The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1880-02-04
"'P Poor Gbinamanp see the tat chap

again.
'Oh, yes; we know all 'beout that'
Eez Zeph. Now, what is itP
+" 'Mellcanmah sellee claim two hun
der dollarsP says the fat-headed chap,
and all the others nodded their heads.
"'Will we sell you this claim fer two
hundred dollersF says Zeph.
They all nodded till you'd ha'
thought their heads'd come off.
ECutp -sez Zeph, catching hold Of
fat 'un by his tail and kickin' him.
Yew rnagn't believe gents, but
them same chaps came back twice be-
fore it was dark and made fresh offers.
advancin' hundred dollars each time
and we swore at 'em and said we would
not sell, and if they warn't up to time
in the mornin' to see about the water,
they shouldn't be allowed to wash the
dirt.
g Fust thing ne4t noTnin' them six
felieTa We're up again, just as we had
got good painful o stuff in course O.
workin', and ] saw their eyes twinkle IS
they caught sight of The gold
Then they offered S400, and We said
we'd shoot'em if they'd come agen; but
come they did, and offered $500, and as
the m0rnin' went on, seven, eight, nine
@'fafe it, we said, as they came this
last time.
"'They'H give $4,000, 1 tell yew. Pm
sure they will SAYS Zeph.
8 But 81 900 is enough to chisel the
beggars out Of sez |.
81 Yes,' sez Tom Pagginsy and it'll
take this time tomorrow sure to pet up
20 the $4,000.
"'If 1 warn't 50 'tarnal hungry, I'd
hold out, sez Zeph, hesitatin' and then
turnin' to the six Chinese as wRitin' fur
our answer Lock hyar, you cheatin'
cueses,' he sez, takin' up a shOvelful of
earth, IN which the dust were a-sparklin'
in the sun, this claims worth goo, ,OOOrs
No; only worth $1,000, said fatty
shakin' his head.
Shall we let 'em have 1t, boys?' sez
Zeph, turnih' 10 us.
"' Yes, let 'em have it, sez; we can
find plenty more
Come on, them sez Heph, and ne
and CwO more went back with the dep
pytatiOn to the tent of their head man,
and thousand dollars worth o dust and
nuggets was weighed out into & bag;
Ieph put his mark TO q kind of dOckv-
nent IN Chinese, and half an hour
afterward we went back to camp, lea7in' |
the smilin' Cinnamon to their purchase.
"' It's a darped shame to cheat the !
poor, innercent babies like that I |
sez.
Not itl' sez Zeph; fit's only like
playin' poker with 'em and winnin'.
Let's go and liquor
" We didn't expeck any row, for !
hem Chinesese had to keep very quiet |
for fear o bein' sent off; and Zeph sed |
.hey'd put up with their loss, clear ont !
md 90 to some other gilCh.
{; But they didn't; for the next day
Hon, who went up to see what they was
s'doin', said they moved their camp up |
'0und the hoie, and were wOrkin' away
ike a swarm O. bees
That night, ss we we're sittin' sTnok-
n at Biu's store, some chaps strOlls in,
nd one of 'em says, IN a bit of a temper:
"'Call this here free country
"' Yes, stranger, I dew SEE Zeph,
attlin' some nuggets in his pocket;
who see it ain'tP
''' dew sez the new conner. Here
re we workin' like slaves for a few dol
ars' worth o dust, and pack O. heather
uses comes and settles down and grabs
II the best on it,
Dew they? sez Zeph, winkin' at us.
"' Yes, he sez, they dew. There's
hat pack of Chinese moved up higher
/ the gulch, and they've hit on a big
ocket. They got q two-pOund nugget
ut on it this very afternoon
tWhatP rOared Zeph, with his eyes
,arin' out Of his head Ike q Holsters.
"A two-pound nugget, and the stuti's
aiming out awful. | say it's shame
nd the government ought to stop It,
e. SoldP groaned Zeph.
Next dav it was the talk O the
lace. The Chinese were pannin' out
old at q tremendous rate from the
lain. and some were for driving the
eathens away, but the party of order
ras too strong, and they knOW'd that if
he rowdies was to get the upper hand
ere, they'd be Just IS Likely TO seize
nybody eise's claim; so it was decided
D temporige with the heather and try
D buy the claim.
They were two hundred strong up
here; and when we went up TO see tie
lace-which we did in q kind o. des-
crate feeling-the fat chap smiled and
Tapped his hands and gave Zeph little
ound nugget as big as q pea.
" A meetn' was neld and we con-
luded to make a company and buy the
lain. Twenty thousand was the most !
5 was to be offered.
Twenty thousand dOllarsp groaned +
eph. ooh, boys, what fools we was!
'ut I did not want to hold out for
2, ,00O'
"' It's no use to growl, sez Tom.
low much ha' we got noW%
GO Bout 5000, / guess sez Zeph.
g Wal, then,' sez Tom, let's 90 in
)r shares as far as our money goes
The money was nearly all sub
ribbed; but we got on for $500, and
0uld ha' sold our shares the next hour
II 81, 900.
" Next mornin' the party settled to do
le business, went, up to the Chinese
amp, but they wouldn't take the
nd meant to have the proceeds of the
ay; but the boys looked dangerous, SO
le heathens finally said they'd settle
p that night, take the money, and give
Ossession.
" 1nIS maze Gns guIcn worse Gnah
yer, and shares changed hands at a
ne rate, men sellin' theirs and then
ettin' so excited that they bought back
yain.
"' shall never forgive myself, boys,'
z Zeph, the next mOrnin,' as we sat
yer some fried bacon and biscuit. i
lrowed away fortuneP
" HalloI What's the rowT sez /,
Imping up.
" There was suthin' afoat outside, for
lere was a heap of excitement, but no
le kinder seemed to know what it
az.
" Arter a while we got to know that
lere wasn't single Chinee in the
llch; they'd gone off, no one knOwed
here, in the night.
I" They're darned artful, sez Zeph; g
4 L. soI,4 t~y7axrrI / 4