1880s Colorado Miner: A Journal

1880s Colorado Miner: A Journal

The road was long and hard, but I finally made it. It was lonely, too, leaving my family behind and striking out to find my riches in the new Colorado mines. I was especially attracted by the silver mines and found myself in the sizeable mining community of Georgetown. This town surprised me; the rough-and-tumble way of life we had heard about back East (which was, I confess, part of what drew me out West to begin with) did not so much apply in this town of nearly three-thousand inhabitants. The money I had saved before beginning my travels -- what was left of it, anyway -- served me well when I got there. My mother will be happy that there are five churches to choose from, though I know there are one or two that she would rather have me avoid. Perhaps I shall leave any mention of them out of my first letter back home since my arrival here.

There are several different mines around town, but they are already owned by someone else, and the way to get rich isn't by working someone else's silver mine. Still, I think it might be the best thing for me to do given my present circumstances; it will give me a chance to learn what I'm doing without having to pay for my own equipment -- not up front, anyway -- and at the same time I will get to know some of the other miners and the lay of the land out here, both literally and figuratively. The politics of the West, even in a town as large and established as Georgetown, seem different than those of the East. There is a lot of "might-makes-right" thinking that some of the men engage in, but none of that is put up with in the town. It has been here pretty much since silver was first discovered in Colorado, and the law here is used to handling disputes.

What I really want is to strike out on my own, and maybe discover a new vein of ore that has gone unnoticed by the larger mining operations. These bosses own so much of the land around Georgetown that it's almost impossible to get by without working for them in one way or another. But after I figure out how best to do get by in this new place and this new way of living, I think I'll strike out farther West and see what fortune I can make for myself. If I can make a few friends, and a few dollars to get us set up when we find our claim, maybe we could become big mine owners ourselves, someday. I can't imagine anything nicer than pulling into my home town on the fanciest coach ever pulled by an engine, waving at the crowd in a new suit and shiny shoes, a watch-chain made of the silver I mined with my own hands drooping down almost to my toes before it comes back up to disappear inside my vest, attached to the finest silver time-piece anyone ever saw.

For now, though, I'll get by on my daydreams and what entertainment I can find in Georgetown. Like I said, I still have some money, and there's a lot of shopping that can get done in this town, as well as dances and other get-togethers. Perhaps I'll join up at the Odd Fellows hall, and make some business and political connections there. This type of social club made it out here early, and its older members are known for giving a helping hand to the new folks that join them. With those connections and a steady job, it won't be long before I'm on my way to making my own Fortune, instead of slaving away for somebody else like my father does back East.