Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1897-01-29

New York Post.
The first wind
picks up the light, dry sand and blows
it away in little swirls. That takes off
one layer. The "comber" hurries
around after the swirls and picks up
whatever Is exposed to sight. Layer
after layer of. sand is removed, un-
covering more and more coins and
trinkets for the scavengers of the sea-
shore. On the day of the last great
storm one man picked up $32, which
is the best days work remembered
by any of the men talked with. This
storm chasing is pretty hard labor.
The men have to run around from place
10 place after the elbows of sand" and
the wind soon begins to lift and throw
in big waves, which, with the tide, pour
in shore and cover the beach. So pront-
able is it, however, that the combers
search till the water is over their boot
tops.
The most profitable work of all is
the hardest. That is digging around
the base of the piles of the iron pier.
The pier in summer is a promenade as
well as waiting room. From it all sorts
of things drop, and. sinking In the
water. are given up by the owner as
lost The comber knows otherwise. he
has learned that the ebb and flow OF
the tide washes little eddy holes around
MI hat
comes anywhere near these holes is
deposited in them. He is aware, more
over, that even heavy objects are borne
backward and forward by the waves,
and that consequently the chances are
in favor of the pile hole receiving, on
some in and out flow of the tide, all
things worth recovering. So when the
beaches are left by the summer crowds
and the hucksters, the combers go out
with their big shovels and sleeves ana
dig up the sand in the holes. They
say that the finds are of good value
and very miscellaneous. Most numerous
are the pickings from the surface OF
the hard pan" from two or three feet
down through the surface sand.
Upon this hard food the coins stand
on edge in a position to penetrate TO
the safe regions below. But the comDer,
understanding this, shovels down three
or four feet further, and though it Is
heavy work and exhausting afterward
when the sieve has to be used to re-
lease the sand the patient placer miner
makes sure he has reaped the summer
harvest before he leaves off his task.
There are two rich places which have
not been explored. One is defended by
o., man and his wife who own the
ground. 1t is line of poles set up for
the bathing patrons Four years ago
a Young man went into the water there
with two 500 gold pieces around MS
neck. He was about to be married and
was saving up the money for the event.
1t was too precious to be left in the
bath house keepers safe, so he kept
it in the little leather bag at his neck
Wien he came out of the water the
bag and the gold were gone. He wept
and cursed and made such noise about
his loss that everybody ION Coney
knew of it. The combers were not alone
in the search for it,, but it was not
found during the season and in the fall
the winter men prepared to dig around
the lifeline poles. Gebbard was afraid
they would dig up the poles or loosen
them and he forbade them to work
there. The police assisted him when
they were within call, but whenever
they and Gebbard were away down
swooped the combers to search for the
gold. The owner found it necessary to
leave his wife to watch while he was
away and the combers have been kept
off ever since But they mean to have
those double eagles yet; they know they
are in the pole holes, and Dave Stew
art, the negro comber, said recently:
"I'se goin' to- have them gold-bugs
if it takes till Gabriel blows"
The other untouched spots are also
lifeline poles, those that once carried
a. line from the pier to the Scenic Rail
road. When the bathing houses there
were torn down the poles were left and
the comhers are welcome to delve be-
side them. But every year they have
been passed over because there were
enough other places equally rich to last
through the winter, and now the tide
and samd-frift are gradually rising over
the tops Of the poles. They will soon
be buried and their location will be for
gotten, unless some energetic combeI
attacks them.
ooh, we'll get around to 'em yet,
said Gill, but the cap'n smiled, and
when Gill was gone said: "They never