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STEALING SPEO1MIENS.
The Nevada Transiript says :-Moat
mining companies whose, ledges contain
what is known as s specimen ore" sustain
heavy losses through the tricks of, dis.
honest employees. Numerous cases are
reported here in Novada Country, where
miners working on throeedollars a day and
supporting largo families have acnsmu
lated wealth with souh remarkable
rapidity that in a veiy few years they have
been enabled to retire from the field of
active labour and live on thafatof the land,
and this when it is positively known that
that they had not been dealing in stocks.
The ".tricks of the trade" are numerots,
and, in view of recent happening, it may
not be amiss to describe some that are
connected with the history of gold,
mining in this locality. One trusted em
ployre of a well-known company that fre
quently developed " pockets" in the
course of its operations had a practice of
lighting his tobacco pipe every time he
was coming offlshift, and enjoyed a amoke
as ho redo to the surface and walked
homoward. The pipe had a bowl that
held almost a handful of tobacco, but de
spite this extravagance the man, in addi
tion to having a snug bank account, lived
in good style, dressed his family nicely,
and gave, his children quite an ox
pensive education. How he could
do so much on three dollars a
day was a isystery.for a several years.
Finally, one morning, as he stopped into
the dry-room after ascending to the sur
face, the bowl of his pipe separated from
the stem and fell to the floor. The
superintendent of the mine happened to
be there, and it rolled to his foot. He
courteously stooped to recover it for the
owner. As he did so he observed it was
very heavy, and turned it over in his
hand with curiosity. The minor saw the
motion, and got nervous. The superin
tendent noticed the peculiar action of,the
snsiner, and a ray of suspicion entered his
not over-astute mind. He walked out of
the room with the pipe, leaving the
miner in a greatly excited conditioli.
When he got to his oflice he made an
examination. In the bowl he found' is
rich specimen covered by a thin layo'fQf
tobacco. The smoker never, smoked
in that mine again. Another instance was
where a miner, who was regarded as eccen.
trio because lie lot his his hair grow nearly
to his shoulders, used shoemaker's wax to
fasten specimens close to the hirsute
covering, and he is supposed to have
carried on the robberies for. some years
before he, was detected. Another was
the object of frequent jests because of
the size of his nose intthe vicinity of its
bridge. The nostrils . were contracted at
the outlet, and expanded as they went
upwards. It was not until some one
finally detected him in smuggling nuggets
out of the mine by putting them in his
nostrills that the advantage of such a nose
was appreciated by his fellow-ivorkmen.
A dentist in this city had a 'call from a
miner who was suistering from as toothache.
While examining the offendinig ivory,
which was a hollow one; he prised out a
small piece of quartz heavily charged
with gold. He accepted it as pay for his
work and considered himself remunerated.
It is probably unnecessary to add that
thd quartz was not put thorn byis'dentist.
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