Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-05-14
THE GREAT GOLD SECRET.

VOAD ChNhLAe
Tar- CHAPTER I.
Tn gcld.digger-that's about what /
am. You wouldn't take me for an En-
glishman, would you now? No, nor yet
anyone else that knows me; but l am,
though.
How old, about, should you take me
for? Fortyf1ve, ell? Well they all
guess somewhere near that; but I'm just
thirty-seven last month. | dare say you
don't believe it; and perhaps wouldn't
believe it either if 1 told you that all
this wrihkling and turning gray was
done in one week. Well, 1T was, and
when think over it all now and
think that here ! am live after it
Would you like to hear about it? Well,
sit down and make yourself comfortable,
and llltell you. rEr rEsrFEr
It's nine years ago last Valentines
Day U remember all the duties we'll
enough, / warrant ye) that l was at
Frisco with Yankee, name of Seth
Hickman. We'd met down in Denver,
and stood by each other in row that
happened there, and of course that drew
us together bit; and the end of it was
we agreed to GO prospecting together
and share and share alike"
Seth was sharp fellow and knew all
the lilzeliest spots, and l could do days
work with any man in those days,
though l amt much TO brag of now; and
the end of it was we made a pretty good
haul.
When we got to Frisco l thought of
nothing but banking some of the stuff
for rainy day and having a spree with
the rest, and then starting off again; but
Seth didn't seem to see it at au. no.
ticed that he looked serious-like, as if
he had something on his mind, for the
first two days after we got into the
town; and on the second evening, as we
were sitting over our greg, he spoke out:
Jim, old hoss, I'm a-gwine to tell
yew something that nary soul in crea-
tion knows about but myself; for if yew
hadn't been some smart with your Der
ringer when them three skHnks went for
me down In Denver, they might ha' wrote
Gone up over this child; and no man
ever did Seth Hickman good turn, nor
bad turn neither, but what he got CO.
eoanut for you (tit for tat), yeW bet yure
life on that!
"When l was in africa last year l
went up country a bit with my rifle, and
thar l happened on an old Injun critter,
as old as George Washington's nurse,
livin' in hut all by himself among the
spurs of the Andes, and eamped IN hls
hut for the night.
oval, the aguardiente (whisky) in my
flask war leetle tew strong for him, and
he got ,reg'lar Slowed; and when his
tongue got loosened by the ticker he kim
out wi sich yarn as whipped every
thing in Prescott all to fits. He said that
when the Peruvian chiefs stampeded
from GuZoo arter PiZarro took it, lot
on m got up among the mountains, car
rying their gold with 'em till they came
out on the plateau of Lake Utica; and
thar, tindin' the Spaniards close on their
trail, they chucked all the gold into the
lake and skedaddled nobody knows
where. And he said that if anybody
took the trail from his hut, nofthand by
east, till they hit the southern end of the
lake, and then looked out for abig, three
cornered rock like a pyramid upside
| down, they'd jest got to scoop in the mud
| of the lake whar that rocks shadow fell
on it at sunrise, and they'd find nuf gold
to buy up all Wall street. Now we've
gotmoney enough to put thatjob through
and if yew feel like tryin' it, I'm in"
l said done" at once and we got oul
money together and slipped down Tho
coast TO africa as fast as the Pacific
steamer could carry us. The minute We
got there Seth went off into the hills tC
| try and get hold of his old Indian for d
guide, while I hunted about for work
men-for this was job that needed
more hands than our own. At last got
! hold of two Spaniards-tw sturdy fel
1 lovuc thau Nuara and hnnnct puOnph a
| Spaniards gO-and then Il Portigee anC
two niggers. We weren't long of buy
ing our stores and working tackle, anC
by the time Seth came back with hi
| guide all was ready and away we went
! Seth was much too knowing bird Il
let on what his real game was as long Al
we were within hail of the town, for
you say 'egold" there only in a whispe
those blessed Gambusinos (gold-fnders
! will hear it hundred miles off, So al
that we told our gang was that we wer'
going prospecting among the lowe
ranges, as lots of fellows did every day
but when we were past the old Indian
hut and well up among the hills, so tina
our chaps oouldn't easily turn back i
they wanted, he'up and told them tn
whole story They were rather takel
aback, as well they might be, for LAX
Titica's a good many days journey t.
the northeast, among some very awk
ward mountains, and a good $1,000 fee
above The sea if Us an inch. However
a Spaniard Tor any other man, tor tha
matter) will go pretty nearly anywher
if he once gets on the scent of gold s.
our fellows they spoke up stoutly enoug
kand said they were ready to go up to tn
lake and down to the bottom of il int
the bargain, after such a. haul as thai
and off we set again, .-..
I've seen a good many wonders in m
time, knocking about the world as Py
done; bat an ything like that climb u
the Andes | never saw yet. Rocks th'
seemed TO go up into the very SIX.
straight as a plumb-line; beds of mos
three or four feet deep, and soft as a ye
vet cushion trees twohundreG leet higl
all one lblaze of flowers from top 10 bo
J tom leaves big enough to wrap you u
like blanket tree.lerns big as tabl'
cloth, all glittering like the finest sily'