West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1879-05-03
The Gold Hunters.

Put me down as Holiday, if YOU have
any call TO mention me; then any of the
old boys that may be around yet and see it
will know it is me. Holiday was "A sort of
purser's name, you sec, that wore on the
Slope in 80.
The speaker was a genuine '4ger, short
OF stature, lean Of hOdy and limb, wiry and
tough, somewhat slo OF speech and low
voiced, nearly 81 " years Old, but active as
most men are at h.dt hs age But to his
story
''Ihcre WIS lots of money lost i'm the
mines in them days that wasn't spent for
whisky nor buclled against game We
had no safc-depost companies and no saw
ings banks. Every man hid his nuggets
and his dust just the best way he could.
Sometimes IL would be in ii hole deep un-
der the fire in the earth of his cabin, OF
some other place in the earth floor some
simcs in the ground under Il tree i'm some
lonesome, unlikely lookin' place or, may
he in the open, "A certain number of feet
toward some pint Of the compass, from a
little innocent-looking stick stuck down, or
big stone. II wasn't uncommon for them
caches 10 he lost by their real owners and
found by other fellows. | know'd of a
Frenchman that hid about $4,000 worth of
prospectin', and when he came back, three
months after, he couldn't find it, Some
body had kicked out the little stake he had
put down to mark it, and he was all at sea.
He dug all around where he thought il
1t might be, but never found it, and at last
went off heartbrokcn to Frisco. Then,
when he was gone, a smart chap that had
been watchin' him set to work and ground
sluiced the whole place for two acres around
and got the pile,
''Ihere was a fellow on the Tuolumnc,
where | was by the name Of Hanaford,
think; but | can't be certain now, il was Sc
long ago. Anyhow, they used TO call him
Bill. He was in with two pards, and they
had good claim and was doin' well, wher
his brother came out Well, of course.
BIZ couldn't take him in, scein as theil
gang was full, so he advised him TO strike
out prospectin' for hissclf The youno
chap didn't take 10 it very kindly, for hC
was greenhOrn i'm minin' ways, and didn1
think ne stood much show; still hc did th,
best lac could One day when he was goin
back to camp dead-beat and dsgusted. h,
sat down under tree to rest hisself. anC
while he sat there the idea come to him
why the devil should the god be all out
in the open, down i'm the bars. where tn,
sun is hot enough 10 blister a hair trunk,
Why mightnt it Just as well be in the
shade, like under this tree, where a fenH
could work IN comfort And who know
but what il isi' So i'm a sort of indiffcren
way he set hissef 10 dig hole, thinkin' Il
pan out some Of the s'ic, for he was alto
gether green, you know; but when ne 20
down a bit his pick struck somethin o
metal, and in minute ortwo he had hooked
up "a tin can with Inoren 5000 in it, In
dust and little chunks and nuggets of pretty
good size. OF course ho had scngo Onougl
70 know that gold didn't come naturally
that way in tin cans put up like fruit o
turkey but he knew also that ont there II
them times a man hadn't much clear titl
70 anythin' he didn't have his hand on, an,
findin's is keepin's was the general rule
So he froze to that big streak Of luck anC
took II into camp with him. Then ne whis
pered 10 his brother the rich find ho hal
made, and Bill took . mighty lively intercs
in it,
''Whcre did you find it2" says NE. An,
the young fellow described the place 10 hin
as well as he could. Why you unhol
buccaneer, says Bill that's my cuch
you've been plunderin, and it's my col,
you've got. Then nc went on, before look
iitA ~ ilt' abiAtf lN Nf0NIiNt rfliit 't IiN IlE
gest nuggets, 20 identify IL by There's
flat one bigger my thumb nail. SAYS he
'of the shape Of an Irish harp, and anothc
like a dumbbell two blobs with "a thin bi
between 'em, and half on inch long anI
ono like ham, with a star ON one side
And so ON. And sure enough. whe
they came 10 look, il was his gold, and sec
in' It was his brothers, the young iclo,
gave It mp.
In ~ there was q big excitement abou
Australia, and q good many of the chaps
thinking they'd have q better chance there
the reports bein' 50 big, struck out fror
CalifOruia for the new Australia diggin's
Among the rest, a prize-hgntiug gang a
Murphy's camp, at Calaveras county. mad
up their minds TO go. There was Johnn
O'Bnen, Sam Banty, Mike McGee and ON
they called Sir LisIe Ciocy all pretty we
known names, that a good many livn' mo-,
East as well Gs West, will remember ina
were goin They set q day % start. an
O'Bncn hc went 10 dia up his gold, whiC
he had buried ion thc ground floor Of the ca
hin, In certain spot close down by On
wall lie dug and duo and IL wasn't there
lie shouted lac was robbed and there was