The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-12-03
"How do | know?"

How 90 L KNOW
eyes"
"Well, know-because I've got good
hOrse-sense, any way. L eat when I'm
hungry, drink when m dry, rest When
Pm tired. work hard when l can't do any
better. sleep when I'm sleepy, and take
myself i'm out of the wet; that's what L
call sound-minded."
"Yes, so far as it goes. But now about
vour ambition, wherein you imagine
Yourself wealthy from finding great
mine: rolling in your carriage; enjoying
the fine things of life, and the batteries OF
the fair. the foolish and the false? DO you
never dream, with your eyes WIDE open,
of being great fellow, a big capttuallst,
as they call it?'
''Certainly, | believe every man is TO
have his streaks of luck"
'Then, William, you are dreamer; we
are all dreamers, and dreams are made OF
sperilous stuff When a man dreams in
full waking state, his 'hOrSe-sense' slips
away from him into cloud and he Is
partly out fhis mind. Hemay, from this
state, 60 all the way out, or he may re-
return to his 'horse-sense.' The floating
cloud-land between sanity and insanity adj
mits of no permanent boundary"
"Then hOw's a teller to know he's got
sound sense?'' asked Bill, with tired-of-
the-discussion expression. as we rooe
across the gray valley.
''He can't know. 1t is the public, the
uoz popuLi, which puts the value on the
soundness of sense. That is why all new
doctrines are first resisted, then rldlculed,
then examined, then stolen. The pubic
itself is not often sure OF its own WITS. In
Utah it is sensible to see angels and hear
l, In RnGfnn Mass
is sensible to worship your own intellect.
In Nevada and California it is the height
of good sense 10 worship the power OF
money. 1t is wisdom in China to bow
before ones fathers ghost; in Japan, be-
fore Buddha; in India, before Brahma: in
Rome, before the Pope; in Mecca, before
black stone. So you see that any sense
above horse sense is risky and uncer-
tain property in the market OF the world.
Like ball of quicksilver, it has weight,
color, power, and great brillldncy; but 1t
is liable to roll away from you, at any
moment, in thousand glittering pieces"
Bill made no answer in the pause | left
open for him, so L added:
sThat man back yonder in the mine is
dreamer, Bill; and whatever his dream,
sad or happy, it weighs upon, and makes
him stranger in all the real wOrld-in
the horse sense congregation, mean"
"Well," said Bill, throwing away his
studying cap, ''let him dream it out. I'll
not trouble him again soOn."
The conversations between William VIII
son and myself, as we rode, day after day,
across broken mountains and gray, stream
less valleys, were to us twain interesting
enough, but need not. therefore, be inter
esting TO other people. And yet, though
| do say it myself, we made some pretty
sharp remarks on great variety OF sub
iectS. into which William at times threw
his unboOkish mind with startling effect.
Upon one occasion he "got of" as he call
ed it. his opinion of talk"
''SOme fellows" he said, care always
putting up that talk is cheap but [ say
that talk is precious at twenty to the pan.
Blab is cheap; but the first thing in my
mothers old Bible is talk: God said let
there be- and the words started off into
the darkness and slumgullion of nowhere,
putting up stuff for heavy crops, and
leaves, and flowers, and business gener-
ally"
''Why, William, you are apoet!
4" Not much | despiSe poetry. But
good sound talk set the world agoing, and
keeps her humming on the pin. I'd like
to know what would be the use if people
couldn't talk, or wouldn't talk I'd as
soon be bump on log as not to be able
to talk. When a fellow says to me, %, it's
all talk say, You bet your life it Is.
Newspapers and books is talk. Law and
gospel are talk Money is talk. done up il
tens and 'twenties take the talk out ol
it, and it's nothing"
Thus, one way or another, he whiled
away the Journey back to town, where !
left William, and proceeded about my busi
ness, far away from the high attitudes anc
drv valleys of Nevada.
Some months later | returned, to fine
the town in one of those mining fevers
which invariably follow the discovery o
rich silver ores. Picking up the lively LITTLE
daily newspaper from the clerks counter
at the hotel where l stopped, and glancins
over it. my eyer fell upon the following:
Erich strike in the Silver Chamber =
wires. ropes, spangles, f1ecks and cakes o.
silver! Chloride ores, by tons and tons
all through the mines, with rich sulphur
cts at the water level"
Nothing, except an ownership In th'
property, could give us more satlsfactlol
than we now enjoy in chrOnicling tht
grand success which has crowned with
| gorgeous silver crown the long and tedious
iab0rs of the genial Brothers ROcksaw.
''By invitation of Mr.. George Rocksaw
we stepped into his buggy on Saturda!
last, and after pleasant drive of two days
and stiff climb up the side of Pranghorl
mountain, we were permitted to descent
into the mine. In the descent of the mail
shaft, and for hundred feet along the mail
drift, there is nothing worth mentioning
but at the end of this hundred feet ther
opens a scene more gorgeous than tn
dream of the Count de Monte Christie
All along the drift, overhead, underfoot
and upon the hanging wall, for distanc
of four hundred feet, the precious wealt
of nature glitters in the 'lamp-light gloat
ing o'er.' Below this drift, on the lowe
level, distance in perpendicular depth G
fifty feet, and in the mountain over on
hundred feet, there is even richer picture
The mine is not describab!e, except b
exclamations. 1t is magnificent!
''The mine is patented under the broa
seal of Uncle Sam, to George Rocksa'
and Andrew Rocksaw, their heirs and a.
signs. to have and to hold forever
So Bill was mistaken, after all, abou
that mine and the ROcksaws.-OrerLan
| MOnthLU