The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-11-10

ST was one of the original Forty-nlners'
! said the tall old man, with the hard, weathel'
beaten face, from which, however, gieahe ~
an eye which told you that he had stlii soA'
heart.
II was then a young lad. am now ~.
remember time when l never lald my eyes
on a woman's face for five years. Inc near
est / got to 1t was one day Whlle Out plVS
pecting with the boys. We notlced a sinai
battered object in the road and, llItlhg IT,
found II to be woman's bonnet, lost uur-
inc Journey on the plains. We hoisted that
thing on a. pole and danced around II Tor
sheer joy of the memories 1t called up.
.But what set out to tell you Is TINS: A
few wears later. in the early ffties, a certain
miner named Hart-not Bret-localeu
mining claim and built comfortable CABIN
in which, with his family, he spent all MS
time that was not given to work
at used to be joke among the few thou-
sand miners in that vicinity that hart was
the first to begin work in the morning anu
the last TO knock off at night and that ne
COVE less time TO meals and rest than any
other man. ,oort,s
0Rnt though he kept this up for Is months
without pause he never succeeded III rea '
ing pay dirt, or, in mining phrase nluAins
his salt It'll .
an the same neighborhood there llyed a
man whom every one pointed 10 as I ga n,s >
foil He was notorious as outdoing All ms
t oii, in three things-drinking, lying and
droning He was called Bill Murtagh-tor
No ono ever called him William, except IN
jest. - -,.oo+ n
"Bul had a young daughter, as sweet a
u+tIe GIRL as the sun ever shone on, anu az
though potential wOmanhood mad po"ei
and value in early California not easily es-
timated today, 1 knew no miner IN an tnu'
vicinity that looked forward with any es i,
cial Joy to seeing his young son the poSsiUl'
husband Of Murtagh's daughter.
"As Iuck would have it, however, budding
attachment began to exhibit itself almost
from babyhood between Bills daughter ana
Harris son.
"Now early California might be the last
nloce on earth where one ought to look Tor
fae,inqs of social distinction; but can swear
tbev existed therein embryo, at least
quess there never was a place this side
of Eden where they didn't exist Anyway
Harris wife felt mighty bad when she DIS
covered this early play of Cupid with hef
progeny.
..No one quite knew what the Murtagh'
ured on for the only occasions on which
hin was known to really exert himself was
whom his desperate desire for whiskey In
duced him to go on an GRAND or carry
load of wood.
zone day storekeeper in town induced
him 70 take a message to Humbug Creek
mining camp few miles distant
"After making about one mile of the jour
new Bill became so weary that he could
acsrcelv carry himself or raise his feet from
tbe ground. and owing to this very chronic
lack Of backbone, the shutting of his feet
along the path brought the toe of one boot
in contact with a small stone, in which, as
e. rolled away. the flashing sunlight brought
ont the tell-tale glittering glints.
"Bilrs habitual laziness yielded to ms Gu
riosity. He picked up the pebble and know
ing indications of gold when he saw them'
no nocketed it, marked the spot and com
pleted his errand.
next day he got pick, shovel and pan'
returned to the spot where he found the
nugget. and, to the surprise of every one
worked like a beaver for more than three
weeks.
''At the end of that time he cleaned up al
most $4,000 in pure gold and this within 80