Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-08-06
''TOny" Piper at
~ Giant No. 3. ~
BY DENNIS H. S7OVALL

THE first time he came into the dig
i gings he was a short, black
eyed, grizzly-faced, straggly-haired
little man. His clothes we're far too
large for him, so that he had much the
appearance of a wandering scarecrow.
He approached Watts, the foreman,
who was piping at giant No. 3, and
asked for work.
Did you eve work in a placer
mine? Watts asked, as he eyed him
critically.
"Yes. Ten years worked placer
mine, Colorado" His words were
sharp and jerky and they gave Watts
the impression of a foreign tongue
just what he could not guess.
What a you do?"
pipe. Yes, pipe eight years Colo
RADIO"
Watts was in need of a day shift
piper for No. 8. He had been operat-
ing the giant himself during that part
of each day when time allowed, but
he wanted a regular man
so you think you can handle a
giant?"
Giant? No savvy."
"You don't sayvy, Ell? Well, that
settles it. How in thunder can you
pipe if you don't know what a giant
isl" 1t made Watts angry to think
he had listened to the grasshopper.
Giant? You giant call that?" and
the shrimp broke out into a loud ban
tam laugh. "You giant call that?'
he repeated, when he had recovered
his breath, and pointing his finger at
the cannon-like nozzle. 1--WE call
that monitor, Colorado"
Watts angered c~ountenance was
frightened by a smile. The diminu-
tive individual did know something
about a placer mine sure enough.
To further prove his claim the
loose-clothed man brought forth a
bunch of soiled and worn letters, each
introducing Antonio Martinez. They
were all from prominent Colorado
men. One was from an ex-governor
of the state, and others were from
leading mining men, some of whom
Watts knew, for he had come from
Colorado several years before. The
letters were eloquent in their recon-
mendation of the bearer. According
to them Antonio Martinez was an ex-
pert placer miner and knew the en-
tire business from the superintend-
ent down to the ditch-walker, and
from tile head piper to the diggings
r%oustabout.
Watts considered himself fortunate.
After a careful reading of the budget
of recommendations he hired Antonio
and told him to go to the bunk-house
ami wait TIL moo when a cot would
be assigned him. After dinner he
would begin work. He would take the
day shift at giant No. 8.
When the miners filed in and seated
themselves at the benches about the
mess-house tables that noon, Antonio
Martinez was among them. He was a
minnow by the side of most of them.
They all eyed him curiously, and one
big miner, between his gulping bites
of beef and beans wondered which
wind blew that cricket in anyhow"
Of course the name Antonio Mar
tinez was altogether too lengthy for
ordinary usage. So they cut it down
to Ebony" by which name he was
known from the moment he donned
the big rubber boots, coat and hat,
and wool mits given him from the
mess-hOuse store.
Tony went down into the diggings
and relieved Watts of his grip on the
DETECTING lever with the air OF one
who had been a piper all his days.
Watts did something then he had
never done before-put an absolute
stranger to piping. His usual method
was to break 'en ~" first at the dig
gings, rolling powders, blasting and
doing other turns to show that they
were at home in a placer mine. Tony
was Watts one exception in this re-
spect. He took the ewcom to be
just what the ex-governor and other
Colorado citizens declared him to be-
an A 1 man. Tony, on the other hand,
did not inquire into the history of No.
8. If he had he undoubtedly would
not have taken hold of the defect
ing lever with such unconcern. He
did not know that old No. 3 was a
m%an-killer; that old No. 3 was the
wickedest giant in the whole battery
of monsters that night and day hurled
their mighty streams against that long
and towering auriferous mountain
wall. The remains of two men, in
days gone by, had been carried home
on a stretcher as a result of old No.
3's madness. At another time a China
man, working in the diggings, care
lessly stepped in the way Of that hiss
ing shaft Of white. After a careful
search in the diggings the men report
ed to the foreman that they had found
q strip Of ~Overalls and a pig tail"
Tony did not hear these stories and
It was probably we'll enough that he
did not, for he undoubtedly would
have refused the pipeship of No. 8.
To him. as tn all pipers, the roaring.