Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-05-09
SALT FOR THE PROFESSOR.
He Buys a Mine in the Black Hills on
Terms Advantageous TO the Sellers.

He Buys a Mine in the Black Hills on
Terms Advantageous TO the Sellers.
A. B. Jones (but that is not his real
name }, Professor of Geology, says Black
Hills letter to the New York San, came to
the Hills in the interest Of a company Of
capitalists to purchase a mine for the
purpose Of putting it on the market in the
East. He went about from one claim to
another getting prospects" He was
"baitsd" for several times, but each time
made off with the "salt' and turned the
play on the players. He remarked that
he was too wide awake to be taken in by
the sailing process, and limited that the
weather would be remarkable for its
Arctic severity when a miner got the bet
ter of HIM. The boys whom the Professor
had done out Of several ounces OF salt
dust were wild over the turn matters had
taken, and began casting about for means
of revenge.
Away up the Gulch is an old deposit
claim. Call it the Bald Eagle mine. 1t
really bears a name which was celebrated.
1t was worked by three old timers, and
had panned out quite pile. But now 1t
was played out, and not particle of color
was to be seen. The men who worked it
knew they had taken all the pay out of
the claim, and were anxious to sell. The
Professor paid the Bald Eagle a visit.
They had heard of him. He wanted a
prospect. 1t was evening. A couple of
blasts had just been put of, and the tun-
mel was full of smoke; he would have to
wait until morning.
That night the preprietors of the Bald
Eagle held consultation in their cabin.
The Professor, as he said of himself, was
up to snuff. To salt in the usual style
fol Tn nj
the cabin were a number of fine speci-
mems from the Cheyenne De Smet, Hidden
Treasure, Reno and Ella Mines. These
were brought out and pounded up, and
the result showed a quantity OF coarse
gold dust. This was emptied into pouch
carried by one of the miners and mixed
up with scraps of tobacco.
Next morning the Professor was on the
ground, and, going into the tunnel, scraped
up painful of dirt and loose rock. The
process of 'panning" is rather disagree
able, and, as had been expected. the fasti-
diOus Professor asked one of the prOprie-
tors to pan for him. The man OF the to-
bacco pouch volunteered. AS he stepped
into the water he crammed a handful Of
the prepared tobacco into his mouth. The
pan was handed to him. AS he worked it
about under water he elected flood Of
tobacco juice directly over the pan, and
''Bedded in the water,
With the mud up to my knees,
And bugs as big as billygoats
A-fghtin with the leas,"
and snatches of other favorite mining
songs, ending by dropping his quid in the
water. When the pan was handed up for
inspection the Professor regarded the
prospect with ill-cOncealed delight. He
went to the tunnel for another pan of
dirt; the miner in the water took a fresh
chew, winked encOuragingly at his pards,
and, when the Professor returned, was
bawling ''SalmOn River at the top of his
voice, while the bills sent him back an
echo on the chorus.
Pan after pan Of dirt was brought out
and washed, the man in the water re-
freshing himself with a fresh quid of to-
bacco at each painful, and at the end Of an
hour or two the Professor declared him
self satisfied with the result. The owners
of the Bald Eagle were satisfied, too.
A bond for $4,000 for thirty days on the
Bald Eagle Mine was executed on the
spot. At the end Of that time the three
sharps were on their way to DeadwoOd
with checks in their clothes for $1,000
each on the bank there. The Bald Eagle
was not put on the market. The Pro-
fessor was so sure he had hold of the right
thing that he didn't let his company in,
but made it a sort of side transaction,
paying for it from his private account.