Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1910-12-23


There was no merry Christmas in this
world-not for such outcastsr'
For an hour the man was absorbed
in strangely perplexing thoughts. Then
he rose slowly and picked up his few
belongings. He threw them into
pile and kicked them viciously as II
they had been responsible for his
troubles.
Up near the head of the sluice. where
the mountain torrent of the night be
fore had dislodged the powders and
nearly wiped out his camp. he found
his pickax half buried in debris. He
rescued 1t from the dirt and gravel,
and as a parting thrust at the cruel
rocks which had defied him he sunk
the implement deep into their sides.
The pick crushed through the shell OF
the rocks so easily that the man al
most lost his balance.
merry Christmas, eh!" he grunted.
"Merry Christmas"
He withdrew the pick and started TO
walk away. A slight oozing of water
from the scar caused by his pick at
tracted his attention. He stared at 1t
and then mechanically stopped to ex-
anime the gravel and splintered rock
With little gasp of surprise he gath
cred another handful and spread the
pieces out on his rough palm. Three
times he dug up all he could hold In
one palm and repeated the operation.
Suddenly a fierce light shot into his
eyes, and his face assumed the eager,
greedy look of a wild animal on the
scent of some helpless prey. He drop
ped on hands and knees and dug at the
sand and rock until the blood seeped
| from Scared fingers and dyed the
rocks. He was for all the world
wild beast tearing and rending blood
less victim TO death.
Again and again he held the samples
close to his eyes and each time grunted
the hole and attacked the rocks with
! his heavy miners pick. The blows
fell with sharp, metallic sounds; but,
unmindful of the noise, the miner
worked feverishly and stubbornly at
| the excavation.
There was little cry of exultation.
The man held within his hand sam
! pie of dull yellowish rock that sent the
blood coursing rapidly through his
veins. The freshet of the night had
unearthed a vein of gold which prom
iSed to bring true all his visions of the
past.
Deeper and deeper into the bowels Of
the earth he dug, following the course
of the vein and grunting his satisfac-
ton at each fresh discovery. Had he
not been carried away by his greed and
excitement he would have hesitated
and withdrawn from his perilous posi-
tion. His expert knowledge of mining
would have told him that he was court
ing a terrible danger.
But the good fortune which had come
to him after forty years of disappoint-
ment made him temporarily crazy, and
he forgot everything except the gold
which he was unearthing. Then sud
den blow from his pick loosened tor
| ItlL VI Sult illl tllc EtChS dDoNC Ills
head groaned and settled down.
Carston was instantly alert and real
! lied in a flash his danger. He sprang
back toward the mouth of the opening,
leaving his pick and samples of gold
behind. But the avalanche of rocks
and dirt was too quick for him. 1t
fell around and over him until the light
of day was shut from view. A heavy
bowlder rolled over on his leg and pin
| toned him to the soft sand
The roar of the descending avalanche
subsidized, and the miner drew deep
er breath when he realized that all
immediate danger was passed. An
overhanging ledge had partly protect
ed him, and he had a space of a few
feet in which to breathe and move.
The wall of loose stones and rocks
could not be very thick, for he saw
glimmers of light shining through.
But when he attempted to extricate
himself from the prison he found that
a worse fate had befallen him than
he imagined. His right leg was crush
ed and held in viselike grip by O
huge bowlder that had settled down
on him.
In vain he tried to move the rock
and pull his leg free. But the bowl
der was immovable, and the excruciat
ing pain made him faint, sick. Fol
hours he tore at the sand and gravel
at his feet and snapped and snarled
at the rock which held him a prisoner
Then, faint and exhausted, he lay
back and rested. The pain grew pas
endurance, and Inconsistencies merci
fully relieved him. When his senses
returned he renewed the struggle, but
with the same hopeless effort. His
prison was located far up on the noun
tain side where no human creature
would be likely to stray for weeks OF
months at a time.
"Black" Carston was man of iron
will and rugged constitution, and he
did not yield easily to despair. Dur
ing the long hours of the day he
fought and struggled with almost su
perhuman effort. Then the pain, loss
Of blood and exhaustion broke hil
spirit With a little sob he dropped
his head back on the rocks and re-
signed himself to his fate.
$50 this is Christmas day! Merry
Christmas, eh!'
The child's morning greeting had
clung to his mind, and it sprang to
his lips unbidden again and again
Then his thoughts wandered. and he
muttered over in his troubled dreams
"Merry Christmas, merry Christmas
Ha, hal Merry Christmas, young