The state herald. (Holyoke, Logan County, Colo.) 1887-1921, 1892-06-17
OUR inns.
Story OF Two Miners who Parted In Anger
and Peace Came Mt Last.

Story OF Two Miners Who Parted In Anger
and Peace Came Mt Last.
I've always spoke Of them as .our
Jirns. They were two Of the best
men In camp and best" meant d
good deal In those days. Whom the
Grange Gulch men came over to jump
our claims 1t was our Jims who rallied
us to drive them OIL leaving six dead
mon to be buried in the evening.
When the toughs and roughs OF Old
Mans Hill laid claim to our digglfgs
and appeared two to one to drive us
off. 1t was our Jims again who led the
van and enabled us to win the VIC
tory.
Jim what? Jim whatp l do not
know. No one but themselves knew.
NOW and then some miner gave his
full name, but we had no use for It
We were Jim and Bill and Pete TO
each other and that alone.
Our Jims were not quarrelsome
men. Big men and brave men never
are. They tented together and were
'.pards." aud how 1t came about that
they fell out none Of us ever learned.
One morning. whom they had been
tent-mates for many months one Jim
packed up and left camp. He had
nothing 10 say-nothing beyond the
statement that Mo and Jim is out"
The Jim who remained made no state.
mont whatever Among ourselves
we said there had been hot word
dropped and picked up just when both
mon were out OF sorts. 1t was hard
work that hunting for gold. We
worked like slaves and lived far
worse, and tont.mates quarrelled very
often.
In day or two wo saw that the Jim
who remained was troubled in his
mind. He had been too proud 10 hold
out his hand and ask the other Jim 10
stay, but now II was hurting him.
He grew sullen and morose md now
and then no paused In his work and
looked up tho trail with longing
look in his cyes--longing TO SEQ the
other Jim returning TO camp. Five
or six days had passed when China.
man camo into camp with n note for
Jim. II was written with n blackcned
stick on piece Of brown paper and
| read:
jim: It's case OF smallpox, and won't
ask YOU TO come. It's Just to say I'm sorry
W. fell out, and to bid you gool-by. JIM
II took three or four OF us half an
hour to make out the badly written
and misspolled message and when VIC
had finished our Jim walked away TO
his tent and began to pack up. Tho
snow clouds were banking up In the
west and it was plain that a bad
storm was at hand The other Jim
was twcn.y.oight miles away. sick
and alone In rudo cabin at the
abandoned diggings OF Crazy Womnn's
creek. Tho trail led over tho noun
tain and through valleys thick with
| scrub and rough with boulders. rad
the ChInamnn was completely broken
down when he reached US
You won't start with that storm
coming on9n wo said TO Jim. us he
came out OF his tent with pack on
his back.
Jim wants me-good-byel" no re.
| piled. and in five minutes no was Out
OF sight
An hour later We were all driven 10
shelter and for three days aud nights
there was never break In tho storm.
There wasn't a tent on the diggings
In sight whom tho fourth morning
came-every ono showed out OF sight
II We hadn't been showed under we
should have boon frozen to death by
the cutting winds Jim couldn't have
made those twenty-e!ght milos In les.
than day with no snow under his
feet We know that he must have
persisted In that storm before mid
night.
It was n long three weeks before
tho snow went of says tho Detroit
FREQ Press and then two OF US went
up the trail. All day long wc looked
for tho dead body OF Jim who had
started out before tho storm but We
did not discover It An hour bcfors
dark we came TO tho abandoned dig.
gings and caugh, sight OF tho single
shnnty left standing. We should find
tho other Jim In there dead Step by
step we advanced. dreadlng to look In.
yet feeling that wo must Tho door
was fast but tho ncrco gusts Ind
torn loose some OF tho light boards nj
n corner. and wo had n view OF tho In.
terror Lying on blnnkct-on the
earth. with another partly covering
them. and lying face 10 face with an
arm over each other woro two dead
men-our Jima The ono who had
sent tho Chinamnn might havo been
raving In dolirium when tho othc,
reached him through that awful
storm. but no hoard his voice and
know 1t Tho one who fought his why
over the snow bound tail. stumbling.
falling. praying-buoyod up by the
hope hc'would not DO too laie could
do nothing aftor his journey was ended
nothing but to lilo down and dlo bo'
| aida hia partnpr