National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-11-08
THE ANCIENT MINER.
DAYS WHEN MONEY WAS FREE AND THE
BOYS WERE FRIsKY.
Prospecting Played 0ut--Judse McComa' and
His Murderers-The Little Hamlet Of shsks-
pesre-Arizops Diamonds - Paddy Cssey's
Luck-A Running Talk About Everything.

quick about it," and the speaker, an old,
grizzled, tall, gaunt man, dressed In the
traditional blue shirt 10 X" boots, and
copper.rivoted oyeralls of the honest
miner" threw his blankets in corner of
Johnny Shryock's saloon in the little
mining town Of Orgau, Dona Ana county,
and braced himself against tho counter.
Had any luck, Georgo% queried the
barkeeper.
."Luckl Why, I tell ye, tho sooner n
man gives up looking for anything in
this country now the better for his health
and his pocket. Prospecting Is played
out. A fellow can't get q grub-stake,
and II no does find anything he can't
sell it."
"How's that2o asked the scribe, who,
thirsting for information, had Joined the
group and wisely set them up" rs pre-
liminsry to the insertion Of tho inquisi-
torial auger.
"well, ye see, no man will buy pros
pect nowadays, no matter how rich assays
We get out Of IL, and experts won't look
at nothin' that hasn't got hundred-foot
shaft on 1t. 1t costs money to sink
hundred-foot shaft; an prospectors amt
got no money, or what little they've got
they blow In for whisky. 1t wasn't al
ways 80. remember when ] came into
New Mexico ye could sell anything as
showed mineral; aye, and claim that
mover showed bit of mineral on them,
either. Shakespeare was about as lively
camp then M there was in the territory
several hundred men living away up,
work for all, whisky 2 bits drink, rust
lors' whoopin' Ter up every now an then,
and q man for breakfast about once
week. There were thirty buried in tho
graveyard there, an every one OF them,
bar one, died with his boots on"
"And the one who died with them off"
inquired the barkeeper.
"Wus baby as didn't live three hours
after twas born. There were two mining
companies at work there. One was the
Shakespeare Gold and Silver Mining com.
pany, an don't reoollect the name Of
the other concern, only Gratz Brown, OF
Missouri, was at the head Of II. He had
young chap named Gibson lookin' after
his interests at Shakespeare, an he was
sinkin' u shaft whom the water came in so
fast he allowed as the men couldn't work
unless 1t was pumped out. So up Gibson
goes an writes to old Brown for leave to
get donkey pump. Brown writes back,
by all means get the pnmp, and as to the
donkeys use your own discretion as to
whether you will hire them or buy them
outright Never saw man madden nor
Gibson was when he got that letter."
Shakespeare. that WAS queer name to
call a mining camp, remarked the scribe.
1T came around this way. Shakespeare
was q very old camp an had never
amounted to nothing Ralston, the Cali
fornia banker, started California outfit
there about 1872, and the camp was called
Ralston after him. 1t cost sight OF
money, was dead failure, and was aban-
doned in couple of years. So the st.
Louis people thought it just as well to
change the old name.
at was in Shakespeare or Ralston, as 1t
was then called, that Arnold and one or
two pards put up the Arizona diamond
lob. Arnold was from Kentucky; wasn't
man of much education, but as smart as
they mako them. He went over to
London, and made sale of the mines
there wasn't q twenty.foot hole on one
of them-for 100000 to some Eng
lish capitalists. There was young chap
employed as assayer Of the outfit, who
thought he ought to have dizzy In the
business, but Arnold didn't see it. The
young fellow then goes up to San Fran
cisco to get out of the way of the boys
and writes letter to tho London Times
which burst up the whole sale. The
Englishmen had put up forfeit, though
and Arnold went over to Amsterdam an
some of them other foreign cities where
diamonds are cut, and bought lot OF
them with flaws in them and few real
good ones. He got q man named Har'
pending as partner, and some ground In
Graham county, Arizona, was sailed with
the diamonds. Prospecting parties were
organized and sent out with Arnold al
guide, and found diamonds everywhere
they dug. A company was formed il
'Friscoe, with George ID. Roberts, Raj
ston. Harpending, and Arnold as mana
diamond fields of Arizona, but 1t didn'
last long, though it took in even the ex
perts for q time, and Arnold made nic'
stake out Of IT,"
How WAS it exploded?"
swell, Clarence King, think 1t was
went down to examine the find, an u
struck him as mighty queer that 1t wa:
tho most impartial diamond field he hat
ever seen or heard Of Tho diamond
represented all parts of the world wher
such things are found. King collected
few Of them an submitted them to one o
the best working jewellers in New York
an the jeweler reported that every ont
of them had been cut an q few of then
half polished. and that nature hadn't act
hand, nor part in it, King so reported
and that was the last of the vast diamont
folds of Arizona as the newspaper fel
lers called them. Arnold, though. got of
with q darned good stake. When Roberts
Hsrpending, and the rest tried to get hin
to even up he told the public they wer
as deep In the mud as he was in the mire.
Here your correspondent, thinking tina
there was, in the language of tho govern
ors of the two Carolinas, "a long tim
between drinks" set them up again, AM
the "honest miner" continued: "Ther
was no discount then about sellin any
thing. There was poor Judge McComa.
who brought his young family out fror
st. Louis only to have Gen. Crooks pet
murder them in Thompson's canyon. Ii
was aman for tho broken prospector to ii
to. The judge went in for general results
He thought If he bought a hundred claim
a. one Of them turned out good IL woul
moro than pay for the rest. His logic wa
good, but he kinder took too many chances
Why, when fellows were just roun
the camp twas common sayin
boys, let's go out and mako location 70
McComas.' The Judge would buy any
thing, for small prices, of course 800 q
1900 but $40 would have been away u
for many barren ledge rung in on hin
never saw such an excitement as th
killing of the judge an his family mad
in Grant county. Every man turned ou
to hunt tho red DEVILS. an after the usui
course the soldiers stood between til
friends of poor McComas an the re,
devils whose hands were red with his an
his family's blood. The soldiers above
them to escape into old Icgioo. and tho.
Of them who were slow on the trail toun
ready welcome at the San Carlos rosel
vation.n
Seems to me-" broke in the barliccpol
"that The folks who never SEQ m India
outside a sobacco score, whCfe lie peace
fully offers them cigar NJ woude
dummy, understand better than us wha
the people on the frontier want from til
Inl,n.- fni nj 4