The herald., 1893-07-19
THE GOLDEN BEAN.

Not long ago 1t happened that had
two hours to wait for train at Casa
Grande station on the Southern Pacific
railway. Stepping into a saloon near
the track, got into conversation with q
shaggy looking native, who proved to be
an old prospector somewhat the worse
for wear. AS he seemed communicative,
and I was willing to listen to a yarn or
two to kill time, had the bsrkceper
place o black bottle and the requisite
glasses on a card table near tho stove,
and with my new Acquaintance IS a Wis
avis | listened to the following tale,
which have endeavored to write down
as nearly In his own language as posi-
| BILE, merely omitting the numerous epi-
grams with which he interrupted his dis
course:
"It 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 $100 apiece.
| We fooled around the saloons most of the
evenin, takin a drink now and then and
buckin little at the faro game, and
finally we made it upsto be pards on
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 s0miles west in 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
sack of beans tween my knees, piczin
some of 'em over to put on for breakfast.
There was pretty plenty gravel and
stones in the beans, an was cussin
considerable, when 1 found somethin
queer among 'em. II was agold nugget,
just the shape as bean, only about four
times as big. BILL says l, if here amt
81 nugget in these beans, I'll be blank
ETY. blankedr Bill he comes upand grabs
it and gets to studyin over it. Joe
says he after bit. Joe, know jest how
that thar nugget got thar. Poor Bill
was always great on explainin things.
Well, fire away says l. It's this
way says Bill I've been among the
greasers considerable, and knows their
ways. Them beans was raised by greas
ers; 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
EN- up in the air sothe wind blows away
the chaff. 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
diggin's.'
/ "Weu, we was good deal excited
over il and lay awake most of the night
tallzin it over an maxim plans. Next
mornin 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 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 freighter that was
| camped with his 4-horse team and two
wagons in the corral whenp 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 fer the Verde
copper mines 10 look for q load.
1t was 80 miles. and IT'S slow work
travelin with donkeys, 60. we was
the best part Of two days gettin there,
and found we was ont o luck again.
Pike couldn't get any load there, 80 he
had gone on down 70 Camp Verde, in.
tendin to gr, over to Camp Apache, 25C
miles further
Right there l wanted to giyo IL up,
but Bill wouldn't have il. Who cares
for few hundred miles, more or less,
says be, with al that gold piled up at
the end OF Il. Why next year we'll be
ridin In our fne carriages in Frisco All
the time was with Bill mover oould
get the hest Of him in an argument, SO
gave in. But II poor Bm could 'er known
that tough tramp cE 1000 miles was in
front of us, with grim deatA waitin POI
him at the other end, he wouldn't 'el
been so hot TO go on.
when we got down to Camp Verde,
that pesky freighter was gone. Of course,
but we was gettin used to bein balked
and didn't mind Dnch- In pretty good
spirits we started out ON the long, h1pely
trip through the black pine forests of ths
Mogollon mountains. Tho next NIGH,
we camped just under the 'rimrock. aud
mountain Hon got away with cur h@r'
burro. The poor donksy was hotfael
and couldn's fight OF protect htmseH, spd
we never knew II TIL next morning,
when We found his body abous half estAD
mp eco yards from tho campfire. This lees
us with only ono saddle animal, and from
that on we took turns riding. It wss ali
awful tiresome road through those miles
of timber, but we kept a-goin svsry day
and only camped at night. Turkey was