The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-07-24

about all. That Is to say, he prospected
for the 10y of the chase. He liked to
find lodges and red-brown rock. which
became pyrites after he had gone down
a way. and then pure white quartz.
He liked TO follow out the probable dip
of the lead, partly by experience, most
ly by instinct. He liked to dig those
rabbit Burrows of an experimental ma
ture running straight down or straight
i'm. called 'prospectors' shafts" Thus
he would get to know the cross ection
Of a hill as you know the interior of the
apple you have just cut in two. Thus
far Peter succeeded as well as. even
better than, the best. Then he lost II
all. He either sold out to parties insol-
vent or on insufficient security. or il
legally. He never seemed TO learn how.
Other men reaped where he had sowed
while he moved on to plow up a new
virgin country.
The worst of II was that Peter in a
patient way, was trying TO gain COM
netencv Back in Vermont there was a
farm with more stones than even these
stony hills could show, and with less
gold i'm it's harvests than even in Peter s
negative gleanlngs-for here Peter at
least kept out OF debt. But near the
snake-fence stood a little peak-roofed
and clapboarded house, with blinds Of
emerald green. over the house rioted
Virginia creepers. Near the ancient well
swayed lilacs, broad and low In the
old fashioned front yard was the chrp
of crickets and hordes Of white butter
flies with spots of sulphur-yellow. The
house was empty and the yard over
grown; yet TO the vacant rooms Of one
or 10 the choked out flowers of the 9TH
er Peters gentle thoughts ever swarm
ed. like homing bees. He saw 1t bathed
i'm the sunshine OF prosperity. In his
vision the ysld was orderly. well kept,
the house was populous with the af-
lection OF loving hearts. For in that
Vermont country these many years a
girl had waited-growing older and
ouieter. and more resigned-for Peter
and the fortune he was TO bring.
IL Peter had had more self-assertion
he might have retained some Of the
property he had so patiently relin-
auished. If Peter had had less faith he
might have been in more haste TO re-
turn. And somewhere the qualities of
meekness and faith are extolled above
all else. So Peter came into gulch one
afternoon. when the birds were singing
all alone. In his slow way he built a
| shack, made himself comfortable and
| started in.
First he made a general survey oi
| the country. He went up every littl,
| gulch, even TO the shallow top of i
| filled with loose stones he followed on
| the skyline of every ridge. he seiZeC
| frequent opportunities of taking Ion.
| diagonal down the slopes. In this m
! proceeded rapidly, but carefully. Non
OF the broad Indications escaped him
He noted accurately the various dikes
| the general dip" of the country, tn
| general direction of the parallel ledge
OF strata, the numerous cross-ledge
| and Irregularities of structure. Then h
carried with him a handpick, one en-
| pointed, the other forming a blum
hammer, and a number of canvas bags
From various places near one anothe
! he knocked off chunks of the rocl
4 which he broke into fine pieces an
ket. After that he raised the opposit
edges OF the blanket, about the centr'
! in such a manner as 10 divide IN
| crushed rock into two equal parts. on
| OF these parts he threw away. In
other he mixed again as carefully
| at first. BY a repetition OF the proces
he at last obtained an average whic
he slowed in one of the little canVa
bags.
At the end of the day he dumped al
average" into a heavy iron mortar
| over which a pestle was suspense
from a springy sapling. BY alternatel'
pulling down and letting up on IN
sapling the pestle was made 10 crusl
the quartz fragments into fine req an
white sand. This Peter poured an
scraped into a fiaring-sided iron par
into which he let a quantity OF water
He then whirled the pan in peculia
manner. pausing to rock i back an
| forth every few minutes. Much OF IN
sand thus flowed over the sides. Aite
the first water was all gone, he poure
in some more. Thus he panned IN
waste out, until at last nothing wa
left IN the angle but some heavy plac
| grains. These were the concentrate
BY a deft rocking i'm one direcuo
they were made to string out IN lont
fan-shaped mass. at the apex OF Whlc
was the fine yellow gold-that Is, Whel
| there was any.
In this way Peter slowly got an ide
of the country. Some ledges Whlc
seemed TO him promising, ana ye
which did not show free gold AT IN
top. he exploited still further. win
charge or so of powder he penetrated
a layer below the surface. Or perhap'
he spent several hard months maxim
an irregular deep hole like well, irot
which he carried the debris IN, pasS
climbing up notched tree. Then ne ;,
lected more samples. This Is hard WoIi
When he had learned the country pre-
ty thoroughly. Peter staked out u
claims. There were four OF these. i ne
he began sinking on all four. Norh
ing alone. he could make about 10.
Of progress day. BY winter ne wa
far enough below ground so that ne o.
not feel the cold. Occasionally y
would make n short cross-cut-that !
a tunnel across the trend Of the stray
to see how far IL was 10 the Wal
sometimes he would drift-that Is, tui
rel in the direction of the strata !
see how the quality OF the le2d NJ
out. All this took time. as did the UT
bering and the trips for supplies; VI
in the town called him Happy fete
because he was always humnlng
quaint little song. and because ms ey'
beamed with such steady gentle hin'
liness.