The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1898-08-31
NUGGETS FORTUNE.
A Pioneers Story


II got into the little. old, dilapidated
town up IN the Sierras none of its in
habitants appeared TO know, but most
of them were extremely anxious To
ascertain. Seldom il was that anyone
went to the town. Apparently there
was no particular reason why anyone
should. The surrounding scenery was
grand. il is true, but the town could
make no claim TO being an essential part
of the grandeur. Its one street strag
gled up the mountainside for a short
distance and lost its way in the for
est. A long, ramshackle hotel sew
eral espondent-looking stores, and
number of saloons made up what it was
pleased 10 call the business portion of
the town. On all sides and as far as the
eye could see, however, were the i'm
perishable evidences of what this little
town once had been-the center of a
natural wealth almost inconceivable.
Vast areas of white, and yellow, and
reddish clay; mountains scanned, and
gashed and cut in twain; miles of rusty
and disjointed gigantic iron pipes-told
of the days when the miners with hy-
draulic guns held up" Nature and
forced 1t TO deliver it's treasure.
But all that was long ago, and it is
only a pleasant memory with the little
town now, and to the strangers not
unnatural inquiry as to how the people
supported themselves came the cheer
full and cannibalistic reply that they
"lived on one another"
The stranger sat on box outside one
of the stores, beside one of the citi
zens, and soon found himself listening
to a monologue offered for his enter
tainment. II would have been dia-
logue between them, but the enter
tainer would not have il that way. An
old man. with grizzled beard and
weather-beaten face, was he. The
stranger noticed, with some surprise,
that, although stained and rusty, his
long frock coat and the trousers stuck
into his boots were of good broadcloth.
A very conspicuous watch chain, a huge
diamond pin In setting of tobacco
stained shirt front, and the entire alb
sence of a collar, made mp somewhat
homogeneous appearance.
Eyes, you're right" began the enter
tainer, starting the monologue with
considerable energy, this town amt
worth a whoop to-day, but you oughter
seen il onct Amt forty-niner my
self, and you got to make a good deal
of allowance for what some o these old
has-beens tell you, but they all do say
il was hummer before they stopped
hydrauleeking You oughter get old
Nuggets to tell you somethin' about it.
Amt We met Nuggets yet? Well, you
should, for he's about the only sight we
got In town-only thing the town brags
about and p'ints out to strangers. Mug
gets was here-or somers about here
before they ever did any hydrauleeking
when everything was placer and
sluice mining. He'll tell you his story
Ill tell il without bein' asst. I've heard
II so often that 1 know il myself. He
| likes to hear himself talk He was one
o the first TO come acrost the plains
| leastways that's what he says-and
when he got here he just nacherally
stayed. He KEN around by the old emf
| Hangtown. Hangtown-ye know,
that's what they called Placerville in
them days-was a great place then.
Meals was three dollars, and so was
| beds; whisky was four bits and two bits
a drink. accordin' as how you wanted it
and -four was ten dollars a small sack
Course, We know, most all supplies KEN
ha 70 Eric 1na II
up to Sacramento, and teamed out TO
the mines from there. Business was
| good in California in them days. Most
everyone had money, and 'twarn't no
trick TO get il. The cricks and river
bottoms was fuh of gold, and anyone
could take shovel, pick, and rocker,
and wash out as much as he liked.
| Course, that sort o thing spoilt the Ar
gonauts, as they call 'em, or n good
many of 'em anyhow-would "a spoilt
most anyone. Kinder seemed TO them
that the supply would last forever, and
they didn't worry much, and wasn't
perticuler about savin' II. They was
all about alike, and after q fellow had
worked purity hard for awhile and
/ NiNohNu w Ptit' hC VI kCt W
| thinkin' he needed relaxation, and
down he'd go 10 Frisco and blow in his
pile. Then he'd strike the trail for the
gold fields for another stack of blue
chips.
Course everyone had a partner in
them days, and this here Nuggets had
one by the name o. wilkins. One day
they ken into this town with a nugget
that was corker. Was as big as your
hatred cinnebar. with chunks of pure
gold stickin' out of II ali around. The
ieweler offered 'em $500 for II, but
they wouldn't sell IL. Nuggets said
there was more of il where ii ken from,
but no one believed him. Everybody
thought that Nuggets and wilkins had
found a small pocket. and that was all
there was In il; but some o. these pock-
cts are good enough for pore man,
anyhow.
That night there was an awful wind
storm, and two days afterwards Mug
gets was found comm out o. Rattle
snake canyon over there plum crazy.