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earth formations and characteristics, and upon his general reliability.

     “The first can be dismissed at once. For the second, one seldom sees a man more emphatically forthright. A native outdoorsman, he clung to an era, sadly gone, when a handshake between two unlettered prospectors binding an agreement made far out in the boondocks, was fully legal in court of law. He was revengeful at sharp practices which we pass lightly as ‘good business.’ He probably took occasion to implement this attitude in return for attacks. A story he told me is reminiscent of his independent do-it-yourself spirit. Once when young he was jobless, broke, without prospects. Taking rifle, bedroll, a bag of salt and his horse, he trekked to the tall timber where he shot deer, dressed the meat and hung it to dry for ‘Jerky.’ A ready market for dried venison took care of him until things got better.

     “Of course Earl Dorr was embittered at the dizzying turn of events which followed his discovery. He sought financial backing to develop the placer gold. Investigators found zinc ore on the mountain and at length a mining company went to work on values in sight rather than any unseen. At this juncture Dorr snorted: ‘They never heard of that country 'til I took them out there. Besides, I got the wrong class of men, all talk –- the class we old desert prospectors call drug store miners. It was too big for them -– too big a thing.’

     “It's small wonder that Dorr fumed at fooling with an ore worth only about ten cents a pounds (in which he had no share), while those very operations damaged access to the incalculable bonanza beneath their feet. ‘Every time they put in a round of shots on the zinc,’ he complained, ‘it shook the whole mountain. Caves caved in and blocked the way down. The way I know this, I was down and rocks fell all around me.’

    “He had previously put in a shot of his own to block passage which could have been reopened, but he