel. I had some [notion] of selling out this institution, but everybody seems to have so high an opinion of it that I concluded to “chance” it, and hold on, as it will cost but little to finish it now. [It’s] d—d slowness is what I dislike.7
I have 75 feet in a spur of the “Antelope,” which promises nothing save that it is an offshoot from a good family—and I am aristocrat enough to attach some importance to that sort of thing.8
Send me some money. If the article is scarce, [$20] will do. Send by Bagley. I want to try his system of charges [ first once]. However, if the Exp. won’t charge more than the ratio of $200 on $10000—that is reasonable enough—and send it that way.
[Dont you] own in those water powers? If so—well, I recollect, you do—it is bully. Isn’t confiscating ten miles of one of God Almighty’s rivers coming ‸it‸ rather strong, perhaps? The more the better, though, if the thing can be stood. Tell us something more about [ h those] ledges—whether they are well defined—how wide they are—width of the pay streak, &c. Raish is a great manager, and [ wi must] be “corraled” into this arrangement. Finally—don’t sell or give away a foot of the “M. H.” [ until you at all]. I will step over there one of these days, and look at the ledges—and then, if they prove worthless, we can sell out.
Please read this letter twice.
Yr. Bro,
Sam. L. Clemens.
P.S.—Monday—Ratio & I have bought one-half of a segregated claim9 in the original “Flyaway,” for $10000—$50 down. We haven’t a cent in the house. We two will work the ledge, and have full control, & pay all expenses. If you can spare $100 conveniently, let me have it—or $50, any how. Considering that I own one-fourth of this, it is of course more valuable than our 1/7 of the “Mountain House,” although not so rich.
[in a different ink on a torn half-sheet:]
P.S. Continued.—I saw “F.” rock taken to the mill the other day which I know ought to have paid $100 a ton—but it only yielded $38—from ten feet below the surface. If we strike the same kind of rock in our segregated claim, it will amply satisfy me. We’ll get more than $38 out of it—by taking it to Clayton’s. We may not find as good rock, but as we shall sink within a hundred feet of the “F” shaft, the probability is that we shall.
Hunted for “Antelope” to-day, and found a ledge—but hardly think it is the right one.
Crooker says, please sell his scrip for as much as it will bring, and send him the money. Send Dodd’s10 scrip to Crooker. (Deduct fees, of course.)
Four of us boys have dug two trenches, each 20 feet long and 6 feet deep, to-day, in the gravelly hill side. Finally, if we do find the “Antelope,” we shan’t care a d—n—any more. And if we don’t do that but do strike it rich in the “Flyaway,” we’ll not care a [ da d—n] anyhow whether school keeps or not.
I don’t intend to pay Mrs. Derby that $75 until her share of feet in the tunnel are run.11 Let me know when your money comes.12
Say nothing about what the “F.” yielded in the mill.
Explanatory Notes | Textual Commentary
Source text(s):
Previous publication:
L1, 201–205; MTL, 1:76–78, with omissions; MTBus, 66, brief excerpt not in MTL.
Provenance:see McKinney Family Papers, pp. 459–61.
Emendations and textual notes:
D—d— Well— • [‘Well—’ over ‘D—d—’]
expenses, • expenseess, [‘s,’ over doubtful ‘es’]
be • b[] [gold sample covers ‘e’]
bo broke • boroke [‘r’ over ‘o’]
it.— • [dash over period]
know knew • k‸new‸ now [‘new’ over ‘now’; doubtful ‘o’]
that they • th‸ey‸ at [‘ey’ over ‘at’]
e angle • [‘a’ over doubtful ‘e’]
notion • nothion [‘i’ over ‘h’]
It’s • [sic]
$20 • [‘2’ over very doubtful ‘1’]
first once • [‘once’ over ‘first’]
Dont you • [‘y’ over ‘nt’]
h those • [‘t’ over doubtful ‘h’]
wi must • [‘mu’ over doubtful ‘wi’]
until you at all • [‘at all’ over ‘until you’]
da d—n • da—n [dash over ‘a’]