The sun., 1909-02-21
LUCK OF THE CHEECHACO
NEW MAN IN hL.ONDIkE DID Is
TOLD AND FOUND COIN.

The sourdoughs We're Amused When But.
Ter wandered Into the North Loadcd
with Wise Book Theories, but Late,
We're Glad 70 Fellow His Lead
WNSIPRo. Feb. 12.---when left Dav.
son." said Chuck Asquith, a SourdouOh
on his way back east from beyond Dawson
City, things were all heated UP over the
strike Joe Butler has made on Barrie,
Greek. where the lucky chaps are washing
81 to the pan in coarse gold This Butler
person sure had 1t put all over the Oldest
inhabitants. he being an ordinary Chez.
chaco for fair
'Huh1 Cheechaco?" sure. that's Sour.
dough for tenderfoot."
well. this Butler person went into
the north only last summer, he HAVING
meandered in all loaded up with wise
book theories about how 10 find gold
but most especially about what 10 do
with the gold when he found 1t. He made
hit the night he landed.
@0f course everybody gave him the
mirthful 'har-har' and offered him all
sorts Of advice; but Butler was the right
kind. and after a period he began To shed
TO the real information.
He got wise TO the fundamental prin.
ciple that gold is where you find it and that
barring a few geological hints the color
scheme Of the surrounding country hasn't
got a whole lot TO do with IT, He also 70,
next to the fact that gold is often found
in benches overlooking any creek bed
known to contain the metal Moreover
he took gentle hint and went and buried
some OF the junk he had toted in under
the delusion that IL was part Of necessary
outfit. He had saved his coin some hard
to get that junk and Il must have hurt;
but Butler was wising up fine.
Finally. armed with a grub stake. a
pick and a pair Of field glasses. Butler
went out TO knock the block OF fortune,
taking with him the sage smiles and the
'tra-la-las' Of I'll the wise Sourdoughs
In town.
well. being such an all fired Cheechaoo
he had TO go and hike up Barker Creek,
which. as all the wise guys know. had been
dug to fare you we'll long ago 90 far as
one horse prospecting was concerned
Well. Butler isn't wise. 30 he just goes and
toddles up Barker Greek until he meets
up with oldsCharley Graham. who's been
running a hydraulic on that Barker
stream since Noah was a kid.
'Howdy.' says Barker.
'Howdy' answers Charley
'Can you tell me where / can get the
best gold hereaboutT inquiries Butler.
Not yet / can't says Charley. very
sober. 'They's a fine grade Of chestnut
size nuggets farder up the creek. but
they don't mint much more'n a thousand
plunks a pound. Then, over about
mile on yon branch there's some fine
slab gold. but IL grows to a size that
makes a lot Of work hackin' it up SOS
you can carry IT,
-'Well. we'll says Butler. his eyes
glistening. May dig anywhere on the
creek?
you sure can allows Charley mag
unanimously, This Is fine large country
and you can 60 az far as you like
We'll. now. this Butler person yanks
out his sixty horsepower field glasses and
fo4 SBout S ,ho nsaT een ana %nases THas
taking a fancy TO high bench heavily
covered with timber and shrubbery he
decided TO take a crack at Fortune just
about there.
Ills book learning had fixed him how
to sink a shaft and all that and he toiled
for two days through the hard gravel
aud frozen muck. working into strata
that would have famed Sourdsugh In
minute. IL any Of the gang could have
seen him there would have been q laugh
to shake the everlasting hills, but Joseph
toiled alone in the sweat Of MONDAY and
the dew Of eve.
1T was afternoon Of the third day when
Joe saw something that looked like a nice
new copper glitter among the grit in III"
shaft bottom. and jumping down hc
fished il up. The feel of II sent hiri
bugged and he began scratching the earth
in the shaft like collie digging for WOOD
chucks. Then he hiked for his pan AMI
washed out.
We'll, | sigh TO tell you, but there was
S? 80 in cold. coarse yellow in that hrs
pan and in many more that followed lh'
luck wasn't much worse. Butler cooled
of after the flrst dose of heart diSoes"
left him and he sank another shaft flrth"r
along the bench.
He struck pay at about tho same levrI
in bigger quantities than he had befor
and then staked out his claim and wen
in and registered. Sixty days later l.
staked his second claim. oil according e.
law as he had learned in the story books
aud then Mr.. Wise Guy Butler puts all
the village cutups next.
Butler IL indecently rich and many OF
the Sourdoughs who gave him the merry
haw w-haw have profited by his rank Chee-
chaco luck; but tho real joke seems u
be on old Charley Graham"