The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1880-01-09
MINERS YARNS.
THE BIGGEST THING A PROPRIETOR EVER
sTRUcK-A CATARACT OF QUICKSILVER.

THE BIGGEST THING A PRosPEcToR EVER |
sTRUcK-A CATARACT OF QUIcKsILvER.
The day was hot ct Frisco, Utah, and
the three drank beer and talked. It ap-
peared from their conversation that they
had all had more or less experience in pros
pecting. One said:
The biggest thing ever struck was
when me an Newt Bowdon was prospectin'
and when one day We felt the earth kinder
tremblln' an saw smoke on the top Of Q
mountain. We climbed up to the top
twas long pull. When We got there We
found it was volcano. Twas all bilin'
in the crater. One place in the crater was
lower than t'othsr parts, en- cliff stuck
right down from this low place; it went
down bout 100 feet. The earth kept trem-
blin'. A stream bout 20 feet wide by five
deep run outen the crater, or gap, and made
clear jump 700 feet down." r.
Water ?" interrupted one OF the listen
ers. "Pooty hot, wasn't 1t ?"
"Water twas quicksilver"
"Quicksilver ?'
"You bet. We went down to the foot
of the fall. The stream of quicksilver from
the fall run few hundred yards an sunk.
1t kept tremblin'.
"The quicksilver went below; heavy, you
know. Ne an Newt both got sick {; he
sicker than me. He kept gittin' worse, an
died before could get him to camp. got
to camp an was sick for month"; ; was sal
ervated. My teeth all came out. hain't
tooth now, nor toe nails, nuther."
"Why didn't you 60 back to the quick
silver?"
"'Fraid er gettin' salervatsd again. 1t
killed Newt, you know"
Number two said
"Well, the richest discov'ry ever made
one time when was by myself. I saw q
bluff bout three miles off; it had queer
look. went to it; twas morn thousan'
feet higt, an nearly every bit of it was
solid native silver. You could walk long
an look at it for mile 'thont seein' any
thin but pure silver. Some places silver
had oozed out while the cliff was hot, and
made things like big icicles-some Of 'em
was hsngin' down 500 feet long. located
bout three miles of the ledge an left"
"How come you so poor ?" asked the
first speaker.
"Well, I'd got back in days ride Of
| oau,n aps -oo pocL,p, nm nna v,,orp;v, 4, fta ar
breakfast; as come to the frying pan my
mule had one him foot in 1t, an tapped
him on the leg to make him step outin it.,
an he up an kicked me on the head"
"But he didn't break your head ?"
"No; but can't remember distances
since"
The third one began:
~ was by myself, too, when struck II
big. One day was prospectin' through an
open country, an travelled on until after
night, tryin' to find water. At last rode
over ridge, an noticed that my mules shoe.
kept clickin' against somethin'. had Q
fine young mule. There was a. valley a,
the bottom of the ridge, an water. | wen,
to sleep, an walked up when it began to
be day, but rolled over an slep' again. Mex
time walked, the sun was up, but could
not hold my eyes open until I'd tried a long
time, there was such glitter
"Mica?" asked one.
"Gold sir Gold every W here I'd thrown
part Of my blanket over chunk to make =
pillar; the chunk was gold, solid gold Tn.
ridge I'd come over was gold, solid gold
On 'tother side of the valley was mountains
of gold, risin' up and glitterin' in the sun
shine. One high mountain had snow OF
the top, but was gold up to the snow. Eel
lers, that mountain looked like picter. I'd
jes begun to think my bacon eatin' day
was over when three men come up to me
two young men an one ole man. judge
from their actions-I couldn't understand
their talk-the young fellers wanted to Kill
me-, but the ole chap persuaded 'em not ter
They all had gold buttons on their clothes
an heel taps an tap-soles of gold. The oil
man was smokin' gold pipe, with loni
gold stem. They blin' folded me an LEI
me away"
The narrator stopped and seemed to b
retrospecting.
"Well, did they lead you far?' he wa
asked.
"Seems to me / listened to the clnk o
them tap soles an heel for ten Thousand
miles"
t "Was they long about it."
"When laid down in that gold vale
that night, though I say it myself, wa
young and good lookin'; my beard was q
black as crow; an hair thick as dogs
but when they left me, an got out of hecr
in, an uncovered my eyes, my beard wa
gray"
can your head?''
"Like it is now, not hair on it."
: "What became Of your fine youD
mule?'
"The ole man rode 1t on the trip till
fell dead of ole age"
, LOCK MEIONE