“Well, I admit,” says the miner, “that ’tis very unfortunate. But we are not responsible for their loss, for the ranchers should not have made their homes in such localities.”
Jersey now asked Mike if he didn’t think that dams could be constructed that would prevent the sand and gravel from doing any injury. Mike answered “that sich dams wud answer only for a toime, for owin’ to carelessness, accident or bad wuork, ther toime wud come whin ther sand and gravel in thim dams wud all raich ther lower livils be ther natural law of gravity, begorra, and for this raison, in me own opinion, it wud be a waste of toime and money to attempt it; but the only way it can be done, if at all, wud be to build brush and log dams high up among ther hills ter kape back ther big rocks and ther coarser stuff, and thin by ther mains of flumes to run ther sand and finer material out upon ther tule lands.”
An old rancher now made the remark that in early days he thought the miners, or at least a portion of them, were rather of a selfish nature, and were not disposed to pay much respect to the rights of anybody else but the miners.
“Why, in the opinion of many of them,” said he, “no man had any right to fence in or to cultivate a piece of ground.”
“A neighbor of mine in ’53, up in Placer County, had a fine garden; but it happened to be in the way of some miners who were at work above. They tore down the fence and covered ther garden with tailings, and refused to pay for any damages, maintaining that the country belonged exclusively to the miners, and no man had therefore any right to fence in or to use ground for any other purpose than for mining.”
Another old hydraulic miner now remarked that hydraulic mining did not cause all the injury to the lands and streams in the valleys below that it was supposed it did; for the discovery was made by a man up in the mining region, a very observing man, too, who testified upon the stand at Sacramento, during the trial between the miners and ranchers, that a portion of the injury to the farmers, as well as to the streams, was caused by the tramping of cattle among the hills in the mountain regions, an’ the heavy rains of winter washed this loose soil which their hoofs had loosened up into the valleys below, thereby causing much of the damage which has been heretofore attributed to mining. “Now,” he asked, “aint that a very ingenious, as well as a very reasonable view of the question and who can deny it?”
“Yis, indade, thin, it is a very raisonable view of ther question,” answered Mike, “which none of yez can deny at all: an’ be jabers thin, he might have included, too, that thim barnyard fowls also in scratchin’ for ther wurms to fade ther chicky-biddies, loosened up ther light sile, do yez moind, an’ ’tis ther jint operation ov these two moity forces, begorra, that not only kiver up an’ destroy the potato, an’ ther turnip patches of ther farmers, but ’tis thim which fill up ther navigable straims too, an’ unless previnted in toime, will destroy thim all, an’, be jabers, they will transform thim big bays below into shallow swarmps an’ frog ponds. An’ faith thin,” continued Mike, “I’m afther thinkin’ that ’tis ther jint operation ov these same tirific fowl an’ cloven hoofed forces, from havin’ been continualy in operation through long pariods of toime, do yez moind, that have scooped out thim dape cañons, an’ goughed out thim dape channels ov thim mountain straims, too, do yez see; which has been wrongfully attributed by all ov thim scientific b’ys, as an effect of volcanic an’ of glacial action, begorra.”
Jim now enquired of Mike, if the fact of their desire to work their mines was, in his opinion, an evidence that the miners were of a more selfish nature than any other class of men, or more inclined to encroach upon the rights of others? “No, indade, not at all!” Mike answered, “but ’tis only in ther opportunity that yez have of showing it thin, owing intoirly to ther conflict betwain ther two intherists, that is av ranching an’ minin’, for human nature is afther being ther same in both ov yez; an’ be jabers! if thim hydraulic miners was after changing places wid ther ranchers, do yez suppose ther latter wud be afther stopping ther minin’ business, for fear of injurin’ ther b’ys below, any quicker than ther prisent miners wud do? Divil a bit wud they be afther doin’ that same, for, indade, me by’s, we are all ov us afther being built of ther same material, an’ be jabers! ’tis our interests which detarmines ther view that we take ov things after all. An’ indade thin,” continued Mike, “I remember a case that occurred up in ther mountains in early days, that illustrates this p’int. A miner tore down the fence, an’ run his tailin’s upon the garden ov a neighbor, ah’ to hear this miner talk ov his rights when the gardner objected to the outrage, be jabers, yez wud jest be afther concludin that the great Jehovah made ther counthry ixpresly for ther miner, an’ that noboby else hed any business here at all, an’ that this stoyle ov man, ther miner, was the only one worth ther trouble av putting ther breath av life into at all! at all!
“Well now, do yez moind, it happened a few years afther that this same miner was afther tryin’ ther business of ranchin’ himself, an’ about ther same toime, too, this gardner sold out his ranch an’ followed ther business ov minin’ and, quare enough, he found a good prospect upon ther ranch ov ther other chap, an’ now be jabers! here was ther case jest after bein’ revarsed.
“It wud hev done yer sowl good to hear this ould rancher, who was now afther bein’ a miner, jest give it to ther ould miner who was now afther ranchin’, an’ he paid him off swately in his own kine, begorra! Well, afther quarrellin’ awhoile about ther rights of aich one, they finally was afther concludin’ that both of thim had certain rights, an’ if they were careful and aich one of thim to do ther fair thing, there wud be no throuble at all, at all, so ther miner agreed to do as little harrum as possible and fill up his diggings again.”