New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-08-23
TAKING NO CHANCES.
HOW FIVE ARIZONA MINERS INSURED THE
SAFETY OF THEIR GOLD.

nrp followed
NOT more than fifty feet square and IN 1t she had
placed gold in quantities that few men ever see
a. fewer still possess. .l,u
Dull colored yellow. II hardly looked the thlng
for which men barter honor and women fall. ~
was lust as Nature. the great alchemist, hau maue
IL No alloys had corrupted il. nor had the sweaiy
clinpina clasp of detiled II. For centuries
IL had lain and dstcned In the burning sun,
FURNISHED only by the sand sweeping over ~ III III
windy reves. II had never known the darkI las
of long wears of boarding in strong boxes hor hau
II ever chung like the kisses of passionate men
10 the throat and arms and breasts OF Women
beautiful as day. No man IS blood hlu pseh sllc S
for it, no woman or child had eaten Drcad IN sdu'
ness and tears because of il. Yet IL was solu;
Amid the sand and in the crevlces OF the IockS
lodges that made the apex OF Ihe Iiouh'"lH, "a
novice might have passed by 1t unheedlhgY. puO
when Jack Swling and his comrades saw ~ tney
knew that they were rich, that in the goa Ina 5
lay before them was new me- wherein Una. gor"
would buy them the smiles and caresses OF women.
the homage and subscrvicnce of men-a LIE OF
music, of feastng. and Of song; ,o;od Gar ,,oore
1t was for this that they hat .oleu hold dear
And now il had come TO them, Unexpectedly ana
by accident Attracted by the discovery OF nch
gold-diggngs at Weaver, in the then recently OF, or
6onized Territory of Arizona, the little party had
left Tucson and travelled northward unul they
had arrived at the placers. On their ARRIVAL ao
the mines they found naU array en S g gpinc
by Mexicans and they had no dlfhcuty IN locat-
ing groaud that paid them well. For nearly a
month they had continued mining meetlhg win no
more than usual success, until one OF their party,
while hunting, had assembled one OF the surround,
inc mountains On reaching the summit, he had
paused for an instant to let ms eye sweep t Fdr
mesas and mountains that stretched away LOT
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 q icW
of the larger pieces, he returned 10 camp ana III
formed his comrades OF his discovery. Inc story
he told to his companions was one so lncredlpe
that had it not been for the nuggets oil gOld winch
he had brought with him, they would not have
believed him. Early the next morning the enure
party assembled the mountain, and what they saw, saw
proved that the richness of the find had not peen
evogot.rafnd Int that lis true value had been, If
anything, underestiimted.
Abandoning their old location, the party en-,
camped on their newly discovered treasure-gr ground
and began TO gather its riches. At hrst every
loose nugget was carefully picked up ana stored
away: after that the sand, which was found to be
heavy with fine gold, was gathered together, pre-
paratOry TO washing" ii out with the waters OF
The stream below. This done, they began WIN
their bowie-knives TO cut and gouge out of the
crivices and crooks Of the rock the gold that tney
contained. Never did men work so hard. The
feVersh hunger and thirst for gold was upon thenl
As long as the light of day lasted they continued
To work Each day saw the pile OF virgin S0io
grow larger and larger, until 1t became lmposSloIe
10 conceal it,
The McXicans who had been their neighbors in
the old digginGs would come into their camp ana
look with greedy eyes at the Americans at WORK.
At first they sought everywhere to discover another
such pocket but in vain. Outside of the little piece
of ground where the first party had struck it, u"
The mOuntain-Sde was as barren of gold as a
macadamized road. Then they ceased to prospect,
and spent their time sullenly watching the taxing
out Of the riches III which they were TO nave no
share.
To them the spot was like the vortex of the
maelstrOm. Every morning they were there, stand
ing the side of the claim, and, during the long,
hot hours Of the day. they sat, regardless OF the
burning glare OF the sun, watching, watching,
trembling with excitement when nugget larger
than the ordinary was taken out II was only when
dusk grew into darkness and the blue sky glistened
with its myriad of stars that they returned TO their
own camp, to toss TestlesSly through the night,
feverishly anxious TO see what new riches the
morrow would bring TO los Amercanos. 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 il had seemed 10 them like a fortune.
now il was hardly worth having.
Day after day the Americans worked, watched
by, the MeMcans. From dollars the value Oh their
gold grew into hundreds and they into thousands.
They could not tell how much they had for they
had no means Of weighing it. They had more than
all of them together could carry The strongest man
among them, Jack Swilling, six feet and could
not change the gold from one place to another
without making five separate loads OF 1t. strong
mans load in gold is not much when valued in
dOllarS-at the utmost, perhaps; 1orty thousand
dollars-but, valued with the value place on
it, it cannot he estimated Put into sack and
thrown over the shoulder, Il is only heavy burden
vearisOme with IFS weight. Stamped with the stamp
that makes il money. piled in shining piles, where
ayarce can feast It's eyes upon it, slipped into the
half-willing hand of man or woman it is different.
Then barriers fade away that lifetime has build,
manhood sinks and takes with it what was noblest
and best never TO return, and men nOnctaantly
think thoughts that, free from the fascination of
gold they would have eXecrated with horror
So il was in this camp. At first the gold was
stored in the common buckskln purses that the
little party in i most enthusiastic moments had
never dreamed being able to fill with the
metal and thcr was packed III roughly made
As the store OF gold grew, the friendship that had
once existed between the Americans and the
Mexicans became weaker and weaker. Soon they
were enemies, watching one another with hatred
that none attempted 10 disguise. Fhe Americans
no longer slept together in a little group, as had
been their custom Instead, each took his blanket
and went of alone, yet not so FAR but that he
was near the gold. While at work during the
dav they made il a point never TO group together.
Even when nugget larger than the rest was
picked up, they no longer loyously called to each
other that they might gather together to admire
it, They We're always on their guard. Day and
night, one of their party watched The MeNicans
IL they were 10 be killed and robbed Of the gold
they had discovered, by keeping thus separate
some might escape if they We're attacked,
Yet the Mexicans had said or done nothing "a
justify the suspicion that they would descend u
murder and robbery 10 secure the gold lhey
did nothing but watch watch, watch, day after
day, the store OF gold increased: But, as the
look came into their faces, another light into their
eyes The lips were drawn little tighter, the
laughing efforts made to tell jokes half in Spanish
half in English, 10 amuse one another. The old
camarader1e was gone. Yet, less than a month
before, these men had found pleasure in sharing
their scanty stores with one another. Now they
merely watched each other and the pile of gold,
with a hatred so intense as to be unspeakable.
The pile of gold though, continued to grow.
But at last IL ceased In the crevices, and cracks
and sand there was no LONGER 10 be found single
glitter Of yellow. Only the scars remained, where
the knives had cut and gouged out the riches OF
the rock.
the Americans vainly endeavor 20 find more OF
tbe metal and in return the latter grew hOf
with anger though in their hearts they felt
relieved 10 know that they had exhausted the
lead Already they had as much as they could
care for Had there been more TO mine, though,
they would have taken il out, rather than see