Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1879-03-20

Rcminisccnscs-Aroun the FIrcsido at
Ome-Armcd Kate's--A True Story IN
Dialect.
FIR IN the Chicago Tribune.
LEADvILLE, COL, March Eve were
sitting around the stove, FIVE or six of us,
the other evening at One-Armcd Kate $.
With a single exception, all were ldmncrs
who had lived from ten to twenty years in
the Rockies, and had prospected more
holes in the ground than there are Cinna-
mon bears in GunniSon county. The con-
yersatiOn, beginning on general topics,
gradually dritted into personal remlnis,
cenCes.
"War you ever down about ROsita and
the Silver Cliff district, " inquired one OF
party, addressing his remarks to Il long,
shambling, heavy-beardcd individual in
topboots, who, with one leg thrown over
the other, and one enormous foot resting
on the edge Otthe stove sat tilted back in
his chair at dangerous angle. The per.
son thus spoken to took deliberate aim at
a sawdust spttOon on the other side Of
the stove, and fred with deadly precision.
He then carefully changed legs and re.
piled:
% hev."
The audience waited. After consd.
erahle pause, Mr. Richardson discharged
another found of ammunition and re.
peated:
"l hev, Mr.. Simmons.
at war nigh about three var ago" he
continued, when me and my pardncl
struck Roslta and worked along IN the
Pokyhontua. They warn't much show
then for prospecting. Men had been than
aiore and dug over the burned old hill and
give it up. They was holes around sc
thick that you dar,ent step of the trail
fur fear of gOin' down
Ever know old Bassick over thar2" in.
tennptcd Simmons.
Know him! Should think | did.
Wdrn't me and my pardncr grub.stakin
HIM for nigh onto IL var before he struck
1t rich? Why, the old sinner couldn't
git a job nowhar, and We boys all kinder
took pity on him, his old won IN being
sickly-like and taking in washing at odd
times, and him an her hcvm large fam,
| lIy. Old Basslck war n queer humplty
back chap ani no use in u mine, but hi
war always tramping about the camp and
pcckln INTO all the holes what he'd beer
abandoned by the boys. Once in while
he'd come around and want stake, and
we'd gently chip III and give him enough
to git bar | of flour or hunk of bacon
I've heerd Of Old Bassick lots, remark
ed Simmons muSingly but never know.
ed Jest how he struck it,"
"Waal, it var queer, sure enough
You see, as he war sliding around that al
Round Mountain one day he come to q
hole III the ground, which 1t he'd been dus
into and then kinder left us being no ac
count. So Old BasSiclhe looked into thi,
hole, and he says tohims"lf, 'Mebbe they,
mineral, mebbe not. With thathe jump.
down an picks away, and keeps on pick
in. Sure enough, bimbeby he comes t.
some sand between the bowlders which il
looks like ore; and then he goes of ant
gifts 1t assayGd."
War she big?" eagerly inquired ont
of the listeners.
"Waal, she war in the eighties some
whar, | believe, but the boys all larfet
when they heerd on it, They couldn't no
how think as Old Bassick he'd ever strucl
t anything, and, do you know, it war
week or more afOre the old Cuss could XII
anybody to work fur him He come to mi
and says, Dick, I'll give you three and {
harf day eff you will come onto my mine,
and kinder winked at the boysand says
'Whar is your mine Bassick?' He turned
onto me, proud as he could be, and h,
says, Up var about hart mile, Miste
Richardson" "
80, some of us boys, jest for a Joke
said we go up and take look at it. Sur
enough, when We got thar, we found tn,
old man had reely struck it, and we al
hire to him on the spot fur three fifty
though the wages otherwise war no NOR,
than two and two fifty.
Good luck enough fur you," interrupt
ed one of the party.
: The miner reached down into his boot
leg and extracted huge slice of tobacco
calmy bitotf mouthful, replaced the rem
nant, and replied:
sold Bassick war no fool. He WORKED
along fur month, and when pay-da,
come he guy us jest two dollars day al
round. They warn't no use of kicking
seeing as how the druned old mine heC
; developed so as he could git all the mel
he wanted at that ar price, No; old Bas
sick warn't no fool. y"
This explanation caused genera
laugh, in which, however, the last speakc
did not join.
1--WE went down nigh onto sixty feet,
he continued gravely, "and all of a sud
den the mineral give ont give out com
/, pletely. Take it all around, that ar min,
of Old Bassick's war the queerest and tn,
"ussedest mine. Nobod~ could ever max,
it out. All them scientific fellers as ex
: amined is said as how it was a phenome
, non, and they couldn'tmake nothing out o
it nohow, You see it warn't no strata
: nor sand carbonates, nor nothing of tha
sort, but like as if il war chimbly grow
ing right up out of the yarth, and as if
5 had been filed up with bowlders and the
4 the stream of mineral poured in. Yo
could scrape one Of them ar bowlders wit
o knife and git n dollars worth Of hor
/ silver off it, The screenings alone wou
;. assay 200 and 800 ounces. The durndes
y mine!"
I 100 bad she give out ut sixty feet,
G -nnarked Simmons.
y wait o mint, That amt all. 70
= We had got down about forty fe,