Property of: Ernest Humes
May 17th, 1869
Today, I am writing from the newly settled town of Deloro, Ontario. I've just come here as part of a new mining operation, and in these pages I will be documenting my stay here. As Father always says, a gentleman must be scholarly, so here I am, writing. In the last few years, there have been murmurs and rumours of gold in the hills of eastern Ontario. Since Father and the company investigated and found it to be true, we’ve been harvesting the bounties of the earth. The prospect of gold is a most appealing one, even to the lower class folk we recruit to be the miners. We supply them with houses, rations, and a small wage to support their families in exchange for their labour. Right now, Father is the head man of our mining company, Humes Co. Someday I, too, will be the front-runner of the company, but Father has many years left in his career. We’ve been able to live with many luxuries due to the success of the company. For now, I am his right-hand man, and it’s a highly fulfilling position. Father sends me around the country to oversee our various mines, keeping our workers in check and our quality standards high. I've been sent here to Deloro to investigate some rumours about the new mine. I don't know much yet, other than that there has been one man injured under strange circumstances, and another involved in the accident who is unwilling to work in the mines any longer. Tomorrow I will be working undercover as a miner, and investigating this discrepancy. One benefit of not being the head man of the company is getting to do the more interesting, boots on the ground kind of work, as most of the employees do not know me by sight. As to the incident with the Deloro miners, I suspect it is a simple case of uneducated superstition. Most of the miners we employ did not attend much schooling, if any at all. Many of them buy into paranormal nonsense. There is also a possibility of dirty play among the miners that could have contributed to this incident. Tensions get high under the duress of mining work, and it is not so uncommon for fights to break out. Tomorrow is my first day in the mines, and for now I am bunked in a small, simple house by myself for the
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
night. The wind is whipping awfully hard, so I have shuttered the windows and locked the doors. The animals are quite raucous at night out here in the country. Tomorrow I shall write again about my day's journeys. Until then.