Frank Williams memoir, page 6

and showed me where to work but I was left to work by myself. He said that, in about ten days, he would move over to the Keystone and work with me. As I did not know how to use powder, or to be more exact, my uncle assumed that I didn't, I had to work with a pick, rock hammer and gad. As it was a very rough three mile walk to the mine, it need not be said that I didn't make a very big showing. Later when my uncle joined me, we got considerable done as the rock was not very hard. While I had once worked a little with black powder at Lyons, Colorado, this was practically my first experience in blasting.When this work (twenty shifts) was finished, my uncle and I moved back to Goodsprings and he put me to work, for about a week, upon the north extension of the Ruth mine. During this time I boarded with him and Mr. Stanley in Goodsprings.Next my uncle and I moved over to the Rose mine, in Kirby Wash, where we worked for about two months. During this time a former friend of my uncle's, Mr. Humphrey of Pueblo, Colo and his son Fred came out and camped near us. Mr. Humphrey was an excellent old gentleman of Welsh descent who was well informed upon most subjects and was an interesting conversationalist. One evening, however, he expressed some very uncharitable sentiments for France and I allowed myself to get into a rather heated argument with him. At that time in my life, I was only 21, such decided opinions sounded, as I afterward felt, rather presumptious, and afterward I felt heartily ashamed of my impetuousness.