Omaha daily bee., 1898-01-02

gates of the hermit miner were thrown open
to the curious, and of course, envtous min
ers. 1t then became known that the owner
had each day piled up in the drift all the
choice god-bearng rock gravel, to be
manipulated in the night with pan and
rocker. All OF the water used by him he
personally carried in from a convenient
spring. by this primitive and slow process
he had successfully mined large amount
OF gold, using the least mOiety of his accu-
mutations for necessities not even trusting
himself as guardian of his own money every
dollar of which had been expressed to New
York for deposit-by what method was
never known; for the supply stores never
received any dust from him unless in pay
ment for purchases made.
SALE OF THE CLAIM.
"'rhe sale of the claim was in time
effected and the property proved remunera-
tive for years. His find was in a former
prehistoric course of the American river.
On reaching San Francisco he secured a
steerage passage for New York, but l have
never heard of him since that time. From
a few words dropped in conversation 1
learned that in dollars and cents, his pile
Just equaled the recklessly distributed and
squandered stake lost in San Francisco four
years previously; that the time of his de-
parture from that city to the Atlantic coast
exactly corresponled with the date, day
and steamer of his first disastrous trial, it
evidently being his paramount idea to blot
out to never consider or allow that there
had been any interruption to his original
! plan or that any time had elapsed between
| the one event and the other; that his first
experience in lSan Francisco had been merely
| a dream and no interference had been met
with in his original plan
Another remarkable and widely known
| character in old days was Old Niger King.
! Not a mining camp in three counties but
| knew and welcomed him on his bi-monthly
| trips He was full -blooded negro, weighing
! $50 pounds. He was as broad as he was
| high, and had fat kindly face and wide
| mouth which was always on the grin His
approach to a camp was heralded by yell
which could be heard fully a mile Mounted
| on a mule end leading another equipped with
| a pack saddle and expansive canvas paniers,
| he sold papers through the mountain sec
| tions. His arrival with those containing
| home news from the Atlantic states was
| eagerly and snXiously looked for by all
| classes He vended his wares at the uni
! form price of two bits (25 cents, that being
| the smallest coin in drink, the most
| trivial service or cheapest thing, was pur-
| chased for two-bis. Mormon island on the
American river was, for a mining camp, a
| very superior town, and King was reputed
| to own the greater part of the camp, to
| have invested there the then very large
! sum Of 100000. After his sales were made
and quiet prevailed he would declaim to his
| crowd of listeners:
| "lHere / is, here / is. old Niger King
| King, yes King, once King of the Cannibal
| Islands Che had been seaman). / am the
| mcst noted man in California kase why, nc
other man has like me been feasted and
| wined by all the nations of the earth ]
have supped with the Hottentots. eaten blub-
| ber with the Icelanders poi with the Sand
| wich islanders: been coddled by Englands
queen, petted by the royalty of France and
the nations of Europe. Breakfasted in Amer
| ica dned in Africa and supped with the
| Japanese!"
| ''The inimitabe way in which King spoke
| his facial gestures and nvarabe good humor
secured not only custom, but privileges OF
| which none could deprive him. But after all,
| like many another Argonaut he died poor"