The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1891-04-02

A STRANGE REQUEST.
How q Miners Regard for = Dead Part
GasirAd Him q Earfune.


Secured Him Fortune.
The other day we met on kearney
street, says writer, an old. time
Washoe acquaintance called Jcm Briggs,
whose usually well-worn miners APP
pearance was on this occasion replaced
by gorgeous display of velvet vest,
check pants. red scarf and ponderous
watch-chain, while his honest and sim
pie face shone above these evidences of
prosperity with the placid contentment
of full harvest moon.
Hello. Jem." we said. glad to see
You looking SO prosperous. Must have
have struck it rich recently"
80 | have" said Jem. and then. ms
his tanned face saddened little. he con-
tinued. but had mighty rough loss.
though. My partner. Ned Bim,er-yon
remember Ned-has gone up the shaft. !"
Dead. eh?"
YES. III tell YOU how il was You
see, Ned and ] had a quarrel about two
years ago. Don't matter now what it
was all about. Mebbe Ned was wrong.
and mebbe / was. but all the same
neither of ms would back down
coupler fools, you'll say. and SO We
were. and the upshot was that we
parted. and agreed never to speak to
each other again."
And didn't you?"
NO. sir: more shame for us. as we
had been pards. thick and thin, for
fifteen years together. Well. about six
months after that Ned got good gravel
claim upon the Feather. where they've
been turning the river bed. and he
struck it rich-cleaned up nigh onto
S250.000 in ten months"
And how were you getting on?"
20, clean broke. Working up at Gold
hill for 50 day. Well. was kinder
sneakin glad TO learn Of Ned's luck. for
heard was that he'd been killed by the
banks caving in on him. He lived just
long enough to make his will. Well.
the lawyers wrote as how Ned was
worth about SEQ, 900. and the will gave
$1,000 apiece to each of three distant
cousins of his'n-they had all come out
from the east when they heard of Ned 5
Finland the same amount to me, mind
You. just as though we hadn't quarreled.
But Ned alters was centric sort of
cuss. and the will provided that none of
us should get the money if we attended
the funeral. He didn't want anybody
at the funeral but just the undertaken
The will said he had lived lonely. and
he wanted to be buried lonely Them $
lust the words. and felt they were in
tended for me, sure. The disposition of
the rest of the estate-about 500. 600
was provided for in another codicil. to
be opened the day after the funeral.
but we all supposed it was donated to a
charitable object, for Ned hadn't any
kin 'ceptin' the cousins
''Of course you stayed away from the
funeralo"
That's just the point. Somehow !
felt 50 miserable and downhearted-y
see Ned was the onliest partner ever
habitat determined to go and see
him sent down on his last cage anyway.
money or no money, and | did,
And the cousins?'
''None of 'em went Fact is. they were
so disguised at the 'divvy' that they
cleared out down to Frisco to see about
breaking the will. So l was the only
mourner at the funeral. My friends all
thought | was fit for the crazy house to
throw away the $1,000 like that-well. |
just couldn't help it. 1t turned out.
though. to be the best lead l ever
struck
..How was that"
"Why. the next day. when the main
| will was opened. we found il really
gave the entire balance of the cleanup
to whichever Of us four obeyed the con-
! ton for the $1,000 requests. So YOU
see came in for the whole lump just
ike knife. And do you know, as sure
as guns iron shall alters believe that
Ned put up the whole job purpose
| cause he knowed I'd be thar.''-San
Francisco Examiner.