Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1915-04-15
A Valuable
Nugget
Story Of an OIden Time In
Colorado.
By OUNCE BLAKE

the Rocky mountains. But how chang
ed from the plains at Il time when
they were traversed by the prairie
schooner of the gold seeker who was
The schooner-doubt!ess named from
it's white cover, which on the level sur
face resembled the sails of 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 Simonson, a young
Ohioan, went out there to seek his for
tune. In those days the mountains
We're full of men dignitied by the lame
OF prospectors, who went about in
flannel shirts, trousers tucked in heir
boots, picks and shovels on their Shout
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 a
fortune to enable him to marry, for
both he and Mabel Harwood lacked
enough money between them to fur
nish cottage. What they had they
put together. and Joel used it to help
him to Colorado. He spent year
there digging holes and finding moth
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 wits
so discouraged that he sat down to
think over what he should do.
The last article of value-except Worn
clothes, hat and boots-waS 4 pipe
full of tobacco 1t was evening and
darkness was closing in on him. though
sitting on 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, hav-
ing no supper, the weed must serve in
stead.
Joel had sat down to deliberate upon
Il matter on which his mind was bal
anced y girl had been waiting for
him in the east for twelve months,
and now he was no nearer 4 condition
TO marry her than the day he came
away. He was ragged and hungry. 4
desire came over him to end the mat.
ter And yet it occurred to Linn 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 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 ana
with his pick detached the Illuminated
lump from its surroundings Then
with the starry heavens for canopy
he stretched himself on the ground
and went to sleep
In the morning he examined his
lump, but could make nothing OF it.
There was gold in it, bat there was
gold in everything in Colorado. lale
trouble was to find it so plentiful iii
amy one spot that its extraction would
he worth the trouble. Joel threw tae
lump down, but noticing minute re.
Gcctian of the morning sun upon its
many small surfaces picked it up
again
Ills deliberations of the night had
ended in 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 pat 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 a camp
in the valley below
There he found an assayer whom he
persuaded to make a test OF his collec.
tons without the hope of early re
muneration. What was Joel's surprise
10 find that his lump of quartz was
nearly pure gold and likely worth from
$4,000 to $4,000 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 Oh his nugget and
make arrangements for prosecuting his
find further. That night he slept on
a.. - 1. l..
In the morning his nugget was gone.
Joel was disAeartened. Doubtless
some one had come into the cabin dur
ing the night and relieved him of his
find The assayer had advanced him
his stage fare to Denver, and he CON
cluded TO 90 there and make final
decision as TO what he would do.
One of the principal parts of Colo
RADIO society in those days was the
INF