Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-04-11
A FOrIy-NIner who Would Thank
Somebody 90 Kick Him.

LlUld Will MS ieet on top OF tue hotel stOYcl
II tell you what sir, there amt no life on
G5d's earth as comes up to minin' leastwise
no life that I've struck, and I've tried good
many things, too. A man don't make mon.
ey at it, not one man in fve hundred or
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 bunco-men and
saloon keepers as have got a dollar in their
pockets.
''But it's the fascination OF it. Lor' man,
when you've struck it pretty rich and can
see yer gold right in front of you when
you're piling it up every half hour o. the
day, with nugget now and again as big as a
bullet to cheer you, and then when the even
in comes and you count it up and find hun
dred odd dollars just picked out o the earth
that day-well, there amt nothin' like 1t.
Then when you don't strike it rich you al
ways think you're going to next day, an it's
just as exciting hearin' other men tell in the
evenin' what they pulled out as it is countin'
over your own. Why I've been three and
four months at time without making dol
lar and without a cent in my pocket; but,
ee-Whittaker! the excitement of it don't
give man twice to think how hard up he
is.
but there are times when a man don't
know how to kick himself hard enough you
bet he don't. II was down on the Stanislaus
once, was monkeying round with pard-
Long Gus we called him-an' picked up a
clod to throw at him, just a lump of earth
that was lying handy. Well, it just went to
one 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. l 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 he'd had enough foolin'. So
we walked on again. Next mornin' Gus
did't say word to me, but he just went of
with his outfit TO the place where I'd thrown
that clod at him, an took $3.50 out the first
day. An don't know how many thousands
he took out before he'd done with that claim.
As the cod broke in his hand it laid bare
small nugget, maybe as large as a pea-he
showed it to me afterward an he said it start
led him so he very nigh called out an gave
himself away, as nobody supposed there was
any gold left just there. 1t was all thought
| to be worked, but the darned fools had gone
right by the richest part Of it. l wish he
had called out know; but you bet never
felt more like kicking myself into the river
nd l did then; why if I'd only turned the
cussed thing over, or broken it in two-it
was q sight too large to throw at once, as
thought when 1 threw it-but-!
but there was another time when felt
bad-an6 SO did all the other boys, 1 can tell
you. There were some 200 of us in it, sir.
Fan We were all fools. It was one Fourth o.
July, down TO Mokeumne, an we wanted to
do su'thin' to celebrate, an we were pretty
badly fixed for what to do. Well, after rak-
in round bit We settled on an old tree-one
O. these sugar pines The gold, ye know,
used to lie all along the bottom Of the gulches
or SO We used to think-an' nobody ever
kkah fAa 10 lTnlr fOr
but Just KEEP on working along the gulches.
Au' this sugar pine WAS some 800 feet up the
hillside right away from where the gold
was. II was a fine tree, as straight as whis-
key for hundred feet or more, without a
bough or a leaf on it, and then the boughs
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 slowed the keg away, an just heayed
rocks and earth on to it and beat it dowr
hard. Then we lit the fuse and scrambled
away as fast as we could. Well, you just be
lieve il scattered those rocks some. Gee
but we had to look out for our heads, anC
the earth went all round the place. But il
didn't blow the old tree up not cent. 1
, Just stood there AZ il nothing had happened
'cept that the trunk was spit up some ~ Zee
or So Hows'ever, we all cheered and holler
ed an felt we'd done suthin' TO celebrate
and then we went back and rahed aroun'
3 the camp.
THAT as I've said was on the Fourth Q
> July. Along to the end of September
might be- it rained-Tsned quite a sight tina
year, too Well, after it d been rainin' bi
a man called Harris-Jim Harris, as good TO
=, nothin' a chap as you ever see who couldn'
work or do anythin', an had never washe
: out dollar honestly in his life-passed righ
by this ere pine as we'd uied to blow uI
o None of US had ever been up to the durne
! tree again, but s'elp me Johnny Rogers
that rain hadn't gone an washed all the cart
as the powderd kicked up, an this feller Hai
J. Tis just picked up sixty dollars as be stoo
Q there That proved one Of the richest lead
/ in the whole Mokeumne, an here we ha
h been washing away in gulches an' sayln,. q
there warnt no gold up tho hillsdes. Warn
IS there This fellcr, Harris, got rich out
= that, COS ne novor spent no money like II
rest of us, an was about the only man !
Is camp as did get rich, l guess. didn't,
, know. But tell you there wasn't one Of I
200 az wouldn't have taken it kindly If son
IT one 'ad kicked him well when We first hear
= o. what we'd done"