The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-02-05
"'Well, we'll try SEE we; and we
vent to sleep hungry and got up rgv.

out of the six had got little good dust.
| was the unlucky one, bein' bad beg.
gar, and had got none.
Now, thenp sez Tom Paggins, as
soon as the dust was all put together
about a big spoonful of all glitterin'
stuff; let's go up to the store and get a
drink"
"That yew jes' won't, sez Zeph,
grinnin'. 'Pm kinder gwine TO throw
all this here dust away--Im gwine to
SOW it, boys. for crop to come up
ave all grumbled, for we were
almighty hungry; but we all had a
kind of trust in Zeph, and gave way.
"' Lookiee hear, lads he sez, it. jest
twelve o'clock now, 50 let's go round
and git mouthful where we can.
"Let's 60 up to Billy Bolly's store and
ask him to give us a square meal, and
stick it up / sez, hell trust us
"Think he would Y' sez Zeph.
" Sartin,' | sez, IF you show him
that gold, and tell him there's somethin'
good on
"And SO it was; Bill, on seeing that
gold, and hearing as we'd had some.
thing good on, gave US right square
meal, and taste round of Bourbon,
endin' with the cheerful remark; /
shall take it out O some O you if this
here amt squared up
"That didn't make nice dessert fol
Bill was a wonderful clever fellow, and
would think nuthin' o pluggin' q man;
30 we kinder sneeked outer that store,
feelin' uncomfortable.
" It's all right SEE Zeph, laughing.
Come on boys and get yewr tools
owe took our tools then and went of
up the gulch to where strong party of
Chinese was at work, and they watched
US curiously as we began prospectin'
about, wsshin' bit O dirt here and
bit there, aud always goin' off discon.
tented and our.like, till we came to one
place close up to the rocks, where it ran
sheer up 400 or 500 feet and, after
working with our picks bit, we began
to wash the soil in a pan, gatherin,
round it afterward, and knowin' all the
time that one or the other of the teapOts
had an eye on us.
"Then washed a bit more earth
gravely, quartzy stuff it was-and col
lected again, and then we grew excited
and began to dig faster, and to wash
more and to examine what we had done
each time after pickin' over the pan,
throwin' out the rubbish; and when
this fell yev could see few specks O
gold dust in the sun, while what we got
went into a leather bag what Tom Pag-
gins held.
go We marks out this claim as our'np
sez Xeph out loud; and takin' shovel
he chops out bit of rough trench, just
to show the extent we meant to hev;
ard, as he did so, first one pigtail and
then another comes up to watch us, and
| saw them to look at the specks O gold
in among the refuses we had thrown
over the side beyond our claim.
"'No goodee, washee washee, Mclean
man!' seq one round faced smilin' cuss.
No golee, no goleep
{" Oh, no; none at all, Mr.. Teapot
sez Zeph, Just yew keep bit farther
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.
"' 1t pans out fnep sez Tom Pag.
gins out loud, as we all gathered round
once more, and the top refuse, with
specks O. gold in, was thrown away
again.
eve 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
good deal less at the last thaa when we
started, for some on it was sprinkled in
each o the holes we made, and half y
tcaspoonful o dust was lyin to waste in
the refuse.
"All this time the Chinese were COM
in up from their bit of a camp, about o
hundred yards away. Zeph was awiully
Jealous, an KEEP drivin' 'em away-not
as we we're skeered of 'em, for they're
a quiet, sheepish lot, but to keep up the
play.
"Then half on us went down below
and got our tents and odds and ends,
and set 'em up as we meant to stay,
while the others went on washin' and
pickin' steadily, getting four Chinese
70 fetch water and do a few rough jobs
in movin' quartz blocks outer the way.
"SomehOw or other there were few
specks o gold under each o these blocks
that the Chinese carried of; and when
that was done Zeph gave the smilin'
chaps bit O gold each, and sent one
of 'em with some dust to buy tobacco.
&c It's workin',' sez Zeph to me.
"'Think so? sez.
"'Wait bit, old hoss, and you'll
see.'
"That night, after we'd been a bit
nasty and threat'nin' to the teapots,
who KEEP leavin' their work, we could
hear a good deal O chatterin' goin' on,
and bime-by kinder deppytation o six
of 'em comes up. headed by smilin'
cuss who looked like big, fat boy.
"Now, then,' sez Zeph, tell you what,
eff yew don't make yerselves scarce
ther'l! be holes threw some on yewP
"'Poor Chinamanp sez the big, fat
fellow, and he puts his head on one side
and smiles his head half off. Then the
other five SEE. in sort O whinin' sing.
song chorus, Poor Chinamanp and all
half smiled their heads off.
"DOn't want any to-day, sez Zeph.
Hook itv
"We all sat smokin' and lOokin' on
and every man with his hand on re-
volver and bowie, as eff We was supic,
ious.
"Poor Chinamanp whines the big
'un again.
"f Don't want any, l tell you againp
rnars Zanh savanalv and fha dannv.