The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1885-09-24
DYING FIVE TIMES.
a California Miner whose Comrades
Finally Put u Rock on his
s.ruNe

Finally Put u Rock on his
Grave.
Many of the quicksilver miners at New
Almaden, Cal, tell curious story. Some
time ago Augustine r. Gabrielson, who
had long worked in the mines, fell sick
with what appeared to be some form OF
fever, and after three or -four days illness
he apparently died Two or three of his
associates were with him Mt the time and
they, with some others, put him IN his cot.
fin the next day, That night two miners
sat up with the corpse, going on duty at
about o'clock, They had a bottle and
some pipes, aud along toward midnight
they began to tell stories of early days in
this section. The men had their backs to
the coffin, and had just enjoyed a good
laugh over one of their yarns, when there
was a chuckle in the gloomy corner where
the coffin lay which caused their blood to
run cold. Turning around quickly, they
saw Gabrielson sitting bold upright in
his coffin, and heard from his own lips, as
they sat speeches., the following story
That reminds me, boys, of a story they
used TO tell here twenty-five years ago,
when first came into the diggin's, There
wasn't any such crowd here then as there
is now. but nearly everybody who came
here had an idea that there was silver
here. une day party OF smart chaps
came along and said they knew that the
Spaniards had mined here for silver and
got it. knew they hadn't, and so did
lots OF other people, but nothing would
convince them. They had TO invcs.
tigate. They roamed all around
for few days, pretending to
be locating certain points, and then they
drew angles and made measurements in u
mysterious sort OF way. At length they
got curiously aroused, and we half came
TO the conclusion that thoy had got
pointer somewhere and that maybe IL
would be just MS well to stand in with
them From that time ON they had
things all their own way. III they wanted
us to turn our backs we would do it, and
ii they had invited the whole camp to 20
out into the mountains and leave them
alone guess it would have been done.
After this thing had been going on awhile
they sl,ddcnly disappeared, and when the
camp came to investigate it WAS discov-
quicksilver that we had on hand y mad
der and hotter crowd you never saw.
We followed them for forty miles, but lost
all track uf them, and finally, after losing
three or four weeks time, we returned
and went To- work. A slckcr gouge you
never saw. but Tor ten years after that
time no stranger ever got more than the
commoEeSt courtesies in this camp"
The two watchers asked Il few questions,
and then imagined little, and the man
lay back in his coffin. rs il tired and weak.
Then he seemed to notice that he WAS not
in bed, and Oh rising again he uttered II
scream, and would have fallen to the
floor II his watchers had not seized him.
He was then conducted back to bed, aud
for two az three days he was delirious, and
apparently very low At The end OF the
fourth day he apparently died again, and
was once more laid ont for burial. This
time he was watched more closely, and u
few hours after he was placed in the
coffin II second time 1t was noticed that
there were sigus of returning color lii his
lips. and after II little rubbing lie optned
his eyes again
BY this time the miners were all deeply
interested in the case, and every day they
would call to the last man to hear the
latest news Some Of them grew super
stitious and declared that the trouble was
n warning to everybody. Gabrielson be
came quite lively Oh this occasion. and it
was thought for time that he
would recover, but at the end Of the
I,p la hay fn fuil
and on the evening of the sixth
day he apparently died as before. The
miners insisted that he be taken out in the
fresh air, but the doctor said he was dead
now for sure, and that it would be bar
barous to expose the body to the air.
While no further action in this line was
taken, 1t was.agreed that the corpse should
be left IN bed two or three days and watch
cd. During this time it was impossible to
get any work done Everybody hung
around, and all the liars In the camp did
their best to entertain the loufers with
stories of the supernatural. On the second
day GabriclSOn caine Ia life again and
took medicine,
The news was promptly communicated
to the waiting croud on the outside, and so
great was the joy that all hands. save one
or two watchers, INDUCED in II celebration
which lasted until the sick man died once
more and thus brought the festivities to a
close. The strain on the nerves of the
populnre had become terrific by this time,
and one Of the miners set up as ii revival
list, calling on all to repent. for the last day
was evidently near Mt hand While these
religious ceremonies were going on prep
arations were once more made to bury the
dead man, but on the day set foi the fun.
eral lie cnine to life again for the fourth
time. So excited were the people that
they made up their minds that Gabrielson
was bewitchcd, and an effort WAS made to
discover some means of exercising the evil
spirit Another doctor had been sent for,
and he. in company with the one first in
attendance, made a deterlnind effort to
save the sick man, but without avail lie
died again and it was decided to bury him.
Both doctors pronounced him dead beyond
hone, and the men themselves made mp
their minds that all was over. When III
were agreed on this point the collin lid
was screwed on, aud the remains of Cab
rielson were borne to the grave,
Subsequently one morning a man pas
sing by the cemetery found an enormous
rock on the new-made grave, ana on re
porting it to some ofthe miners they ex-
pressed no surprise, but said:
"lts lust as well to anchor him thcro,
You can't tell what might happen, you
know"
lie Kan Away,
Workhousc boy who had been nppren-
ticed to a small farmer, brought up, as he
had run away. Guardian" Did they
| beat Won :" Boy" No, sir" Guardian