The Osceola times., 1881-10-29
BAITY.

in 40. Hawkins has proved Balty's iocai
destiny. For sixteen years he tried u
reach Sonora, only twenty miles dir.
Chinese Camp lay seven miles away.
Chinese proved for Balty an impossible
barrier. There Phoenix produced the
black bottle; Pike a cut glass decanter.
welcoming drinks for Balty. He always
STAYED at Chinese. Chinese proved
Balty's delilah. There he was regularly
shorn Of his dust, his sobriety, his reso.
lutions. Time after time did he leave
the river, resolved 10 be a man, TO be
strong, - procrastinate the spree he had
promised himself until he reached So
nora. Time after time did he fail, retreat
ing back 10 Hawkins, his bnckskin purse
depleted Of its last grain. and bearing his
receipt in full for dust deposited in vari-
ous exchequers at Chinese. in the shape
Of two black bottles tied together by a
string.
In 1880 there happened to Balty one
of those events Of moment which decide
and turn a mans whole future career.
Coming, as usual, 10 Chinese from IIaw-
kins' on a hired horse. the animal ran
camp. against which he had 50 often dash
ell tilt fDhl biAf
kent on and accomplished the trip.
1t is often thus. We spend an exist
ence in endeayoring TO accomplish an
aim, to solve problem, and when at last
we give ii mp, accident takes hold. and in
flash carries us straight TO the point.
Balty tried for sixteen years to reach
Sonora. The man failed, the horse won.
Sonora was benefited. Balty always
had dust when he visited camp. Most
of ii went, sooner or later, into the saloon
keepers till. True, he purchased some
provisions His verbal order for win
ter's supply once, ran thus: :" guess.
Jones, you may bring me a sack Of -four,
ten pounds pork, ten pounds of tobacco,
and bar'l Of whisky
Phoenix and Pike, saloon keepers,
never in their hearts forgave the man
who let 10 Balty the mustang which car
ried him beyond the charmed circle of
Chinese. He never renewed his allegi-
ance there. II was a clear loss of at least
81 ,O0s yearly to the camp.
There seemed a mysterious affinity be-
tween the man and gold. lie was sure
10 strike somewhere in his range Of the
river and bank diggings a rich deposit
once in two years. People grew to have
faith in Balty's luck, and trusted him 10y
reason Of that faith. Balty was lucky
while honest, but pennlless industry
stood by and cursed.
Apart from the search for gold, Balty
was dull, uninteresting, even stupid. pn
the trail after a lead he frightened MP.
All sense and keennses poured through
| that channel. The rest were dry. Some
thing led him unerringly to the place in
the fiat where lay dollar prospect. "
Industry and sobriety sink their shafts
through foot and foot Of "hard pan" and
barren gravel. ON the ledge industry
and sobriety found halfa-cent-to-the-pan
prospect, 3" ne flour gold" Fine -four
gold will cover your pans bottom with Il
"thousand colors'-so fine that the glass
is need 10 reveal them; but in weight
they are ~ dust on the butterfy's wing.
There was Crane fiat For years the
river and bank yielding richly, it had
been overlooked. But Balty had ever
kept an eye on it. A ragged scrawl on a
certain live-oak informed the public that
"We, the undersigned, claim this
ground and are going to work the same
rs soon an we have a chance.
BAITY
"GorHAM."
Such notice was neither legal nor
definite. II was not desired that it should
be. Old settlers like Balty and Gotham
fel, they had a certain feudal right to
territory near winch they had SO long
lived.
Miners law required Of them to state
how many feet they claimed. That was
what Balty and Gotham did not wish to
do. Their claim was indefinite. 1t over
Swallowed the whole fiat. \ stranger
might come along and Jump" portion.
| but in doing so he would incur danger
oils unpopularity with the whole com
munity, of the hundreds-yes, thou
sands-whose rockers crashed and grated
the river pebbles in 80 from Red Noun
tain 10 Indian Bar, Balty and Gotham
now alone remained.
Miners law in 1850 gave 30 feet front
10 the man. Miners law in 1855 was
expanded. II gave them 100 feet front
30 the man. Miners law in 1865 was
whatever Balty and Gotham chose Ia
make il. In 1850 il concerned thou
sands, in 1855 hundreds, and in 1865 two
-Balty and Gotham. Nox populi, ct
ceiera.
out of the fag-end of the Hat, out of q
light, alluvial sand, mixed with irregu-
larly. shaped gulch boulders, Balty
panned "two-bit prospect" Two sober
hard-working men living near by, whose
lives were patterns Of neatness and order
whose cabiE was a pattern of mans
hous.-k keeping. whose bread was the
! lightest on the river, but who for years
hal neyer been able to strike any thing
better than a "two dollar-per-day claim,
| (Ralty, in scorn. called such grub and
whisky diggin's" made him a liberal
offer for 1000 feet Of this ground. Balty
never prospected another pan from that
"vougd in the hank He was in need -
ready cash. lie was ever thus. He
owned much and indefinite ground
above. lie accepted the offer. That
"gouge" proved the only pay spot in the
claim. Balty's golden instincts always
told him not 10 prospect salable ground
too much. Leave well enough alone.
When a prospect-hole develops two-bits
10 the pan, leave ii in statu quo. Leave
tho biggest berries on the top of the
basket. as does the fruit dealer.
Balty accumulated stores OF whisky in
his cabin. lie stayed by il and pursued
an Industrious life ofinebriation. When
Hawkins bar-once lively camp OF 800
souls-was reduced" 10 its last house and
its two last residents; when the traveller,
on some still, hot summer afternoon.
psssed through, hearing the ceaseless
roar of the FLYER over the rifle, seeing
only IN imagination the life and excite
ment Of 30. he might then be hailed
from the last house by one of the last
residents in tones Of jovial inebriation.
This would be Balty, arrived at the after
noon sfana Of his lrina when he WAS de-