Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1907-12-05

told his company amt wanted twice
"Now. mind you, Ag and me didn't
have the first cussed thing-not grub
nor blankets nor gun nor nothing, and
this the Teller well knew
Red says Aggy. what do you say
to pulling this thing apart and seeing
what makes it act SOP
mo says /. don't touch tit
might be catching. Now, you whelp'
says i to the driver. you tell us IL
there's place where we can get any
thing to eat around hereT We'd ex-
pected to go hungry until we hit the
camp some forty miles further on,
where we knew there'd be plenty for
anybody that wanted it.
Yes says he. There's a man run
ming shack two mile up the river
"'All right says |. Drive on.
You've played us as dirty a trick as
one man can play another. If we ever
get cinch on You, you can expect
Wen pull her till the latigoes snap
Gle kept shut till he got across the
river, where he felt safe.
ats all right about that cinchr he
hollers back, grinning. Only wait till
you get it, yer suckers! Sponges!
Beats! Deadheads, Yahv
"Well. man can't catch a team of
horses, and that's all there Is about
II, but want to tell you he was on the
anxious seat for quarter of a mile
/ We tried hard.
"When we got back to where we
started and could breathe again, we
held a council Of war.
SNOW. Aggy,' says I, we're dumped
What shall we dor"
"He sat there awhile looking around
him, swapping pebbles with his thumb.
"Tell you what 1t Is. Red he says
at last, we might as well 60 mining
right here. This is likely gravel, and
there's a river. II that bar In front Of
you had been further In the mountains
1t would have been punched full Of
holes. It's only because it's on the
road that nobody's taken the trouble
to see what was In it. This road was
made by cattle ranchers that didn't
know nothing about mining, and every
miner that's gone over the trail had
his mouth set to get further along as
quick as possible-just like us. Do
you see that little hollow running
down to the river? Well, you try
your luck there. give you that place,
rs It's the most probable, and you as
tenderfoot In the business will have all
the luck. I'll make stab where am
"Well, sir, it sounds queer to tell it,
and 1t seems Queerer still to think of
the doing of it, but / hadn't dug two
feet before l come to bed rock, and
there was some heavy black chunks.
".Aggy,' says 1, what's these things? 2
throwing one over to him. He caught
1t and stared at 1t.
"'Where did you get thatT says he
In almost whisper
"Why, out of the hole, of courser
fsays 1. laughing Come take lookv
"Aggy wasn't the kind of man to
go off the handle over trifies, but when
lie looked into that hole he turned per-
fectly green. His knees give out from
under him, and he sat on the ground
like a man in a trance, wiping the
sweat off his face with motion like
q machine.
"'What the devil ails your says l,
Rstonished. [ thought maybe I'd done
something hadn't ought to do
: through ignorance of the rules and
regulations of mining.
"'Red,' says he, dead solemn, I've
, mined for twenty year and from old
Mexico to Alaska, but I never saw
anything that was ace high to that
before. Gold laying loose in chunks
on top of the bed rock is too much
/ for me. l wish Hy could see this
: "Goldp says l. What you talking
T about? What have those black hunks
. to do with goldY
"The only answer he made was t6
} lay the one had thrown to him or
, top Of rock and hit her crack witt
e pick Then he handed 1t to me
? Sure enough! There under the blacl
! was the yeIler. OF course If II
r known more about the business coul,
l have told it by the weight, but IL
never seen a piece of gold fresh OF
7 the farm before in my life. hadn'
= the slightest idea what 1t looked like
e and / learned afterward it all look
I different. Some of 1t shines up yelle
t In the start, some of it's red, and som
q. Ike ours, coated black with iro
crust
y 80 looked at Ag, and Ag locke
J. at me, neither one OF Us believin
Il anything at all for awhile. / simpl
e couldn't get hold of the thing-I ain
II yet, for that matter. I expect to wax
q up and find 1t pipe dream. and !
is some ways I wouldn't mind II 1t wa
never was so completely two men u
I was on that occasion. One Of 'eI
!, was hopping around and holierin
with Ag. yelling 'Hoorayv and tn
+ other didn't take much interest In til
le proceedings at all. And 1t wasn't unit
ot thought, 'Now'I can pay that Gus
he ed coyote of a stage driver what
re owe himv that got any good out :
I'd II. That brought 1t home to me. Whe
I spoke to Ag about paying the drive
III he says. That so' Then he takes
ID quick look around. We can pay hi
re In full, too old horse! he hollers, an
ne there was a most joyful smile on b
e, face.
to "Rcd,' says he, don't you know tn
~ n the only ford on the river for