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


into the ground, and across these two
forks lay his primitive windlass-an-
other pinon trunk with stout oblique
branch left at one end for crank. A
strong rope was ON the windlass, and at
its lower end dangled a stout rung to be
passed through the handles of the curl
| GUS bucket gripsack of rawhide. Thus
| far he had worked alone, and very tire
some work it was, loosening with his
pick that tumble of gravel and rocks
which the swift turbulence of summer
torrents had packed and repacke1 in the
narrow gorge, and lifting it out by the
bucketful.
AS the hole grew deeper he had to
swing down by his rope, fill the rawhide
sack with gravel, climb the rope again
hand over hand, and laboriously wind
lass the heavy load to the surface and
empty it upon the dump. And now the
bottom of the shaft was at bedrock
the smoothish, sloping blanket of Dor
phyry. coated with peculiar gray CO.
ment which underlies all that great
plateau. Soon ne vocl1 know if all that
digging an -.oisting Lad been in vain.
As he STARE Cox home thSt evening his
tattered '~. ru|iad heavy on blistert.
bands r. il 10 was carrying load
of Ia ,ast gravel. which = BAD
car rf rod up from TIE be,ay,ak.
Tn Pc wss5ar in d. arcoy,l, an
to g he -nui5t carry y one
or t ~. ,..... ,3o la;.ca & The 2.-.t.
-. -. ,elr' 0w IS : ,al r
c11e'' . = :I& &C., 1-os;i.lua, -.
heay ,'s.. ..va aia ,e5hi.g Sa,,.,-..-
"An0 na.r. ~. f.r 10 5~ira f..-
paystr@ e. 300 4 NJ a.E
before - So ~, sod 70 II J. d,
good.
Five times he pam II 90 S@a 'r,,,
half full OF that shabby |"olzng g4a..,
and each time the tiny p; CD Of 'wet ;;ot
dust which he pushed out ,,pca s1e1oo,
stone was swelled little. And y IL.
last pan was a small waterworn LUMP,
which came very near escaping with the
first coarse pebbles-a nugget of fully
two dollars, at which the tired mother
wept for joy, while Rodolfo danced
about her, crying:
''Ay, mana! Already there is like four
pesos! Very soon we will be rich onesr''
The sun was not nearly up the farther
side of the Oroque peaks on the morrow
when Rodolfo and his mother were
trudging away toward the arroyo, driv-
ing ahead patient burro borrowed from
Cousin Pablo. Poor Flojo had a very
uncomfortable load; for two big kegs of
water were balanced in opposite ends Of
woolsack across the queer little pack
saddle, and bumped his either side. Ro-
dol fN COZ ial 1ic a. 81
hastily made from a box, and in his
hands heavy, double pointed steel bar.
His mother brought the wooden bowl,
and on her head large ola full of
water was confidently poised. The time
had come when both must work, and
little Chona would have to care for the
young babies at home through the day.
In the earth near his shaft Rodolfo had
dug basin five feet long and three feet
wide and lined it with tight packed clay, |
so that the precious water might not be
wasted. At the upper end was laid big
fat slab of sandstone from the ledge in
the side of the arroyo, and on this 'foun-
dation" he set his rocker. 1t was merely
stout box with one end knocked out,
two rude wooden rockers like those of
OH Ol-A LdShlOuto CIdllt II, d
handle nailed to one side, and fitting into |
its top small square box with bottom
of coarse wire screen. Under this screen |
was a canvas apron nailed TO frame
and sloping backward. The rocker itself |
pitched forward, and across its sloping
bottom were nailed cleats few inches |
apart.
Flojo was soon relieved and turned
out to Craze. his forefoot hobbled with
little rawhide handouts. that he might
not stray too far The rocker was set
up ready for work and beside it keg of
water with gourd dipper
Dropping his heavy bar down the
shaft-for the pick would be of no use
in the close quarters in which he was
now to work-and tossing after it tin
basin. which would be handler than
shovel, Rodolfo grasped the rope and
slid lightly down.
Taking the steel bar in both hands he
began to jab it against the close packed
gravel on the up stream side of the
shaft. Frying out first the bigger stones
to height of two feet above bedrock,
and then the coarse gravel, he soon had
started a tiny tunnel some two feet in
diameter. AS fast as he filed the raw
hide bucket he dragged it out to the CEN
ter of the shaft and passed the cross
stick on the rope through the rawhide
handles, and his mother, Injured to the
hard work of the frontier, windlassed it
! to the surface. The rock she threw
away out in the streambed, but the
| gravel was carefully emptied upon a
clean hard spot beside the rocker. where
it grew apace.
When it was noon by the overhead sun
Rodolfo came up on the rope and they
ate their scant dinner of tortillas (cakes
of unleavened dough cooked on a hot,
fat stone) and water. There was half
yard of gravel beside the rocker (aurifer-
Gus gravel averages about a ton to the
cubic yard and "a yard of gravel" is
good days's work for one PERSON.. Truly,
| thew had worked very well But were