Mexico weekly ledger., 1876-09-28

property to handle. SfVnAt Win the Olu
stories following it up, the men got
afraid of it,. and NOW it's lain aban-
doned--let me sea- year, or tnerea-
bo1Is.
Matt paused in his narrative, reflect
lively, embracing with Tcaressiye lips
his pipe, which he had temporarily re-
moved IN going, over the foregoing an
nails of the old Cottril claim. Tr1
"'Spose any body'sA free to take up
tn old claim, am it's likely to pay?"
With an easy, speculative curiosity it
was Sam Ross who remarked this.
Now, as every flock is accounted to
possess its traditional "black' Sheep"
SO among the twelve sturdy, stalwart
fellows who made up our camp in the
| gulch, Sam Ross was eunhesltatlngly
accorded the post at the left hand not
by virtue of any superior f~fcussedness"
there was no danger of Sam ever
| setting the minutest fractional dividend
| of the river on fire-but his easily beset-
| ting temptation and ''darling sin" was
Incidence, which displayed itself in a
| chronic procrastination, and S%criptural
Reuben's birthright, instability. Sam
Ross was, in all probability, the LATEST
man in the mipesi 4.-nl en .r al
Why it should have occurred to Sam
to remark this, no one paused to ques-
| ton; and since it had Glanced to do SO
for reasons aforesaid enumerated
the supposition received little attention.
Accessory SANS ~easy-going dispo-
sition was an abnormal development of
the marvellous, so that a sword fifty
,n~l~o~9 - - ~ .x,fro Or-nr Ivy r.nsnIrn1 ItSaIf
in the light of his credulous eyes
into veritable ''apples of gold in pic
lures of silver"
Thus it transpired that a hint dropped
by Matt Blair in a mirthful moment had
been seized upon by our ''mouton noir''
as no less a feasible than a promising
plan. He had been observed for sew
eral days thereafter p~ottering about the
deserted claim. OF course Sam was
privileged to do as nobody else; but the
boys were a little superstitious regard
ing it. 1t was a standing legend in
camp, that the claim had been the ruin
of every maj who had had any thing to
do with it. ..... ... 49,
The idea of its running Sam, howev-
er, would have seemed as fruitless as
l." carrying Goals to Newcastle" He
never had any thing to lose, though
possessing every available requisite for
SO accommodating. Yet it would be
strange, in the midst of a company of
prosperous miners, to see n lacking
bite Or sup, not to speak of the daily
constitutional" and tobacco appor-
toned to ordinary consumption.
Not that he was beholden to consider
himself an object of charity; Sans six
feet two of lusty manhood suffered no
diminution through that humiliation.
1t was as readily allowed that he paid
ais way in camp as Matt Blair's tame
bear!
And this is what Matt had satirically
proposed: .I .9
"WhY don't you 60 in, Sam?" he
had said to that individual, who sat dis
consolately cycling the little bags of
glittering dust which represented the
fruits of our hard weeks work. "Take
Luck by the forelock! Your half-claim
doesn't seem to be paying overly well
a mint of gold in Cottrill's,
easy digging, and no one to dispute
your title!" .|i tJa'5m-Fo
Innocent of any serious intent, MATHS
words yet proved the touchstone from
whence sprung a new ambition-a
hobby, the harder and more persistent
ly to be ridden, because it was one
hitherto so foreign to his slothful tenn
permanent.
He was subdued and r~eticent through
out the succeeding week, the particu-
larly noticeable point of change being
his unfrequent appearance at Samuel's
rancho, the allurement of whose bar had
hitherto suffered no rivalry.
Soon, however, it begaa to be noised
abroad that Sam Ross was actually at
work. The numerous witticisms 1eveled
at this sudden attack of industry, he
met, smoking his pipe in impenetrable
silence, or rising, stalked away with
speeches. dignity. + ....o., oil .r
Saturday night, when. according to
u usual custom, We all brought up at
Sans rancho for refreshments, Sam,
striding proudly in advance toward the
bar, held up a little bag of dust, andin-
vited the boys to ststep up" Wonder
ingly we Responded; the drinks were
produced, and Sam tooted the bill!
An avalanche descending into the
midst of our little company would
scarcely have startled us more. 1t was
as miraculous an occurrence as s'Bir-
nam wood coming to Dunsinane!" In
this one act, Sam settled up all old
scores! .rit .t,t. 49,. .snI
Afterward he felt himself quite justi-
fed in going on the old way. He kept
up a desultory pottering about the old
Cottrill claim, but made no further dis
play of the proceeds of his labor. True
to his shallow nature, having actually
given birth to a purpose, he felt there
by placed upon an elevated plane, from
whose hardly attainable altitude he
looked pityingly down or more ordinary
and less fortunate fellow-men. The
&c lnountain" had brought forth a
&C mouse" which insignificant nursing,
under the lens of his own CON
ceit, assumed e%lephantine proportions.
Sam began to feel that he was not APP
p~reciated! A bitterness and d~istrust,
hitherto latent, began to develop them
From easy, mirthful tranquility
of hI1mor ha nnarrad into the uor;as4