The Mena weekly star., 1897-10-06

for the picturesque) go over. Just oe low the cable there is camp of the 1 Chinese, containing store, garden and half dozen huts. In Septemper
 the river is low, and the Chinese siaice
 among the powders in its very bed,
 turning it aside with wing dams. Tor
 this purpose.
 As the man at the plum box looked up
 the canyon he could see the Chinese
 miners at work just below the cable. l The sun was bright, and now and then their wet shoveIs, as they turned them | in air, flashed like disks of silver. The yellow Tuba roared and thundered in 1 its uneven course where they were
 working. and the canyon was full of the vibrant sound of it's ceaseless conflict with the huge powders that lined it's way; and yet, now and then, as the wind blew down the river, the sharp, nasal tones of thesGhinamen's voices could be distinctly heard. The man at the plum box got to marveling at the clearness with which things could be distin- guished over the dull, never failing thunder of the great river that swept along below him, and all but forgot Potts entirely. Even Clark seemed to find something foreign to think of, and smoked and gazed in silence.
 A mountain quail, across the canyon, whistled melodiously, and its soft, but impellant notes, seemed almost to echo Just below the shop, about a quarter of mile down the river, two sons of the | .1<,,s rocker, and he could distinguish the harsh kaashl kaasn! kaash! kaashl oi the gravel as it grated back and forth on the iron riddle" and could hear the stones rattle as they were thrown out eeven fancied he could hear the swee-ee of the water as it was poured upon the gravel from the old oyster can that served the Chinaman as a dipper-but of course he was mistaken in that.
 As he was listening to these noises, a sound came to his ears from farther down the river. It was a long cry, quavering, fainting call that beat back and forth from point to point, and finally passed him by, seemingly like Il broken-winged spirit flying painfully 1 up the great canyon to die away in the duli thunder of the sweeping waters.
 ClarI. moved as about to rise, anti took his pipe from his mouth. Both | listened.
 The river thundered, the quail across the canyon whistled the Chinamen clinked sheir picks and talked nasally far up :be gorge. But the cry they had heard was not repeated, and Clark final ly stretched himself out again and re- turned to his leisured smoking and talking. His only comment was: "l guess them Injuns must be drunk. He blew the smoke from his thin lips and sprayed it out through his sandy. dropping mustache. Then he contin- aed:
 "Mabbe ScarFaced Dick has been to town, or old Potts has seen a fresh batch of his airships. By the way, was tell in you about Potts, wasn't I?
 Well, after Potts began to ge, looney, he got to avoidin meetin' people and tall<in to 'em, and finally he came across the river here and married and cut all his tribal relations with white folks. He got hold of some land and made himself a ranch (it's just up the hill here about two miles), and raised five or six boys and two girls. All the boys are married now to lnjun girls. anu one daughter is married. The other girl. -Rena, by name-old Potts made her stay at home with him to keep house after his wife died. which happened year or so ago.
 Potts has been gittin' loonier and loonier all the time, and since his old squaw wife died he has been pretty pad. He's always mutterin' and talkin' to himself; or when he ain't doin' that he's slippin' around through the brush so ail-fred silent that he makes a feller feel scary.
 What is he looney about?' We'll. blamed if l know exactly. without it's religion. You see, he's a sort of spirit ualist, and he's always seein' things in the ar. Sometimes he sees one thing. and sometimes another, but generally he sees ships. 1 remember was talkin' with him once--I forget just what we were conyersin' about. but Potts was talllin' as sensible as any man could when suddenly his eyes opened wide. and sort O scared expression came on his face and he lifted his hand and pointed to the sky.
 Look at the ships!' he says. Look at the pretty ships sailin' in the skyl Don't yo' see 'em2 Ships! Shipsl'
 Il looked where he pointed and I couldn't see even a yaller hammer or hluejay.