The Saint Paul globe., 1904-12-18


pecting. Took up with feller named
Agamemnon G.. Jones. Aggy was big
fine-looking man, with chest like
dry goods box and set of whiskers
that would start him in business any
where. They were the upstandingest,
noblest, straightforwardest outfit of
whiskers l most ever saw, and how
they come to grow on Ag is myS-
terry; but they stood him in many
dollar, tell you that!
He was a man of pretty consider
able education in some ways, and he
could make you believe that today was
last Thursday week ago If you
weren't on to him. AT this time he was
kind of under a cloud, like myself, and
the way it come about was this:
He started an assay Office when he.
first struck the gufch, and he used to
bring in results according to the looks
of the customer. If the man looked
tender around the feet, sAggy'd knock
it to him. and probably the shave
tail would be SO pleased that he would
fork out an extra ten; but if he was
plainly vented as one of the boys there
would be just enough pay ia the return
to encourage him.
Next he took up engineering. He
hit blame good job on Castle creek
in the Black hills. The people wanted
to turn the creek through a tunnel, so
that they could work the bed, and at
this point it was rather an easy bus
mess. The stream made a " about
three quarters of a mile long, the bot
tom prong being at least a hundred
and fifty feet below the water-level on
the top one-a smashing good fall
so Aggy started in on the down side
to bore the hole up.
eWelI everything went lovely. He'd
come around with his plans and speci-
fications twice a day, and draw his
hundred once week regular for his
great labors. At last, however, the
shift boss said they must be getting
pretty near water; he could hear it
roar through the face of the tunnel,
he said. But Aggy told him not to be
alarmed; he had it all worked out and
they weren't within forty foot Of
breaking through.
so at it they went again, as cheer
full as could be, and the next news
they got, down comes the face, and
they were being piped through four
hundred foot of black, dark tunnel,
trying to guess what was up humping
and banging against the walls and the
whole of Castle creek on top Of them.
My Cinnamon weren't a circum-
stance. Aggy said they boiled out of
the lower end of the tunnel so fast
he couldn't recognize them, and, as a
matter of fact, three or -four of EN-
were washed a mile down creek before
they could make land.
"Aggy gathered that it was time to
move again, so he pulled back for
Idaho. There wasn't anybody really
drowned, except old Tom Olley, a
counsin-Jack, whose only amusement
in life was to wear out his pants laying
low for cinches in the stud-pOker
game, and you couldn't rightly say
he was any loss to the community. So
Aggy used to regret sometimes that he
hadn't stayed to face the music. They
might have played horse with him for
a while, but 'twould soon have blown
nature-and he was to have had an
eighth interest, besides his salary, if
the thing was a success.
But there was no good of crying
over split milk, and US two went pros
pecting.
1--WE located for permanent stand
down on Frenchman's creek, near
where three of Cap Ally's greaser
sheep herders had their camp. They
did our hunting for US, and as there
was nobody but them around, and they
were the peacefullest people In the
world. we didn't feel the need Of any
gun except Ag's old six-shooter. That
was the cussedest machine that ever
got invented by man. When you pulled
her off she'd spit fire in all directions,
filing the crotch of your hand with
powder burns, and sometimes two or
three of the loads would go off at once,
when she'd kick like a Texas steer.
There was much talk of bear around,
and we were always going to buy a
real gun some day, but We never got
at it.
We'll, We prospered pretty well. con-