Not for polling. The story is too long. I just finished it and with my carpal tunnel acting up, I don't have the time or will to edit it down.Mistaken Identity
On a peaceful Sunday late morning a small group of middle-aged men huddled on the Ely, Nevada station platform, anxiously studying the disembarking passengers. One man glanced down at the letter in his hand before pointing to a male hopping off the bottom step of the last car, who was one of the last passengers leaving the cars. “That might be him. I’ve never realized how many men with dark hair, brown eyes, about six feet tall, one hundred sixty pounds, and in their early thirties there are.” His companions all nodded in agreement mixed with relief. They hurried to intercept the much-anticipated arrival.
As Hannibal Heyes waited his turn to step off the train, he scanned the train platform. The Kid was traveling from the south to meet up with him in Ely before they could both take the train west to Reno. The stage was due to arrive earlier than the train but he wasn’t surprised not to see his partner. Stage travel was much more variable than travel by train. What he was surprised to see was a group of men rapidly coming straight at him. He tamped down his automatic reaction to hop back on the train as it chugged out of the station in a cloud of steam. No one knew he was coming to Ely, except the Kid. He didn’t know anyone is this part of Nevada. None of the strangers were sporting a tin star and they all looked like they were dressed in their going-to-church clothes. He transferred his saddle bags to his left hand and waited.
“Mr. Smith? Mr. J Smith?” The man holding the letter asked politely.
“Yes, that’s me,” Heyes responded cautiously. He relaxed slightly, keeping the confusion hidden at being addressed by his alias.
“Great. We were starting to get a little worried since your letter indicated you were arriving three days ago. It’s good to finally meet you. I’m Lou Rodney the General Manager of the White Pines Consolidated Mines. We’ve arranged a suite for you at the Ely Grand Hotel. I’m sure the accommodations and meal allowance we provided will meet your approval. Why don’t we get you checked in and then we’ll go over the arrangements, payments, and the job requirements.” The leader of the small group gently ushered J. Smith off the platform as he introduced his companions.
Heyes was intrigued. Money was tight. He and the Kid wouldn’t receive the payment due them, minus the small advance, until they reached Reno, if they could collect it. It was never a sure thing. A suite and paid meals sounded like good deal, depending upon what the missing J. Smith was employed to do and how long it would take.
~~~~~~~~~~ASJ~~~~~~~~~~~~
Habit and necessity dictated Kid Curry’s attention to certain landmarks as he walked along the main street. Ely, Nevada was a mining and transportation hub for the sparsely populated area. He spotted the sheriff’s office and jail, with no name posted, three saloons, the mercantile, and two hotels on the main street from the stage depot. Heyes’ train had already arrived so Curry headed to the smaller more modest hotel to drop off his belongings and find his friend.
“Name’s Jones. My friend, Joshua Smith, he check us in yet?”
The desk clerk checked the register. “I’m sorry sir. We don’t have a Mr. Smith registered with us. Did you check the Ely Grand up the street?”
Kid frowned as he wondered if he should check the saloon before registering. Funds were low. He doubted Heyes would go for more than a basic room at the less expensive hotel.
“Thanks, if he’s not there, I’ll be back.” Kid decided to at least ask at the larger hotel.
Curry looked at the door he was standing in front of and back down to the key fob in his hand. Yes, they matched with gold lettering identifying the Gold Strike Suite. He shook his head in amusement thinking Heyes sure must have stuck some gold, perhaps at poker, to be renting a suite. He opened the door and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of his partner kneeling at the side of a large trunk, picking the lock. He quickly ducked his head out the door, looked both ways before he slammed the door closed, leaned against it, and crossed his arms.
“What’re you doin’?”
Heyes looked up slightly chagrinned that he was so absorbed in his task that he missed hearing the door open.
“Hey Thaddeus, I see you found me. You just get in?”
“Yeah, but I went to the smaller hotel first. Heyes, how can we afford this? And whose trunk are you breakin’ into?”
The dark-haired ex-outlaw chuckled as he threw open the trunk lid. “This trunk belongs to J. Smith. J Smith is a Professor of Mine Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. The Consolidated White Pines Mines hired him as a mine engineer to hep them improve their gold output. Apparently, the gold ore veins are tapering off and they want to find a new vein.”
