Life Among the Miners.

Seen here are many changing scenes
Met with in a miner's life,
Some of his comforts and his joys,
Some of his toils and strife;
His life is one of hard, unceasing toil,
A truthful tale is told
Of joys and sorrows, incident
To those who dig for gold.

His cabin built of logs, and in
A quaint, primeval style,
Intended but to shelter him,
Until he makes his pile,
We see the miner hard at work,
As steady as a saint—
His ground is rich, and he has got
Poor ground to make complaint.

This washing dirt for gold is well,
When well they make it pay;
But few attractions unto them
Is the red shirt washing day.
Upon a bed of sickness, now,
No loving friend is there;
How much he needs a sister's aid,
A mother's anxious care!

Saturday night they weigh their dust,
All anxious faces there;
While waiting for the truthful scales,
To give to each his share,
Letters from home—there's nought can give
The miner joy like this—
Good news from loved ones, far away,
Is life, extasy, and bliss.

---

Why is a dandy like a venison steak?
Because he is a bit of a buck.


Put's Original California Songster, page 54

---

This looks like a recitation to me. It's not clear whether Stone wrote it or not.

[Back to Contents]