Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1869-05-13

here Is - fItk0W Ot(1 GU &rIOVtz<A
hogs who has rich claim for sale
Sam Hodgers heard about It the
other day and went over to see how
the chances were for making ~good
bargain Sam is dissatisfied sort oil
a fellow, and is always trying to buy
into something rich. So, as was
saying, he bulged right over the mo
ment Ire heard of it.
When he got there, he found shal
the owner of the claim and his wife
had gone on visit to another fami
ly, in the Big Bug Canon. The on
ly person about the premises was 9
small boy about twelve years. Oh
him Sam obtained some information
which the owner might not have
communicated.
Sam went down with the boy and
took look at the claim. While he
vas casting his eye around, the boy
sat on the bank and whistled, s.Oh,
Gosh! my own Jemima-"
Having finished his survey, Sam
went and sat down beside .he limo
cent lad.
'Bub,' said he, I've heard tha,
this is rich claim, and it does look
pretty we'll. Now, to tell the homes,
truth, what does your father want
to sell out for, if it's as rich as they
say?'
The small boy stopped whietling.
cooked his head TO one side, closed
one eye and squinted thOughtfully
ut Sam with the other.
Stranger, hav. you got half dol
lar ? If you have, wouldn't mind
telling
Sam forked over the half dollar,
and the boy looked at it and whis-
tied, Get out of the Wilderness
We'll. Teller, bein' As it is you, ]
don't object to saying that the rea-
son dad wants to sell this the claim
is too richr
Too rich! Played OUT put inHod
ers.
Now, stranger, you Just hold yer
HOSES till / get through and I'll
explain it to you. You see this Amt
like other claims where the gold is
in sandy gravel and mostly in the
bed rock, but the bank here is near
ly all clay, and there's heaps ard
goss of fine gold all through it. The
clay is the allfiredest stickiest stuff
that ever was, and you cant begin
to work it. When dad gets to work
down there he materially gets the
darned stuff all over him, and when
he comes in at night he's just coated
with it about six inches thick more
or less, and this clay is plumb full Of
gold
Il don't see that that's any reason
for his wanting to sell OUT inter
rupted Sam.
well, old boss, you keep cool,
and don't get rampagious and I'll
tell you how it is. When dad comes
in at night he's mighty tired, Tut
man, you see, is such on awful Geo.
nomical woman that she don't like
to see so much gold wasted as Dad
has about him in the clay every
night. so man she alters turns i'll and
cleans him up. AT first she used to
be satisfied with seraping him down
with hoe and panning him out
She made lots Of money at that. He
used to pan out rich. tell you But
pretty soon nam got dissatisfied be-
cause 1t took too long to pan him
out every night, and besides, she
didn't get half the gold. Tie clay
was so sticky it wouldn't lash good
Then she got q string of sluices, out
in front of the house, and put in a
little hydraulic and used to pipe him
of. Dad was dreadful mad about it.
You ought to hear him growl and
cuss. RE said it was too wearin for
q man to work all day in the drain,
and then be worked hisself at night
He had to give in. Nam said he
should not beard with her il he did
not, and that fetched him, you may
bet.
Things ran on in this way for
some time. The old woman made
two or three hundred dollars week
regular. But as told you before,
she was awful saving, and she found
she couldn't pipe him off clean and
lost ever so much in the tailins. You
don't know how sticky the clay is
around here. The only way in
which you can work it clean is to
chuck it into bilin water AID bile it
for two or three hours. That's the
way the fellow what first struck the
claim used to work the rich crevices
and nam heard of this. and she tho't
that if she could work the old man.
in some such way, she could save
the gold. OF course she didn't ex-
pect to bile him right down, You
knew. That wouldn't have been ex-
actly on the square. you knew. But
she thought il she could let him stay
iu middlin hot water for IN hour or
two every night, she could run him
through the hydraulic then. and
wash him of pretty clean.
well, stranger, you mightn't be-
lieve it, but dad was SO pesky con
trary that he would not do IT. Nam
said he'd got to do it, cause she was
not going to see money thrown
away by such contrariness. Meth
er one of en- would give in, SO they
concluded they'd split the difference
by letting Dad sell out and go below
and buy ranch.