The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1874-11-12

5 to sleep P' He turned over on his side
! drew the end of a blanket over hi
head, and said no more.
) had left one of the older settlei
} mining towns to inspect q ledge be
i longing TO my present companion AM
: company, and also to find whateve
other prospects there might be opei
t to location and possession Thi
/ statement viii account for my presen
} Journey. Wilson & Co. were to pu
{ their mines into my hands, to be sol,
By me to other and vealthier parties
II liked the property.
/ Ga the morrow there was before M
: part Of days ride, previous to reach
ing Wilson Il Co. 's camp; and afte
I arriving at that point there was thl
climbing, on foot, OF mountains o
! rock, naked 10 the hot MONDAY sun
except In those favored spots where
J struggling trees sucked seanty and
scrubby life through their bruised
roots In the stony soil / tried II
forecast the future, even for day
J but gave it up, and passed into sieeI
; with as full confidence in the IN
known as could have felt In the pos
itiyely ascertained. Do we not, nc
matter what may be the tone of ouI
, fAitD, rely more Implicitly upon the
wide unknown than upon the known
or movable?
1need not trouble the reader with
the result of my speculations and
climblngs with Bill Wilson. We did
not f1nd that 'tstAving mine :" but we
got through our business and return
ID to town, stopping, however, on the
the way back to visit what Bill called
i the 1eraziest camp ili Nevada
After going through narrow, steep
canon, we cllm bed crooked, rocky
trail, and stood upon the dump, near
which the club-footsd mule was slowly
limping around the shallow circular
pit of an drdstrd, dragging after him
a short beam, fastened at the rarther
end to g revolving eenter.pOst in the
middle of the pit ; and this beam, in
turn, dragged a heavy stone round,
through q mass of rock mush. / need
not say that this "mush" was we'll
pulverized ore, mingled with por-
tion OF quicksilver; the mercury gath
ering into itself the silver, as the drag
ging rock freed 1t from the stony por-
ton of the ore.
"How do you do?" / said to the
man on the dump, as he landed q
bucket of ore from the windlass.
tSo-so," said be, smiling and
with the crank OF the windIass in his
hand.
"Not far from heaven, up here !"
This remark seemed to strike him
as such particularly good joke that
he laughed all over, and SHE'D 8
piece OF rock out Of the bucket at the
pigeon-toed mule; then he looked at
Bill, which made Bill laugh, and then
We all laughed-at nothing.
SIS your brother down below?'
said Bill.
"Yes."
''Tnis gentleman wants to see him. :"
"All right" said the younger RICK
saw; and disappeared down the shaft
by way of ladder nailed against the
tim mbering, leaving his laughing face
the last part of him visible.
Didn't tell you," said Bill, "he
would laugh more'n any two men ?
But t'other chap won't laugh. Tue
Rockssw family amt laid out in fair
snares-one's got all the lsugh, and
t'other all the solemn"
Presently there came slowly up the
ladder q barred head of light brown
hair, sprinkled with gray and busted
with minute rock and soon there
stood before US a mid1le-statured,
stout man, clad in garments of q hun
dred pieces, carefully and coarseiy
sewed together.
"How are you, gentlemen 2" he
said, as he straightened up from the
mouth of the SHAFT, In a voice at once
deep, musical and doubling.
swell, thank you. How are you,
sir ?-Mr. ROcksaw, / believe"
said, extending my hand.
"Yes, sir, George Rockssw," said
he, taking my hand in manner both
shy and hesitating.
"Mr. Rocksaw," I said, 81 have
heard that yourself and one other
man-your brother, I presume"
"Yes, sir-Andrew."
"-have worked mine for years
| all alone. Ishould like very much, if
I may be permitted to ask it, to see
whst work two men can do in this
hard mountain"
he looked at me, with one hand on
his hip and the other stroking his
long, sandy whiskers, snd answered :
mo, sir. Against our rule. There
is nothing to see."
"I merely wished to see your work
the amount of labor"
"Sorry to say No. but That's the
rule. Never depart from it."
ALI his talk was in the same even
key ;ueither assertive nor command.
ing, but shyly, rather than modestly
positive.
Andrew came up the ladder with a
face still on the verge Of breaking
| over into q laugh; but gave his en-
tire attention to the circularly-mov-
ing mule, which seemed inclined to
stop and take an interest in the con-
versztion. GeorgeR Icksaw ventured
no further remark, but he stood as be-
fore, stroking his whisKers with his
hard hand.
"WelI, good-by, Mr.. Rocksaw," i
said, proffering once more my hand.
"GOod-by, SIR" said he, taking his
hand off his hip to put it IN mine, and
was gone down the ladder in an in
slant thereafter.
BY this time Bill was in the saddle
In no very good humOr; and as l
went down the side of the dump, 1
said
"Good-by, Andrew. II you come
to cur place, bring your knitting and
sit awhile"
"I WILL" said he, through tor
| rent of ordinations. "By gol, will,
and q hank 70 yarnI GOOd-byv
"There ~ said Bill, as we rode
down the trail, "he's got enough to
Keep him laughin' week. But that
George-I don't go much on him.
He looks like q cracked preacher-one
] of them kind what thinks as God Al
mighty made the world for saints,
and he's one of 'em, aud mad be-
cause he can't get more'n his share
That's the way I'd put him up; pro-
vided he's not got regular crazy. GJ
on, Sanch! Git !"
"BiII, my boy, did it ever occur to
you that it is = terrible charge on q
sen, tive person to cry out crazy :?
after him, as he passes through lIie
| Call him q rogue, = thief, swindler,
q yiIIsin, or fool il you must fol
these charges he can settle in his OWL
way when he hears them; but this
lcharge that ones mind is affected i
something which rests in the eStima'
tion of the public, and is practically
1 true or not true, as the public seer 81
to receive it. The soundness OF ones
mind is like the price of green0acks-
a matter of opinion no odds how
well secured, tnat rises or falls will
| the public pulse. There is no sur
veyed boundary between sanity anC
insanity. How do you know thai
you are of sound mind ?"
"How do know ?'
"Yes.n
swell, 1 know-because I've goI
good horse-sense, anyway. / eai
when Pm hungry, drink when I'm
dry, rest when tired, work hard wnen
1 can't DO any better, sle-p when Tn
sleepy, and take myself in out Of tbs
Wet-that's what call sound-mind
ed.n
i "Yes, SO far as 1t goes. But hoV
about your ambition, wherein you i'm
agine yourself wealthy from finding
great mine rolling in your carriage
enjoying the fine things Of life, anC
the batteries of the fair, the foolist
and the false? Do you never dream
with your eyes wide open OF being
great fellow-a 'big-up ca-pit-u -al-ist,