Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1896-07-16

uuu tHS DlS Hills lud1 arc HOW GuUlQ8
the sides out of the hills up there
hadn't been thought of. The boys
were running rockers down in the
gulch then, and most OF them didn't
make more between meals than they
could oat-and drink-up Mt grub
time. And it was pretty quiet when
Pizen Bill johnson came to town.
But Pizen Bill woke up the camp.
Bill wasn't at moro than one place at
one time, but his reputation was every
where at once in the diggingg, and it
didn't improve with age, either. Will
lam was dressed to kill. Whenever
he moved you wero apt to see the
handle of another weapon, that had
escaped your observation before, stick
ing ont from some new angle. His
record was worse looking than he was
which is saying good deal. You
might lay his ugly looks to some dis,
pensation of Providence that YOU
didn't quito see the drift OF, but few
people would care to charge u disposi.
ton like his to anything but Satan.
Sorrow was his shadow, and the wall
ing of widows and the crying OF or
phans had followed him out of more
than one camp. But, somehow, when
he struck Gold Cross. the general air
of condensed shiftlcssness seemed to
take the place OF his usual original
cussednesS, and, beng above working,
he just settled down and drank be-
tween meals and ate between drinks.
Finally, ono day, he developed
enough energy to climb up Bumper
Hill, which is first cousin to preci-
pice and is On tho west side OF tho
gorge. After that he made several
trips up there, generally after the sun
had closed up his days business, and
by and by he let it leak ont that he
had located g first class quartz claim
on ledge where the pitch was not too
steep to pile rock, and also volunteered
the statement that the name of his
new bonanza was the Twilight SO
christened because he found il better
to work up there after nightfall; his
explanation beng that it was too hot
to do any locating or anything else up
there in the day tine-which explain
alton was probably as near the truth
as he usually got. In those days we
mostly thought that quartz mining
was the calling of arch idiots, it being
so much easier to run placer, and so
II good many of the boys laughed at
him on the sly; but those who had
heard OF him most, and therefore
worst, just shook their heads and sur.
missed he was up to something. Not
being interested in the cemetery bust
ness, they didn't try TO Investigate.
As for Pizen Bill johnson, when he
got his claim located 10 suit, he Just
sat down and waited and waited.
came to Gold Gross on the hog
train, and, being discouraged with
mining that didn't pan out board bills,
took the first job that offered itself,
which happened to bo that of bar
keeper in the Golden Oriole; for,
when man is hundred miles from
nowhere, without money and without
friends, his conscience gets sleepy
when there is q promise OF bread and
butter in sight, uuaccompanied by the
prospect of u term in Jail.
The Golden Oriole was in niche
in the side of the gulch, where some
enterprisin9 idiots had washed out IL
few hundred tons of dirt in the hope
OF finding something rich, but had
finally concluded that there was moro
money and considerable less work in
holding up stage coaches. Then jag.
promoter from Sacramento appeared
or tho scene, and, Judging from the
looks of the thirsty inhabitants that
there were several good openings that
needed filing, built board palace on
tie ruins, "heedless OF the fed" and
shortly alterward there was revelry iu
carload lots in that neighborh hood. IL
was n pretty solid castle for those days,
and hugged up close on one end to tho
side Of tho gulch. An auction piano
furnished Inspiration at one end of the
big room that constituted the interior
OF the joint, and !, with tue valuable
assistance of the bar, furnished the in
spiratlon at the other end, There was
window ut ono end of the bar, the
sill of which was on u level with n
burro trail that the miners had spoiled
when ut the innocent work of laying u
foundation for our house, and I used
to retire through it to gaze upon the
awe-lnspirlng scenery outside and
mediate upon the beauties of nature
and the comfort of solitude, whenever
the guests got TO hurting solid argu-
ments at each other and commenced
shooting off something besides their
mouths. 1t was really big institu-
tion for Gold Cross, ana tho proprie-
tor consumed considerable time in
trying to make up his mind what to
call it, not being able to decide wheth-
er 'palace" OF pavilion" was the
proper handle, and eventually COM
promising on Golden Oriole." There
was big table down the centre,