Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-08-28
TAKING NO CHANCES.

There it lay. Right on the mountain
Gop. Nature had followed out, as if on
purpose a space not more than fifty feet
square, and in it she had placed gold in
quantities that few men ever see and fewer
still possess.
Dull colored yellow 1t hardly looked
she thing for which men barter honor and
women fall 1t was inst rs nature, the
great alchemist, had made it. No alloys
had corrupted it, nor had the sweaty cling
eng clasp of Insurer defiled it. For centu-
~ies it had lain and glistened in the
Durning sun, FURNISHED only by the sand
sweeping over it in windy revels. 1t had
zleyer known the darkness of long years of
aloarding in strong boxes, nor had it ever
clung, like the kisses of passionate men, to
the throat and arms and breasts Of women
beautiful AS day. No mans blood had
been shed for it; no woman or child had
eaten bread in sadness and tears because
Of 1T. Yet it WIS gold.
Amid the sand and in the crevices of the
rocky lodges that made the apex of the
mountain novice might have passed it
by unheedingly But when Jack Swiliing
aud his comrades saw it they knew that
they were rich, that in the gold that lay
before them WAS n new life, wherein that
gold would buy them the smiles and ca
Tesses of women, the homage and subservi-
ence of men-a life of music, of feasting
and of song.
1t was for this that they had toiled for
years and had risked everything that men
mold dear. And now it had come to them
unexpectedly and by accident. Attracted
by the discovery of rich gold dggings at
Weaver, in the then recently organized
territory of Arizona, the little party had
1T. ,1..1
they had arrived at the placers. On their
arrival at the mines they found that al
1asady good many thousands of dollars
had been taken out, principally by Next
cans and they had no difficulty in locat-
eng ground that paid them we'll.
For nearly IA month they had continued
mining, meeting with no more than usual
SUCCESS, until one of their party, while
hunting had assembled one of the sur
rounding mountains. On reaching the
summit he had paused for an instant to
.lct.his eye sweep the mesas and mountains
ot.la stretched away for miles on either
side, and, while doing so, he had discovered
that The little basin i'll which he stood was
7ai1yzst paved with gold. Picking up a
few of the larger pieces he returned to
camp and informed his comrades of his
discovery. The story he told to his COM
psnions was one so incredible that, had it
Dca been for the nuggets of gold which he
had brought with him, they would not
have believed him. Early the next morn
hug the entire party assembled the noun
tain, and what they saw proved that the
richness of the find had not been eXag-
s.erated, but that its true value had been,
~ anything, underestimated
Abandoning their Old location the party
slUdLhpeu On '.eir newt u'sCoNere" treas
Dre Srouhu ana peS"n 10 Satner us r'cHes'
Az urat ever! 'oose nugget was caTeluIly
P'cAeo az anu s'oie" away "lUer INA. .he
SAND WhIch was iouhu 10 pe heaNy WIN
nhe goiu' was gathered 'o9ether' prepare
cory 10 Washing II OUT with Tue water OF
She stream DeioW' MS uohe' they oegai
WIN their p""le Knives " cuC anu so"Se
Out oi the creN'ces anu CRACKS VI the rock
the Boid that they contained. Never dlo
men WORK SO nara, Inc leVerlsh munger
and thirst ior goiu was upon them. Al
long as the llSht OF Gay tasted they con
uihned 10 WORK hach day saw the PIE O.
virgin goid gro" larger ana larger, until Il
became Impossible TO conceai IL.
Inc MeXlcahs, VINO had been thelr nelgh
Ssors In the ola dlgglnSsi would come int
their camp and look with greedy eyes a
LEE Americans AT WORK. Az hrst the.
sought everywhere to discover anothe
asoeh pocket, but III VAIN outside oil TIL
h01e piece OF ground where the lrst part
ha2 struck II, the mountain SIDE was
nlarTen OF Rold as macadamzed road
A-Aro lhey ceased 10 PROSPECT ana speh
aheU time suIiehly Watching the taKln
0M al Inc Fiches III Whlch they were I
HAYe no snare.
40 them the spot was ike the vortex
The maelstroh. Every morning they wer
EEk4ie, SIhnuluG On TIE sue OF the clulll
and during the long, not hours OF the ola
they sat, regardless OF the burning giare
tne SUM- Watching Watching tremDlh
Vith excitement "heh nugget large
chah one ordinary WAS taken OUT IL wa
oniy Wheh uusk grew INTO darkness an