The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1891-03-21
A STRANGE REQUEST.
How n Miners Regard for n Dead Partnt
Secured Him Fortune.

Secured Him n Fortune.
The other day we met on Kearney
street, says q writer, an old-time
Washoe acquaintance called Jem Briggs,
whose usually well-worn miners ap-
pearance was on this occasion replaced
by gorgeous display of velvet vest,
check pants, red scarf and ponderous
watch-chain, while his honest aud 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"
$50 | have" said Jem, and then, as
his tanned face saddened a little, he con-
tinued, but had a mighty rough loss,
though. My partner, Ned Bimber-you
remember Ned-has gone up the shaft"
Dead eh?"
Eyes, I'll tell you how it 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 us 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
$3.50, 900 in ten months"
"And how were you getting on?"
CO. clean broke. Working up at Gold
hill for So day. Well, l was kinder
snealxin' glad to learn of Ned's luck, for
all we were outs; but the next thing l
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 $500, 900, and the will gave
SIS, 900 apiece to each of three distant
cousins of his'n-they had all come out
from the east when they heard of Neds
finland the same amount to me, mind
, you, just as though we hadn't quarreled.
But Ned alters was a 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
l he wanted to be buried lonely Them's
Just the words, and felt they were -.
! tended for me, sure. The disposition OF
the rest of the estate-about 5000, 000-
D was provided for in another codicil, tc
A be opened the day after the funeral
, but we all supposed it was donated to {
+ charitable object, for Ned hadn't any
0 kin 'ceptin' the cousins"
!; "Of course you stayed away from the
: funeral?"
d "That's just the point. Somehow
o felt so miserable and ddownhearted-yol
o see Ned was the onliest partner ever
e had-that determined to go and SCI
e him sent down on his last cage anyway
# money or no money, and did,
e "And the cousins?"
II "None of 'em went. Fact is, they were
n so disgusted at the 'divvy' that they
1t cleared out down to Frisco to see abou
It breaking the will So 1 was the onl,
mourner at the funeral My friends al
j. thought | was fit for the crazy house t.
X throw away the $5, 900 like that-well,
p just couldn't help it. 1t turned out
s though, TO be the best lead l eve
e struck"
n "How was that?"
d "Why, the next day, when the mai
II will was opened, we found it reall
l, gave the entire balance of the CLEANUP
h to whichever of us four obeyed the cor
II dition for the $1,000 bequests So yo
n see came in for the whole lump jus
e like knife. And do you know, as sur
D as guns iron l shall alters believe tina
n Ned put up the whole job purpose
l. cause he Inowed I'd be thar!"-Sa