The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1897-12-28
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AN OLD MINERS STORY.
GreenhOrn's Experience With a Don
Juan Cat.
THE GREENHoRN, Dec. %, 1897.

THE GREENHoRN, Dec. %, 1897.
EDITOR CHRONICLE:
Since,my last effusion the Old Miner
has made me another visit. He is a
quaint old fellow this Old Miner. His
form is erect, his eyes bright, and he
has, despite his 20 years, sturdy indie
pendence about him that is simply
charming. He is a bit prosy, trIae
tiresome in his retrospection, but that
is because what he tells me and what
he sees as he gazes into the fading en-
bers of 1ife's dying fire are two very diff
terent things. He shows me the skele-
ton of by-gone days, but to him it is
still clothed in the flesh. 1 showed him
the CHRONICLE with the story of tHow
the Greenhorn Got Its Name,' and he
laughed deep, hearty laugh that shook
his sides, made his eyes moist, and end
ed with a sigh. ''I remember that
idjut," said he, "he used to oil his drill
to make it cut easy; but that other fell
low, knew him too. He told me he
got letter from that girl every week,
and that they were the light of his life.
I saw four of them. But then he's
dead"
"Say! Did you know that the old
miners used to think the Garden of
Eden was located here? No? Well you
see, some old Nissourian came out here
with a Bible in his pack, and he told
the boys about the four rivers that ran
Of hn IL.
he gifts to figuring that Powder river
flowed to the north, Burnt river to the
east, one fork of the John Day to the
west and another to the north, and then
hesays, There you are.' 1 never took
much stock in the story, and then, be-
sides, its poor country for snakes and
some kinds of apples. And then there
amt no fig leaves nor any of them tropic
fxins like that; and besides this amt
no country for none of them airy Co.'S
tooms, not even in August. If God had
made the first man to fit this country,
He would have made his feet ten feet
long for snow-shoona. He would sure"
*##
This same old Missourian he figured
1t out that Greenhorn was also the
mountain that the devil took the Savior
up to offer Him all the gold dust and
placer ground from Seven Devils to John
Day. I've forgot how he had it fixed
up, but it was all right. At any rate
this Missourian he said that when the
two climbed up old Greenhorn, the
devil called particular attention to the
hydraulics over at Robinsonville and
j Dixie Creek, and the big placers around
= Canyon City. And this Pike county
Bible sharp he says that when old
forked-tail offered the whole business
and lot more to the Savior if he would
fall down and worship him, that there
was an Israelite who was in the mercan-
tile business down in Canyon City loaf
ing up on the summit and overheard
the whole conversation. This Missou-
Tian, he says that this Israellte twigged
the devil a wink and got him to one
side, and he says: Say, mister, I'll
take you up on that layout if the other
fellow DON'T
f'This Missourian never told whether
the trade was made, but dealt with
one of them Canyon City Hebrews after
wards for long time and 1 don't think
be was the fellow. If he charged other
people like he did me for his goods, he
had better thing"
But enough of the Old Miner for a
time, because I want to tell you about
our cat. A couple of homeless mice
concluded to stay with us for the winter,
and the first night chewed up Hills
genuine German socks to make them
selves bed. That made Hill mad, and
he borrowed a cat at the Don Juan,
a sort of a Don Juan cat, too, and
brought him home in barley sack.
When the sack was opened the cat be.
gan to make things sing. He made a
rush at the window to get out, fell tail
foremost onto a cup full of quicks1lvel
upsetting it, raised merry Cain generally
for half an hour, and then climbed into
the rafters, where he raised up hi
feline voice in a manner that was soul
narrowing. At the end of thirty-siz