The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-10-02
HARRUPS BIG SAPPHIRE.
THE SIZE OF an EDAM CHEESE AND,
WAITING TO BE PICHED'UP.
A PrOSpeetor's Adventure in = Deserted
village Up In the SNOW Mountains Where
the Saloons We're wide Open and n
Curious MenaEerle Provided the Streets.

broke in" said Bob HarYood, Its about as
hard TO quit mimi as IL is for o sport
TO quit gamblln'. It's q fever. iniatuation
o sort OF a-hopin'-to-get-a-big big pile-next-poI
kind o. life that q man don't generally shake
of till he's dead: and yet there are exceptions
For instance there's Harrup Eames. He's dug
as many holes In these mountains asa whole
village Of prairie dogs. but at last got siok and
tired OF II. just now he's saWdn' wood and
Bayin' nothin'. Yet he knows about where
there's the biggest sapphire the world ever
seen-a big blue one. the size OF an
Edam cheese-and still he's that Disguised with
the prospectin' life that he won't 20 over and
get 1t. 1t was tryin' to get It In the nrst place
that made him siok o'mlnin'. 10 had to cross o
terribly rough country 70 begin with. and then
he saw some things that kind o. put him out o.
the notion OF goin' further. AS n result o. that.
and Of a throat trouble no cnught afterward.
he Just a wood. as / said before. and says
nothin'.
Charley I'll. Harrup's old chum. put him on.
And Charley knew about the Sapphire from an
Eastern professor. who was later killed by the
Sioux. This professor called it n hexagonal
crystal. or some such outlandish name. when
all along It was nothin' moro nor less than .
big blue sapphire. as big as an Edamc cheese. and
Charley never once thought 1t valuable till he
got to noticin' that the professor buried It as
regular as they moved about from camp to
camp. For they was all out lookin' up curiosity
specimens. and Charley was scout and guide.
But what they done amt got nothin' to do with
Harrup Eames. only that Charley Ull. remem-
BERN about where they last pitched camp.
where the professor was killed, put Harrup on.
and Hsrrup. gettin' together his minin' tools
and oatables. starts out after the sapphire.
Now his trail led him over to and beyond
the Snow Mountains. just about fifty miles
f,,rfbar an n anofhar tanuo ballad tho Pull
Mountains. and somewhere between these
ranges was the sapphire. To simmer 1t down
still finer. he had been told tolook up q big patch
OF wild syrinRa that whitened the o n In that
neighborhood for a space of about Eve miles.
And with these details before him he felt that
he had a einch on gettin' it.
However. when he got to the Snow Noun
tains. Harrup found it turnin' so cold-though
it was only the beginnin' O. 0ctober-that he
had to stop now and then to shake up his demi-
john in order to keep the stuff inside from
freezin'. And as for the snow-real. genuine
snoy-the tops OF the range was so covered
with it that Harrup. whenever he'd happen to
look UP. mechanically took another drink SO as
to stop the chills from comm on. But so far
there hadn't been any danger. So Harrup was
feehn' real cheerful by the time him and his
mule got to the pass. which pass lends through
and out OF the range But here. at one point.
the trail broke into two. One trail went
up the mountains and the other down.
Harrup studied things over q bit and
finally decided to take the upper one.
After travellin' a couple O. mile he struck
the snow line. and oil at once the mule refused
to go on. Just ahead was a curve. and Harrup
wanted to get round it and sec what things
mule and thumped it. and both begged and
cussed. but II wouldn't bulge. Then he got
SsT faS q HSs G Cn Els b shsH sn g lSofed ar 6v tT? Tor 1 5s'G
eb9ut, a mile high; Down below the trees
the eagles tlyin' round between him and them
for 2 N, minute 1sG s6 nd then tSs tMtI1t the sd mule gne h that ! L
and the mule.he faced about and soon was
ter e'Sa ffrs s iooki f9 ne dFyG asS f bo4es e f iSiS;
a mile or SO away from the foot Of the precipice,
Be In that wild and forlorn-lookin' part Of the
country. As be came out the pass ON the lower
Il tsa at tss a on = shIliR atie ef h fS s Sf by Z it ssiani H GS91n;
rode Tod@s over sEtt to 3 a II and g s9 Ssa sssn that q d It had ro two
blankets ON ens the iasi Pssds SesS nearest HIM sRneae eR f 6ls
Ter can live here like a prince For he'd made
up his mind to loaf a few days round whore
there was company. as much for q rest as for a
ehaAnge. ,r;., -, .toro front, .n, &c.
Gin log huts. lay some distance OF. So Harrup
eats Q hot meal and takes the, last drop out o.
s asS ee Sat 70 See esfq tFe s sisRts'd o Now THERE hssa w as
two things he noticed before he'd got very far:
One vas the strange silence eyerywhere. and
allyin the rear OF the cabins he passed. Harrup
was 10 astonished at, SEEM EN- So plentiful
o%tesE,ionE. lean. hungry ,feilers-;after ESnnifn'
stars at him as Il they'd never heard tell q a
man before.
place. says HsrrSp finally, !, suppose thheyy'VHes
give i . name as we'll us fttin' out their cabins
And soon reachin' the store-fronts he begin
to examine the signs; The letters was pretty
boards read Moose City somethin'. while only
t1ur@ths next highest number-read 'colora-
".Pioehe.' says HarruP. is in Utah; and I'm
dead esrtaiH that amt got down as far as
struck. although In hanged II I'm stuck on
With that he opens this, door Of the. Moose
as natural as life, but not "a soul was behind 1t
s snd of to soS oHS s 5ids was %itS E far t6ro a layS9t st the i beg e
and dust and cobwebs hanGin' to the chairs and
table and G%9verin' everything Ike a porous
barrel. too. which Harrup tapped-a regular
kIl7'm-quiSk whiskey-9nd i soon put funny
the faro layout. q pint of whiskey and a box of
black cigars at his side. and begin to turn the
"'No limit. gentlemen says lie. noddin' to
an imaginary group. ,Snd II one OF you Will
hcC az LOOKOUT ana anotnef as caSek eeper, why
you may proceed to make your bets
An so he sits; and smokes. and drinks. and
rakes In winnin's, and pays his losin's. until
the saloon got so dark he could hardly see to
stumble out; Then he goes back to his resi-
dence on the, hill; %carryin' his whiskey and
cigars. and followed by u small band O. curious
coyotes. r
down there at the Palace chop house. Them
Pies looked quite temptin' that 1 seen stickin'
But that night Harrup seen so many other
things stiekin' round his " window that be
first place O big bear stuck his nose agin the
panes and eyed Harrup as soberly as Harrup
eyed him. Harrup noticed-althouRh IL was
pretty. dark-that the bear's eyes was blue, the
irst blue-eyed bear he had ever seen. Then,
Moose City gathered themselves close to the
window and give him p serenade. Harrup got
out o. bed twice durtn' the night. and. goin'to
the door. thanked EN-. 1t was quite AN honor,
he said, and he appreciated y. and the second
time he went TO tho door he had wlIskoy and
cigars under his arm. which he offered EN-.
But II was no go; the coyotes wouldn't have IL.
Ii Elaa..aaN ALI met ~ inAnnanAnnN ne Nkn.