, 1888-09-05
I'll GOBLIN FROG.

Peter O'Reilly was a pioneer miner OF
Nevada and one of the discoveries of the
great Comstock silver lode-one of the
two men who turned to the light of day
that glittering ore which was the first OF
oven $500, 000, 900 since taken from the
wonderful vein then lit upon.
For years before he made the great
discovery O'Reilly had been working
among the gold placers of Gold canyon,
a wet weather tributary of the Carson
creek, in which gold was discovered as
early as 1862. In this canyon he wrought
with pan and rocker, and at times with
much success. sometimes taking out sew
eral hundred dollars in a few days, for
the ground was very rich in spots.
Pete was fond of rambling away
alone along the ma: iering of the can
yon liz search of {. ..ch spots that were
to be found by ,.lse who diligently
sought for them. lie liked to be by him
self and to mine in his own way. Pro-
vided he could find a few '~'colors" (small
particles of gold) he would dig and pan
away for days, quite confident that his
luck would AT last lead him into the right
and his labors be richly rewarded.
Peter OReilly was not only q spirit
ualist, but also a firm believer in all
manner of signs and omens. He heard
voices, as did the heroes of Ossian, in the
signing breeze and extracted a meaning
from all the sounds of hill and vale that
reached his ears. The end of this was Ia
few years after the discovery of the Com
stock Lode that he became insane, and
finally died in a private asylum at Wood
bridge, Cal.
1t appears that the last mining O'Reilly
ever did in Gold canyon was when he
started in to prospect a bar on which he
found a previous locator in the person of
a frog, which held a .'squatter's'' right
to the place, and which frog almost i'm
mediately began to give him trouble.
Pete began his mining operations by
constructing a small dam to turn the rill
flowing in the canyon into a little ditch
that led to his ''panning hole at the
lower end of the bar.
The little reservoir formed by the dam
held only about a dozen hogsheads of
water. 1t was soon after this reservoir
filed that Pete first had notice of the
presence on his claim of the frog. He
had sunk a pit in the gravel of the bar
almost down to the bed rock, and washed
out two or three pans of dirt that yielded
well. He was down in this prospect hole
filling his pan with some particularly
promising gravel, when he heard a small,
squeaky voice sing out: s'Struck it?"
Pete was at the moment deeply alb
sorbed in the work in which he was en-
gagged, and the shrill, shrieking voice
ringing out SO near at hand and asking
a question that SO exactly chimed in with
the train of thought running through his
head SO startled him that his pick almost
fell from his hands. He pricked up his
ears and looked about in all directions to
see whence proceeded the CHEEKY little
voice. Almost he expected to discover
a little red mantled fairy peering out at
him from some neighboring clump of
willows or some tall tuft of grass. AS
he stood thus gazing about in oper
mouthed amazement the little voice
again piped out: 'Struck it? Struck It'll
Struck it,"
Turning his eyes in the direction
whence proceeded the inquiring voice,
Pete presently deserted a small green
frog mounted upon a stick that projected
an inch or two above the surface of the
water in his reservoir. The frog was
but a rod or two away, and seemed, as
Pete thought, to be looking in~quiringly
into his eyes.
Struck it? Struck it2 Struck it?''
again said the frog.
"Are ye schpakin' to me, sor2" said
Pete.
''Struck It'll" says the frog.
Its a good omen," said Pete. THE
little Teller says I've struck it. Though
he's no countryman of mine, l believe in
M sowl he means well by me, and that
l have sthruck it in this very hole.n
So saying Pete carried the pan of dirt
he had dug to his panning place, PANIED
it out, and did not get a color" He
was not a little astonished at this result,
and was much inclined to call the frog a
liar, but on turning to look for him the
little fellow was gone. He went to his
pit and dug another pan of dirt, listening
all the time to hear what the frog would
have to say about it. Not q word did the
frog say, however.
Pete washed out the pan of dirt and
got gold to the value of nearly q dollar.
Aha! ye little devill' cried he;.'.'where
are ye now? Ye didn't have q word to
say this time"
Well pleased with his luck, Pete began
digging another pan of gravel from the
place where he had got tine last. expect
ing another rich result. He had been at
work only half q minute before the little
voice rang out sharp and clear; Struck
il? Struck it? Struck it?"
''Oh, yes, you little fooli" cried Pete;
Its aisy for you to say 'Sthruck iii
Sihruc1 it, Sthruck ftp after ye'ye seer
what I've get in my pan"