The indicator., 1894-11-24
AMID GOLD NUGGETS.
A YOUNG WOMAN'5 LUCKY
FALL IN OLD MEXICO.
sho was roor, I;ut the find Nottcd Her
Ten Thousand Dollars aud Now She Is
on to Europs-tr Spite of This She
Does Not Like Mexicd

went out 10 sketch in the hills OF Old
Mexico, and while looking for u brook
fell into a bed of gold nuggets She
jumped from poverty to compara-
tive riches in the twinkling of an eye,
says the Chicago Tribune. Her find
uetted her S9,70o. Miss Kemp is
on her way to Paris, France, where
she proposes to study art in the hope
Of becoming a great painter. She was
in Charharipari, u little settlement at
the mountains foot, six days hard
riding from any railroad. She says
"1here was some magnificent seem
cry near this quiet little place OF 800
souls, and / passed many pleasant
day sketching. One afternoon l start
ed out from the town with my sketch
book under MY arm, and after brief
walk came to u rolling, rather steep
bill Curious TO see what was beyond
went on up and over its brow. Be-
fore me lay one of the widest scenes 1
have ever seen before or since.
Tho tail orchard trees stood clo6o
together, slanting down the hill, the
top OF tho last ones fading into the
misty blue that filled the basin of tbs
canon. The sound of a stream came
up to me from the depths of blue be-
low. II sounded tempting and l start
ed for it. As [ went on down the
sides tore ny skirts in tho jagged
underground, but kept on and mark
ing my way by breaking low limbs. l
soon came in sight of the stream, and
was turning to make my way to She
left to find q slant that would tske
me to the bank of it when
| found myself sinking down and dovn.
| reached out for something to clus.h.
but some thing always gave way. ssd
finally landed on sandy bit of
beach In little cove that the horri-
zontal wall Of the mountains base
raade ut the edge OF the stream. was
rot hurt. My fall had been gradual.
had fallen through a growth that COW
erod the side of the hill above me
fully thirty feet. scanned the sides
OF the rock that made the cows. There
was no retreat that way. i looked
down the stream. There was water
fall not ten feet away, whose distance
/ could not measure, out it seemed us
II it was great deal TIP the stream
it seemed as bad; the water wd3 fully
twenty feet across and looked deep.
although here ut the edges it was shall
low enough, but the sharp projection
of stone stood well out into the water,
and 1t meant wade OF proportions /
L.-1 yot ts, s--,.<-t..ss1-
~ secured from the hillside q sinu-
n,tc trivr nd Ia fnGtaral II
to solid point OF the rock and then,
rs it was early, sat down to sketch
the canon as it stretched away in the
blue depths could see down over the
waterfall. / reclined on the bank
with my back to the hillside. While
contemplating the view I absently
picked up pebbles and threw them into
tho water. One of them happened
to notice as held it in my hand. 1t
was of odd shape and peculiar color
where the dried earth didn't cover it.
washed it off In the stream. 1t
looked suspiciously like gold. looked
where had been sitting and there in
an oblong rift in the rocks was hat
full OF just such clods as | held in my
hand. had seen nuggets Of gold,
but had never heard of them in such
quantities rs met my gaze. Hop
ing it was gold, but not sure, and with
thoughts OF Monte Cristo-like splendor
in my mind, placed those that were
loose in q niche as high up the bank
as could reach, and made my way
around the point Of rock to find way
back home with the nugget securely
fastened in my dress. The water was
up to my shoulders, but succeeded in
getting around; then marking the
way carefully with bits of paper, j
made up the hill again and gained the
house, much the worse for wear. l
put on dry dress, and seeking Miller,
showed him my find, asking him with
a calmness l certainly didn't feel what
it was. He scanned it carefully and
said:
"'Its purity good gold. Where'd
you get itP'
"'How much is it worth?' / asked.
".Oh, about $15, l think
al thanked him and went to my
room. To get the rest OF the bits, rs
he called them, from where they were
and take them safely to place where
] could dispose of them gave me much
to think on. l did not care to trust
anyone with my secret, and / wanted
to know the extent OF my find. The
next day l was putting query after
query to Miller about placer mining.
AT night was as far from knowing
what its extent was as could be.
After supper 1 resolved to try the
Italian, who had taken some fancy to
me, thought, for having given him
several cast-off garments for his wife.
found him, and secured his services
for the next day, making tryst
where he was to meet me with pick,
shovel, bags and rope, and on the way
told him of what / was about to do
and offered him $50 to assist me to
the railroad with what we might 60
cure. He swore by tho virgin that he
would never betray me. We made
our way down to the rock, and, fixing
tho rope firmly, went around, took
the tools from him, and then he came.
! asked him what he knew about
placer mining. He knew considerable.
/ showed him where l found the mug
get, or rather the clods, and we went
TO work.
at was hard work, too. But after
eight or nine hours OF picking came
to the conclusion that l had got all
thcre was out Of the rough gutter Of
tho rock where tho stream trickled
through. We had in all, Mt rough
estimotion, about eighty pounds OF the
mess OF dirt and gold, including the
loose bits had concealed In the
niche. l could not see signs OF any
moro. There was no oeach except
where / had stood. We looked that
all over and saw no signs Of gold. We
dug down and soon struck solid rock,
and We concluded therc was nothing