We are always on a quest for treasure
I don’t know when it began, but at some point in time, men began a quest for treasure. This evolved and migrated to the new world, America. In one form or another, man seemed to be searching for his fortune.
In the early 1800s, America experienced a great migration toward its western lands. There were many reasons this migration took place, but primarily people were searching for a new start as they yearned for fame and fortune. They came from many backgrounds and many vocations, and of these, there were men who came to find gold.
A segment of this group were known as “prospectors” They were walking men accompanied by a pack mule, the prospectors means of carrying their worldly goods in a proverbial pack. In the words of the poem, “they had a way of traveling sorta like their owner had, their partnership was true.”
One such prospector, Frank “Shorty” Harris along with another prospector named E.L. Cross founded the Bullfrog Mine. They were in Nevada traveling toward Elko, Nevada, a small town that mountain men, prospectors , and out of work cowboys chose as a winter gathering place or as it was known “Rendezvous.”
They found an outcropping of quartz on a hill which Shorty described as, “Being chock full of free gold, a regular treasurer trove.” They named it the Bullfrog Mine because the quartz tended to have a green tint and the chunks resembled a frog. Once the news of the discovery spread, and it always did, people poured in and established several camps.
The Bullfrog was the first, but soon came the Amargosa with a small settlement between them called Jumpertown. Soon a townsite was planned nearby and named Rhyolite after the volcanic rock found in the area. The stories go on, and this is just one of many accounts from prospectors and their finds. This poem, written by Jack Hannah shows the tenacity of those old prospectors.
The Old Prospector
With permission By Jack Hannah
They’d come down the mountain,
Late autumn in the snow,
The old prospector and his mule,
They was loaded, travelin’ slow.
He buttoned high his collar,
Tucked his hat down tight like glue,
An’ they headed straight for Elko,
Because, well…they wanted to!
He chewed a twist of somethin’,
That would most surely curl your hair,
His grey eyes matched his long beard,
With their penetrating’ stare.
He moved with calm demeanor,
Seemed fearless through an’ through,
An’ they headed straight for Elko,
Because, well… they wanted to!
His mule was short an’ wiry,
Its face was long an’ sad,
He had a way of travelin,
Sorta like his owner had.
They seemed to fit together,
Their partnership was true,
An’ they headed straight for Elko,
Because, well…they wanted to!
Now when they’d hoofed it into Elko,
A bunch of cowboys gathered ‘round,
See they’d just come off the gather,
An’ they’re shootin’ up the town.
When they spied that old prospector,
They decided what to do,
An’ they circled up around him,
Because, well… they wanted to!
One cowboy asked the old prospector,
If he’d ever learned to dance,
“Naww,” said the old prospector,
“I ain’t never had the chance.”
The cowboy pulled his six gun,
Said, “Well, I’m up to teachin’ you!”
An’ he danced that day in Elko,
Just as if… he wanted to!
Yes, he danced an’ dodged them bullets,
Just like a jumpin’ jack,
‘Til he counted six,
Then stepped swiftly to his pack.
His hand held a shotgun,
His voice was calm an’ cool,
He said, “Tell me somethin’ sonny,
Have you ever kissed a mule?”
The cowboy’s face contorted,
As he pondered his disgrace,
An’ a look of consternation,
Spread there on his face.
He swallered hard before he spoke,
His voice come clearly through,
“Naww, I ain’t never kissed a mule,
…But, I’ve always wanted to!”
Jack Hannah
The era of the old prospectors brought commerce, schools, and churches to the west.
God bless each of you and God Bless America!