, 1906-03-21

eESu, anu alOtlef lOWl dfOSe-lull L.
600 feet above sea leyel-the highest
town in all America, and this became
at once celebrated above all others
and was called Skytown.
In the end SkytoWn dominated the
whole camp and gave name to it. Bo-
Ele, Grass Mountain, Pin Gulch, Hoff-
man, all were subordinate in fame as
they were geographically, and the
press alluded TO the region as the Sky
town mining district.
In those days the barroom of the
Mountain House in BoZle was the cen
tral stock exchange of the whole camp.
1t swarmed of an evening with bust
ness men from Denver, Kansas City,
Chicago, Salt Lake City, San Francis
co and New York. Every great news
paper had its representative there,
alert and interchangeable, seeking the
latest word of strikes and sales.
At the time when Raymond entered
it Skytown was the busiest, most vital
and in some ways the most pictur-
esque mining district in the world. 1t
was at its height as a poor mans
camp. New territory was being open
ed up each day. Each evening brought
stories of strikes-scores of them.
The streets of BoZle were gracelesS
and grassless, but Valley Springs was
Il bower of trees and growing vines.
The houses of he peak We're tents, slab
shacks and cabins of aspen poles, and
remained SO, while splendid stone pal
aces had already appeared in the val
ley, and every comfort and nearly ev-
cry luxury of the east was obtainable,
almost common.
Skytown was the cupola Of Sky
camp. 1t surveyed the whole field,
dominated only by the glittering crest
of Mogalyon, which rose nearly 1000
feet higher into the thin and leckless
air. Bozle and Hoffman and Indian
Creek and Eureka and a half dozen
other villages lay below.
This was the town, the camp, toward
which Raymond had been gazing in
longing and irresolution for two years
and to which he directed his steps as
soon as he was able to walk with
something of his old time vigor.
For a week he did nothing but stroll
slowly up and down the streets of Bo-
zle, studying his surroundings, listen
ing to all that vas said and asking
searching questions of every mar who
seemed to know anything of mining
matters. The altitude at first troubled
him greatly, but he ate well and slept
well, and day by day his strength and
native resolution expanded within him,
and he began to definitely seek a place
whereon to try his hands at labor.
One night as he sat toasting his shins
before the big fire in the hotel he be-
came immensely interested in the grand
physical proportions and easy, unstud-
led grace of a middle aged miner who
stood with his back to the fire replying
to the rapid questions of a young re-
porter whose head was bent absorbedly
above his notebook and pencil. The
prospector satisfied every requisite of a
mountaineer. His massive head, COW
cred with grizzled hair; his handsome.
weather beaten, smiling face; his worn
laced boots, spattered with mud; his
rusty brown jacket and his broad hat.
worn with careless yet unfailing grace,
made him easily the most picturesque
figure in the room, and when some one
clapped him on the back and called
out. Hello. Kellyi' Raymond realized,
with a pleasant warming of the heart,
that he was looking upon Rocky Noun
tain Kelly, who knew the ranges of the
west as intimately as the ines on the
palm of his hand.
Seeking opportunity, he touched the
big man on the shoulder. "Are you
Matthew Kelly?"
Kelly turned his keen gray eyes on
his questioner. 81 am, sir. What can
l do for YEP"
"pve heard you're a good natured
man." began Raymond.
Kelly slid his hand into his pocket.
How much is it?"
Raymond laughed. do l look like
that?"
"You look like a sick man." replied
Kelly, scrutinizing him. "And a hun
CRY man."
I'm neither" Raymond smilingly re-
piled. I've just eaten the supper
they serve here, and I'm fairly COM
Portable, but | want to ask your ad-
vice about a business matter. If you
had a little money and wanted to
break into mining, what would you
dO?"
"Take out a lease" answered Kelly
promptly.
"Do you know of a promising prop
erty to leaseT"
AZ do"
evil you show it to me?"