The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1872-12-06

two days before. He was examinT
the earth carefully with q view Q
discovering, if possible, where tn
party of hunters crossed the DIR,
stresm, when his eyes became at
tracted by number Of bright yellow
pebbles scattered in among blacl
sands and driftings.
He picked some of them up care
lessly at first, but became more inter
ested when he found they were met
al, though the simple old hunter
never for moment supposed that ii
was gold He gathered up a mum
Der of the largest nuggets and placed
them in his gun pouch, and then
turned from the mine of WeslLh which
has since convulsed the world with
gold fever, and sought for food. He
had no desire for all that gold lying
scattered upon the bed OF that dry
mountain guleh. He wanted food ;
without food he must die. He wan
dered away, and all the next day
staggered on in hopes OF finding his
friends, but in vain. He was dying
witT hunger, with countless wealth
at his disposal.
THE STARVING TRAPPER.
The party Of hunters proceeded
upon their way down into the st.
Louis Park, and there, on the second
day, after leaving their comrade, went
INTO camp and waited. Becoming
uneasy at his long absence, and fear
tul lest he might have come to harm,
the party started back to search for
him. They discovered him upon the
following day, half starved and too
weak to walk They inquired of him
where he had been, and accused him
OF following after the Ute Indian
women, OF whom be was very fond.
He ssid he had been lost, but exhib-
tied the nugget to the party, inform
ing them at the same time that in a
valley northeast of Pixies Peak here
was plenty of it.
They examined the pocketful of
nuggets, and found they were pure
gold They then demanded 10 bs
led by the old man back to the gold
IN valley, which he agreed to do.
They started back under the guild
ance OF the old ran, but after a thor
ough search for about three days the
man was unable 10 distinguish the
same valley where he had found the
gold The mountaineers, believing
hat the old msn had deceived them,
Ind had got his gold nuggets from
'ome Ute Indians, who always had
abundance of the precious metal, and |
naturally indignant at what they
ermed his wantOn deception and Its
delay, they tied him up
o tree and whipped him. They |
whipped him for delaying them and |
hen for deceiviDg them. But the
I'D man always maintained that he
cund the gold near the base of Pixies
Peak.
THE WHIPPING
Had curious effect upon the good !
I'D hunter. He become reserved |
md misanthrope, and when he re-
.urned to Kansas City made his home
md his cOmpsnion with old "Feno,'
he old man who died about a year
lgo in that city lbs years of age. He
was nearly Of the same age as Pine,
and died few years ago at Ste.
9enevieve, Mo-, where he had been
.aken by his protector, Mrs. Chouteau.
He became quite deaf before the dis
cOyery of gold was made in 1859,
and though he had suffered the taun,s
and jeers OF his friends for years for
what they termed this lying and crazy
dea about gold at Pixies Peak, he
never could be made 10 understand
hat the gold he discovered thirty
years before had been rediscovered,
and his veracity and sanity both vim
Heated by lapee of time. Let honor
De given to those whom honor is due.
The first white man to discover gold
vas an old French trapper from Kan
as City, whose story, if believed in
+ the time he made the discovery,
Tould have been the means ofsettling
be plains and valleys of Colorado at
east thirty years ago.