The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1872-03-30

him; and be promised that he would abide
With US again if he had the opportunity.
lntwo weeks Mr. Meekmore came back.
He had received a summons, he said, from
the home board, to return TO Boston and
make Immediate preparations for wins
ter's compaign in the West.
The second evening in the society of the
revcrand gentlman we enjoyed more than
we had enjoyed the first. His fund Of
anecdote and adventure was literally ex-
haustless, and yet an odor of sanctity and
dsllcacy prevaded all his speech. We
urged that he should spend few days
with us, but he could not. He said it
would give him great pleasure so to do,
but his call to the new field of labor in
the West was pressing and imperative.
On the next morning, at the breakfast
table, our CUES: was even more sedate and
thoughtful than on the previous occasion;
US that he had been visited by the same
strange dream again.
"This time" he said "the vision came
with wonderful distinctness. l not only
beheld the vast chambers of virgin silver,
but l saw an exact profile of the everything
territory. 1t was wild, desolate spot,
by deep ravine, through which the snow
Of winter seemed to find release in spring,
rushing down a craggy hillside to dark
and wide-stretching swamp below. This
would not impress me so seriously were it
not that once before dream of the same
import proved a startling reality"
We conversed further on the subject,
and after breakfast Mr.. Meekmore tsok
a pencil, and upon the blank leaf of an
old atlas he drew picture of the spot he
had seen in his dream and he pointed
out where, beneath the roots of an old,
stumpy pine tree, he had seen an out
cropping of the precious metal.
He had drawn the picture, he told us,
TO show US how vivid his dream had been;
but he advised US to think no moro of it,
Even if it were possible that the dream
had substance, the body of the mine was
far below the surface, and, moreover, the
Lord only knew where the spot was ls-
Gated, even allowing that such spot ex>
listed.
For once in my life had allowed my
cupidity to get the better of my outspoken
honesty. l allowed the reverend guest to
depart, and did not tell him that knew
where tfe,e was a spot exactly The origi-
nal of that which he had pictured, even
10 every rock, shrub, tree and ravine,-
And that spot was upon the wild lot
which had been purchased by John Twist,
and which John Twist owned still
That rorv offorponp arDnaJ ,,;,h oz
old axe and pick, / sailed forth to the
rough outside of the Twist lot knew
exactly where the pictured lot was to be
found, and when had reached it was
more than ever struck by the faithfulness
of Mr.. Meekmore's draft. The accuracy
in detail was wonderful. And when re-
fe, ed that this draft had been made by
one who was an utter and absolute stran-
ger to the place, from the simple
impressions of a dream,--is it a marvel
that was strongly and strangely infu-
enced ? ] found the old tree which the
reverend dreamer, had particularly desig-
mated. and went to work at its roots
And ere long my labors were rewarded.
Beneath one of the main roots found n
lump of pure white metal as large as a
hens egg and upon further chopplng and
digging l found several more smaller pie
ces. They had evidently been broken
from molten mass, and upon rubbing
off the dirt | found them all pure and
bright
That night slept but little, I could
only lie awake and think of the vast wealth
that lag buried in that bleak hillside. But
what could dof The lot was not mine,
and should run great risk if | troubled
another mans property. And moreover
if made further exploration while the
land was not mine the secret might be di
vulged and the vast wealth snatched from
me. l must purchase the Twist lot, and
| had no doubt that could buy it for a
mere song
On the next day / rode over to see my
cousin, and when l bad spoken of the
Twist lot he informed me that not only
that lot but a number of others, were for
sale. They had been advertised and
would be sold at auction in two weeks
He called me fool when l told him /
should bid on the Twist lot; but l told
him had looked it over and made up my
mind that my sheep could find plenty OF
grazing there throughout the summer
months. He asked me if hadn't already
got all the sheep pasture 1 needed; but 1
told him he need not trouble himself
During the next two weeks kept quiet
and held my tongue, giving no opportuni-
ty for my secret to becoms known. On
the appointed day l went over to the set>
element where the land was 10 be sold
1t was to be put up in hundreG>acre lots,
and sold by the original plans of Whitney
purchase. Lot number one was put up
first. and sold for one quarter of cent an
acre.
The next lot was the ttTwist lot, SO
called, and heard it whispered that iron
and copper ere had been discovered upon
it. A stranger, in jockey clothes, started