The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1849-02-19
Exactly. to mount on your saddle, behind you,
In ORDER 10 nre backwards at YOUR pursuers."
NYOu are Joking alu,t unn1,

| EHdcuy. 10 mount on your saddle, behind you,
In order to flre backwards at YOUR pursuers.''
| "You are joking, ain't voa1''
"Me! joke Allow me to say yer Joke on a
serious subect-when fellow creatures life 10 at
| the worst human devils ever known: YOU always
find this class among the gold mines. Gold
makes 'em So Now niue to ten you will be robb ID.
| or it will be tried on; you will have your saddle
bags filled with the yellow, and you must run"
| "Me! never run"
"But IN such a case you must. You must put
your horse at full speedthe robbers will pursue
you have no time to turn round or fire pl to; YOU
look ahead, and keep the horse night. Now You
see the advantage OF the swivel; you put your hands
behind you-It's all right, and made fast to the
saddle. Beng! Three or four robbers are dead
for the swivel charge makes a swath behlnd--and
you are safe, and, what Is OF more Importance, so
| is the gold -
| took nv old friends advice and bought the
| horse, etc (peope should always take a swivel to
carry on horseback when they are in gold region
i found Its advantage IN many respects) and hav-
ing sent up my kegs by the stage, started myself,
with as mahy ten cent pieces as could stow In my
| saddle-bags. was amid the beautiful scenery OF
that portion Of Georgia three days before reached
| DahlOnega. The Dahlenega ct 1888 was not the
| place II has become since the Ualted States go
vernment have established branch mint there.
Not bit OF 1t. AT the foot OF range of mountains
| | found quite number Of log huts built about
| square place In the centre OF the square, stand
ng by itsei was log hat larger than any OF the
others. That was dignlhed by the name OF the
| had OF it. There were scenes enacted inside
Of those old logs that would have made old
| Nick himself hold his sides with laughter.
The old fellow resided IN that place there
was no mistake about that Where there Is
| gold, the devil is close by, you NAV stake your
life on 1t, and you will win sure All the riff rati
and scrapngs OF society were clustered about that
| spot. l found there some very respectable lnd-
| vduals, and one very eminent one-nO less per-
son than the Hon. J. G. Calhoun who had just got
over the publication business. He lived over the
| Georgia line, not great distance of In South
Carolina, and had for time cut politics, and with
| about fifty slaves was working gold mine. He
had with HIM a young lad, either his son or
| nephew, who often came and spent hours with me
| in telling what he had eeen about the dlyglngs.-
Col Dennys was also there with slaves; 30 was
DR.: Thomas.
There were some most unrighteous and unholy
| doIDgs while l was there. Robberles and muir
| ders were very frequent and many were missed
| and never heard OF again.
"But, friend P, how did you sell your ten
| cent piecesF
"Iwas lucky-very lucky. The Bank of Darien
had just established an agency; but their silver
fund, to buy crude gold, had become exhausted,
and their agent had gone down to Darien with
$4,000 IN bars Ofgold. His name was -, and
from that day to this neither h!mselt or his gold
was ever heard Of invested all my silver at eight
for the dollar, and made very good thing Of it
not much either, considering the trouble | had and
| the risk ran. | would not encounter 1t again for
80 pei. cent; but, as said before, was green
then"
"a short distance from Dahlonega was place
called then, and now, Knuckletown. ALI the
gamblers and backlegs frequented the place, and
a more incorrigible, irreclamable set OF devils
creation. A Methodist exhorter came there while
was at Dahlonega, and OF course created quite a
sensation; 1t was a novelty; great many per-
sons wen. to hear HIM, and I among the rest
Sunday came, and the NJ .thodlst man was to
in the morning. Every gambler In Kauckletown
ate nded He gave just such a sermon as might
have been exPected-the gamblers were rather
pleased than otherwise IL was something new.
After the preacher had finished his morning dis
| course, he announced that no would preach again
| that afternoon in the same spot. One OF the gam
blers rose as soon as he had finished and annoinc-
ed in serious, business sort of way -" During
the lntermlsslon between divine service | have
opened chucke-board, and those who wish to
play can do 20; another table, tor vtnyt ct
un. will be opened directly" The gamblers
| now commenced operations earnest, and
checkleboard and vingt ct m found the
principal religious worshipoers with their hands
in. The preacher looked on, but did not
play himself. After an hour he held a
consultation with the gamblers, when they ad-
journed the game, and he made his afternoon DIS
course, and they paid rs much attention to it as no
had paid to uckle-board and ct~gt ct un, while
they were gambling. One of the congregation
| was q hard case, OF the name OF Plnchbeck; he
| had shown himself as great rascal as could be
found in the digglngs, and was respected accord
ingy. This man had taken two small lots OF gold,
|
cold them to a matchmaker at two different times
| The matchmaker was very much pleased, and told
HIM to bring as much more az he liked; he would
buy all he brought. Master Plnchbeck then re-
turned to Dahlonega, picked up all the gold he
could find, by purchasing or borrowing. He then
melted with the identical silver he had received
from the matchmaker fer his two first lots OF gold,
ran the bars OF mixed into aqua FORTS, to remove
the sllvery appearance, and took it TO Macon.
| The matchmaker purchased and paid for 1t as pure
gold, and PInehbeck returned with his money.
| The poor matchmaker lost over $4,000 by his pur-
| chase-lt broke him. Plnchbeck, in relating to
me the transaction, added" felt 1t my duty to
learn that matchmaker somethins-he was getting
careless, 80 gave him dose OF halt and halt"
There was another bad rascal of the name Of
Riley; he was he terror OF the whole gold region
While l was there, man came up with loadof
kegs, containing 10 cent pieces Master Riley
had similar kegs, which he filled with nails, and
very adreitly exchanged the kegs OF nails for the
kegs OF 10 cent pieces, while the latter were unde
| log shed, one evening, in the owners wagon.
AZ soon as / could get rid OF my silver for gold, |
made tracks out of The gold region. had enough
Of 1t. II any discovery has ever reduced men to
the very lowest degradation, 1t Is the fading of a
gold mine. There Is no crime too bad Tor a gold
seeker to commit, and no known vice that he does
not practice. l got back safe to augusta, saw ny
humbug together, and returned to my legitimate
business in New. York, perfectly satisfied to at
tend to that and to leave gold operations and
specuatons to other people, IN whose welfare [
could not be expected to feel SO deep an interest
as do in my own"
"When you got back from Georgia, I suppose
you felt as though you had accomplished very
considerable undertaking."
"And so had at that time. But now why, 1t
would be nothing! man talks of trip to CALI
fornia as though he was going up to a. bany IN the
morning line, and was to return IN the evening.
Only a lew days ago, was over on the North
River side, watching the actions OF those who were
| bound to California in the ship A., and otthef
| friends, who were down the dock to see them
of. Alter all had left the ship that were not going
IN her, as she was leaving the end OF the pier IN
tow OF a steamboat, made fast alongside, young
fellow rushed up on the wheelhouse OF the steam.
boat In the greatest apparent agitation, and yelled
out at the top OF his voice.