The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1880-02-04

! about 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 hero dust away-Pm gwine to
SOW it, boys. for crop to come up
eve all grumbled, for we were
almighty hungry; but we all had a
kind of trust in Heph, and gave way.
@ Lookiee hear, lads he sez, it jest
twelve O'Clock now, so let's go round
and git a mouthful where we can.
Let's go up to Billy Bolly's store and
ask hlm to give us a square meal, and
" Think he would?'' sez Zeph.
g" Sartin,' I 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 nearing as we'd had some.
thIrs good On, gave us a right square
meal and taste round Of Bourbon,
endin' with the cheerful remark; Il
shall take it out o some O. you if this
here amt squared up,'
That didn't make nice dessert, for
| Bill Was wonderful clever fellow. and
would think nuthin' o pltggfn' man:
so we kinder sneeked outer that store,
! feelin' uncomfortable.
It's all right sez Zeph, laughing.
Come on boys and get yewr tools
We took our tools then and went of
up the gulch to where a strong party OF
Chinese was st work, and they watched
us curiously as we began prospectin'
about, wSshin' bit o. dirt here and q
bit there, and always goin' off discon-
tented and sotr-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 a bit, we began
to wash the soil in a pan, gatherin,
round 1t afterward, and kncwin' all the
time that one or the other of the teapots
had an eye on us.
Then washed a bit more earth
grsvely, 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 yew could see few specks O. |
gold dust in the sun, while what we got |
went into leather bag what Tom Pag- ,
gins held.
"'We marks out this claim as our'np I
sez Zeph out loud; and takin' shovel /
he chops out bit of 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 to look at the specks o gold /
in among the refuses we had thrown /
over the side beyond our claim.
NJ 4 H. III
manl SEE one round faced smilin' cusss
No golee, no goleeP
"' Oh, no none at all, Mr.. Teapot
sez Zeph. Just yew keep bit fartheE
of, Or
e He touched his six-shooter, and the
Chinam2h scurried back little ways,
while one of us fetched some water,
and we began to wash another shovelful
of earth.
''' It pans out fnel' sez Tom Pag-
gins out loud, as we all gathered round
once more, and the top refuse, with
speeks o. gold in, was thrown away
again.
" We Kept on at that for two hours,
snd with Zeph to manage, we washed
out that little lot o. gold we had bor-
rOwed about four times; but it was a
kOO0 OSd4 1CDo Hb G44O ldSI bLdH NuCn NC
started, for some on it was sprinkled in
each O. the holes we made, and half g
teaspoOnful @ dust was lyin to waste IN
the refuse. Il
''All this time the Chinese were COM
in up from their bit of a camp, about
hundred yards away. Zeph was awiuIy
jealous, an KEEP drivin' 'em away-not
as we were skeered Of 'em, for they're
quiet, sheepish lot, but to keep up the
play;
and got our tents and odds and ends,
and set 'em up as we meant to stay,
while the others went on washin' and
pic kim steadily, getting four Chinese
10 fetch water and do few rough Jobs
in mOVin' quartz blocks outer the way.
(" Somehow or other there were a few
speeks 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.
g It's q workin',' sez Zeph to me.
Think SOP I sez.
"' Wait bit, old hoss, and you'll
see.'
"That night, after we'd been 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 a smilin'
cuss who looked like big, fat boy.
" Now, then sez Zeph, tell you what,
ef yew' don't make yerselves scarce
ther'l Il be holes threw some on yeWP
"F Poor ChinamanP sez the big, fat
fellow, and he puts his head on one side |
md smiles his head half off. Then the
'ther five sez. in a sort O. whinin' sing I
ioug chorus, Poor ChinamanF and all
half smiled their heads off.
"' Don't want any to-day sez Zeph.
Hook it'll
ave all sat smokin' and lookin' on
md every man with his hand on re-
Tolver and bowie, as eff we was supic,
Gus.
"'Poor ChinamanP whines the big
un again.
"'Don't want any, I tell you againr
oars Zeph, savagely, and the deppy-
alton Lly holds their head on one side
nd smiles.
"'AJe you gwine to outF sez zeph,
eizir number one by the tail, when he ;
,oes down on his knees, and the others
he same, rubbin' their chests and wag- :
,lin' their heads from side to side. :
"f Why don't you speak outF seq :
Ieph.
"f Mellicanman let poor Chinaman
yashee, washeeP says the fat fellow, E
'intin' to the heap o rubbish. '
You want to wash that dirt over
gain ? sez Zeph. a
The whole party began to nod their j
leads fast.
"'Oh, MOP sez zeph; we don't want r
on here-eh, ladsT f
tssNo- mop we all rrnwled- 6