Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-03-12
THE LITTLE GOLD MINERS OF THE
SIERRAS.


The mother had died crossing the
plains, and their father had had n leg
broken by wagon wheel passing over
rs they descended the Sierras, and he
vas for long time after reaching the
mines miserable, lame and poor.
The eldest boy, Jim Keene, as | re-
member him, was bright little fellow,
but wild as an Indian and full of mis-
chief. The next eldest child, Madgc,
vas girl of ten, her fathers favorite,
md she was wild enough, too. The
Youngest was Stumps. Poor, timid,
starved Little Stumps l never knew
ais real name. But he was the baby,
md hardly yet out of pctticoats. And
>e was very short in the legs, very short
n the body, very short in the arms and
neck; and so he was called Stumps be-
,ause he looked it. In fact he seemed
% have stopped growing entirely. Oh,
gou don't know how hard the old plains
we're on everybody when we crossed
hem in oX-wagons, and il took more
han half a year TO make the journey.
The little children, those that did not
lie, turned brown like the Indians, In
hat long, dreadful journey of seven
months, and stopped growing for q
lime.
For the first month or two after reach
ng the Sierras old Mr.. Kcene limped
about among the mines trying to learn
he mystery Of finding gold and the art
IF digging. But at last, having grown
strong enough, he went TO work for
wages, to get bread for his half-wild
little ones, for they were destitute in
Iced
Things seemed to move on well then.
Madgc cooked the simple meals. and
Little Stumps chung to her dress with
MS little pinched brown hand wherever
she went, while Jim whooped it over the
hills and chased iack-rabbits "a if he
we're a greyhound. He would climb
.rees, too, like squirrel. And, OIL
il was deplorable-but how he could
swear!
At length some of the miners, seeing
the boy must come to some bad end If
not taken care of, put their heads and
their pockets together and sent the
children to school. This school was q
mile away over the beautiful brown
hills, n long, pleasant walk under the
green California oaks.
Well, Jim would take the little tin
dinner bucket, and his slate, and all
their books under his arm and go
booming ahead about half mile in ad-
vance, while Madge with brown Little
Stumps clinging to her side like burr,
would come stepping along the trail
under the oak trees as fast rs she could
after him.
But if a iack-rabbit, or q deer, or q
fox crossed Jim's path, no matter how
late it was, or how the teacher had
threatened him, he would drop books,
lunch, slate and all, and splitting on his
hands and rolling mp his sleeves, would
bound away after it, yelling like wild
Indian. And some days, so fascinating
was the chase, Jim did not appear at the
school-house at all; and of course Madge
and Stumps played truant, too. Some
times n week together would pass and
the Keene children would not be seen at
the school-house. Visits from the
schoolmaster produced no lasting effect.
The children would come for day or
two, then be seen no more. The school
master and their father at last had n
serious talk about the matter.
"What coe, ] do with him?" said Mr..
Keene.
you'll have to put him to work, "
said the schoolmaster. "Set him to
hunting nuggets instead of bird s-nests.
| guess what the boy wants is some
honest means of using his strength.
He's q good boy, Mr.. Keene; don't de-
spair of him. Jim would be proud to
be an honest miner Jims good
boy, Mr.. Keene."
''Well, then, thank you, Schoolmas-
ter said Mr.. Keene. "Jim's n good
boy; and Madgo is good, Mr.. School
master; and poor starved and stunted
motherless Little Stumps, he is good as
gold, Mr.. Schoolmaster. AndI want to
be mother TO 'em--I want to be father
and mother TO EN- all, Mr.. Schoolmas-
ter. And I'll follow your advice. I'll
put 'em all to work a-huntin' for gold. "
The next day away up on the hillside
under pleasant oak, where the air was
sweet and cool, and the ground soft and
dotted over with flowers, the tender
hearted old, man that wanted to be
"father and mother both, located" q
claim. The flowers were kept fresh by
little stream of waste water from the
ditch that girded the brow of the hill
above. Here he set n sluice-box and
put his three little miners at work with
pick, pan and shovel. There he left
them and limped back to his own place
in the mine below.
And how they did work. And how
pleasant il was here under the broad
boughs of the oak, with the water rip
ping through the sluice on the soft
loose soil which they shoveled into tn,
long sluice-box. They could see tn,
mule-trains going and coming, and the
clouds of dust far below which tol,
them the stage was whirling up thu
valley. But Jim kept steadily on at hi
work day after day. Even though jack
vabbits and squirrels appeared on thu
very scene, he would not leave till, lik,
the rest of the honest miners, he coult
shoulder his pick and pan and 60 dowI
home with the setting sun.
Sometimes the mon who had tried I,
keep the children Mt school would COM
that way, and, with sly smile, talk YER,
wisely about whether or not the new
miners would "strike It, under the COO
oak among the flowers on the hill. Blu
Jim never stopped to talk much. III
,'pg and wrestled away, day after day
nov up TO his waist in tho pit
Cpe Saturday evening the old mai
iimped up the hillside TO help tn
younq miners 'clean up
He sat down at the head of the sluice
box and we directions how they shoul,
turn of tl,e most Of the water, was
down the "toilings" very low. lift NJ
the "riflle." brush down the "apron,
and finally set 'he pan in the lower EN-
of the ';sluice-tC'il' and pour in tn