Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1880-01-22

don Interrupt man as wants 10 give
you suthin' TO eat. A set of cusses, /
SEE, as never goes to meetin', and
b'lieves in nothin but joss houses. |
say, it's sin to let 'em be gettin' fat On
our land, while we're as thin and
starved loOkin' as-as as
Gas ole Zeph Parker himself SEE
Tom Pagginr.
"Well, ez thin ez am, if you like
SEE Zeph.
"'This is all very purity" | SEE, but
we can't 90 and take claim from the
tespots, Zeph; nor We can't rush 'em
and annex the dust and nuggets they've
washed out
emo said Zeph, winkin' one eye,
but we kin s.rategise 'em'
Howl ! seq. Don't kinder see
it. They're too deep to be done
GO Yah! SEE Zeph, there're bout ez
deep az two-cent plate. Give me the
means and I'll sell the lot and put a
good pocketful O dollars or dust in every
mans pocket-six on us!
&c But what means dyer want7' /
SEE.
"'One handful o DUST SEE Zsph.
"And where are we to get it?' SEE
Tom Papgins.
"'This how SEE Zeph.' "Morrow
mornin' every man hyar's to go round
the camp and cadge. Tell the boys
we're hard up, but we got a good thing
on. They'll subscribe little all reound.
Yew see if they don't
{" Well, we'll try sez we; and we
went to sleep hungry and got up raven.
Gus.
"There was nothin' for it but to go
to work, and of we went, getting back to
our tent about II o'clock, when five out
of the six had got little good dust. /
was the unlucky one, bein' bad beggar,
and had got none.
Now, tbenp SEE Tom Paggins, as
soon rs the dust was all put together
about a big spoonful of glitterin' stuff;
let's go up to the store and get a drink
"'That you just WON'T" SEE Zeph,
grinning'. Pm kinder gwine to throw
all this here dust away--I'm gwine to
SOW it, boys, for crop to come up
"We all grumbled, for we were al
mighty hungry; but we all had kind
of trust in Zsph, and gave way.
"' Lookiee hear, lads he says, it's
jest IL O'Clock how, 30 let's go round and
get mouthful where we can
Let's go up to Billy Bolly's store and
ask ask him to give US q square meal,
and stick it up / says, he, Ii trust u.s.
"Think he would?'' SEE Zsph.
"'Sartin,' | SEE, if you show him til at
gold, and tell him there's something good
on"
"And so it was; Bill, on seeing that
gold, and hearing rs we'd got somethin'
good on gave us a 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 q nice desert, for
Bill WAS 4 wonderful clever fellow, and
would think nuthin' o. pluggin' man;
SO we kinder sneaked outer that store,
feelin' uncomfortable.
I" It's all right SEE Zeph laughing
Come on boys and get yewr tools"
We took our tools then and went of
up the gulch to where strong party of
Chinese was at work, and they watched
us curiously rs we began prospectin'
bit there, and always goin' off discon-
tented and sour like till We came to one
place close up to the rocks, where 1t ran
sheer up 400 or 500 feet, and, after work
ing with our picks bit, we began to
wash the soil in pan, gatherin' round
it afterwsrd, an KNOWN all the time
that one or the other of the teapots had
Al eye on us.
"Then we washed bit more earth
graveily, quartzy stuff it was-and col
lected again, and then We grew excited
and began to dig faster, and to wash
more and 10 examine what we had done
each time after pickin' over the pan,
THROWN out the rubbish; and when this
fell yew could see few specks o gold
dust in the sun, while what we got went
into leather bag what Tom Psggins
held
"We marks out this claim rs our'n 7
says Zeph out loud; and takin' shovel
he chops out bit Of rough trench, just
to show the extent we meant to hev;
and, rs he did so, first one pigtail ana
| then another comes up to watch US, and
| saw them look ct the specks O gold in
among the refuses we had thrown over
the side beyond our claim.
I" No goode, washee washee, Mclean
mani SEE one round.fsced smilin' cuss.
No golee, no goleep
"Oh, no; none at all, Mr.. Teapot,
SEE Zeph. Just yew keep a bit farther
oil, or
He touched his six shooter, and the
Chinsman scurried back little ways,
while one of us fetched some wster and
we began to wash another shovelful of
earth.
a $1,000. y 60. t.,