HOW MINING CLAIMS ARE NAMED

“What’s in a name?” great Shakespeare said;And almost any old name will do

For a man, a sled or a quadrupled;But mining men take a different view,

And one may trace both time and place,Conditions of mind, wishes and aims

Of the hardy, reckless, dissolute race, Who told in the names of their mining claims

Stories of hope, of love and respect,Of good luck, bad luck-of various crafts-

Of Fortune’s favors or cold neglect,On the stakes that marked their discovery shafts.

Many there are that are known to fame,From the “Comstock,” that poured forth a silver stream.

To the “Little Jonny” (a misspelled name),To the “Don’t Give a Dam” and the “Miner’s Dream.”

Wherever you find a mining camp.From the African Rand to far-off Nome,

There will be a “Homestake,” “Aladdin’s Lamp,”An “Only Chance” and a “Home Sweet Home.”

The word “Chance” vies with “Queen” and “King,”Wherever the precious ore is found

Prefixed by all the metals they bringFrom the placer dirt or the underground.

Every bird, or beast, or fishThat exists, or lived in any age,

Every star and every wish,Has been a place on the motley page,

The “Lickscumdidricks” is one queer name That should have brought a lucky streak

“Nezahualcoyotl” is much the same,And shows the trend of a miner’s freak

Names of note in the long ago, From Solomon down to Teddy’s day,

The trend of the miner’s mind will show,And patriotism is given play.

There are “Groundhogs,” “Eagles,” “Lions,” “Bears,”“Mammoths,” “Camp Birds,” “Bisons,” “Whales,”

“Morning Star,” “Evening Stars,” some in pair;“Red Dog,” “Spotted Dog” and “Prince of Wales,”

The ladies, too, have received their share- “Mary” and “Jennie” and “Maud” and “Kate,”

“Louise” and “Mabel,” are everywhere;The miner’s love or his running mate.

Some circumstance, like the “Rising Sun,”Some idea conveyed by a word or thing,

Had fathered a name like the “Well Begun,”The “Tin Cup” or the “Eagle’s Wing.”

Initials were used to disguise a name,Here are a couple for you to guess;

For the miner’s condition cameThe “R. A. M.” and the “P.O.S.”