“This was an infamous outrage, after having spent our money and labor, then to be compelled to quit work just because a few little one-horse ranchers below in the valley made a fuss because our gravel covered up their potato patches and radish beds. Now it is plain to any reasonable, sensible man that mining being the chief industry of the country, and the original industry, too—for ’tis just what brought us all here and nothing else—we have the first right to mine or to get the gold from the hills in any manner we see fit; and these ranchers have no right to settle upon, or to undertake to cultivate the ground in the valley and on the flats below where our tailings will lodge. If they do, in my opinion they should be the ones to suffer the consequence and not the miners. Why, just see the effect of stopping all of this hydraulic mining. There is $15,000,000 in gold taken from our money circulation yearly; now how many centuries would it take them little ranchers to raise that amount of money upon the land that they say we have ruined forever? Why, they never could do it, and we have got to lose our valuable mining property jest because the judge is agin us.”
At this point Mike interrupted the hydraulic miner by asking:
“Do you understhand ther raisons why ther judge was aginst ye?” He said no, he couldn’t exactly understand it, unless he owned a potato patch himself somewhere and was afraid it might git covered up.
“No,” says Mike, “that’s not ther raison at all; for don’t yez know that in a fray counthry ther loikes of this, where ther paple thimselves are ther rale sovereigns, thin it is recognized be universal consint, do ye moind, that no man shall be afther following any business, do yez see, that shall in any manner be afther continually injuring or destroying ther property of anither.”
“Oh, yes,” replied the miner, “that is all right, but remember that this is a mining country. We were here first and bought our mining ground from the government with the privilege of working it to the best advantage.”
“Faith,” retorted Mike, “‘tis thrue ainough that we miners came here ther first, but, me b’y, that cannot prevint others from comin’ here and engagin’ in any other koind of business they plaise. Because we miners came here first is no raison why we should control ther forest or ther mountain strames. We would have no right, because we was afther using ther wathers first to dam them up and prevint thim from running into ther valleys below. We have a right to moine, that none can deny, and in any manner we plaise, so that we aren’t afther harmin’ anybody else; but, begorra, thin, have we a right to wash all ther sile from ther hills above into ther valleys and straims below jest for ther gould that’s in thim, and prevint the paple from making an honest living upon the rich flats and bottom lands, that we wud be afther covering up with our tailings, begorra. An’ thin agin, if that same idee or priority of right was the true one, where thin, be jabers, wud yez be afther stopping, for wouldn’t Mr. Marshall thin who was ther first diskiverer of gould, have ther right as ther first diskiverer of bossing ther whole business, be jabers.”
“Well,” says the old miner, “you must admit that the loss to the country of fifteen millions a year is a heavy one to take from our money circulation.”
“Indade, thin, yez miners who dig it out from ther sile, are not afther saying much of ther same. ’Tis thrue that it is not afther drawin much interest whilst lying idle there in ther hills, but, be jabers, ’tis ther safest place to kape it thin, and yez can always find it, for there it is; but when ’tis afther gittin into thim bank vaults in ther big city below, divil a bit are yez afther sayin’ ther color ov it agin, at all, at all. And thin, agin, me b’y, did yez ever know of a miner, or many of thim at laist, who was willin’ to pay ther rancher for ther land, fences, or for ther crops they desthroyed? And indade thin, are yez yourself willin’ to go and pay for ther damages yez wud be afther doin’, and don’t yez think that wud be right?”
“Oh, yes, in some cases, if the ranchers would be satisfied with a fair price for damages.”
“Ah, yis! if they wud only let yez, the miners, assess ther damages thin, but, begorra, ’twud be little ainough they wud be afther recaivin, in moi opinion.”