The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1888-08-23
OF brave men dead: of hcartnsrones
OvOrgrown with weeds?

Quiyerng human flesh:
Just n he mar.d the beauty Of the hills.
And scar.d the face Of nature
With deep seams cut In nor face
In his mad search for gold.
A very foolish thought it was-tha,
of John Parsons shat rich company
which had expended more than ONT
hundred thousand dollars in erecting
water fumes and sluiccs for washing
down the hills and gathering gold
would cease operations just because q
few thousand acres of vineyard and
grain lands would be destroyed, and
the homes OF q hundred poor men
made desolate.
And yet John Parsons saw nothing
foolish i'm the thought. On the contrary
he felt momentarily certain that when
he should show Mr. Jobbcrs how the
stones and earth washed down would
b. carried through the sluice into the
gorge, and from there into the creek,
filling up its bed and causing it to seek
new channels: that with the first great
flood the sand and gravel would be
carried over the whole valley. and set
Ting rs the water receded, render abso-
lutely valueless thousands and thou
sands of acres Of fine agricultural lands
worth more 10 future generations than
all the gold in the mountains; land now
covered with vineyards and orchards
and the cottages of honest people, who
had made every dollar they possessed
by hard work-surcly. he thought.
when they know this, these men will
not refuse TO cease their work Of
destruction and leave the settlers in
peace. Surely, these men who are al
ready rich and can provide their fami-
lies with every luxury, will not deprive
others of their homes in order to pile
up heaps of gold that can add nothing
to their own comfort.
NO. no." he said to himself, lit is
not possible that they can be SO heart
less as that. They have not considered
the damage it will do to the ranchmen
and their families or they would never
have gone on with the work. and he
began to blame himself that he had
not sooner called their attention to the
fact. and 80 have saved these generous
men who were to suffer the loss of Sc
much wealth rather than wrong others,
and to devise means for raising at least
a portion of it among his ncighbors,
who wouli thus have escaped thu
threatened destruction.
1t could be arranged, he thought
and no one suier very greatly. lii
would give five hundred or even {
thousand dollars himself. 1t was only
just that he should. since he had III
lowed the company to go to such heav;
expenditures without calling their at
tention to the damage that would bt
done, and doubtless many others woult
do as much. Yes. it could all be ar
ranged easily. and his home would b,
saved after all.
All this passed through John Par
sons brain in moment rs he turnet
to follow Mr.. Jobbers.
He did not reason it out. It came a
an inspiration. In an instant tn,
whole situation, the degree of response
bility of each interested party. and til,
requirements of justice. stood out 4.
clearly as the clouds, when illumineo
by the lightnings. stand out agains,
the hlackness of earth and sky at mid
night.
Yet when he found himself in thu
office of the company, and had beef
introduced to the representative of tn.
New York stockholders. he did not fee
quite SD certain that they would see il
in the same lght in which he saw it; OIL
that the inspiration which had come to
him had reached their minds also.
Somehow that look of sclf-sufiiciency
and air of assured prosperity brought
back the clouds and made all dark
again.
But he would not abandon the idea.
He would point out the wrong about to
he done. and ask for justice.
And SO. slowly and brokenly at first,
and then rapidly, and with native elo-
quence that his ungrammatical words
could not hide. he poured out the story
of his hopes and fears, mingled with a
bit of his past history; the wrongs he
hal suffered. he and his, and of his
willingness to give largely to help re.
imburse the company for their expcndi-
lures, if they would stop the supply ol
water and SO remove the danger which
threatened his home.
When he began speaking. Mr.. Job
bers turned towards him with a look o.
surprise upon his red face that speedil,
turned to one of incredulity, and both
gave place to contempt. and when John
Parsons ceased speaking the English
man turned to his partner.
well. Hi never" he said, speaking
each word separately and with cmpha.
sis. ''Hif e isn't a-haskin' of us to
give up our hentcrprise and let the gold
remain in the ills, where it is no use to
hanybody, just because the earth that
composes EN- may be washed down
upon is blarsted DIT of q ranch.''
Mr.. Jobbers' partner smiled. Al
least the muscles of his face drew back
from the mouth slightly. He evidently
pitied the ignorance of man who
could make such request, and who
now sat with his arm thrown about his
boy, Johnny having crept to his side
while he had been speaking.
"You evidently fail to comprehend
the situation. Mr.. Parsons" he said.
What would your ranch DC worth il
you could not sell its products?
Cold" he continued, lis the world
medium of exchange, and gold must bt
had in order to carry on business. Al
trade and commerce would cease il thu
supply of gold did not keep pace with
the increased power of the production
of the people. You yourself could moi
exchange your grapes and other fruit;
for wearing apparel-the comforts ane
necessities of life-if it were not for thu
gold which is coined into money.
I'VE do not know" he went on,
why the gold was placed in such fine
particles as to require that the hills be
washed down in order to obtain it, but
undoubtedly it was for some wise pur.
pose; and in bringing it forth we arr
doing grea. thing for civilization, anc
for the common people as well as tn.
rich: so you see you are acting very
seliishly as well as foolishly in suggest
ing such a thing as stopping work or
the mines"
And to all this John Parsons couls
answer not word.
He felt that his opponents reasonin,
was fallacious, even blasphemous. Tina
it certainly could not be necessary; tina
God could not have intended it to b,
necessary, that the very means of exist
ence. the soil, which is the origin of al
wealth, should be rendered barren ane
valueless in order 10 obtain that will
= IA