The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1894-12-14
THE NICK OF TIME.
True story of Adventures on
the Great Plains.


,.tersn prospector and miner, Daniel
M ~ name, who, now in his seven
n wear, is still as alert and active
are most men Of fifty.
,Irnele DAN" as everyone calls him,
N Intelligent and fairly well edu-
a man, quite unlike what many
ME- suppose the pioneers Of western
vi to be. He forsook wandering
more than a quarter century ago,
rried and settled down in Michigan
|enioy his well-earned competence.
having myself been for many years
california and Australian gold dig
Dams "reminiscences Of those times
estly interested me; as | trust, bis
Y story may do my readers. I give
nearly as possible, In his own
brds, promising that during the
bole narrative he never, for himself
others, used the uncouth dialect
bich some imaginative writers are
bd Of ascribing to all the early Cali
mia gold seekers, whereas, as a mat
Of fact, only the uneducated and
higher class of these men ever spoke
such fashion. But to Dams story,
Heb, from his we'll proved veracity,
am sure, entirely true:
pn the 18th Of July, 1850, when was
oung fellow OF twenty-six, our over.
BID train, consisting of four "prairie
boomers" and thirty men, beside our
Tide, old Bill Somers, reached the
estern part of Arizona without hav-
lost man.
Early that morning we crossed the
g Sandy, eight or ten miles above
junction with the Santa Maria, and
Pittle south Of Hualapai mountain, a
rtain pass through the foothills OF
hich We designed to take. This
ute, Of Bills own choosing, lay far
the south of that usually followed.
ence we found no trail-no wheel
hrks nor foot prints-to guide u.s.
1t as Somers felt confident of find
8 the desired short cut, we did mol
puble ourselves about that.
On coming to the foothills, how
Ter, and inspecting several ravines In
|ccession, he declared all to be inn
|acticable. But" said he to Tom
ranger, our captain, 81 know there's
pass hereabouts. / went through II
|one in 40, and I'm bound to hit il
Keep your train where it is, Tom
pile | go ahead and climb one Of
|ose cottonwoods, to look around Q
II I'll be back in half an hour
Ire"
|So, leaving his horse and rife be
|nd, the guide set off on foot ant
Pickly disappeared among the quak
: ash bushes at the foot of q noun
bin spur.
We all watched the tall cottonwoo,
ices growing higher up, expecting
Fery moment to see him shining VI
Pc OF them; but we never did.
The half hour and another passes
way; yet not sight nor sound o
|al could we see or hear.
It's mighty queer atlast grumble'
|om Granger. what on earth ca
|eep the cd MANI"
Oh, he'll be back directly" sal
PINE one. Likely he's found pas
Pa1 looks about right and is tracin
cut to make sure. He's safe enoug
wed have heard a shot or two froI
Is revolver"
NOW, since entering Arizona, we
'ao two ugly scrimmages wit
pAcnes, but as we hadn't seen on
Ia an Indian Of any kind, for the la
eek' we couldn't think of any poss
II harm happening to our frien'
Ivy one OF us might have lost himse
7 tne foothills, but such an idea
Io .,,, with the guide was absur
P'll ne didn't come. It was gettir
&C IN the forenoon, and there '
1e-ioahng around and doing not
rith the exception of Abe Johnso
iorty-hve-year-old Kentuckian. '
we're all vouno ,,n,, f<~o~vfno onlr