Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1894-06-22

w king when he is in
one of his rare
communicative moods, ho will tell you,
il you ask, the following story of how
from the nettle danger, he plucked,
not only the flower of safety, but of
fortune, rs we'll
1T was when the gold fever in Cali
fornia was at its height that sold out
all had at home and went to join the
throngs streaming to the new Ell Dor
ado. 1t was what you might call
grounding case with me, for if I did
not strike it rich l was ruined, rs l
had nothing i'll the world except the
little pile took with me to the min
ing country. I fell in with fellow
calling himself Peter Sharp, and sharp
he was, too. I afterward learned that
he was fugitive from Justice in Eng
land, that heaven alone knows what
his real name was, as he had ms many
aliases ms leopard has spots. But he
WAS good judge of ground where gold
would be likely hidden, and was above
all very amusing, agreeable COM
panion, so Twas very glad on the whole
OF his company. We decided to make
Tor the extreme corner of the gold
bearing region, and to do our own
prospecting, So that if we fonnd the
precious metal none could benefit by
it but ourselves.
SHARP was pretty nearly broke and
| had to pay for both our outfits, but
did not mind this, rs his knowledge
OF geology, which, while limited in ex-
tent could be depended on SO fur MS it
went, offset this. Well, we kept on
edging away from the overswarmed
districts toward the north, until we
shonld find spot where Sharp saw in
dications of the thing we were after.
Finally we fell in with man going to
Sacramento, but on stopping to talk
with us, this fellow soon guessed at
what wo wanted and at last volun-
teered to go back with lis. Sharp took
to the man, who gave his name MS Har-
old, but l did not somehow fancy him
from the first, and my instinct was not
Mt fault. The fellow WAS al escaped
convict from the East, and had been
put i'll for life for the murder of his
father-in-lnw to secure that relatives
money. But Sharp caught 80 eagerly
Mt his offer to go with us that the whole
thing was settled before I could have
taken my companion to one side to
have demonstrated. We journeyed OH
for several days, at last reaching lit
tie dip between two great, almost per-
pendicular rocks, where Sharp said a
river had once tricklCd down from the
mountains, washing down ore with it.
Gle was right rs to that, though
We found far less than we had hoped
Tor, and after u month or six weeks
there we had exhausted tho resources
of the place. We each had about n
thousand dollars in nuggets and nearly
as much in dust. Harold then pro-
posed our going down to Sacramento
to bank it, SO we set out. But not
having noticed the way we came, on
going back, we lost our bearings for n
day, and Mt Inst came upon shaft
like big well cut square down into
the earth about three hundred feet or
more.
That place was sunk by miners
said Sharp, examining the sides care.
fully.
''But Harold laughed and asked,
What miners? Gold war only found
in this State in 40, and thnr warn't
no mining done here before then, for
thar wnrn't much sides Injuns about
"All the same, this shaft was cut
by human beings, persisted Sharp
Look here, man, here you can see
where the pickaxe, or whatever the
fellow had, slipped. Sure's you're
alive, somebody that knew thing or
two about mining was once at work
here, though I can't say how long ago.
Maybe they were Mt it when old
Columbus landed in this country
"Harold here seemed to give in,
and leaning over the sides of the we'll
like thing said i'll sort of specula-
tive tone, Wonder if there's any gold
down there yet2 What do you say
to one o. lis goin' down to see?'
eve both assented and Sharp volun-
tered to be the one, but Harold
stopped HIM. No. Blank here had bet
ter go; he's the lightest and me and
you, Sharp, kin lower and haul him UP.
$50 ropes were united from about
the baggage and knitted into one long
length, and attached to my wrist. AS
stepped to the opening Harold
caught me: ''You will be heavy
enough without that extra fifty pounds,
and kick off your boots, too
SO, with the jest that thought 1
might trust the money with them, 1
put off the belt and boots and, with
only my knife in the band of my
trousers, was dropped over. I had
gotten within seven or eight feet of
the bottom when the rope all at once
parted and / fill headlong into pool
of dirty water and mud
What did you do that for?' I
heard Sharp cry, and Harold answered
something, which did not hear, but
Sharp shouted again, quite angrily,
I'm gong to kill and rob him in no
such way
"rhen Harold talked awhile, but
still L could hear nothing, though 1
could imagine the argument that was
going on above. Twas actually on trial
Tor my life. Would Sharp be firm in