The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-07-07
THE GOLDEN BEAN.

MOI long ago it happened that had
two hours to wait for a train at Casa
Grande station on the Southern Pacific
railway. Stepping into a saloon near
the track, got into conversation with a
shaggy looking native, who proved to be
an old prospector somewhat the worse
for wear. As he seemed communicative,
and was willing to listen to yarn or
two to kill time. had the barkeeper
place a black bottle and the requisite
glasses ON card table near the stove,
and with my new acquaintance as Wis
l-vis / listened to the following tale,
which have endeavored to write down
as nearly in his own language as posi-
BILE, merely emitting the numerous cpl
grams with which he interrupted his dis
course:
1T was last fall that me and Bill
Stump got acquainted up at Prescott.
We'd both of us just quit work at the
mines and had pretty near 800 apiece.
We fooled arosihd the saloons most of the
evenin, takin drink now and then and
buckin little at the faro game, and
finally we made it up to be pards on q
prospectin trip to find some new diggin's.
Next day we bought four burros, two to
ride and two to pack, loaded up with
grub an things, and lit out.
"Next evenin we was camped at sun
down about 20miles west in a dark little
piney canyon and was gettin supper.
Bill was monkeyin round the campfire
with the coffee and bacon. and was sit
tin with my back against pine tree and a
sack Of beans tween my knees, pickin
some Of 'em over to put on for breakfast.
There was pretty plenty gravel and
stones In the beans, an was cussin
considerable, when I found somethin
queer among em. TWAS agold nugget,
just the shape as bean, only about four
times as big. Bill says I, If here amt
q 81 nugget In these beans, I'll be blank
ETY. blankedp Bill he comes up and grabs
it and gets to studyin over, it. 'Joe,'
says he after bit, Joe, I know jest how
that thar nugget got thar Poor Bill
was always great on explainin things.
well, fire away says I. It's this
way says Bill. I've been among the
greasers considerable, and knows their
ways. Them beans was raised by greas-
Iersj that's why they're SO full of gravel
and dirt. You see the greasers thrash
out the beans right in the field where
they growed, and winner 'em by tossin
'em up In the air so the wind blows away
the chat. Then they shovel 'em into
sacks right off the ground, takin up
some gravel at the same time. Now
that thar nugget proves that the ground
where them beans was growed is good
placer ground, and all we've got to do is
to find out who sold 'em first and then
find where his ranch is. When we find
that bean patch, we'll find good pay dirt,
sure, COS where nuggets like this are
lyin round loose there's bound to be good
idiggin's.'
! "Well, we was a good deal excited
over it and lay awake most Of the night
italkin it over an maxim plans. Next
lmornin we was packed up and started
back for Prescott by daylight Bill said
we must not use them beans, but keep
the sack just as it was SOS the party
that sold it would know it again. So
we sewed it up and took note of queer
mark on one side of it. It was a cross
inside of circle as big as my hand.
We thought that would help us find the
fellar that sacked the beans, and sure
enough it did.
"We hadn't bought the beans at a
store, but from a freighter that was
camped with his 4-horse team and two
wagons in the corral where we got
our burros, so when when we got to
Prescott we went straight back to the
corral. There we got our first setback. |
The freighter-his name was Pike-had
left the day before for the Verde !
copper mines to look for load.
1t was 80 miles, and it's slow work
travelin with donkeys, SO we was
the best part of two. days gettin there,
and found we was out O. luck again.
Pike couldn't get any load there, SO he
had gone on down to Camp Verde, in
tendin to go over to Camp Apache, $50 |
miles further
Right there l wanted to give it up.
but Bill wouldn't have it, Who cares
for few hundred miles, more or less,
says he, with all that gold piled up at
the end of it. Why, next year we'll be
ridin in our fine carriages in Frisco All
the time / was with Bill | never could
get the best Of him in an argument, SO
gave in. But if poor Bill could 'erknown
that a tough tranpof 200 miles was in
front of US. with grim death waitin for
Liza at the other end, he wouldn't Ter
beeil so hot to go on.
: when we got down to Camp Verde,
that peslly freighter was gene, Of course,
but we was t;ettin used to bein baked
an4 aidn'd mind much. In pretty good
spirits We started ont on the long, lonely
trip through che black pine forests Of the
Me-olloa mountains. The next night |
we ea1nped just under the 'riinrock, and
a nountail, lion got away with our best
barfo. The poor donkey was hobbled