The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-05-17


claim near Michigan Bluff, Cal. on ac-
count OF the price we paid for water
100 cents per inch) and the great GUAM
tlties OF large gravel and powders we
rarely ever made wages for ourselves.
SO we used to pipe down gravel until
the ground sluice was completely
buried, then hire a small force of men
ana stone boat the rocks out of the
way With our derrick. On one of these
occasions two men presented them
serves Tor hire; said they were. new
corners In the country, had walked
from sacramento and appeared to be
uoWn on their luck. We put them to
work; they proved themselves better
than the ordinary after getting ac-
quainted with them.
L CLEANED the following story from
them little at time, perhaps two
months altogether:
They said they were Cornishmen and
had been hired in England with others
TO go to Brazil to work in some mines
as drifters; that this mine that they
worked was known as the Gongosco
mine; that it was not a gravel nor vet
a quartz mine; but a large mountain of
deep red earth with streaks of an IRON
colored substance running through. II
in every direction; these thread-like
streaks were nearly pure gold: that
instead of the mine being timbered. as
is the case in all good hill claims, pill
lars were left standing and that the
whole works were now abandoned. the
men scattering and the works going to
ruin. On inquiring if any of the men
mat worked on that mine were yet in
Brazil, they informed me that the
blacksmith of the company, Blackwell
by name, had started the only marine
blacksmith shop that there was in Rio
and was doing thriving business, as
he was first-class mechanic as well
as a good fellow socially. Scarcely six
months had elapsed since they had left
Brazil when this story was told to me.
In those days used to keep a memoir
andum i had noted down names and
places connected with their story.
Some three or four months later our
mine, not improving any, / gave my
interest to my brother and took the
stage for Auburn. thence 10 Sacrament
to, took steamboat for Frisco, seeing
placards on every side that the steam
ship company would carry you from
Frisco to New York city and even pay
your fare across the isthmus for SIS.
/ bought a ticket. The next day found
me on the old paddle-wheel steamer
Orizaba, bound for Panama, on the At
lantic side the steamers name was the
North Star. ] had about $500 after
paying passage, but owing to a funny
game called loo, or 81, l found myself
at Aspinwall without money enough to
buy a bunch of bananas. Well, 1
landed in New York strapper, having
left there in 90; 1t was now 1860. had
plenty of relatives, brothers and sis
tiers living in the city, but concluded
that / would not make myself known
to them.
Having been a sailor before becoming
miner ii was not very hard for me
to go back to the sea, so l went to a
shipping office and got a berth on the
schooner Transit, bound for Berwick's
bay and the sugar plantations. / made
two or three others coasting trips until
when the war broke out, found me in
New Orleans. There l was offered a
chance in the most powerful tug that
ran on the Mississippi. They were ra-
zeeing her-that is making her low on
the water as possible and fitting her
up for rebel privateer. l made one
trip on her, help capture IL prizes, then
quit her as she was too wet and un-
comfortable. Now, in order to get
away from the privateer, diplomacy
had to be used, so l saw a captain
named Speights of the bark Leighton,
of Baltimore, who was bound for Rio
de Janerio, and who wanted a mate
awful bad, but the confederacy wanted
just such men too, so l went about the
day before sailing and was safely
stored away until off Havana, when 1
reported for duty. After about As days
voyage we arrived at Rio. My first
quest was to find out if Blackwell the
blacksmith, was a reality. Upon in
curry l soon found him. He was pros
pering, doing a large business and was
about such a man as was pictured to
me. l made myself known to him; told
him about the men, what part of Cali
fornia 1 had left them; that 1 had been
two years working my way there in
order to see the deserted Gongosco
mine. He confirmed all that the others
had said about it; that it was easy to
work by hydraulic process; that a
ditch was already cut for a number of
miles that they had used for milling
purposes, but thought that l would not
be able to get out there without a pass
port. 1 told him that l was chief off,
Ger of the bark Leighton; that / thought
/ could get the captain to discharge
me If / would forfeit the wages due,
but if / done so IL would leave me
short financially. He thought that /
had better quit the vessel anyway as
ashore and might eventually lead up to
reaching the Gongosco.
The next day / threw up my berth
on the Leighton, had all my belongings
brought ashore and sent to $3.50 a
day hotel. / then met Blackwell the
following evening at a Certain club
room, where he introduced me to a Mr..
McLennan. who kept a shipyard and
done about all of the business in that
line, such as putting in new spars, etc.
He did not talk of any business to me
and I thought that II was not policy
or good taste to mention my needs at
that time
However, matters worked out their
own salvation. This McLennan was a
blue nose from Prince Edwards island;
had been in Rio about five years; came
there as the master of a vessel that
was condemned as unseaworthy; was
a ship carpenter by trade. about 30 or
SO years of age and a general all-sound
athlete. He was quite a social fellow
and sometimes drank himself quite
mellow.