The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-03-09
Owed for Gold in Mountain Stream

Mr.. Jay Mctionnies, who for the
past eight months has been in north
Georgia prospecting for gold, came
down yesterday for a short stay in
Atlanta.
Mr.. McMonnics has been Il gold
seeker all his life, and as such has
figured in Australia, in Africa, and in
our golden west. And, he says, al
ways in hard luck.
But if Mr.. MoMonniea can't find
nuggets, he can find incidents. Some
thing is always happening to him or
to somebody else in his presence. He
has mixed up with Indians, Hottcn-
tots, Australian Bushmen and Georgia
moonshiners, until he's stored with an
inexhaustible supply Of stories, jokes
and thrilling tales anent them. Be-
tween drinks, yesterday, he told
enough OF such to supply Archibald
Clavering Gunter with theme and plot
and motif for aa even dozen novels.
DIR. McMonnies would spin u story or
crack q joke and when he had finished,
somebody would "set EN- up" Then
he'd tell another, and somebody would
"sct 'em up" again. And 80 on and
On it went. Finally, after q long
pause in which nobody offered a move
toward the bar. MI. McMennies began
to fill his old briarwood pipe with an
English brand Of tobacco, and after
lighting it and taking three or four
pufs, he reared back in his chair, and
as q final effort, said:
"But the ~doggoncdest thing of all
happened in north Georgia day before
yesterday" aHd his keen blue celtic
began to fill with tears Of mirth.
After a moment he managed to con-
troll himself enough to continue. st
was up on some creek with a bloody
Indian name. i had met up with a
fellow in Dahlonega who ted me .ks:
he knew Of a deep hole in that creek
into which he suspected q great deal
Of gold mad been washed. So ne had
gotten himself a diving suit, and was
on the lookou. for a partner to help
him in. the search. 1 volunteered to
be the partner, and forthwith we
started.
I'VE got there all right and rugged
up the apparatus and prepared to get
the wealth. Ny partner got into the
suit screwed the helmet on, and
down he went. We had felled a log
across the pool, and j seated myself
on it holding the signal rope and
awaited the jerk that would notify me
he was ready to ascend.
"The ripplcs on the surface had
scarcely died away when 9 whole faAi-
ly Of mountaineers came down the
mountain side to where I was. They
had fishing lines and bait with them.
and had evidently come down to the
pool as their favoritc place for a try at
mountain trout.
"Hcllo, Mister! What We doin'?"
greeted the head of the family.
"Fishing,' says l..
Must 'spect to kctch err whale,
jcdging from thcr size of yer line"
CAT this the entire family laughed,
and began to dispose themselves
around the edge of the water. Soon
they were all absorbed in their ang-
ling-all except the old man. Pres
emily my partner jerked the rope to
come up.
"You got 4 bite, sure enough, Mis-
ter he said, in astonishment, az he
saw the signal.
81 arose and commenced hauling iii.
The evident weight that was on the
end of the rope almost petrifcd them.
They couldn't understand it, and not
being able 10 understand it, began to
get uneasy. 1 asked the old man to
help ME. He came timidly cut to
where | was, and laid hold of the line.
His wonder and fear increased with
every pull. just before my partner
got to the top he turned aloose and
started back to the bank. With one
mighty effort 1 lifted my partner high
enough for him ITO throw his arms
around the log. The old man blurted
out an oath as he caught sight Of the
herrid looking diving bell With it's
cyclopean eye, the old woman scream
ed and the children yelled and the
whole business were off and away up
the mountain side in less time than
it'll take me to kill another drink"
And the 1rishman led ia the laughter
that followed his wonderful vivid ac-
count Of the whole affair. But still
nobody rendered treat and the sympo-
siusn Observation-Disclosures journal.
Gate Little. Johnay.
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