A set of five sketches portrays everyday life on mining camps, depicting crowded one-room dwellings, chronic poverty, inadequate sanitation, and the hunger and disease that affect families. It follows the efforts of teachers and local residents to provide schooling, impose order, and cope with community pressures while facing official indifference and a lack of medical and social services. The pieces examine how alcohol, vice, and social marginalization shape adults and children, and they record instances of resilience, compassion, and acute observation. The author calls on state, church, and writers to acknowledge and respond to the human and cultural resources hidden within these harsh environments.