Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-11-11
ON THE PAYSTREAK.

| uttio JdCdi on the western SLOPE or tho
San Ysidio mountains poundinl, soap.
That may seem curious occupat on, but
here in New Mexico nine-tenths of the
people have to pound their soap-the fat
root of the palmilla "a sort of aloe) whose
! fibrous substance they crush to pulp for
use in tub or basin. This curio as nat
ural soap is called amole, and an excel
lent article it is. The poor little iacal
"a rooted palisade Of pinon trunks,
chlnked and covered with adobe mud
looked as if it were like to contain very
little worthy of washing. but the amole
and huge copper caldron simInering
over fire of chips indicated plainly that
there was something to be scrubbed.
just then brown, thin faced woman
stood in the low doorway holding in her
arms a curious, brilliant robe ike a
4 blanket Strangely enough, the most
beautiful and the most durable blankets
| In the world are made, not in civilized
looms, but by half savage Indians with no
better appliances than rude conbina-
tlon of sticks and cords suspended from
the branch of tree. This one was of the
best Navajo make-a blanket of crimson
bolletta, with blue and white lightnings
playing across it; blanket which it re-
quired a solid twelvemonth to weave,
and in which one could carry water as in
bag of rubber.
SIS the amole ready" asked Maria
GAY de mi! Ny heart is heavy for the
serape that Don Francisco gave to thy
father. That only we have saved when
all was lost, and now it, too, has to be
sold. Last year the governor in Santa
Fee offered $50 pesos dollars for it and
now when it is washed thou shalt take
it thither to see if he still will buy
Lastima! 1t is the last we have o. thy
father, and-ay? Inc tienesY'
For Rodolfo had jumped to his feet
with loud cry. Mira nanar look
mother) he said, laying something in her
palm. 1t was wee, yellow scale, not
30 broad as Rodolfo's little finger nail,
nor quite so thick. But how heavy it
w.sl And what color-that exquisite
waxy luster of the gold Of the New
Placers.
"Oro grandet" coarse gold) cried
Maria, her big, tired eyes lighting up
Where didst thou find it?
Pounding this last big piece of amole,
mana, found it in an elbow of the root.
'Sperate, till | pan the dirt-pernaps
| there is more"
In moment he was out of the house
again with a big wooden bowl; carefully
scooping up the few handfuls of sandy
earth fallen from the pile of roots, he
put it in the bowl and poured on water
from an ola (earthen jar till the bowl
was nearly full. Grasping it by the
edges he gave it slow, fitting, rotary
motion. Directly the water began to
run around and around in a miniature
whirlpool, and the sand began to follow
its current slowly Now and then
Rodolfo stopped to run his hands thro1 Ugh
the sand and loosen it up; and again set
it to revolving-for he had learned to
pan out gold as well as any one when he
! and his father used to work side by side
in the placers at Dolores. Now the poor
| old man-never fully recovered from
that last awful wound received III a
fight with the Apaches-was dead, and
they were very poor. There was no
| more money to be made in the placers,
for it was too expensive to haul water
for washing that washed out gravel, and
! the beautiful serape must be sold or
their poor little home would be taken
from them.
When the sand was thoroughly wet
up Rodolfo began to give the bowl
stronger motion sideways, till it seemed
as though he would spill the whole con-
tents A lot of water and sand splashed
out from side to side, till presently there
was left but handful in the bottom of
/ the bowl. AS he kept rotating it more
slowly and gently this drew out in a
! thin semicircle at the bottom of the
bowl, as far from the center as it could
get-a sandy procession i'll which the
usual parade order of the dignitar es
was quite reversed. For ahead of ali
was the worthless, unstable, reddish
sand; at its heels the black iron dust
which always is found in very rich com
pany. and tagging at the rear of all came
! a few wee, yellow flecks no bigger than
pinhead.
''Pero" cried Rodolfo to his mother,
who was kneeling beside him, lit is very
rich! There will be cuatro reales fifty
cents from so little dirt!'
| Now he was holding the bowl so tilted
that the water had all run out; and the
| procession" trying to follow it, was
| headed down to the very edge, where
some of the foremost sand fell off Dip
| ping his hand in the ola, Rodolfo
dropped very little water upon the
sand, to accelerate its exit. Then he
tipped the bowl back to a level, and
poured in fresh dipper of water. A
little more gentle rotating and the pro-
cession was formed again. smaller than
before, but in the same order. Again
he ran off the foremost sand; and so,
over and over, working more daintily
all the time, till not bit of sand was
left, and but little of the iron dust.
Only short black patch of the latter
remained. guarding the precious yellow
at its back-from the impalpable golden
flour that was nearest, and even
mingled with it, back to fat little fakes.