Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1880-03-27
A SHOT FOR LUCK.
How DespOndent Miner at Last
Filled His Sack With Gold.


OF that lode, naming it the Concord.
When only five feet down they sold
Out-one third interest to s. b. Suth-
erland and the other two thirds to
u, f. Geer, of Boulder, and a broth
er of his who lives In Ogdensburg,
New York. Mr.. Sutherland was
poor man, but a practical miner.
His labor was put up against that Of
two men furnished by the Messrs.
Geer, who are capitalists, and the
work of development went on. For
the first ten or fifteen feet good pay
was taken out in the form of rusty
aud free gold. Then the " streak"
was either lost or played out. Con-
fdent that he was on true extern
sion OF the Emerson crevice Mr..
Sutherland continued his work all
summer and fall without faltering,
though the toilsome days yielded
nothing but barren rock. Week af
ter week and month after month
wore away, each more weary than
the last, and still no returns. He
was getting in debt and had to bor-
row money to pay taxes on his little
house. Still the plucky miner picked
away at the obdurately worthless
granite, breaking and blasting road
in the direction where he felt sure
the treasure lay. Christmas and
New Years came, and he hadn't
money enough to buy his wife a new
dress or the baby new rattle. His
friends advised him to give it up.
"Knowing ones" declared it was
only "blow out" and he had ex.
hausted the pay the first fifteen feet
would never get another cent, etc.
etc. All throuuh January he worked
on with urabated energy, but with a
heart growing heavier as each day
made 1t seem more likely that he
would at last be forced TO abandon
the dertaking aud yield his hopes
Of fortune. February came. A
mortgage was coming due on his
little home. Creditors grew impa-
tent. The wife, grown nervous aud
respondent on "hope deferred"
which "maketh the heart sick"
spent days in weeping, and every
night plead with her husband to
quit and go to work where he could
earn something. AT last he began
himself to be discouraged and made
up his mind to give up the Concord,
but-he would work the week out
On Tuesday he stood in the bottom
of the shaft, looking discons olately
at the pile of worthless gang rock"
and rubbish that must be hoisted to
the surface before he could go down
any further. He picked up drill,
drew sigh and said to himself:
"Whiie the boys are cleaning out
BY the time the boys had the bottom
cleared the shot was in, and when il
went off lie put the rock in the
bucket and told those above to dump
that on one side till he should come
up, This was on Tuesday, but he
never thought tn look after the
product of his "shot for luck" until
Thursday. CarelesSly examining It
then his practiced eye discovered a
small piece which bore the unmis-
taxable marks that made his heart
leap with new hope. He hurried
down the shaft, got things in shape
and by Saturday put in a blast
where he now felt sure the long lost
streak lay hid. When that shot
went of he gathered up a sack full
of glittcring specimens that, to look
at, would make old Midas himself
smile again. We saw few pieces
at Mr.. Geer's rooms and could not
rest until we had looked at the whole
bag full. So, in company with a
friend TO introduce us, we called up
on Mrs. Sutherland and was kindly
permitted to overhaul the lot-about
half a bushel--of pieces ranging in
weight from an ounce or two up to
seventeen pounds, and not piece
that does not show free gold or the
still richer vein of telluride OF gold.
Experts estimate the value of the
sack at not less than $1,000! And
now Mr.. Sutherland is sure that he
can work right back toward the sur
face-as well as downward and lat
terly along the lode-and find the
rich streak all the way Boulder
(Colorado) News and Courier.