Rubuta ci gaba ga wannan sakin layi - Hammond ya ɗauki aikin aikin ma'adinai na farko a matsayin gwani na musamman ga US Geological Survey 1879-1880 a Washington, DC. Ya koma California a shekara ta 1881 don aiki ga Sanata George Hearst, babban mai hakar ma'adinai kuma mahaifin William Randolph Hearst. A shekara ta 1882, aka aika shi zuwa ƙasar Mexico, kusa da Sonora, don ya zama mai kula da Minas Nuevas. Lokacin da juyin juya hali
Hammond ya kulle iyalinsa a cikin wani karamin gida kuma ya yi yaƙi da 'yan tawaye masu kai hari.