Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-04-26

the latter soon landed him at the sp2t | where he had so long and faithfully I labored.
 Looking down into the bed of that last huge slab of granite which had ! seemed to leap forth and chase him into \ the canyon Mike beheld large disk of | pure and glittering gold. It was piece \ of the precious metal about the size and shape of n dinner plate. He waited to 1 sec no moro. Leaping down into the | hole, he grasped the golden prize. which | looked to him as big as the face of the | full moon, and then at once made break for Downieville to find his back CTS, show them the gold and tell them the great news of the final annihilation of tho big rock.
 Mike was wild As 0 hawk. In his hands he held mass of gold that weighed nearly 20 pounds, and as he dashed down Slug canyon with his prize he shouted at every jump: That lasht blasht fetched her! That lasht blasht fetched herr' Thus shouting as he tore down the canyon, he passed several claims where miners were at work, but he halted at none of these for q single moment.
 Mike Maroney has gone crazy about his big bowlder" cried the miners on seeing him running bareheaded down the canyon trail. At some of the claims he passed men threw down their tools, and scrambling up the bank Of the stream to tho trail called out after him, but the only answer they received vas. That lasht blasht fetched AerH'
 When Mike reached DowHeville and started up the middle of the town, hat less, dripping wet, shouting and carry ing before him his golden prize, he soon had a crowd at his heels. He paid no attention to the crowd, but when he saw on either side of the street miners of his acquaintance he shouted to them in passing: ''Byes, that lasht blasht fetched her! There's a whole bushel of goold undther the bottom of her!"
 Strangers in the town thought they saw before them a crazy man, but every resident of the place knew Mike. and soon along the street was raised the | cry: Mike Maroney has struck it at last! He's knocked the devil out of his powder and got chunk of gold big germ fryin pan!'
 Hearing this news, others shouted, "Hurrah for Maroney and his 'lasht blasht!"
 'Yis, hurrah, byes!" cried Mike, who felt himself in tho seventh heaven of glory. "Hurrah, for this mint I'm the pridc of tho wurruldP'
 By the ti,no Miko had found some of tho friends who had for so long backed him with their coin and had displayed his big nugget there was a grand excite I 4l said haA ! found an old channel paved with mug gets as big as cobblestones, and others that great slabs of gold covered the bed rock
 Mike told his friends that, though he
 had only stopped long enough to catch
 up the first big nugget he saw, he was sure there was a whole bushel of gold
 in the nest of the big powder. With
 tho sample brought in by Mike lying
 before them all were ready to believe
 that he had made the strike of the
 ago. Every man who heard of Mike s
 find said he always felt sure that there
 were mule loads" of gold under the
 big powder of Slug canyon.
 As soon as Mikes packers had collect
 cd their wits, scattered by the sight of
 the big nugget and his wild story of
 bushels of gold in sight, they dropped
 everything and prepared to go at once to the scene of the strike. With the
 elated Maroney in the lead they set out,
 taking with them a pack mule that hap
 pened to be at hand. They were joined
 by a number of idlers as they passed
 through the town. and in going up Slug
 canyon the crowd wan increased by the miners at tho several claims who de-
 sired to feast their eyes upon what by this had grown to be Mike Maroney' $ l mound of gold. v
 Seeing the miners thus flocking after , him. Mike cried: "Cheer for mo, byes.
 The lasht blasht fetched herp' During the absence of the party the | excitement in the town was at fever } | heat. Some new wonder was constantly [ being added to the story of the big find, , Then occasionally there were false alarms One of these that sent a crowC } rushing down toward the river was t6 f the effect that Mike and his friend, were on their way back to town anC . were just crossing the bridge at Jersey : Flat with q mule load of gold.
 At last when the sun was just sink 8 ing behind the western mountains, tho D party came struggling back to town.
 They wero a dejectad looking crowd anG 6 gave short and surly answers to tht 6 questions fired at them on all sides. Int packers were particularly gloomy ant snappish. AS for Mike himself. he wa nowhere to be seen.
 | Finally the tongues of some of the dis 0 interested idlers who had gone out wit e l xxara looSanad thnuuh fba ad O ministration of copious doses of stimu n lants They then said squarely an IS frankly that they had found nothing a Q all. The nest of Mikes big bowlder wa 10 empty. In the smooth and soft bed ( e the rock they found the spot wheI O Mikes golden moon" had lain an l. saw his tracks beside it, but not sir
 gle nugget was in sight. Then they ha T. dug into the edgo of the old channel an 'F found it barren and smooth as the bo
 tom of all iron kettle.
 n What has become of Mike?" aske u some one.
 III "Ah, poor Mike! We'll, we are afrai 10 he is i'll a bad way. As soon as he four m that there were no nuggets in sight ar IL was told that he had merely imagine IT them he took on the color of Q corps y He reeled about, paved the air, Gr le then. with howl such as never wa l., to hear again. ran of to his cabin al ,u locked himself up in it. As he couldn lu be induced to como out. two men WE so left to watch him. for he is evident y upset in the upper story. No one o' get anything out of him but mutterin As about his last blast
 c' The next day Mike was brought in nc the town for medical examination. T