The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1898-07-12
NUGGETS LUCK.


in the Sierras none of its inhabitants
appeared to know, but most of them
were extremely anxious to ascertain.
Seldom it was that any one went to the
town. Apparently there was no particu-
lar reason why any one should The
surrounding scenery was grand, it is
true, but the town could make no claim
to being an essential part of the gran
deur. Its one street struggled up the
mountainside for a short distance and
lost its way i'll the forest. A long, ram
shackle "hotel, several Respondent
looking stores and a number of saloons
made up what it was pleased to call the
business portion of the town On all
sides and as far as the eye could see,
however, were the imperishable evil
dences of what this little town once had
been-the center of a natural wealth al
most uncomfortable. 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 hydraulic guns "held up"
nature and forced it to deliver its treas
ure.
But all that was long ago and is only
a pleasant memory with the little town
now, and to the strangers not unnatu-
raj inquiry as to how the people support
ed themselves came the cheerful and
cannibalistic reply that they lived on
one another. -
The stranger sat on box outside one
of the stores beside one of the citizens
and soon found himself listening to a
monologue offered for his entertain
ment. 1t would have been dialogue be-
tween them, but the entertainer would
not have it 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, huge diamond pin in a
setting of tobacco stained shirt front
and the entire absence of a collar made
up somewhat incongruous appearance
eyes, you re right, began the enter
tainer, starting the monologue with
considerable energy, this town amt
worth whoop in hell today, but you
oughter seen it onct. Ain t forty miner
myself, and you got to make good deal
of allowance for what some O. these old
has beens tell you, but they all do say
it was hummer before they stopped
hydrauleekin
"You oughter get old Nuggets to tell
you somethin about it. Amt you 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. Nuggets was
here-or som ers about heretofore
they ever did any Observation-Disclosures
everything was placer and sluice minin
He'll tell you his story. He'll tell it
without bein asst. I've heard it SO often
that 1 know it myself He likes to hear
himself talk
He was one O. the first to come
acrost the plains-leastway that what
he says-and when he got here he just
nacherally staid. He KEN around by the
old emigrant trail back O. Lake Tahoe
and into Hangtown.
"Hangtown-you know, that's what
they called PlacerviIle in them days
was great place then Meals was So,
and so was beds; whisky was four bits
and two bits drink, accordin as how
you wanted it, and -four was $40 for
small sack. Course, you know, most all
supplies KEN around the Horn to Frisco,
was boated up to Sacramento and team
ed out to the mines from there.
Business was good in California in
them days. Most every one had money,
and it wasn't no trick to get it. The |
cricks and river bottoms was full o.
gold, and any one could take a shovel,
pick and rocker and wash out as much
as he liked. Course that sort o. thing
spoilt the Argonauts, as they call 'em,
or good many of 'em anyhow-would |
a-spoilt most any one.
kinder seemed to them that the |
supply would last forever, and they
didn' t worry much and wasn't particu-
Ter about savin it. They was all about
alike, and after a fellow had worked |
purity hard for awhile and cleaned up a
little pile he'd get to thinkin he needed
and down he'd go to Frisco
and blow in his pile.
'Then he'd strike the trail for the
goldfields for another stack o. blue
chips
"Course every one had partner in
them days, and this here Nuggets had
one by the name o. Wilkins One day
they KEN into this town with nugget
that was a corker. Was as big as your
cinnabar, with chunks of pure
gold stickin out of it all around.
1.-THE jeweler offered 'em 81, 800 for
it, but they wouldn't sell it. Mug
gets said there was more O. it where it
KEN from, but no one believed him.
Everybody thought that Nuggets
md Wilkins had found small pocket,
md that was all there was to it, but
some O. these pockets are good enough
or a pore man anyhow.
"That night there was an awful
and two days afterward
Nuggets was found comm out O. Rattle
make canyon over there plum crazy.
They brought him into town, and all
they could get out O. him was string
} the d--dest, foolishest words you
ever heard Of He didn't say much else
ior a good many years afterward-
youster sit around the town here and
get it off to himself Went somethin
ike this:
+" Changed all the trees in the Rat
'em and mixed 'em all
up. Might "a been a dream, but / don t
jhink so. Ask Bill-he knows Put a
shot in her Seen rock in my time, but
40 rock like that. Bill, id old fool,
yits scared, and we kivered her up to
,ome back to. Didn't blaze no tree, but
ny old knife's stickin on the moss side
J that tree. Might "a been a dream.
Ask Bill.
Course you can bet your life that
I'D canyon was prospected pretty well
lfter that, but nothin was found. The
pecimen was sold and the money divid-
ID between Bill Wilkins and Nuggets
laughter, who had to take care o. him.
Wilkins went over into Calaveras soon
lfter that and fell down shaft about
100 feet deep.
"Well, time went by, and the law
stopped hydrauleeking, and purity much
very one left the town that could git
,ut o. it, and it ain t been worth a d-n
;ence.
Nuggets daughter she married Bob
1ittel, who was teamster and didn't
lave much O. it to do either. They was
bore, but they managed to make liv-
n and keep old Nuggets besides
Course you know the old man couldn't
10 nothin but sit around and talk those
words | told you of.
Every one was kind to him, except,
perhaps, Jake Openheimer, who kept
he principal store then. He youster rile
Tim good deal and josh him and ask
Tim when he was poin To omen her mn |