May 19th, 1869

I had a rather unsettling night in my cabin yesterday evening. There was a large storm passing through, and I'm not used to having windows and doors that creak and rattle. There were shadows flitting about my room in between lightning strikes, doubtless it was no more than some drunken workers stumbling about in the rain. My investigation has come slightly farther since yesterday. I found out that the bastard who spat at me goes by the name Joe, and he apparently has had quarrels with Ralph in the past. This is unsurprising, as he is quite abrasive in personality. I dared not question him yet though, as I would surely either receive a boot to the shin, or expose myself as an outsider. I have yet to speak with the man who refuses to return to the mines. By way of the rumour mill I have learned his name as well: Mitch Pents. I anticipate having a conversation with him, but it will also have to wait until I am better acquainted with the general population of the miners. I can’t simply run around only paying attention to the people who are being talked about, as that would draw attention to me. Ralph has yet to awaken, but I do hope he survives. He could have good information. The majority of things I've been hearing have to do with strange sounds and smells from the deeper parts of the mines. These folks seem to enjoy torturing themselves with endless tales of horror and supernatural nonsense. They say they've been hearing wails and screeches, accompanied by the smell of rot and decay. There have been tales of glowing eyes watching from the dark, and flickers of movement at the edge of vision. I hope to solve this discrepancy and put an end to this storytelling sooner rather than later. Unease has been growing amongst the miners, and we cannot have them protesting or refusing work. Father will not allow it, and the responsibility is on myself if the situation escalates that far.I have managed to acquaint myself with one miner fairly well. His name is Benjamin Hearst. Benjamin is rather intelligent for a lower class man. No family of his own, he works in the mines and does repair work throughout the town on his off time. He does fairly well for himself, considering his lack of monetary values. He does not partake in the storytelling and fear mongering of the other miners. For this reason, I will be using him as an aid to solve what really happened to Ralph. He can listen and think about who could have really been the attacker. Though, of course, my position will still remain a secret from him.Recently, the gold harvest in the mine has been poor. I will now be investigating this as well. It could be poor productivity amongst the miners, or we could be in the wrong spot. Time will tell all. I have decided to hold off on writing any more for a few days, so that I may have something of substance to write about. Until that time comes, that's all for now.

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