Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1886-11-06

tured our gradual working up to actual hos
Titles, and then--I stopped In q slough OF
INDIGESTION
Those were days when all disputes, es-
pecially those regarding property, had, in
nine cases out OF ten, but one mode Of settle
ment That was by knife or pistol This
was the unwritten law of the land and
stronger far than the written, which was
generally Knocked at and diregarded for
mality.
was not fighter l dreaded the last
resort" Idespised myself as physical cow
ard. longed for something in my COM
position which would make me face a pistol
or 20 into row with'as much apparent zest
TO ''take the chances" as had known some
men to do. / admired such men for this
quality whether a real absence Of fear or in
sensibility to results know not and depre-
Gated aye, loathed myself, because did not
have II. l saw in imagination everything
tending to such termination between my
self and Pratt. Whether he would fight
or not never asked. put him up uncon-
seiously as a man who was ION the shoot"-a
desperate character.
True, had struck Pell, the second officer
Of the Ann Mary Ann, and quite surprised
and even gratified l was TO find could strike
on occasions But that was done ON the
'sspur of the moment" Had gone down TO
the ship expecting such an affair, revolving
1t, living il over in mind, I would not like TO
have had much wagered on me as to whether
should have gained the to me longed-for
mood Of physical combativeness
arrived at the ssBankp All was silent
and undisturbed. j remained there several
hours hearing in every sound the new pros
pector's approaching footsteps. He did not
come. wished at times he would, and end
the waiting and suspense wondered where
he might be. Finally, my anxiety becoming
uncomfortable, i resolved to try and find out.
Softly let myself down the mountain side
through the chapparal toward the river.
had gone down about three hundred feet
and heard near by the sound Of pick
Creeping through the brush 4 saw IL WAS
Pratt He dug to the ledge, here but few
| inches from the surface, filled his horn with
/ the red dirt and trudged down to tho river to
wash It. crept softly after him. Washing
the dirt, with what results could not tell
| from his manner, he struck up the mountain
| again and dug another horn full, about one
/ hundred feet to the north Of the first The
result OF this washing scanned, judging from
his manner, more satisfactory. He then
travelled thousand feet further up stream,
assembled the mountain again, dug q horn
full on level with the first He washed It,
and shook HIS head presumed be did not
get the "color." He dug another horn about
two hundred feet nearer the first The chap
paral was more open where he worked, and
could plainly see him from my place Of con-
cealment. Evidently this prospect did MOI
satisfy him. The next, taken within one
hundred feet of the last, seemed 70 yield
something The afternoon was now far I'D
vanced. Pratt ceased work and took his
way homo So did !. F8kbN
It was some satisfaction for me to find that
Pratt had not ''litn directly en- the Bank.
Pondering over the matter that night after
had retired, drew for time some comfort
In the hope that he might drift in his work
away from II. This gave me some mental
rest until a tisnd dropped into my beads
new and most alarming theory, based on his
motions as seen that day. Pratt's little pros
poet holes, noticed, we're dug over en- area
broad at the base OF the mountain, but mar
rowing more and more as he went up. What
did that meant In fash saw what, and
jumped out Of my blankets with the shock Of
: the discovery He was horning gold which
had washed down from the Bank tn,
"Bankn did not cover much ground Prob
ably the colors washed from 1t by the ele
, mental wear and tear of centuries would no
be found at the base of the mountain mucl
beyond line four or five hundred feet II
ength Outside of this, at either end, tn
] coil would be barren of gold Inside Of tina
| 49, VIC fba
. this color-yielding ground would narrow as 1
s went up the mountain until it reached tn,
lead it had rolled from--the fountain head
the "Bank." Roll bag of shot down an in
clined plane and you have tho idea. Tn
farther the shot roll the more will the,
!, spread. So with gold rolled from any quart
! vein on a mountain side as tina top of tn
j vein rock has rotted away and left the meta
free" Pratt was on the true scent Da,
D by day, narrowing as he went up, was h
tracking the game to its den! had, then
g 10 stay by the claim and watch the enemy
gradual approach.
Next morning l reloaded my six-shooter
previously firing the old charges, which
. feared might be damp. A few minutes afte
heard Pratt banging away, obviously SINH
larly occupied l prepared my weapon TO
coming possibilities with very faint heart
did so, only because it was the thing to do
the custom of the country. felt the Who'll
+ moral influence Of the time Tor immoral,
+ you please,) forcing me thus to prepare TO
+ war, while was sick of war and all that az
pertained to it.
By ten o'clock / was ON guard agair
watching Pratt. The enemy was gradual
advancing and converging on our works
He was already one hundred feet higher u
and so much nearer the Bank" His pros
{ pect holes now covered only an area of thre
hundred feet
: By noon he had left off the drudging ascent
and descents of the mountain to the river {
wash his prospects, He was occupied Ell
= tirely with the float quartz" here thickl
= scattered about as it had rolled from til
: vein, knocking the fragments to pieces. II
: had found gold. Uttering joyous "Whool
= eep he put chunk of the quartz in b
J bag and then another and another. II
= feelings and mine at that time were certainl
y in strong contrast to each other.
y He crawled up gradually toward the she
!. on which lay the Bank" 1t inclined som
= what toward the river and then jumped o
= abruptly, making a perpendicular face fou
a or five feet in height. Pratt could now S,
= that the quartz had rolled from this shell
= and that the vein must be somewhere at
near its ton