The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1896-10-08
LUCK IN THE DIGGING s.1

LUCK IN THE DIGGlNGs. 585&
Popped tho Question and Found 2 For
. tune at tho Eamo Time. ". s% NJ II
ut was in the spring of 1850" said
an old '49-er, "that four of us, healthy.
active, hopeful and strong, left Alaryss
Vile, Cal, one bright June morning On On
a prospecting tour up the Yuba rlyer.s
1t was no trick to make money those
days. Everyone had sackful or 50
of gold dust lying around somewhere.
Burglars and thieves and road agents
were not heard of at that time in those
parts, and an unused candle box made
pretty good safe. We left our sa cks IN
John G. Falls store at Marysvillc anu
struck out up the river. We packed our
blankets, picks, pans and shovels, !
rocker, a little grub. coffee pot ard
frying pan on mule and struck out for
fortune of a hundred thousand dollars
each. -. - = u 3:*'2
"Just above Longs bar we located
claims on virgin ground and went to.,
work. We worked just an hour by the
watch. The cleanup weighed foua
ounces of clean river gold. That was
an ounce apiece, or at the rate of ten
ounces each for a full days work. We
held q consultation. We were out for
hundred thousand dollars before tho
rainy season set in. Word had conn
down from Downeyville that men were
making thousand dollars each IN
there. Ten ounces, or S1G0. day
wouldn't do. A little figuring showesl
! US that. We struck camp and left. \
party of Wisconsin boys took possession
of the ground, and next day they cleared
up 100000 and went back to the states.
They were smart. Wewere continental
fools.
1--WE had a fortune in our hands and
let it co." sighed the old man. "Butwe
were boys, and didn't know better. We
were mining on Gold hill in 1854. Gold
hill is ~ miles from Colona, where
gold was first discovered in California.
| Three young men from Missouri came
up to our ground sluice.
"'Can't you fellows tell us where we
| can wash out a few dollars?' inquired
one of them.
eyes, with PLEASURE answered
Shorty Tyler. Buy q few inches OF
WHITEWATER was a dollar an inch
and start in over there pointing to
| slight depression on the side Of a near
hill. The boys did as directed and tool;
| out $1,000 apiece in about three
months. Erey returned to Pike county,
while we continued working our eight
collar-a-day diggings. What do yoa
call that-lucl or foresight?
LELAND Stanford kept 4 small g1x'-
! Gerry store in Cold Springs, Eldorado
county. in the carly sos. Our meSs
bought many pound of bacon and
beans from him. lie little thought he
would become Il multi-mill;onaire, gov
ernor of the state and United States
| senator. He looked and acted the plain.
ccmmon-sense business man he was,
Well. he went to Sacramento, got =
corner on something. made j few thou
sand dollars, and along with George
| and Charles Croker and c. P. UuEt-
| ington obtained the Central Pacific:
franchise through the favorable report
of Col. Judah, who surveyed the route
over the Sierra Nevada on mulebaclS,
and came out of the job with millions
| for the few thousands invested; but
he showed good deal of mighty cute
headwork," added the TessimStic old
timer. Luck wasn't against him in
that deal. Fortune favored him, and it
helped mighty good man.
"Why, I know q man who. with his
two boys, took out $4,000 through
dream of his little daughter. It hap
pened in 1852. The father and his boys
had been mining for some time, with in
different success. One morning his
daughter said to him: Papa, have
| dreamed three nights in succession that
there is a large amount OF gold right
around that big tree down the gulch.'
The old man set his sluices down there
the next day and washed out $4,000.
know this to be fact. married that
girl, hut she never had another such
dream.
"A bic dance and blowout were given
at Logtown. near Mud springs. in 1856!
A young fellow and his girl took \
breath of fresh air on big bowlder
near the pavilion between dances He
popped the question. She said Yes
In his cagerness to seal the compact
with a kiss he partly slid from the rock.
loesening piece of it. He picked it up
as n memento of the happy moment
and put it in his pocket A glance at il
the next day revealed free gold. Flo
had found O wife and fortune at thu
same time. Was that luck or fore
sight?
Coming nearer home and down tn
the present time we see instances where
flckle fortune has made several goo;e
and as many mighty mean men rich and
| famous in mining; but there are thou
sands of good, honest, industrious, So
Der men who have courted the way
ward goddess for years and never got u
smile. How do you account for that?
Don't you think quite as many men
lave gained wealth in mining by
/ stroke Of good fortune or luck or chance
as by study and perseverance? I may
be pessimistic. for I have worked az
hard and intelligcntly and as long as