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photo by Donald Kinney
Rough-and-tumble gold miners were lowered into the depths of hell in the Standard Mine for a sweltering day of work, but when they emerged a long row of drinking and "entertainment" establishments on Main Street provided, I suppose, adequate relief.
click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney
Bodie did have a sheriff and a jail, but general lawlessness prevailed. Being a "bad man" from Bodie was a popular castigation of the day. One little girl who had been told she and her family were moving to Bodie was reported to have included in her prayer; "Good-bye God, we're moving to Bodie".
click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney
But the truth is that very few wives followed their husbands into the gold regions. To my knowledge there was no "Tugboat Annie", and Susan B. Anthony had yet to make much of an impression on these harsh lands. Yet I am guessing many miners were looking for a bit of normalcy in their lives.
click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney
Meals at all hours--sounds like a good idea. I imagine those crusty miners were hungry-as-hell when the alcohol started to wear off. Probably just enough time to wolf-down some grub before being lowered back down into that damn gold mine.
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2 comments:
That second image looks very familiar, like the same one I took 20 some years ago to do a pen & ink drawing of. I think I half finished the drawing and moved on to another and it still sets in my pile of unfinished projects. Great posts and I hope you are not done yet with Bodie.
Love your peeks through the windows of Bodie.
I'm so glad you finally made it there. What a photographer's paradise.
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