“That’s all well and good Heyes but you’re not that J. Smith and you don’t know anything about mine engineering. What’s that got to do with us?”
“A suite, two meals per day, a rented horse at the livery, and one hundred dollars a week for up to three weeks for J Smith to find a new productive ore vein is what it has to do with us. I got the same deal for his assistant. Well almost, your salary comes out of mine and you’re sleeping in the same suite. I blamed my assistant for not sending the telegram regarding my delay before I sent him on an errand.”
“Sounds like an illegal con to me.”
“We’re gonna work for the money legally. I am J. Smith, sorta. We know something about mining and prospecting. We know how to use explosives if we need to. And this book can give me enough knowledge to at least talk a good game and who knows we may actually find gold for them…” He lifted a heavy tome titled Introductory Mining Engineering and Underground Mining Methods by J. Smith up from the assorted paraphernalia and clothes. “…You’re my assistant. You just have to do what I tell you.” Heyes smiled his most charming persuasive smile.
Curry was not amused or persuaded. “And if the real J. Smith shows up?”
“The mine wired him three days ago when he didn’t show up. He never answered back. There’s been no problems with the telegraph or trains. J. Smith isn’t coming.”
“Heyes, that’s a stretch and taking a chance…”
Heyes interrupted before his practical partner could shoot holes in his plan. “How much money do you have in your pocket? I have ninety-three cents.”
“One dollar, twenty-seven cents.”
“Do you really want to share a bed in a shabby hotel, eat beans for dinner, play penny ante poker if we can find a game, search for a back breaking job or do you want your own comfortable bed, bath, and..” his voice honeyed for the clincher “…guaranteed breakfast and dinner for at least three weeks or until we find gold. You could have a steak dinner with pie every night.”
Kid’s stomach growled at the thought, and he pushed off from the door. “Where am I sleepin’?”
~~~~~~~~~~ASJ~~~~~~~~~~~
Until the first week’s pay came through Smith and Jones were forced to spend their time industriously. The White Pines Consolidated Mines consisted of three mines spread out more or less evenly to form a large triangle on the map. The General manager provided blueprints of all three mines for Joshua Smith to study. J. Smith and his assistant toured each mine underground with their individual mine managers. Heyes and Curry determined that all three mine’s main gold veins pointed towards the middle of the triangular area between the mines before gradually getting smaller. Each night after eating a hearty dinner at the hotel dining room Heyes retired to the hotel room to read up on mine engineering. Curry to his dismay was sucked into learning more about mining and geology than he ever cared to in order to give his thoughts and opinions to his partner, for what they were worth.
Monday of the second week found the partners on their rented horses riding slowly around the interior of the inter mine triangle. Both men were naturally observant with a keen eye for detail. Each had great memory recall. They also had a good spatial sense and the ability to visualize in three dimensions. These skills served them well in the planning and execution of their outlaw jobs and proved useful in their current employment as they methodically built a picture in their minds of the underground mines and above ground findings.
Curry looked up from surveying the ground from the back of his horse as his ears detected the sound of approaching horses from behind a small hill.
“Heyes, company.”
Heyes finished his scrutiny of the ground and boulders in front of the partners. The boulders had a fair number of greenish flecks and dull blue-green spiderweb looking lines covering the exposed surface. He dismounted, walked over to Curry’s horse and started to untie the pickax and shovel secured behind the Kid’s saddle.
The blond watched as the sheriff and the White Pine #1 Mine Shift boss rode up.
“Gentlemen, were you looking for us?” J. Smith asked politely.
“Not specifically, we’re on our way to WP #2 Mine on an unrelated problem. Thought we’d take the shortcut.” The sheriff answered, watching the two men. He couldn’t put his finger on it, couldn’t explain it, but there was something dancing around the back of his mind about these two, especially concerning Thaddeus Jones. The blond man just didn’t carry himself as a junior assistant.
The mine boss glanced around, then leaned in closer to Mr. Smith. “Whatcha doin’ lookin’ around above ground.”
Heyes replied without hesitation. “I’m checkin to see if this is a borst or carbonato field.
Kid looked away quickly, biting his lip, trying not to snicker. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and only just managed to catch the shovel being thrown at him by his friend.
“Get off your horse, Thaddeus. I need you to dig here. Need some good size rocks to study.” The faux mine engineer instructed his assistant before focusing on the mine shift boss. “Sometimes what kind of rocks and dirt you find above ground gives a clue to what’s below ground.”
