The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1891-11-28
TAKING NO CHANCES.

top. Nature had followed il out. as il
on purpose, space not more than fifty
feet square; and in it she had placed
gold i'll quantities that few men ever see
and fewer still possess.
Dull-colored yellow. 1t was Just as
Nature, the great alchcmist, had made it
For centuries it had lain and glistened in
the burning sun, FURNISHED only by the
sand sweeping over it in windy rcycls.
1t had never known the darkness of long
years of boarding in strong boxes. nor
had il ever chung like the kisses of pas
slonate men To the throat and arms and
breasts of women beautiful as the dav.
No mans blood had been shed for it. no
woman or child had eaten bread in sad
ness and tears because Of it. Yet it was
gold.
Amid the sand and in the crcyiccs of
the rochy lodges that made the apex OF
the mountain Il novice might have passed
by it unhcclinglv. But when Jack
Swi.!ing and Iii, comrades saw it they
know shat they were rich.
Attracted hy the discovery of rich
gold-digE:ng- AT Weaver, in the then re-
Gently organized territory of Arizona tn.
little party had left Tucson and Travelled
norihwarl until they had arrived at the
placcrs. On their arrival at the mines.
they found that already a good many
thousands of dollars had been taken ont
principally by Mcxicans, and they had no
difficulty in locating ground that paid
them well. For nearly u month they had
continued mining, meeting with 10 more
than usual success, until one of their
party, while hunting, had assembled one
OF the surrounding mountains. On reach
ing the summit, he had paused for an in
sfantto let his eve sweep the mcsas and
mountains that stretched away for miles
on either side. and, while doing so, he
had discovered that the little basin in
which he stood was almost paved with gold.
Picking up few of the larger pieces.
he returned TO camp and informed his
comrades of his discovery. The story
he told To his companions WAS one SO i'll
credible that, had it not been for tnc
nuggets of gold which he had BROUGHT
with him, they would not have believed
him. Early the next morning the entire
party asccnded to- mountain. and what
they saw proycd that the richness of the
find had not been exaggerated, but that
its true value hal been, if ANYTHING.
underestimatcd
Abandoning their old location, the
party cncampod on ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Tcasure-Ground and began to gather its
riches. AT first every loose nugget was
carefully picked up and stored away:
after that the sand, which was found to
be heavy with fine gold, was gathered
together, preparatory to washing it
out with the waters of the stream below.
This done, they began with their bowie
knives ITO cut and gougo' out of the
crevices and cracks of the rock the gold
that they contained. Never did men
work so hard. The fcvcrish hunger and
thirst for gold was upon them. As long
as the light of day lasted they continued
to work. Each day saw the pile of vir-
gin gold grow larger and larger, until it
became impossible to conceal it.
The Mexicans who had been their
neighbors in the old diggings would come
into their camp and look with greedy
eyes at the Americans at work. At first
they sought everywhere TO discover an
other such pocket, but in vain. Outside
of the little piece of ground where the
first party had Struck it." the mountain
side was rs barren of gold as a macada
mixed road. Then they ceased to pros
pect. and spent their time sullcnly watch
ing the taking out of the riches in which
they were to have no share.
To them the spot was like the vortex of
the maelstrom. Every morning they
were there, standing on the side of the
claim, and, during the long, hot
hours of the day. they sat, re-
gardicss of the burning glare of
the sun. watching. watching. trem-
bin" with excitement when u nugget
larger than the ordinary was taken out.
1t was only when dusk grew into dark
ness and the blue sky glistened with its
myriad of stars that they returned 10
their own camp, to toss restlessly through
the night, fevcrishly anxious to see what
new riches the morrow would bring to los
Americanos. The gold their own work
had taken from the banks of the stream,
with which they were once so satisfied,
seemed so little and insignificant, when
compared with what their neighbors had
taken from the mountain-top, that they
no longer thought or spoke of it. Once
it had seemed to them fortune, now it
was hardly worth having
Day after day the Americans worked,