The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-03-14
GOOD AND BAD LUCK.
SOME HAD ONE, SOME HAD THE
OTHER IN THE DlGGlNGS.
A Pessimistic Forty miner, Who Had the
Other, Tells Some Interesting Yarns.
The Girl Who Had Only One Dream.
How a Kiss Brought a Fortune

How a Kiss Brought a Fortune.
at was in the spring of 1885," said an
old forty miner, "that four of us, healthy,
active, hopeful and strong, left Marysville,
Cal, one bright June morning on a pros
pecting tour up the Yuba river 1t was no
trick to make money those days. Every
one had sackful or so of gold dust lying
around somewhere. Burglars and thieves
and road agents were not heard of at that
time in those parts, and an unused candle
box made n pretty good safe. We left our
sacks in John G. Falls store at Marysville
and struck out up the river. We packed
our Blankets picks, pans and shovels, a
rocker, n little grub, coffeepot and frying
pan on mule and struck out for u for
tune of 500, 600 each.
"Just above Longs bar we located
claims on virgin ground and went to
work. We worked just an hour by the
watch. The clean up weighed four ounces
of clean river gold. That was an ounce
apiece, or at the rate of ten ounces each
for full days work. We held a consulta-
ton. We were out for 500, 900 before the
rainy season set in. Word had come down
from Downeyville that men were making
81, 600 each up there Ten ounces, or $780,
day wouldn't do. A little figuring showed
us that. We struck camp and left. A party
of Wisconsin boys took possession of the
ground the next day, and they cleaned up
$500, 600 and went back to the States
They were smart. We were continental
fools.
"We had a fortune in our hands and let
it CO." sighed the old man. "But we were
hcy nd ln,t l. No
mining on Gold hill in 1854. Gold hill is
IN miles from Coloma, where gold was
first discovered in California. Three young
men just from Missouri came up to our
ground sluice.
"'Can't you fellows tell us where we
can wash out few dollars?' inquired one
of them.
Eyes, with pleasure answered Shorty
Tyler. Buy few inches of WHITEWATER
was 81 an inch-'and start I'm over there,
pointing TO a slight depression on the side
of a near hill. The boys did as directed and
took out 200 apiece in about three
months. They returned to Pike county
while we continued working our So a day
diggings. What do you call that, luck or
foresight?
LELAND Stanford kept small grocery
store in Cold Springs, Eel Dorado county,
in the early fifties. Our mess bought many
a pound of bacon and beans from him. He
little thought he would become a multi
millionaire, governor of the state and
United States senator. He looked and act
cd the plain, common sense business man
he was. Well, no went to Sacramento, got
q corner on something, made few thou
sand dollars and, along with George and
Charley Crocker and q. =. Huntington,
obtained the Central Pacific franchise
through the favorable report of Colonel
Judah, who surveyed the route over the
Sierra Nevada on mule back and came out
of the job with millions for the few thou
sands invested. But he showed n good deal
of mighty outo beadwork," added the pes
simistio old timer. Luck wasn't against
him in that deal. Fortune favored him.
"Why, 1 know man who with his two
boys took out $40, 900 through dream of
his little daughter. 1t happened in 1862.
The father and his boys had been mining
for some time with Indifferent success.
One morning his daughter said to him,
Papa, / have dreamed three nights in sue
cession that there is large amount of gold
right around that big tree down the gulch.
The old man set his sluices down there
the next day and washed out $4,000. l
know this To he fact. 1 married that girl
but she never had another such dream.
"a big dance and blowout was given at
Logtown, near Mud Springs, in 1856. A
young fellow and his girl took a breath of
fresh air on big bowlder near the pavilion
between dances. He popped the question.
She said, Yes In his eagerness to seal
the compact with a kiss he partly slid
from the rock, loosening piece of 1t. He
picked 1t up as a memento of the happy mo-
ment and put 1t in his pocket. A glance
at 1t the next day revealed free gold. He
had found wife and fortune at the
same time Was that luck or foresight
"Coming nearer home and down to the
present time we see instances where tickle
fortune has made several good and as
many mighty mean men rich and famous
In mining. But there are thousands of
good, honest, Industrious, sober men who
have courted the hayward goddess for
years and never got smile. How do you
account for thati Don't you think quite as
many men have gained Wealth In mining