The shift boss nodded. “Sounds reasonable. Hope one of those two fields you mentioned has gold below it. The miners are counting on you to keep the mines open. As far as mines go, White Pines is a good place to work.” Curry got to work digging a hole as Heyes, the sheriff and the shift boss watched for a few moments. “Well, good luck to ya.”
“There’s no luck about it. There’s a formula and knowledge behind it.” Heyes sounded affronted.
The blond threw a shovel of dirt, just missing the dark-haired ex-outlaw as he muttered under his breath “There better be luck, ‘cause we need all we can get.”
The sheriff and shift boss nodded as they resumed their journey.
The Kid leaned on his shovel and wiped the sweat off his brow with back of his hand. “Carbonato or borst fields? Those had to do with diamonds, not gold. We didn’t know a thing about them in Kingsburg and we don’t know a thing about them now.”
The older man smiled. “Nope, we don’t but neither do they. Keep digging. I really do want to get a look at some good-sized rocks. I have an idea, but it may not lead to gold.
~~~~~~~~~~ASJ~~~~~~~~~~~
Kid Curry stood in a clearing outside of town. He was satisfied with his speed and accuracy during this practice session. The fine hairs at the back of his neck stood on end with the feeling he was being watched. Curry took his time reloading the Colt as his ears and brain strained to analyze the footsteps advancing slowly from behind. It didn’t sound like Heyes. The draw was too ingrained to slow but he made the split-second decision to change his aim. The first can was hit squarely in the middle. The next two wobbled as the bullets just grazed the edge. The fourth can was hit at the big red dot off to the side on the label. The fifth was a complete miss, hitting a pinecone on the tree behind the targets. The bullet blew the bent-up top off the sixth can and knocked it off the log.
“Mighty fine shooting there, Mr. Jones. Don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone faster at the draw.” The Ely sheriff observed.
Kid turned and the two men spent a moment sizing each other up. Curry nonchalantly turned his back, holstered his Colt, and strode over to inspect his targets, shaking his head in disappointment. “Fast but I only hit one of the six cleanly in the middle.”
The sheriff narrowed his eyes as he stood beside the fastdraw and studied the cans lying on the log or in the dirt. He shifted his gaze to the Colt on the blond’s hip before landing on the Kid’s face.
Curry shifted his weight slightly as the lawman studied him. “Did you need something, Sheriff? Otherwise. I better get back to my employer.”
“No, I heard the shooting as I was passing by on the road and thought I should check it out. Does Mr. Smith know you practice like this?’
“Yes, Sheriff. Part of my job is to provide protection to Mr. Smith. His work sometimes takes him into rough places and dangerous situations with people or more often wildlife. He wears a gun to blend in but to tell you the truth he’s not very good. He’s slow and twists when he draws.” Kid explained as he gathered his things and mounted his horse. “If you have any other questions, you know where to find me.”
The Ely Sheriff was no fool. Those were expert hits, all twelve from the fastest man he ever saw. He’d bet on it. The question was who was Thaddeus Jones, really, and did he want to find out? Smith and Jones seemed to be taking the job of searching for a new vein seriously, according to his own observations and reports from the mine managers and owners.
~~~~~~~~~~~ASJ~~~~~~~~~~~
“That’s two hundred and thirty-six dollars. Between weeknight poker and our pay from the first week, I’d say Ely has been a worthwhile for J. Smith and his assistant. We’re being paid, sleeping in comfortable beds, eating regular, and have money for entertainment.” Heyes crowed as divided the funds between himself and his partner. “And you were worried.”
“I’m still worried. The real J. Smith could show up at any time and then what?” Curry rolled up his share and shoved it into his pants pocket. He sat on the sofa in the lounge of the suite and pulled off his boots.
“Quit worrying, Kid. J. Smith, whoever he is, if he was coming, he would have been here by now. The White Pines people are happy with us so far.”
“I don’t like the way the Sheriff is lookin’ at me whenever he sees me. He suspects something.”
“You don’t like whenever any sheriff is looking at you. He might be a little suspicious, but he definitely don’t have any idea on who we really are. I’ve had no problem with him.”
“Humph.”
