The morning call., 1892-08-21

the lall, Sau0b anu Il Z Gu in'Hel huocheu
the ashes from small. black pipe, and with
this indicated an immense quantity of mill
ing debris which the stage was approaching.
Eyes, it looks as though a monitor had
been turned loose up in the canyon"
''You are right thar, stranger, and the
tailmgs have kivered up one OF the richest
spots in all California. lis nigh 40 years
since Big George, Red Horse. Little Mike
and | struck pay gravel on this crick, and
in enc day panned out $3.50. 1t wasn't
much # a trick in them times TO make $40
OF $50 day. for every little gulch, fiat, bar
and ravine was rich in gold. 1t didn't take
long for others TO hear of our strike, and in
less than month 500 men were at work
within a mile Of there. 1t was lively
camp, stranger, and thar was more drink
ing, gambling, fighting and shooting on
Saturday night and Sunday than in any
other camp on the Feather"
at must have been wIde-awake place.
I obSeFved.
'Wide- awake is no name for il; it was
lust red-hot and no mistake. Why. we had
10 saloons within six days; run one fellow
out of camp the first Sunday two men were
killed the same day, and we hanged one
fellow within a fortnight. You bet your
life il was a wide-awake camp
A turn in the road brought US within
sight OF a black and fTowning lava-topped
hill. at the base of which a large quantity
of mining debris was piled. That's Lemons
Hill" SAID the tall miner. pointing toll
hardened hand toward the elevation, land
thar was more gold dug from that spot than
any 10 mules in the State could pack.
THE owner was lucky man. said |.
He was greener about mines than bar
cub about flying a kite" answered the
gaunt miner, putting the black pipe in his
pocket and looking back toward the hill we
were rapidly passing at was just sheer
fool luck that he struck pay gravel under
that hill. He was always studying the
rocks and you could never meet him without
he had a piece OF quartz, limestone, lava.
granite or some other blamed rock IN his
pocket. De never used to carouse ana nave
4 Jolly time with the bows, though he liked
fun as we'll as anybody, but he spent every
Sunday climbing the bills and pOklng and
pTyDg among the lodges, and II was as dull
rs a sermon 10 hear him tell about the
thickness of the layers and how this rock
was made and how that one was formed
and how thick the layers were, or some
other nonsense OF that kind"
lie must have been a geologis:?"
Yes, or some other gisi. leastways be
was always talking about the formation of
tie country. AMI telling about the time old
Shasta and Lassen Butte were both great
volcanoes and that the whole country from
their SUBMITS clar down to the Sacramento
Valley was kyered with red-hot lava.
That wasn't his biggest fool idea either, for
he used to declare that at one time the
crckS didn't run as they do now, and that
thar was old channels under this lava that
was as full of gold as al Apache Indian is
Of devilment
This studying the rocks and pretending
TO tell how old they we're didn't do him any
good that we could see, for he couldn't find
pay dirt any better than Ben Sad0wski or
Bolivar johnson who couldn't tell piece of
slate rock from chunk of limestone.
Faith said Little Nike, 1T was better
to dig the gold from the present channels
than to fool away your time looking after
thin that ran here when yonder mountains
were smoking hot wild melted lava
But SAID Lemon, when l do strike
one of these old channels will get gold by
the buckeiful.'
IT'S too much like hunting the pot of
gold al the ind Of the rainbow answered
Mike. 1 q rather get me gold by the spoon
tul day by day than TO take the chances of
finding one Of your old channels and get it
by the bueketful.'
For all we could say Lemon kept pros
pecting around the country instead o. getting
in on the crick and finally began TO run
drift right under that old lava bill Why,
my friend, thar was no more signs Of gravel
thar than on the face of yonder limestone
cliff" pointing 10 huge mass of smooth,
dark limestone where not pebble was to
be seen.
I'VE tried to talk him out OF the idea, for
we were dead sure he wouldn't find any
thing, but he was as obstinate as a pack
mule in snow bank and swore hat he'd
run a drift under thar far enough TO strike
pay dirt IL il took him year.
We lowed that he would soon get sick
OF his job, but he stuck to it just like jay
bird filing a hole with aeerns when the
frost is on the ground and the wind is blow
ing up sharp in the fall. Before hot weather
set in he had the tunnel in a long distance,
but had not found channel
Early in the summer family came to the
crick that had a mighty nice-leoking grown
up gal. Her eyes were as DARK as bit Of
black lava whar the water is APPLYING and
dashing over it. while her cheeks were as
red as snow plant In spring time. She
loved books and flowers and birds, and was
willing to listen TO Lemon when he talked
about serpentine or sandstone or mica-slate,
and that captured his heart at once He
called his mine the Gold Bank, but thar was
no more gold"in it than thar is ice in the
Feather during hot spell in June. We
nicknamed it Lemons Luck jst for fun, for
We knew how the thing would end and that
he'd never strike color. 1t wasn't long
spell till the gal with tie red cheeks and the
black eyes liked John, for he was good
looking and smart young Teller, if he hadn't
been such a fool about rocks, and about
Christmas thar was a wedding. 1t was the
first wedding ever on the criek and we cele-
brated it in California style. Thar were
about 40 of US invited and the old woman
got UP a dinner that beat anything in the
State. Not chicken fxiDgs, but good, square
honest grub and lots of it, Little Mike
shot two dozen of the finest grouse that ever
came into camp, Big George toted home a
fat deer he had killed, Red Horse brought
III four or five dozen quail. Bolivar johnson
and Ills partner Ben Sadowski each shot an
antelope down in the foothills, while Billy
Patterson-his real name was Smith. but
there were so many Smiths that we could
Not keep run of them, SO we christened one
Billy Patterson and one Andrew Jackson,
and then called him Andy for Shorthand |
went up on the mountain back of Shores
Hill and shot the latest young bar that
was ever killed IN the diggins. Thar was
no end to the bar steaks, venson roast,
quail potpie ana antelope, grouse and
cottoDtail that we got away with that day.
Thar was enough for a hundred, but we
were good eaters, and 1t pleased the women
folks TO see US stow away the grub they had
cooked. After the wedding thar was a
dance. Only six women to hundred men !;
but them women were clippers, and kept
on the floor till daylight.
After the wedding John settled down TO
hard work, for he was anxious TO find the old
channel and get some gold. You see as long
as he was single handed he could hustle
around three days for grub and then work
the other three In his claim, but after he
got spileed thar was more grub to get and
thlngs Tor the house, so il kept him skirm-
lshlng around as lively as a mustang for
FODDER In the fall, when the bunch grass is
kivered up with snow. This sorter worried
and fretted him, for he had set his heart on
SURFING pay streak. and it was like a man
leaving game when he is dead sure that
each turn OF a card will bring him win
mag. We never lowed he would find n
cent, so were in hopes he'd quit the old hill
and come down On the crick whar we knew
thar was gold.
Along in the spring he got In debt to Bill
NeShane, who owned the store, and to Sam
Blakemore, who run the butclIer-shop. and
when they began to hurry him up a little
LIE was downright worried and was sour
and cross. though he was usually the best
natured fellow in the camp. The bows
inl-ad and fnshad him a nod ioni 49,. - :