The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-02-27

don't know when have been so
moved as 1 was when 1 heard some
body singing those words on the street
the other day. One of the best friends
I ever had used to be always singing
them, and when I heard them it set me
to thinking of him and am thinking
of him yet, and wondering if the maid
en- in the village by the sea is still
waiting and looking for him.
~
1t was in '76, I believe that was the
year, that first met him. 1t was the
time that everybody was crazy over
the gold in The Black Hills. 1 was on
my way there, along with nearly
everybody else, and fell in with him
at Cheyenne. He was a young fell
low, not much over twenty guess,
smooth.faced, with white, delicate
hands that looked as il they never had
worked any. He was well dressed too
and didn't look like he had ever rough
ed it much. He was tall and well built
though and had a set look about the
mouth and out of the grey eyes that
kept him from being laughed at by the
"old timers" that we found along the
road. don't remember exactly how
we happened to get together first.
Guess he asked me something about
the route maybe. and then as he was
alone and 7 was alone, and both going
to the same place, we agreed to go to-
gether.
~
I never asked him anything about
himself, but after we had been togeth-
er two or three weeks he told me his
story. His father had died two years
before leaving him fortune of $40, 600
and a prosperous business. Things
went we'll with him for year or more.
He had intended to be married in the
fall. and had fine, new house nearly
finished. Then the panic came, and
he fell with the crash. When he found
the end had come he sat down one
night and figured out that when all
his liabilities had been paid he would
have just 5000 left. He took the $500
and without saying good bye to moth
er or sweet heart, left Boston determin-
ed never to return to it until he could
carry back as much money as he had
lost.
Well, we fought our way into the
Hills through soldiers and Indians,
and found there what so out of every
100 neutrality-suspicious.. For weeks
we tramped among those horrible sand
hills, digging and washing dirt that
was only dirt and never showed color
of gold. My money gave out in little
while, and then lie divided with me
till his was all gone too. And as we
had fought our way into the Hills
through Indians and soldiers, SO we
fought it out of them through Indians
and starvation. I've had good many
hard trips, but for short one 1 think
that laid it over them all. Hardly any
thing to eat and nothing but alkal
water to drink for 200 miles.
-
When we finally got cut of it,
wanted to go back to the states again
but Hal. Harold Covington was hi:
name) wanted to try his luck again in
the mines. 1t didn't much matter t.
me what did or where 1 went, 30 We
worked together around Cheyenne un
til we got little stake and then We
started for Idaho. Hal was sure ht
would find his "bonanza" there. HI
was always talking about his bonanzs
which he was sure to strike sometime
and about how he would take me back
to Gods country and would get mar
ried and would live with him. AnC
we. did strike it little better there
In the Boise basin we staked a LITTLE
placer claim that we sold for $500, an(
after that we found a claim up on thu
head waters of Salmon River that WI
sold for $1,000.
~
But $1,000 wasn't a bonanza. Moth
ing less than $4,000 would satisfy us
so we kept on prospecting. Winter
we would work in the smelters, ant
then in the summer we would spen'
the winters wages digging holes in tn
ground. For four or five years we KEEP
this thing up and still We didn't fin'
our bonanza. Halls beard had grow
by this time and his face was brow
! and his hands were rough and hard
But he never gave in. He was dea
sure to "strike it" sometime, 'for it
there and how can help it,"
s*x
And every day, a thousand times
day it seemed to me he would sing th
lines that started me OFF ON this story
: He had never written to his intende
bride, and she didn't know whether b
was dead or alive, but it never SCENE,
to occur to him but that sh
p was still waiting for him, and woul
continue to wait for any length {
time. He wore ring that looked as
If had haen hpatan ont Of fhn virgil