San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-06-23

L conceive II, our OlaCR anu 5Ouu eartl
is a mass of virgin elements to most of
which water and air have not yet got ac-
cess. When they reach any part of it it
Stacks like lime, and heat is set up suf-
fcient to melt the hardest rocks. Or,
again, different chemical elements being
thrown together by movements of the
outer crust would set up fierce energy
in their combination. No need to go
down to an internal ocean for heat, and
to suppose my thin stream of beneticent
treasure comes from there. 1t would
have cooled and solicited, like other
veins of metal, long since.
The rlch VEINS that miners love, the
wedge shaped ones, increasing in breadth
as they go down, are formed by injec-
ton from below. The metallic stream
has run or the metallic vapors cooled in
some chance crevice of the everlasting
rocks, and there was my vein.
There was my vein, good Now,
what has happened to make this my
crucible and bring the gold up to me in
molten form? One of three things, as it
seems to me. A jet of gas or super
heated steam, like blast from a blow
pipe, may have touched the vein; or
violent chemical action may have
broken out close TO it; or what if
one of the liquid sheets of lava that,
unable to reach to the surface, force
themselves between the strata side
ways for long distances, and are hun
dreds of years in cooling, had obtained
access to it,"
So he went on with his speculations.
He cut thin lamin8 of the lavas, and,
examining them under his microscope by
transmitted light, could tell the depths
from which they came. The great
caldron of boiling lava he had named
La Caldera seemed a veritable mouth Of
the Internal regions. 1t gave out an al
most continuous roar, and from time to
time shot forth fiery bombs with
showers Of scintillating drops, and fan
like tails Of beautiful spun glass, as fine
as hair, streaming behind them. With
microscope and spectroscOpe h found
these bombs from the still active crater
mad2 of native sodium, calcium, mag
nesium and potassium-th precise mate
rials of the wandering meteOrities that
fall to Us from trackless space. He
found the heart of the earth identical in
composition with the illimitablc stars.
The result of all these studies, though
they should never have any other, was to
vastly increase his reverence for the
sublimity Of creation.
In tie Eei%hborbood Of his dwelling
he had fuuu q seize, # cIy2sHs, and
these i" turned t. Use IL rocrptaclrs for
his garn"rod tr"2 n" They were of
various shapes aaI sizes, some connect
ing too among themselves, others stand
ing singly. They We're formed, like his
hut, of shell of lava which had cooled,
while an inner stream, still fluid, had
passed on. leaving them high and dry
above it.
Every day Walter collected and stored
away lis own accumulation and Install
ment. low slowly the amount seemed
to grow, to the view Of his ardent i'm
patience! The normal return was liberal,
and even princely, but there were days
when the stream did not flow pure, be-
ing mingled with or even almost wholly
composed Of, a lava initiating its color.
These drawbacks, which seemed to fol-
low especially some of the volcanic
tremblings and oscillations in the valley,
reduced the expected average of value.
He made an arrastra, or crusher, of large
revolving stones, to break up the bulky
pieces, and a smelling apparatus, to re-
duce the portions thus alleged to the
condition Of the rest.
His caution led him to do much of the
storage work at night, so familiar was
he with the ground that he could carry
it on then almost as well as by daylight.
The fragments Of rough Stag along the
way took every variety Of eccentric
shape, and often startled him at first
with the vivid likeness to COUGHING wild
beasts or human figures with weapons in
their hands, but no real peril arose.
One night he returned late from visit
to his caverns. Jupiter was shining very
brightly at the time, and he was looking
up at nebulous halo about the brilliant
planet, Suddenly there flashed before
him something like a lantern swinging
in a mans hand 1t came from behind
a rock directly into the path, and was too
near for him now to retreat.
who goes there?" he asked, at the
same time raising his revolver.
With the commingled voices of the val
ley in his ears, he thought he heard MUIR
INJURED words, but no definite answer was
vouchsafad. The light approached near
er, 50 near that its CLEAN fell directly
upon him He fred-once! twice! the