The herald., 1912-12-05
The
Power Of Luck
BY BENJAMIN BERKHALTER

the same time drawing rem 10 receive
his reply.
Fright around the speer Of the
mountain; take the right hand road
after crossin' the creek. You can't
miss Il. It's the only lot O. buildin1s
there is around there. Fine property.
SIR"
$50 have been told. / have also
heard that it was built up on strik-
ing piece Of luck"
"You bet; the goldarnedest luck that
ever happened to prospector."
what was it,"
"Why Hawley, he come out yere
matter Of fifteen year ago, fur to see
II he couldn't make forum by a
short road | been tryin' to do that
myself ever since l was twenty-five
year old, and just look at me-my
clothes in tatters and nothin' In my
stomick Where one man strikes
payin' dirt thousands spend their lives
workin' fur nothin'. Ten year ago II
you'd "a seen Hawley you'd "a seen
man list about like me. He was wan
derin' about yere with pick and
shovel on his shoulder, ragged, nothtn'
In his stomick and nothin' in his
pocket.
"Pm wrong there: he had ten pounds
o. blastin' powder, and that was all
the property he had in the world ex-
cept his pick and shovel He had
pair O. shoes on his feet, but there
want no soles on 'em. I'm wrong
ag'in about his property. He had one
thing more, and that was a magni-
fyin' glass he used to examine quartz
with to see II there was any gold in 1t.
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 a letter
from his wife in the east sayin' 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 a place so hidden that he'd never
be found and would kill himself. He
hadn't nothin' to kill himself with ex-
cept the blastin' powder and he hadn't
the good luck to have any matches with
him or any other means o settin' 1t on.
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
and tried to think Of way to set of
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 in the course the TO
cused sun spot would take, SOS It
would pass over the powder after
awhile. This would leastways give him
time to say his pra'rs.
when he'd got 1t fixed SOS the sun
spot was sure to strike 1t he lay down
few yards away with his back to the
powder and waited. 1t warn't cheer
full condition, was it?"
az should think not" / replied.
81 dunno how long Hawley waited.
never hearn. But bimeby there was
a big explosion. Hawley didn't know
for awhile whether he had been killed
or not, he was so stunned. But he
wasn't even hurried. The force O. the
explosion was all upwards.
II dunno IL he was disappointed or
not. l never heered that nuther. But
he rolled over and looked into hole In
the ground made by the explosion. 1t
was Jest like a prospector to look to
see what was in the hole instead O.
thinkin' where he might "a been II his
tryin' to kill hisself hadn't failed. Then
he looked for his magnifyin' glass.
He remembered hearin' somepin drop
jist after the explosion and, gittin' up,
went where he'd heered the sound.
The glass was layin' near by on the
ground. He TUX 1t up and, gittfh' down
on his stomick, looked through 1t into
the hole. Then he picked up a piece o.
| quartz and examined that Then he
got up and danced all around by his.
self like a crazy man.
"Diggin' out some pieces o. quartz
from the hole, he TUX 'em to Antelope,
where there was an assayer, and had
EN- assayed. They showed gold
enough to make ten millionaires,
pervidin' the stuff was a regular vein
Then he stole away to his hole by his
self and dug TIL he was satisfied that IL
was vein. then entered his claim and
went to men who had money and
formed a company, Hawley gittin'
three-Quarters o. the stock.
That's the origin O. the Loon Gulch
mine, one o. the biggest In the world"
paid the man literally for his story
and, much impressed with the force Of
luck In our worldly affairs, drove on to
| the mine. l found Mr.. Hawley in the
office, and II ever there was a prosper
Gus looking man 1t was the president
Of the Loon Gulch Gold Mining COM
pany. / dined with him in his hand
some dwelling, near by the mine, and
found his wife and children equally
comfortable and happy.
Before leaving him l gave him an
outline Of the story I had listened to