The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1903-01-10

called to the emigrant and he
came back on the run. By the
time he reached me | had my hands
| full of qrartz. The other parties
took iu the situation and proceeded
to do likewise. This quartz led
me on up the mountain side, which
I could follow by the specimens
which strewed the ground for 200
yards. This hill is now and has
been since that time known as
Gold Hill.
"Being a young man, full Of Wig
or l led and the emigrant' and Ish
followed, until I reached a point
where I could find no more quartz
specimens on the ground. After
wandering a few yards up to point
I came to a place where the ground
was slightly raised in what seemed
to be rock formati on of steel
gray color, covered with a mossy
growth. I had gone with a pick
that morning and I proceeded to
apply it with much force on this
rocky formation. It shaled off
easily, and seemed to be literally
saturated with gold, that was in
wrought in the quartz. By this
time Ish and the emigrant were
wild with excitement. The three
of US went into ecstacy, the rock
was so interlarded with etringy
leaf like gold as to hold it together.
We were monarchs of the earth!
Wa considered what was best to be
done in order to hold our find. Ish
said he would go to Jacksonville
and do the necessary filing But
from my Knowledge ofIsh thought
he would get on a drunk and would
return with all Jacksonville. The
emigrant and I held a council of
war;" and l explained to him Ish's
fondness for whisky, and it was de-
cided that / was to accompany Ish
to Jacksonville, and the emigrant
was to hold down the gold plant
until we returned. Ish and I got
to Jacksonville in due time, and
had the clerk of the court, Mr.
Huffman, prepare the necessary
filing papers to hold the same. As
the emigrant and I had concluded
Ish did get drunk in Jacksonville,
and could not return that night.
| therefore struck out alone for
Gold Hill, and found my emigrant
friend as I had left him. I took
grub stake from my cabin, on my
return, to the emigrant, and there
we tented. By daylight the follow.
ing morning there were at least $50
men onthe ground, showing conclu-
sively what a great advertising me-
dium bad whisky is, Ish having.
given the whole thing away. Each
day and night brought numbers
of miners of all conditions to our
plant, who were SO thick around us
that we could do nothing to inves-
tigate the. extent of the discovery,
for about week. Within three
days from the time of my discovery,
Gold Hill was swarming with peo-
PIE. Among others was one Bill
Ballard, to whom I gave small
piece Of quartz, from which he real
lied $120 10 gold. A ragged Irish.
man struck me for a small piece of
quartz to show to his partner. It
was simply lone. Two days af-
terwards he came back dressed like
a prince from head to foot; he wore
a $50 suit. He said: ''Be jabbers,
Jimmie, look at me now! And thin
say if it amt rich quartz2"
Within ten days we had dug a
small hole in the mine to a depth
Of four feet, when we struck a white
quartz, sparkling with gold, the
quartz above this being steel gray
or rocky color.
Having no knowledge Of mining,
[ did notsrealize the value of my
find. Under the arrangements with
Ish and the emigrant, they were to /
be my full partners. Had I been
older ia the ways of the world, +
would have resolved myself into a
gold trust, and run it alone. But
being mere boy, I did just what
any other boy would have done un-
der the same circumstances.
"The emigrant and I lay there
several nights on the mountain,
spreading our blankets over the
rich quartz we had gathered, and
sleeping on the same as if on
downy feathers. The miners would
steal our quartz from under our
heads, and work all manner of
schemes on US to get hold of the
quartz, and that wonld be the last
Of it. Ish, supposing he owned the
earth, went to Jacksonville to cele-
brate, and got on big spree. Ish's