The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1888-08-03
THEY STRUCK PAY DIRT.
A D~Og-Flght That Ended in a Hole in the
Ground with Gold In 1t.

"A ~ AAhN
ErOund with Gold In 1t.
In the bar-rOom of the Miners Arms,
the Front street hotel patronized
chiefly bv miners bound to and from
the mining regions of the west, were
two or three groups of men drinking
and talking over old times recently,
when a slender young man came in
carrying an old fashIoned carpet bag
shaped like a slice of cheese. Allowed
him for Il moment, and three or four
jumped up and said in concert: "It's
him, and he's struck it sure. How did
you do it,"
The newcomer waved his hand to-
ward the bar, where a man in a white
apron set out a row of small glasses
and q fat cut-glass bottle. The men
all drank, and then, as the newcomer
drew the back of his hand across his
mouth, he said:
Remember the parsOn and his
boy?"
'Don't weP" said three or four.
Its nigh on to six months since the
parsOn moved into a shanty just a mile
out of Elko. 1t was the dead of win
ter, but he was cheerful, and lowed
he shouldn't suffer much while his
piety lasted. 1t vas mighty lonesome
for the boy, though, to hear him tell
it, until the break up, when Deacon
HOlbrOOk, from Connecticut, drove a
stake joining the parsons. The dea-
con had a boy called Dick, and he and
Bob, the parsons boy, were a whole
team. Both of them had dogs, and
each thought his dog could lick the
other one; but I'm giving it to you
straight, the parson and deacon watch
ed them that close that they couldn't
get up a fight to a v them. One day
Bob he came to me and told me all
about it, and l told him we'd put up a
job on the plety business. Accord
lngly the Saturday paper announced a
special service for Sunday morning in
Bill Stevens dance hall. When the
hour came, and the parson and the
deacon were turning owe their hymn
books, Bill and me and two others
that I'd let into the secret was up to
the parsons ranch arranging the pre-
liminaries. We made a beautiful in
closure with two boards and a wagon
box against one side Of the shanty,
and then we washed the dogs. Bill he
coached the deacon's dog and 1 looked
after the parsons. They were both in
prime condition, and when we'd
turned them loose it was a glorious
spectacle to see them claw across the
gravel for the center of the pit. The
deacon's pup got the first hold and
gave the other a good shake, but he
lost again, and then the two of them
rolled over and over and riz up on
their hind legs aud clawed, and got
down on their knees and dug their
paws into the ground. There was
dust afiying Immediately, and it was
all we could do to see which was on
top. In fact, it was such a mighty in
teresting fight that we new noticed
how time was passing, and before we
knew it the parson and the deacon
rode up on their bronchos.
Brethren, brethren, says the par
son, what does this meanP' Dick,
take your dog home, SIR
"'Maybe you'd better take yoan
dog off from him so he can 90 home
hirnself,' said the deacon, sarcastic
like, and he was just about right, too,
for the parsons dog was on top chaw-
ing the others neck scandalous. That
made the parson mad, and he lowed
the deacon had an ornery pup, any
how. That was enough for the dea-
con. He was beginning to reach for
the parson when Bill Stevens began to
yell like an Apache. The dogs had
wallowed their way right down into
the ground, and Bill had in a mechan-
ical way picked up a handful Of dirt
and rubbed it between his fingers, and
he'd hefted q nugget. There was q
rEstling Whereabouts stalking of claims
over the parsons ranch tor a few min
utes, and when we'd got it all done
regular we all had enough to take us
back to the states"
Which licked?n said the bartender,
wIping his hands on his partially white
apron.
The w.com looked at him re-
~proachfully for a moment, and then
said:
IF you'd been there you'd have
known we didn't waste no time watch
ing dogs fight after they'd struck pay
dirt. o-NeW York Sun.