The daily Alaskan., 1915-06-18
A Valuable Nugget Story of an OIden Time In
 Colorado.
By EUNICE BLAKE

West of the Missouri river are the alkali plains, stretching to the base of the Rocky mountains. But how chang ed from "the plains" at time when they were traversed by the prairie schoour. l the gold seeker who was making his way across the continent! The schooner-doubtlesS named from its white cover, which on the level sur, face resembled the sails of q ship at sea-gave place to the Stagecoach, and the stagecoach gave place to the rail- road.
 During the stagecoach period, when Colorado was becoming prominent as a gold region, Joel SimouSon, young Ohioan, went out there to seek his for tune. In those days the mountains were full of men dignihed by the name of prospectors, who went about in flannel shirts, trousers tucked in their boots, picks and shoyels on their shoul- ders, stopping here and there to dig a hole for gold, one in thousands finding It In paying quantities. the rest con tinuing their wanderings till starved into other work.
 On hearing of the great gold find in Colorado Joel Simonson had left a sweetheart in the east to go tO seek q fortune to enable him 10 marry, for both he and Mabel uarwuOd lacked enough money between them to fur nish a cottage What they had they but together. and Joel used il to help him to Colorado He spent year there digging holes and finding noth- ing of value, during which his story Is one of privation and suffering, for even a proSpector must eat and have cloth. ing. By the end of this time he was so discouraged that he sat down to think over what he should do.
 The last article of valuc-eXcept worn clothes, hat and boOts-was a pipe ful of tobacco. IL was evening and darkness was closing in on him, though sitting on a mountain side looking to the west he caught the last glow of the twilight. He had one pipe of tobacco, sufficient for a good long smoke, which was fortunate, for, hay ing no supper, the weed must serve in- stead.
 Joel had sat down to deliberate upon a matter on which his mind was bal anced A girl had been waiting for him in the east for twelve months, and now he was no nearer a condition to marry her than the day he came away. He was ragged and hungry. A desire came over him to end the mat ter. And yet 1t occurred to him that the sensible thing to do would be to make his way back to Ohio and the two work out the problem together.
 He smoked till night came. Every time he pulled on his pipe the fire with in cast a slight illumination about him. Presently he noticed that q lump of quartz near him reflected this light from his pipe. The harder he pulled the more intense the light and more marked the reflection. Joel got up and with his pick detached the illuminated lump from Its surroundings. Then with the starry heavens for q canopy be stretched himself on the ground eud went to sleep.
 In the morning he examined his lump, but could make nothing of It.. There was gold in It. but there was gold in everything in Colorado; the trouble was to find 1t so plentiful in any one spot that its extraction would be worth the trouble. Joel threw the lump down. but, noticing a minute re- aection of the morning sun upon Its many small surfaces, picked 1t up again
 His deliberations of the night had ended Tn a draw between working his way back to Ohio and suicide. Under the freshening influence of morning he turned from both of these and decided to put in his pick once more. So he laid about him, gathering bits of earth and quartz, which he tied up in his handkerchief and set out for camp in the valley below.
 There he found an assayer whom he persuaded to make test of his colIec- tions without the hope of early re muneration. What was Joers surprise to find that bis lump of quartz was nearly pure gold and likely worth from S3.OOO to $4OOO. The earth and chips of quartz did not assay satisfactorily except to indicate that gold in paying quantities might lie near the point from whence they were taken.
 Joel resolved to go down to Denver raise some money on his nugget and make arrangements for prosecuting his find further. That night he slept on the floor of deserted miners cabin. Tn the morning his nugget was gone.
 Joel was disheartened. Doubtless some one had come into the cabin dur ing the night and relieved him of his flnd. The assayer had advanced him his stage fare to Denver, and he con cluded to go there and make final decision as to what he would do.
 Ono of the principal parts of Colo