Sugar planter. [volume] (West Baton Rouge [i.e. Port Allen, West Baton Rouge Parish, La.]) 1856-1925, 1869-09-11
A CALIFORNIAN YARN.

over there to see what tire chsnCeD were
for q good bargain. Sam is dissatisfied
sort Of fellow, who is always trying t.
buy into something rich. So as ! was
Bsying, he bulEed right over to Ground
hogs Glory the moment he heard Of it
When he got there, be found that the
owner OF the claim and his wife had gone
90 . visit to another family 10 the Big
Bog canon. The only person about the
place was n small boy about twelve
yssrs old. From him Sam obtained some
information which the owner himself
might not have communicated.
Sam went down with the boy and took
4 look at the claim. While Sam was
cassiug his eye about, the boy sat on a
bank wbistliug "Oh, gosh my own Je'
NINA !"
Having finished his survey, Sam went
up aud sat down by the side Of the young
juvenile.
"Bub," said be. ave heard that this
il q rich claim. and 1t does look pretty
we'll T; now tell me the honest truth. why
does your father want to sell out il it's so
rich as they say 7"
"Strsuger, have you got . half dollar
about your II you have, perhaps |
wouldn't mind telling you"
Sam forked over the half dollar, and
the boy looked at it q moment and whist
led, Get out of the Wilderness"
"Well, teller. seein' ss it's you. don't
object to saying that the reason dad
wants to sell this ere claim is because
it's too rich"
"Too rich ! Played out !" put in Sam.
snow, stranger. you jest hold yer hos
ses till l get through, and III explain it
to you. You see this amt like claims
where the gol1 is iu sandy gravel and
mostly in bed rocks, but the bank here il.
nearly the all-6redest, stickiest stuff than
ever wuz. aud you can't begin to work it.
When dad begins to work down there. he
naturally gets the darned stuff all over
him, aud when be comes 10 at night is
Jest coated with it about six inches deep.
more or less, and this clay is plum full
Of gold"
II don't zee that that's any reason for
bis wanting to sell out" interrupted Sam
"Wsll, old boss. you keep cool, an
don't get rsmpsgious. an III tell you
how It il. When dad comes 10 at night
hes mighty tired ; but man. you see. is
such an awful economical woman that
she don't like to see so much gold vast.
ed as dad has about him 10 the clay every
night, 90 she alters turns 10 and cleans
him up
At irst she WAS satisfied with scraping
him down and panning him ont. They
made lots Of money at that. He used t"
pan out rich. l tell you. But pretty soon
man got unsatisied cause it took too
long to pan him out every night. and he.
sides she didn't get half the gold. The
clay was 90 sticky it wouldn't wash good
She then got . string Of sluices out in
front Of the house and put up a little by.
and used to pipe him of. You
ought to bear him glowl and cuse. H.
said it was too wearin' for . man to work
oil day ia the drain and then be worked
ct night. He bad to give H.,
Nam said be shouldn't board
with Der If be didn't, and that fetched
bin. you bet.
Things ran 10 this way for some time
The old woman made two or three hupd.
dred dollars Q week reg'lsr. But, as
told you before, she was awful savin'
~ she found she couldn't pipe him off
clesu, aud lost ever SO much in the tail
ios. You know how sticky the clay IL
lrouad here. The only way iu which
you can work it clean is to chuck it into
} kettle Of boiling water and bile it for
Two OF three hours. That's the way the
that first struck the claim used to
work the rich orevices. Nam heard of
Ibis, and she thought if she could work
Ehs old mar IN some such way. she could
ave the gold. OF course she didn't OK :
,sot to bile him right down. you know /;
hat would not have been exactly on the !
bot she thought If she could let .
lin stand 10 middlio' hot water for an ,
Tour or two every night, she could RON !
lin through the hydraulic and then wash
lin OF pretty clean |:
well, stranger. you mightnt think it, !
,ut dad was 90 pesky contrary that be-
wouldn't do It. Nam said he'd got to do q
{. 'causs che wasn't goin' to see money
brown away ty no sich contrsryoess.-
Of them would give in. so they 6
'opoludsd they'd split The difference by {
sttio' dad cell out and 60 below and buy