The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-11-27

as the dust was all put together
about a big spoonful of glitterin' stuff !;
let's 60 up to the store and get drink.
''' That you jest won't, sez Zeph,
! GRIMM I'm kinder gwine to throw
all this here dust away-L'm gwine to
sow it, boys, for crop to come up
E" We all grumbled, for we were al
mighty hungry; but we all had a kind of
| trust in Zeph, and gave way.
GO Look hyar, lads he sez; it's jest
y O'Clock now, so let's go round and git
mouthful where we can
Let's go up to Rilly Bolly's stores,
and ask him to give us a square meal,
and stick it up / sez. He'll trust u.s. ,
''' Think he would?' sez Zeph.
''' Sartain, l sez, if you show him
that gold, and tell him there's somethin'
good on
g And so it was; Bill, on seeing that
gold, and hearing as we'd got somethin'
good on, gave us tight square meal,
and taste round o. Bourbon, endin'
with the cheerful remark: shall take
it out o some o. you if this here amt
squared up
&" That didn't make a nice dessert, for
Bill was a wonderful clever fellow and
would think nOthin' o pluggin' man
so we kinder sneaked outer the store,
g It's all right, sez Zeph, laughing.
Come on, boys, and get yewr tools
90 We took our tools then and went off
up the gulch to where a strong COM
pany of Chinese was at work, and they
watched us curiOusly as we began pros
pectin' about, washin' a bit o. dirt here
and bit there and always goin' off dis
contented and sour like till we come to one
place close up to the rocks, where it ran
sheer up 400 or 500 feet; and after
working with our picks a bit, we begun
to wash the soil in a pan, gatherin'
round it afterwards an knowin' all the
time that one or other of the teapots had
an eye on us
Then we washed bit more earth
grave1ly, quartzy stuff it was-and col
lected again; and then we grew ex-
cited, and began to dig faster, and to
wash more, and to examine what we
had done each time arter pickin' over
the pan, throwin' out the rubbish; and
when this fell, yew could see a few
speclIs o gold dust glitterin' in the sun,
while what we got went into leather
bag as Tom Paggins held.
50 we marks out this here claim as
our'n!' sez Zeph out loud; and, takin'
shovel, he chops out a bit of a rough
trench, Just to show the extent we meant
to hev; and as he did so first one pigtail
and then another comes up to watch us,
and l saw them look at the specks o.
gold in amongst the refuses we had
thrown over the side beyond our claim.
No goodee, washee washee, Nell
can mani sez one round-faced, smilin'
cuss. No golee, no golee!'
'Oh, no none ut all, Mister Teapot,
sez Zeph. jest yew keep bit further
off, Or
" He touched his six-shoOter, and the
Chinaman scurried back little ways,
while one of us fetched some water, and
we began to wash another shovelful of
earth.
'''It pans out fine!'' sez Tom Paggins
out loud, as we all gathered round once
more, and the top refuse, with specks o.
gold in, was thrown away again.
- We kept on at that for two hours,
and, with Zeph to manage, we washed
out that little lot o. gold we had bor-
rOwed about four times but it was a
good deal less at the last than when we
started, for some on it was sprinkled in
each o. the holes we made, and half a
teaspoonful o. dust was lynn to waste in
the refuse.
- All this time the Chinese were COM
in up from their bit of camp, about a
hundred yards away. Zeph was awfully
! jealous, an KEEP drivin' 'em away-not
as we were skeart- of 'em, for they're a
quiet, sheepish lot, but to keep up the
play.
'sThen half on us went down below,
and got our tents and odds and ends,
and set up as if we meant to stay; while
| the others went on washin' and piclin'
steadily, gettin' four Chinese to fetch
water, and to do few rough jobs in
movin' quartz blocks outer the way.
q Somehow or other there were "A few
specl1s o. gold under each o. those blocks
that the Chinese carried off; and, when
that was done, Zeph gave the smilin'
chaps bit o. gold each, and sent one
on 'em with some dust to buy tobacco.
''It's Il wOrkin'!' sez Zeph to me.
"'Think sop l sez.
"'Wait bit, old hoss, and yewD
see!'
'That night, after we'd been bit
nasty and threatenin' to the teapots,
who kept leavin' their work, we could
hear deal o. chatterin' goin' on; and
bime-by kinder deppytation of six on
'em comes up, headed by smilin' cuss
who looked like a big fat boy.
"'Neow, then, sez Zeph, tell you
what; of yew don't make yew'reselveS
skeerce, ther'n be holes threw some or
yew!"
g Poor Chinaman!' sez the big fat
fellow; and he puts his head on one side
and smiles his head half off. Their
t'other five says, in sorter o whinin
sing-song chorus, Poor Chinaman!
and all half-smiled their heads off
'''Don't want any to-day, sez Zeph
Hook it,
" II
and every man with his hand on re
volver and bowie, as eff we was suspi
cious.
g. Poor Chinaman!' whines the big
'un again.
"' Don't want any, tell yer again |!
roars Zeph savagely; and the deppyta
ton only holds their heads on one sid
and smiles.
a. Air yew gwine to cutP' sez Zeph
seizin' number one by the tail, when h
goes down on his knees, and others tn
same, rubin their chests, and waggin
their heads from side to side.
''' Why don't you speak outP' Sc
! zeph.
- Mclean man let poor Chinamar
washee washeep' sez the fat fellow
; p'intin' to the heap o. rubbish.
60 You want to wash that dirt owe
' againP' sez Zeph.
{" The whole party began to nod thei
2 heads fast.
e 'Oh, no!' sez Zeph; eve don't wan
a yew here-eh, lads?f
y 1'' No, not we all growled.
"' Send 'em offP' sez Tom Paggins.
: % But they wouldn't go, only smiled
and at last Zeph seemed to be struc
2 with a notion; and the long and short {
it was that, if we'd allow 'em to was
Y our refuse over agen, the Chinese
o make bit of a stream TO lead water u