The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-10-07
The
Power of Luck
BY BENJAMIN BERKHALTER

Can you direct me to the works OF
the Loon Gulch Gold Mining com
panyT' | asked of ragged man, al
the same time drawing rein to receive
his reply.
Fright around the speer of the
mountain; take the right hand road
after crossln' the creek. You can't
miss 1t. It's the only lot o. buildin's
there Is around there. Fine property,
sir"
80 have been told. l have also
heard that 1t was built up on a strik-
! ing piece of luck
"You bet; the goldarnedest luck that
ever happened to prospector."
what was it?'
| "Why Hawley, he come out we're a
matter Of fifteen year ago, fur to see
IL he couldn't make forum by a
short road. / been tryin' to do that
myself ever since / was twenty-five
year old, and just look at me-my
! clothes in tatters and nothiu' In my
stomlck. Where one man strikes
payin' dirt thousands spend their lives
workin' fur nothin'. Ten year ago il
you'd "a seen Hawley you'd "a seen
man jist about like me. He was wan
derin' about we're with a pick and
shovel on his shoulder ragged, nothin'
In his stomick and nothin' in his
pocket.
"Im wrong there; he had ten pounds
o. blastin' powder, and that was all
cept his pick and shovel. He had.
pair o. shoes on his feet. but there
want no soles on 'em. I'm wrong
agin about his property. He had one
thing more. and that was a magni-
fyin' glass he used to examine quartz
with to see IL there was any gold In It.
zone day he was walkin' around over
there where he could see up the gulch
He'd been to Antelope. where the post
office was then. and had got letter
from his wife In the east sayln' she'd |
been turned out o. the house she'd been |
Twin In, the children was sick for want |
o. proper food and the bottom had |
dropped out o. everything. Hawley was !
clean discouraged. He thought he'd |
find place so hidden that he'd never
be found and would kill himself He |
hadn't nothin' to kill himself with ex-
cept the bastin' powder, and he hadn't
the good luck to have any matches with
him or any other means o. settin' 1t Off.
HE walked up the gulch ways, or
rather staggered up 1t. for he was weak
from want o. food and encouragement.
He left the road by path and comm
to the end of the path, walked on no
where. Comm to lonely place among
some trees and bushes, he sat down
ARD tried to think of way to set or
his blastin' powder Purity soon he
struck an idea. He hung his magnify
in glass on twig and put the powder
on the ground so that the focus Of the
suns rays would strike it.
But he didn't want to know fist
when he was agoin' to be blown TO
atoms, so he moved the powder a few
inches, keepin' it I'm the course the To-
FUSED sun spcs would take, SOS II
would pass over the powder after
awhile. This would leastways give him
lime to say bis pra'rs.
when he'd got it fixed SOS the sun
pot was sure to strike Ii he lay down a
ew yards away with his back to the
powder and waited. 1t warn't cheer
nj condition, was it,
81 should think not" / replied.
81 dunno how long Hawley waited.
never hearn. But bimeby there was ,
big explosion. Hawley didn't know
or awhile whether he had been killed
r not. he was so stunned. But he :
rasn't even hurried. The force O. the /.
xplosion was all upwards.
II dunno IL be was disappointed or
OF. | never heered that nuther. But
Q rolled over and looked into a hole 10
le ground made by the explosion. IL
-as lest like a prospector 10 look to Z
% what was in the hole instead o.
linkin' where he might a been II his
vim to kill hisself hadn't failed. Then a
: looked for his magnifyin' glass
e remembered hearin' somepin drop =
st after the explosion and. gittin' up. u
ent where he'd heered the sound.
be glass was layin' near by on the = !.
-ound- He TUX IL up and. gittin' down Z
! his stomick. looked through e into y"
e hole. Then be picked up q piece O.
iartz and examined that Then he :
y up and danced all around by his u
II like a crazy man
'Diggin' out some pieces q quartz y
ON the hole. be tux EN- 20 Antelope. -
here their wss an nssayer. snd had 9