The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-07-11

dig fish bait? he asked, with a humorous
twinkle in his eye. It's a good place for
both-right whar the Missourians did the
last work of thar folly"
I'm a railway builder, sir answer
ed, with dignity. 4 was proposing to dig
test pit hereto test the nature of the
ground
'Ah-h? he said, nodding wisely as il
the whole matter was clear to him. We'll,
the soils been well tested thar. That
young fellows standin now jest whar the
Missourians dug thar cellar. We called
it thar folly then, but thar's good. reason
for thinkin' it wasn't folly by a long shot.
Twas dozen years ago they come
here, two of 'em, huntin' a water right
for ranch, they said. They had a chart
of some kind that they went by, and were
mighty particular nobody else should look
at it. At last they located thar claim
right Whar we are nova quarter section,
it was-and went ter blowing -plowin' a
foot deep with a subsoil plow-over a two
acre patch. That's no way to abreak up
virgin soil for plantn', and we laughed
at EN- good deal But that warn't all.
After the two-acre plat had been plowed
and replowed, they begun ter dig thar cell
lar right whar that young mans a stand
in. No wonder we called thar undertake
IN folly-startin' in ter build a house
whar the creek would be sure ter wash
1t into the Arkansaw river in the first high
water that came.
" But they jest dug away, and when the
cellar was about two-thirds dug they stop
ped workin' one day about noon, an one
of 'em rode over toward Sterling, putin
his horse to a good pace an lookin' as if
he he'd business that couldn't be hindered.
1 lived then In the sod house YOU see on
the hillside, and SEEM the other man stay
in thar alone, l went over to talk with
him. He was takin it easy, sittin at the
odc IF he oil uyffh oh InaV, 4,aF
against the side close by him. He was
polite, but short spoken, and didn't seem
anxious for company, so 1 didn't stay
long. The other Missourian came back at
ter dusk with a wagon, and 1 could see by
the light of their lantern that the two
were working in the cellar until late into
the night. They went away, bag and bag
gage, before morning, ana I've never set
eyes on 'em since
The old fellow looked at me quizzicaly,
as taking from his pocket a silver coin he
handed 1t to me. What do yer think of
that? he said. I found three of 'em in
the dirt that the Missourians threw out in
that nights diggin 1t 'peared as if
they'd just made a hole straight down in
the cellar bottom and then threw the dirt
back into it again. I was curious enough
after maxim sure they were gone ter dig
the hole out again. The three dollars and
some bits of rotten leather was what 1
tound.'
THE coin he had handed me was
clumsily made Mexican dollar bearing the
date of 1882. When l handed it back to
him the farmer winked and nodded his
head wisely.
"'Those Missouri fellers knew their
business, he said. They knew about
whar they wanted ter dig, an did all that
plowin ter get at some landmark that
would show 'em the spot precisely. All
this new growth of grass and weeds is
came up whar the ground was plowed.
The cellars long ago been filled up by
| sand brought down by the freshets. 1
don't think it's much use for anybody to
waste time sarchin for silver treasure in
that place. DO your
II agreed with him fully, and drove
away without having disturbed the pick
and spade in the bottom Of the wagon.
hadn't really expected to find any treas
ure, 1 said to myself. But the fact re-
mains that Fritz, stranger in the To-
cality, had, in a somnambulistic state,
gone directly to the place where a treas
ure had once been hidden buried I fully
believe under the precise circumstances
narrated after his waking. The marvel
of this you can explain on any theory you
choose"