Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1880-02-06
"'Not itp seq Zeph. Its only like
playln' poker with 'em, and winnin.'
aftc

| mot 1t! seq Zeph. Its only like
playin' poker with 'em, and winnin.
Let's go and liquor --.. .-.--. .y.e,~~
"'We didn't expect any Tow, for them
Chimes had to keep very quiet for fear O
bern sent off and Zeph sed the d put up
with their loss, clea- GU, and go to some
other gnlch.
! s'But they didn't for next day Tom,
who went up to see what they was a
dom, sed they'd moved their camp up
round the hole, and were working away
| like a swarm O. bees.
| What night, as we were sittin' smok-
In at Bills store, some chaps strolls In,
| and one OF 'em SEE, in bit Of temper
| "'Call this here free country2'
| Eyes, stranger: dew SEE Zebh, rat
Ting some nuggets in his pocket; who
seq it ain't?'
"T do, seq the newcomer. Here We
are a-workin' like slaves for few dol
lars worth o. dust, and rack O. heather
cusses comes and settles down and grabs
| all the best on it,
"'Dew thcy?' seq zcph, winklng at
eyes he SEE, they dew. There's
that pack o Chimes moved up higher in
the gulch, and they hit on a big pock-
Ct, They got a two pound nugget ont
this very afternoon
"'WhatE roared Zeph, with his eyes
staring out OF his head like a Holsters.
"a two-pound nugget and the stuff S
pannin' out jest awful. 1 say it's a
shame and the COMMENT orto stop it,
| SOluI rrOaned Zenh.
"Noxt day it was the talk O. the place.
The Chimes were pannin' out gold at a
tremendous rate from their claim, and
there was talk Of drivin' the heathcns
away. but the party Of order was too
strong, and they know'd if the rowdles
was allowed TO get the upper hand here,
they d be just as likely TO seize anybody
elses' claim; SO it was decided to tempor-
lzc with the heather, and try to buy the
claim.
"They was two hundred strong up
thele; and when we went up to sec the
place--which we did in a kind of des-
psrate feelin'-t that fat chap smiled and
clapped his hands, and gave Zcph a little
rouad nugget as big as pea.
IA meetln' was held, and we conclud
ed to make a company and buy back
the claim. Twenty thousand vas the
most as was to be offered. -
"'Twenty thousand doliarsr groaned
Zeph. Oh, boys what fools we was But
did want to hold out fur 80 ,housand!'
"'It's no use to growl,' scz Tom. How
much ha' we got now2'
" 'Beout nine hundred dollars, guess,
SEE Zeph.
"'Well, then, sez Tom, 'lct's go in for
shares as tar as our money goes
The money was nearly all sub.
sclibed; but we got one fer eight hun
dred dollars, and could ha' sold our share
the next minute for thousand.
Next mornin' the party settled to do
the business went up to the Chimes
camp, but they wouldn't take the mo-
ncy. They said they'd begun work and
meant to have the proceeds of the day;
but the boys looked dangerous, so the
heather finally said they d settle up that
night, take the money and give posses
sion.
''Thls made the gulch worse than ever,
and shares changed hands at fine rate,
men selling theirs and then getting so
excited that they bought back again.
" Il shall never forgive myself, boys
seq Zeph, the next mornin', as we sat over
some fried bacon and biscuit; I throwed
away Il fortune!'
"'EIallo! What's the rowe SCI 7,
jumpin' up.
''rh"re was sutlin' ailcat outside, for
there was a heap Of excitement, hut no
one kinder seemed to know what it was.
AFTER while We got to know that
there wasn't a siHglc Ch1nce left in the
guich; they'd gone off, no one knew
where, in the night.
"They re mighty artful.' SEE Zcph and
nc was right, for we soon knov'd what
had happened.
I'VE six had cheated the Chinese re.
tail; they'd cheated US by wholesale, fo-
there wasn't, and never had been, grain
o gold in that claim that wasn't put
| there first. It was only small show
that VIC made; but the heather had
clHbbcd together their dust and nuggets
to make bi" show. That day they
p';ic'! it al up agcn, and when they'd
got tn" 10000 they sncaked out of the
camp. l guess the su!ch would ha'
massacrcc,l them; bat the heather hadn't
lett behind so much rs trail
YES, gents, ycwvc got to cit up air
| ~ to take in Chince.' III lie Year
Round.