Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-12-24

For more than year this man ana myseu ha
been as inseparable as the sianlese twins. Ever.
night we had slept together; at every meal we at
| together; and when not at work, we read to eacl
| other or talked together. The greatest joy ethel
had was in the others society All expenses, every
| remittance to my wife, was from common fund.
Often when / have been tempted to curse the
world and swear there truth, no dsinterested
friendship in man, have thought OF Yank--noble
truehearted Yank-and have repressed its utter
ance.
The eyes of the miners opened wide when our
plans began TO develop themselves, and all prophe
sei success We therefore went boldly on with it
We could have sold out for many Thousands advance
before the work half completed but the spirit
enterprise, or OF madness, whichever it might be
called, seized each Of The work was begun, the
fiume was finished and carried the water beautifully
but, when we went into the dry bed for the gold,
it was not there All our money was gone and we
were in debt We had the bed of the creek, or river
as it was called. and iume. When we realized the
whole truth OF the situation, went to our cabin
Tears stood in the eyes Of my big hearted partner,
and as he threw his arms around my neck he sobbed
out. 1t is not for myself, Kentuck, that am
would lay down my life this minute TO put you in
possession of as much gold as we had six weeks
ago."
"Never mind old boy" said, !" we will make it
up again don't care ything aboutit." But my
voice belied my words, for /, too was thinking Of
the little wife and baby.
"You have told me your first lie, Kentuck. You
not only care, but your heart is breaking, all on
account of the time for seeing that wife and baby
being postponed. But come, cheer up, old pard-
it is mighty strange il two great big, stout chaps
like you and me can't make living for one little
woman and her baby. And the next ten thousand
We get you shall take it back, and If can't make it
by myself will come and live with you We must
now go further out in the mountains prospecting.
There is nothing around here any more ; and, Ken.
ick to quiet your mind, will promise you that If
anything happens to you 1 will work my fingers off
for that little wife OF yours l have no one to care
for but one sister back in Massachusetts,, and she
has been married several years, and did pretty
well by her when was back there, you know gave
her all l had"
Well, we packed up our blankets, strapped
them and prospecting outfit on our backs, and
struck out. We tramped, tramped, tramped over
mountains rivers and canyons, for days and weeks,
but found nothing that suited US. We struck sev-
eral places where we could make ten or twelve dol.
lars day, but we were after something better.
When winter overlook US we were high up in the
Serras. When we found we were about to be
showed in we built us rude cabin and wintered
beneath the snow.
began here, during this long night, to get dis
couraged to imagine that l had had my oppor-
tunity and had failed to grasp it. began to think
that there is tide in the affairs of men, which,
taken at its food leads to fortune and argued
that if that tide is missed it will never come again.
As as the snow melted off sufficiently we
struck out again prospecting tour. OF course
sought the earliest opportunity to write to the dear
little wife to account for my long silence. We
struck over on the North Yuba, and there found a
claim out Of which took several hundred dollars
In few days, and We were much elated; but ii
"petered out before we had as much as one thou
sand dollars. The depth OF my Encouragement, as
we pulled up to leave this place, can hardly be i'm
agined. "If we can find claim where We can get
ten dollars day each, let US stick to it," said.
"That would take it about two years longerto gel
| won't do. There are bett.r dggings in California
| and we must find them"
And resumed our tramp again. 1t woult
seem that the rich strikes were being made JUS
ahead all the while, and fattered ourselves tina
| it would be our turn pretty soon. Ii we had onl.
| looked about us we would have seen hundreds o
| others tramping around following the same Jack-o
theantern.
! felt discouraged beyond measure but could 10
make up my mind to give it up. / could not thnl
| of taking the time to so to some place and build u
practice at the law. 1t might require years a
| that business to make the money wanted. And
| when felt tempted to so back without it, cou
| see in my Imagination sarcastic smile on Judge
Underhi,rs face and hear him say in most withern;
| tones, "I told you So"
| Another whole year passed by and we were still
hunting for that bettar mining claim in which w
got from the dear, dear little wife, always full
\ encouragement, and an occasional one from Ysnk'
sister, kept us from becoming bar.room loungers
as too many of those who set out " to find bette
claims about the time we did had already become
| Our remittance to the wife had now come down Il
| $50 and 500 at time, and they were far between
| got ashamed TO write the same, same old stor,
over again, and my letters home became less fire
quent Not that had ceased to love, to idolze m,
dear wife, but when had nothing to tell but fail
ure could not write. In the summer of 1856 w
struck claim on the south Yuba that began to pa,
US fair wages, and concluded to stick to il. On
unucky day We went to San Juan. % am goin.
to take s,00," said Yank, "and try the little wife
/ I~l- hat amt b,,,
US and if we win it shall go to her."
| Iex ostulated hut it did no good, and into th
monte game we went. Yank put the one hundred
/ dollars on the card and won. He then staked tn,
two hundred dollars, then the four hundred dollars
and then the eight hundred. Each bet had won
J The excitement around the table became intense
"once more" exclaimed Yank; five successiv,
winnings is not impossible. Here goes the sixteer
on the queen of hearts
| Yank had locked the dealer constantly in the ey
since the first bet. This time he pulled the card
off until he found that the queen OF hearts must b.
the winning card. Then he held the pack in h:
hand and said, "You cannot bet that way. TAX
| your sixteen hundred and co.
| "Thiity-two or nothing" exclaimed Yanf. 'Pul
cut that other card. have seen it, and know wha
| it isr
| al viii not," said the gambler.
| "Then will" and Yank seized the deck and ex
hibited the queen of hearts to the crowd. A chez
went round the house, but with it the sharp repor
Of pistol was on the other side of the table, anc
| saw my faithful friend fall. was not armed, but
! seized chair and struck the gambler on the head
The crowd tried to Interfere, but used the chair s,
furiously that no one dared to approach broke i
to pieces over the gambler, and then with my boot
| heel mashed in his skull.
| Talk about emotional INSANITY. was as mad a
any lunatic that ever wore straight jacket fel
that strong enough to pull the house to pieces
Several shots fired at me by the friends Of th
| dead gambler, but none took effect felt tlat
was bullet-proof. II repentance is necessary t,
salvation, am afraid shall never be saved for tha
is the great and only crime of my life unrepentec
Of, and afraid 1t will always remain so. tool
my dead friend in my arms and wept like child.
| saw, in my boyhood, my father and then my loved
mother laid in the grave; but had never had nj,
| heart-strings SO completely torn asunder as now
It came SO sudden, 80 unexpected, upon me, that
was overwhelmed as by an avalanche.
There was but one other that loved better thar
my poor dead friend, and loved both better thar
my life He had been tried in prosperity, tried il
poverty In all privatons for years 1t had beer
pleasure for him to endure more than his share
j had never a thought that was kept secret from
him. He knew all my hopes, all my ambitions