“Go clean your gun, relax. Get some sleep. Tomorrow the real fun starts.” Heyes divested himself of his gun belt, toed his boots off and sat at the desk with a ruler, pad, and pencil. He thumbed through the pages of the mining text until he located the table he was searching for. “Hey, Kid, get me the mine drawings for WP #3, will ya.”
Curry brought over the required set of drawings, handed them to his partner then peered over Heyes’ shoulder.
The older man flipped through the drawings of the various levels, settling on level four.
“Nope. Go up a level to level three. The right most tunnel extends further and is closest to where you want to go.”
Heyes frowned, turned slightly in the chair, and glanced up. “You think so?”
“I’m sure.” Kid affirmed.
Heyes unrolled the correct large sheet and studied the drawing. Without comment, he left that page open on the desk and pulled the pad, pencil, and a ruler towards him. He soon became engrossed in numerous calculations.
~~~~~~~~~~~ASJ~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day at the furthest end of the right most tunnel in White Pines Mine #3 on level three huddled Joshua Smith and his assistant Thaddeus Jones. The gold ore had petered out on this level some years past when the more productive veins had turned deeper and to the left, leaving this part of the mine abandoned. Smith was busy setting the appropriate charges to direct the blast in the direction he wanted the tunnel to extend. Jones was assisting. When the older man was satisfied that everything was in place both men triple checked their work against the notes they had brought with them.
The partners walked slowly out of the right most tunnel, carefully checking if the integrity of the tunnel’s infrastructure was as sound as they thought on their previous assessment while they unspooled the heavy-duty safety fuse wire. Heyes based his calculations on the majority of the tunnel remaining clear. They didn’t have the luxury of time to wait for the miners to clear excessive blast debris to see the results of their work.
At the main junction on level three they met the General Manager of the Consolidated White Pines Mines, the Operations Manager of WP #3 and a gathering of shift and crew bosses. The waiting men peered anxiously past the partners into the shadowy mine tunnel. The clean working clothes on the management team were in sharp contrast to the dirty well-worn clothes of the miners, although, they all shared similar expressions of hopeful anticipation.
Kid murmured, “Give me at least an hour to get into position.” He waved at the group of men and continued towards the mine exit, leaving his partner to shmooze the miners. He spent the remainder of his time underground reviewing his escape contingency plans in case luck wasn’t on their side and the situation turned threatening. He and Heyes had a mild argument regarding the need for such a plan that Curry’s practical security-minded nature demanded he win before leaving for WP #3. Kid reminded his partner that not every robbery went as desired no matter how careful they planned and how prepared they might have been. Heyes conceded that his genuine enjoyment of the current challenge and enthusiasm in gaining practical, though esoteric, knowledge shouldn’t overrule necessary caution.
“We’re all set.” Heyes turned his attention to the Operations Manager. “Give the signal to evacuate the mine. Your Blast Chief and I will be the last up and out once we light the fuse. I need at least an hour before Mr. Jones gets into position.” The dark-haired men exuded confidence and familiarity in his plans, which was evident in his straight stance, and tone of voice. His brown eyes swept his audience and the dimpled excited smile was contagious.
The crew bosses scattered in an orderly fashion to give the necessary orders. Lou Rodney, The General Manager extended his hand to J. Smith. “Here’s to a successful blast, Mr. Smith. You’ll have your hour and then some. It takes a tad longer to get all the men up. See you topside.”
About ninety minutes later, Curry was getting restless. He glanced over to his horse and affirmed that the animal was secure and couldn’t bolt if it was spooked by the impending blast. He walked around in circles, gauging his distance from landmarks to confirm he was where he should be. He idlily rearranged the green flecked rocks in the big X, marking the spot. His blond head shot up as a distant steam whistle sounded in the pattern White Pines Mines used to signify an eminent blast. He stood still and waited, all senses on alert.
A subtle jolt jarred the ground beneath the Kid’s boots. The initial tremor triggered slow waves of ground vibrations traveling outward from Curry’s location towards the center of the inter mine triangle of land. A dull roar, sounding like far off thunder, despite the sunny day came soon after he felt the results of the underground blast. The tremors passed quickly and normal sounds of the wind, birds, and insects resumed as if nothing had happened. Blue eyes scanned the entirety of the landscape in a slow circle. Nothing outward had changed above ground. Now to find out what had changed below ground.
