The brothers are partners in several mines. Sam is going to oversee and Orion is going to fund it.
timeline
Sam fails at mining
With Horatio “Raish” Phillips he tries a different claim in Aurora – bare of everything but whisky, cigars, tobacco and some clothing. Living off beef and coffee no flour cornmeal beans. too weak to work. His letters to Orion, Mom, and Pam he glibly talks about calims on ledges called Antelope, Yankee, Flyaway, Fresno
Sam writes from mining as “Josh”
As in “Joshing” humorous stories about an Old horse, Chief Justice George Turner’s oratory, burlesque Fourth of July. And how much Dan DeQuille is a liar.