The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-02-16

glittering gold was claimed to be
found in abundance. The day for
starting arrived. The party COM
prised the subject of our sketch,
Isaac r. Kimble, Jacob SChoonOver.
William Miller, Digery Buckingham
and Robert and John Beardslee.
From Honesdale they went to New
York and there boarded a steamer
for the Isthmus of Panama. There
was no railroad running across the
isthmus chen, ana those who would
not ride astride a jack could walk.
1t was up to the man, which he pre-
ferred doing. All members of the
party, however, secured a jack but
William Miller. He started to walk.
After waiting a reasonable time, it
was necessary to go back after him,
and Mr.. Kimble, kind-hearted as he
has always been through life, vOlun-
teered to go back after him. 1t re-
quired them three days to make the
trip, the distance being about GO
miles.
After the party reached the Pa
citic ocean they took another steam
boat and sailed to San Francisco
and from thence went to Stockton.
| They went inland several miles to
the central part OF California and
staked out their claims. Mr.. Kim
ble's story in his own words is very
interesting and We herewith repro
duce the same:
" The boys staked out their claims
and commenced to dig sluicewaye
to wash the gold so as to free
the dirt from 1t. We received on
good claims from IS to $40 per day
! IN h 10
work would not average over IS. We
could get the gold anywhere, but for
any reason we left our claim one
day and went somewhere else. an
! other man coming along could lay
claim to il. / have seen a number
OF squabbles over this and sometimes
men would shoot others. Our dig
gings were confined chiefly to the
| low grounds. We experienced
! freshet little while after We were
| mining, which did considerable dam
age and disheartened several miners.
/ ! did not stay with the boys long.
but went out in the woods and lum-
bered and hunted. | got a job in a
saw mill that paid me 500 per
month. We remained out there until
| 1853. While in the mining camp I
saw two gamblers strung up for
shooting men. The government sooR
put stop to that.
When we returned a railroad was
in operation on the isthmus, and we
came across by rail- thence by boat
to New York and home ! have a
son, Calvin p. Kimble, now employed
as an engineer for the government in
the construction of the Panama
canal.
- am sawyer by trade, having
worked in the mill practically all my
life, and most of the time at Dyberry
for my brother BILL He owned the
mill. | sawed the lumber and he
RATED it. | undoubtedly have sawed
millions of feet of lumber in my day,
and in all my experience l never met
with an accident. Since working in
a mill | have broken my hip and a
finger. One day | sawed ,04S feet,
it being the largest number of feet
of lumber ever cut out of one saw
in daylight. 1t was hemlock lumber
and was taken by the Delaware and
Hudson Canal company.
81 was 81 years old last New
p Years and was born in the Middle
Creek valley My father, Asa Kim
BILE, was one of the pioneer settlers
of Wayne county. ! was named af-
: ter John Rosa, father of the late emf
nent physician of New York City"
Mr.. Kimble is one OF Honesdale's
most highly esteemed citizens and
= has many friends and relatives who
will wish him and his family con-
tinued prosperity and happiness dur
ing their stay among us.