Miners were working diligently in the third level tunnel for the first time in years. The mine supports and infrastructure held, making the task of removing the loosened rock within the mine’s safety parameters. Several crews had volunteered to work extra shifts in the general hopefulness that pervaded the White Pines work force. Several hours after the blast, word came topside that the tunnel had been cleared and the crews reached solid rock.
Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones hung slightly back, weight balanced, their fight or flight reflexes primed at the ready, although they appeared confident. The tunnel was brightly lit by numerous lanterns supplied by the operations manager. Fine rock dust swirled in the air and the tang of discharged explosives grew stronger as the mine’s senior leadership led the way to the newly fractured rock. Individuals at the back of the crowd craned their necks to see. It seemed as if everyone collectively held their breath as the experienced gold mine managers leaned in to examine the fresh surface.
Men in the back started to whisper as they watched their leaders pick at the rock and examine samples.
“Do we have a new vein?”
“Is it gold?”
“I need this job. Is the mine gonna stay open.”
Someone shouted in frustration, “What do you see? Gold?”
The General Mine Manager held up his hand for quiet. “No. I don’t see golden eagles...”
A wave of palpable disappointment swept through the mass of men pressing forward to see for themselves.
Heyes and Curry shared a concerned look. They didn’t expect to find gold but they did hope the blast discovered something else. A silent agreement was arrived and the partners started to back away unnoticed, for the moment.
“What I do see is pennies. Millions and millions of copper pennies instead. What we have here is a solid wall of one of the purest strikes of copper that I’ve ever seen.”
A stunned hush fell in the tunnel. The only sound was the clinking of several small loose pieces of undeniably reddish ore falling to the ground. Men started to notice that the walls, ceiling, and floor of the opened tunnel were largely dull copper red brown.
The general manager laughed happily out loud. “Men, it’s not the first-time gold has led to richer strikes of a different metal. We might be losing a gold mine but look around you. We’ve got ourselves a copper mine.” He strode through the crowd and vigorously pumped J. Smith’s hand. Others slapped the partners on the back as congratulations for a well-done job were hurled their way.
~~~~~~~~~~~ASJ~~~~~~~~~~~
Heyes and Curry waited for the disembarking passengers to disperse from the westbound train in Ely, NV. The two men settled themselves in the back of the last car as a tall, slender dark-haired men in his early thirties with brown eyes stepped down from the front car. The station platform was in shadow as evening deepened into night. The stationmaster had yet to light the station’s lamps.
Heyes was all smiles as the train gathered steam, pulling out of the station to head west. He leaned back against the seat, propping his boots on the empty seat in front of him.
“What did I tell you, Thaddeus. Ely, Nevada has been good to us. We have the three hundred dollars for the job even though it only took two weeks to find a vein. They didn’t care that it was copper instead of gold. We have another one hundred and ninety-six dollars in poker winnings. The mine managers and bosses might be good at mining, but they sure were lousy poker players. At least they lost in good humor.”
“Their humor wouldn’t have been so good if we didn’t get lucky with that blast hitting copper.”
“No luck about it, from what I read in that book, and what we were seeing in the mine and on the ground topside we knew there was a good chance of hitting copper. The odds were with us. It doesn’t even matter if we don’t get paid in Reno.”
“It matters. Money has a way of slipping through our fingers and who knows when and what the next job will be.”
“Geez, you’re proddy tonight. What? Did you want to stay for the celebration?”
“No, I’m feelin’ better now that we’re on our way out of Ely. I kept expectin’ the real J. Smith to show up.”
“How many times do I have to tell you J. Smith isn’t coming.”
~~~~~~~~~~ASJ~~~~~~~~~~~
The handsome dark-haired stranger looked around the darkened train platform and sighed. He thought to himself “what did I expect, I’m over two weeks late.” He headed to the station office and passing a pile of cargo stacked in a three sided shed adjacent to the building, he stopped and gave a closer look. He bent and peered at a large trunk shove in the front. The shipping label read – To J. Smith, Colorado School of Mines, Mine Engineering Department, Illinois Avenue, Golden, Colorado.
“Why that’s my trunk!”
J. Smith hurried into the office and up to the counter.
“You have a trunk with a shipping label for J. Smith in your cargo shed. How did it get there?”
