Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-05-23
STORY By A F0RTY-NINER.
New York Tribune.

New York Tribune
Il tell you what, sir. was an old
forty-niAer who spoke, as he sat with
his feet on the top of the hotel stove
there amt no life on Gods earth as
comes up to mInin'; leastwise no life
that I've struck. and I've tried a good
many things, too. A man don't make
money at it. not one in 500; rather
they get plenty but they gamble it
away in camps as fast as they get it,
so't when a regions petered out there
probably amt three men outside the
bunko men and saloon keepers as have
got dollar in their pockets.
But it's the fascination of it. Lor'
man, when you've struck it pretty
rich and can see your gold right in
front of you; when you're piling it
up every half hour O the day, with a
nugget now and again as big as bul
let TO cheer you, and then when the
evenin' comes and you count it up
and find hundred odd dollars just
p cked out O the earth that day-well,
there amt nothin' like it. Then
when you don't strike it rich you al
ways think you're goin' 10 next day,
and it's just as exciting hearin' other
men tell in the evenin' what they
pulled out as 1t is countin' over your
own. Why, I've been three and four
months at time without cent in ny
pocked; but, Geewhittaker! the excite
ment of it didn't give man twice to
think how hard up he is.
But there are times when man
don't know how to kick himself hard
enough; YOU bet he don't. was
down on the Stanislaus once, | was
monkeying round with a pard-Long
Gus we called him-an' l picked up
clod to throw at him, just lamp of
earth that was lynn handy. Well, it
just went to ones side o Long Gus, and
he sorter reached out his hand to
catch it, an it all broke in pieces
leavin' some in his hand expected
he'd throw it back at me; but he
didn't. He just tossed it over in his
hand careless like. and then said we'd
had enough foolin'. So we walked
on again Next mornin' Gus didn't
say a word TO me, but he jast went
off with his OUTFIT to the place where
l. u luIOW IL blldL ClOu dG Hill, du Iooh
$3.50 out the first day. An l don't
know how many thousand he took
out before he'd done with that claim.
As the clod broke in his hand it laid
bare a small nugget, maybe as large
as pea-he showed it to me after
ward-an' he said it startled him SO
he very nigh called out an gave his
self away, as nobody supposed there
was any gold left just there. 1t was
all thought to be worked out, but the
darned fools had gone right by the
richest part Of it. 1 wish
he had called out, l know; but you
bet l never felt more like kicking nay
self into the rivera did then. Why,
if I'd only turned the cussed thing
over, or broken it IN two-it was a
sight too large to throw at once, as l
thought when l threw it, but!
but there was another time when
l felt like hurting myself, too-hurt
ing myself right bad-and so did all
the other boys, l can tell you There
were some two hundred of us in it,
sir. An we were all fools. 1t was
one Fourth of July, down to Mohe
lumne. an we wanted TO do su'thin'
to celebrate, an we were pretty badly
fixed for what TO do. Well, after
rakin' round bit we settled on an
old tree--one O these sagar pines
The gold, We know, used to lie ali
along the bottom of the gulches-or SO
we used to think-and nobody ever
thought of going up the little hillside
to look for it, but just KEEP on work
ing along the gulches An this
sugar pine was some three hundred
feet up the hillside, right away from
where the gold was. 1t was fine
tree, as straight as whisky for 100
feet or more without a bough or leaf
on it, and then the bougEs began all
of a sudden. 1t stood out there all
by itself like, an we settled we'd blow
it up. So we gets twenty five pound
keg o blastin' powder and hauled it
UP the hill, an set to work to dig
hole under the tree We got as far
under as we could for the tap root
and then stowe1 the key away, an
just heaved rocks and earth onto it
and beat it down hard. Then we
lit the fuse and scrambled away as
fast as we could. Well, you just be-
lieve it we scattered those rocks some.
Gee! but we had to look out for our
heads, and the earth went all round
the place. But it didn't blow the old
tree up; not worth a cent. 1t just
stood there as if nothing had happen
ed, 'cept that the trunk was split open
some twenty feet or So However, we
all cheered and hollered, an felt we'd
done suthin' to celebrate, and then
we went back and 'rahed around the
camp.
THAT, as I've said, was on the 4th
of July. Along to the end of Septem
Der, it might be, it rained-rained
quite a sight that year, too. Well,
after it'd been rainin' bit man call
ed Harris-Jlm Harris, as good for
nothin' a chap as you ever see, who
couldn't work or do anythin', an had
never washed out dollar honestly in
his life-chanced to come over that
hill on his way to camp, an passed
right by this ere pine as we tried to
blow up. None of US had never been
up to the burned tree again, but s'elp
me Johnny Rogers! if that rain hadn't
gone an washed all the earth as the
powdered kicked up, an this Teller
Harris just picked up $50 as he stood
there! That proved one of the richest
leads in the whole Mokelumne, an
here had we been washing away in
gulches an sayin' as there wasn't no
gold up the hillside. Warn't therel
This Teller Harris got rich out o that,
COS he never spent no money like the
rest of us; an was about the only man
as did get rich, guess l didn't, /
know. But l tell you there wasn't
one Of us 200 as wouldn't have taken
it kindly if some one 'ad kicked him
well when we first heard o what we'd
DONE