Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1896-09-12
BILLS NUGGET.
By Owen Dale.

Tom and mo had come 20 coolsardie
together. being old mates. and then
we came across BIZ on the nsld- He
were a queer chap. always, were biai-
Work. Wen. ! won't say ~ ever
knew q hand on any diggin's as could
beat Bin for work. take him all round
Early and late Bin we're there. wsoev-
er wern'r. He would work eating; ne
would work talkiDg-though II weren't
much talking you would get out OF
BIZ, not AZ . regular thing. anyhow.
Why. be seemed as IL he worked OF
nights. after he'c turned in. did Bin.
and II wac ali gold. every word OF IL
Yes. for the matter % that. be MAS a
regular whale AT work, and 10 mis-
take.
When Tom and me first came across
him Bill was down on his luck. His
tucker had Just about panned out. ana
he hadn't a shilling left % buy water
which, seeing bow water were poune
q bucket nj Coolgardie just then. and
scarce al that, vecs awkward les. !
reckon we were d godgend 70 BILL
, that's about what we were, Tom and
me. when we offered 20 take him In
mates. Not but what IL was right
enough for ia. too. Tom and me had
a matter Of maybe. thirty pounds be-
tween u. and we were Old hands AZ
the lob. bus the place were new 70 Us.
and CooixardIe, Ike most fields. had
ways OF its own We knew Ballarat,
In the deep leads, and we'd been mates
al Palmer River; but this weren't Ike
fhem-n0t a little bit Now, Bill, bed
been here two months, and be knew
most all there was 20 know about the
place and 80 IL come about a. we went
mates with BIZ. and just then BIZ
was mighty glad 70 be took By any
body as could get a BIT Of tucker and .
bucket OF water-yOu bet
After all said. let's be fair 10 Bill
He could work. and be did-never 4
man b@fter-and II he didn't turn out
straight. as mates bad ought 10 b..
well, after all. BIZ had temptations.
! reckon. Bill wasn't 70 say biz bur Ee
was strong. and as wiTy ~ they make
'em. Tom ard me used 20 WORK, but.
bless me, we weren't In IL, not along
side Of him at bis best. He Was a
gOod-IOOking chap enough. too, was
Bill, leastwise. all you could see Of
him, which wasE't 20 say much. being
,, be was that hairy. and. water being
J scarce Won couldn't sal. not exactly.
] as &c color; bur lis eyes y0B could see,
2 and Bills eyes were out Of the COM
: mon. Look ont they did from under
: his eyebrcwg eager AID anxious. ~ u
be could sec something rich JUST ahead
/. Of him.
2 ElIl never talked u uch--n0t while Be
was awake. anyhow-snd when be
I was asleep his talk didn't amount q
nothing about himself. lie might have
been a dock In bis time. might Bill. fOl
!, anything ever he said 20 the contrary
: and be might ANGST have been any
B taing by his tOnsue-only one thing b.
4 was, sure, Bill hadn't always been a
! digger. no, LOr yet for 80 very long
:. either. No; bf we're q queer chap
= were Bill, tut take him all round. I've
J, met sight Of worse mates in ms
y time.
i We stopped az ClOIgSTdIe for 4
q month. aud IL WAS long enough. tOo
a Gold there was, admit: but IL badn'
, no sort u cOnsiStsEcy. You nigh
i work till ye struck gold, aEd mayfaI
get a nugget or .wO and thought y
= had come on good thing: and then
a after you had broke your heart follow
Z ing Of IL up for days, you'd AZ like q
20 rot Kick up nugget with the toe o
n your boot az you were going 70 wOTt
OF night atop b tho ground. That wa
the worst Of CeOlgardie. Gold tber
was. and plenty at thar. but dnffe
= was just about as likely % com
- across II as a digger. and lazy cha
y that Ioafed about like ChinaTan. 81
r eyes and no hands had every bit a
be good a chance a. us that worked earl
be and late 10 get 1t.
r We were getting pretty near full u
r. Of this. though we were making tuekf
a. at II. mind you. all the time. and ri
80 he was the fullest up Of the lot on
" day there came news that gold ha
~ been struck heavy up the DOrfbwes
W matter Of twenty miles or s1 ~
~ was wild 10 be of, and though y
Of beard that there was no water fOun
90 yet. ID stood 10 reason that s1mebOd
nd would find il, and. anyhow water car
ar were sure 10 go where there WAS gOl
u The new field was out beyond fbe r.
sunset range. and we concluded 10 ~
~ what II was like. Twenty miles don
As sound much. but twenty miles Oy'
err, half-sandy ridges, carrying fiye,ga
to. Ion jug NJ water as well as tucker az
tools, tots up good bit Of u job by II
III time ye get there. I won't say bI
lat what Bill was all ii ere at the job
ina was mostly alw. ~ Leen-was Bill
W.. r.s.A a. Ino a. tn fflEHsg L..