The station clerk looked confused before his expression smoothed out. “Yes, sir. J Smith and his assistant Thaddeus Jones arranged for the shipping back east to his School. They bought tickets on the westbound train that just left, though? Is there a problem?”
“I’m J. Smith. Joseph Smith, Professor of Mine Engineering. I’ve been unavoidably delayed for my employment to detect any worthwhile gold veins for the White Pines Consolidated Mines. Where can I find their representative?”
The clerk’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, then who was the other J. Smith?”
“I surely don’t know my good man. I also don’t know where I can find Lou Rodney who was supposed to meet my train two weeks past.”
“You can find Mr. Rodney and all the other bosses of the WP mines at the Golden Pine Saloon up the street on the right. Just about the whole town is there celebrating the discovery.”
“What discovery? I only just got here.”
“Well, the other J. Smith, he didn’t find gold, but he found a whole lotta copper.”
The genuine mine engineer entered the raucous Golden Pine Saloon. The place was packed with the overflow celebrating in the street and other nearby saloons. He tapped a whiskey guzzling miner on the shoulder and shouted, “I’m looking for Lou Rodney do you know where he might be?”
After a series of hiccups and a swipe across his mouth the miner replied, “Try upstairs. All the mine and town bigwigs are in the party room upstairs.” He pointed helpfully to the staircase along the back wall of the building.
Joseph Smith climbed past girls with trays of drinks and food coming and going on the staircase. He spotted a group of well-dressed men in the middle of the room, drinking champagne and hurried over.
He spoke quickly and with a mixture of pent-up frustration, trepidation, and apology. “I’m J. Smith from the Colorado School of Mines. I’m looking for Lou Rodney the General Manager of the White Pines Consolidated Mines. I’m sorry I’m late. You will never believe what happened to me. I’ve never in all my born days been treated so abysmally.”
The mine bosses and town’s mayor, sheriff, and principal business owners all stared at the dark-haired stranger. Mr. Rodney managed to close his dropped jaw. “You’re not Joshua Smith.”
“No, I’m Joseph Smith, Professor of Mine Engineering.”
“Then who was Joshua Smith who found the biggest strike of copper that I’ve seen and where have you been?”
“Copper? I thought you were looking for gold.”
“We were but Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones, his assistant, found copper when they blasted this morning. Copper being found along gold deposits is not unknown as Joshua Smith explained. I know that’s true, too.”
“Yes, copper can be found in gold mining areas. But I don’t know who Joshua Smith was? Where is this Joshua Smith, I want to talk to him. Why did you think he was me?” Joseph Smith looked around the room frantically.
Lou Rodney sobered quickly as he gave thought to Mr. Smith’s questions. “He got off the train from the east only a little late from when you said you’d be in Ely. He looks a lot like you tall, dark-haired, slim build, brown eyes, and in his early thirties.” The general manager scowled. “If you were going to be so late, how come you didn’t notify us.”
“I’ll tell you what happened to me. You won’t believe it though.” J Smith stated through clenched teeth.
The bigwigs all crowded closer. Focusing on Mr. Rodney, Smith started his story.
“I was on my way here when I got off at the Richfield, Utah stop to stretch my legs. There were two hours before the train was leaving to continue west. I was walking up the main street when I was accosted by the Richfield Sheriff and arrested. He insisted I was Hannibal Heyes. All my papers to prove that I was Joseph Smith from Golden, Colorado were in my trunk in the baggage car of the train, which went on its way without me.” Smith’s voice rose in a huff. “He wouldn’t even go look. Said Heyes was a known liar with a silver tongue, and he wasn’t listening to any of my lies.”
The sheriff pushed his way to stand next to the mine engineer.
Joseph Smith gave a look of concern at the nearness of the Ely lawman. He kept one eye on the tin star as he continued. “They wouldn’t send any telegrams for me. But they did send one to Wyoming to let the marshals know that they had Hannibal Heyes, even though I kept telling them I wasn’t an outlaw, never mind Hannibal Heyes. I’ve been stuck in the Ridgefield jail until a sheriff that could identify Heyes could get to Utah. This Trevors took his time getting there as he was out of the territory at first.”
The upset mining engineer took a deep breath and a gulp of whiskey that the WP Operations manger shoved into his hand.
“What happened next?” The Sheriff asked.
“Sheriff Trevors said I wasn’t Heyes and they let me go. Only at that time the telegraph was down, and I sure didn’t want to stick around so I took the first train heading this way. Let me tell you being in jail is an experience I never want to do again. It’s claustrophobic, humiliating, the food is horrible, the cot was lumpy and narrow, and the company was lousy as nobody would listen to anything I had to say.”
The Sheriff backed up and his brow furrowed as he stroked his chin in thought. His right hand drifted to the butt of his holstered Colt. His eyes suddenly widened, and he snapped his fingers in annoyance.
“So, who was it that found that copper load if it wasn’t you? We paid him and him and then he and Jones left.” Lou Rodney wondered.
The operations manager added his two cents, “I thought that was odd that they didn’t join in the celebration.”
“I bet I know who they were.” Announced the Ely sheriff. “They were Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry. Their descriptions match the wanted posters on them. I knew Jones was no assistant, he carried himself like the shootist he is. I’ve never seen anyone so fast as when I came across him practicing. And Heyes, word has it he’s a silver tongued, super smart devil. Boy they sure had me fooled.”
A chorus of voices all exclaimed “Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry! You’re sure Sheriff?”
“Yep, I’m sure now. Wish I was a little earlier.” The lawman turned to Joseph Smith “You do look like Heyes. You better start carrying identification on you when you travel.”
Joseph Smith stood there with a stunned expression as the rest of the crowd resumed their celebration. It didn’t matter who found the rich ore only that it was found.
Notes:Copper Mining in NevadaThe first commercial copper mining district in Nevada was at Yerington in Lyon County. The Ludwig Mine opened in 1865, but the district produced only modest amounts of copper until a railroad was built to the district in 1911, and a smelter built in 1912 at nearby Thompson. The Anaconda Copper Mine produced from an open pit from 1918 to 1978. The copper ore bodies are contact metamorphic replacement deposits in limestone. Production through 1921 was 39 thousand tonnes of copper.
Copper deposits occur in sedimentary and volcanogenic rocks within a wide variety of geologic environments where there may be little or no evidence of hydrothermal alteration. Raw mined copper has a reddish, orangish, and/or brownish color on fresh surfaces, but typically is weathered and coated with a green tarnish of copper(II) carbonate (also known as patina or verdigris). Its specific gravity is 8.9 and its hardness is 2.5–3. Native copper is copper red on fresh fracture but may be greenish or bluish or tarnished if weathered. It is often found with small amounts of arsenic, antimony, bismuth, iron, and silver. Malachite (pronounced mala-kite) is usually a bright green color and has a nonmetallic luster.
The largest copper producer in Nevada has been the Ely district (also called the Robinson district) in White Pine County. A Native American showed mineralization to prospectors in 1867, and the district started in a small way as a lode gold producer. A railroad link in 1906 made it economically possible to start large scale open pit mining of the large porphyry copper deposits, and the first copper was produced in 1908.[40]: 245–246 Mining was halted in recent years due to low copper prices, but the open pit was reopened in 2004 by Quadra Mining Ltd. In 2007, the mine produced 121 million pounds (55 thousand tonnes) of copper, plus byproduct molybdenum. Newmont's Phoenix mine in Lander County produced 6.2 million pounds (2800 tonnes) of copper in 2007, as a byproduct of gold mining
The tremor in the ground can be felt before a distant explosion is heard because sound travels faster in the solid ground than in air.
Copper coins, such as the penny, started as pure copper, but rising copper prices led to changes in composition. In 1857, the Mint added nickel to the copper, but switched to tin and zinc in 1864. For the year 1943, pennies became zinc-coated steel because copper was essential to the war effort during World War II. But the Mint also struck a limited number of copper pennies. In 1962 tin was eliminated, and in 1982 the penny became primarily zinc with only 2.5% copper.
https://mineralseducationcoalition.org › copperactivity
https://www.usmint.gov/learn/history/historic-coin-productionColorado School of MinesColorado School of Mines - Established in 1859, the Colorado School of Mines Mining Engineering Department is ranked as one of the top mine engineering schools worldwide. Mining engineering is a field that encompasses a broad range of engineering skills, such as computer science and technology, mechanical skills, and geophysical skills. Mine engineers are responsible for operating various mining phases, including exploration, mineral resource discovery, feasibility study, mine design, and more.
Mon Jan 01, 2024 1:52 am
