The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1916-08-22
ooh. a few ounces a day"

| 'Ou, rev ounces Il tdN
"That suits me for beginning " said
Yank decidedly. Come on, boys"
The miner hopped back into his hole,
only to stick his head out again for
the purpose of telling us:
mind you keep fifteen feet away
With eager hands we slipped pick
and shovels from beneath the pack
ropes, undid our iron bucket and with
out further delay commenced feverish-
ly to dig.
! Johnny held the pail, while Yank
and l We'd with each other in being
the first to get our shovelfuls into that
receptacle. AS a consequence we near
ly swamped the pail first off and had
to pour some of the earth out again.
Then we all three ran down to the
river and took turns stirring that mud
pie beneath the gently flowing waters
In the manner Of the pot Planners"
we had first watched. After a good
deal of trouble we found ourselves pos
sessed of thick layer of rocks and
coarse pebbles.
1--WE forgot to screen It," pointed
out.
ave haven't any SCREEN" said
Johnny.
"Let's pick 'em out by hand" sug-
gested Yank.
We did so. The process emptied the
pail. Each of US insisted on examin-
ing closely, but none of us su .eeeded
In creating out Of our desires any Of
| that alluring black sand
~ suppose we can't expect to get
color every time" observed Johnny
disappointedly. Lets try her again."
We tried her again, and yet again
and then some more, but always with
the same result. Our hands became
puffed and wrinkled with constanr i'm.
mersion In the water and began to feel
sore from the continual stirring Of the
rubble.
Something wrong" grunted Johnny
into the abysmal silence In which we
had been carrying on our work
eve can't expect it every time" I
reminded hm.
"All the others seem to-"
swell, maybe we've struck a blank
place. Let's try somewhere else" sug-
gested Yank
Johnny went over to speak to our
neIghbor, who was engaged in tossing
out shovelfuls of earth from an exca-
-Yation into which he had nearly dis
appeared. At Johnnys hail he straight
ened his back, so that his head bobbed
out of the hole like prairie dog.
mo, 1t doesn't matter where you
dig" he answered JOhnny's question.
"The pay dirt is everywhere"
So we moved on few hundred feet,
picked another unoccupied patch and
resumed our efforts. No greater sue
cess rewarded us here.
81 believe maybe we ought to go
deeper" surmised Yank.
"Some of these fellows are taking
their dirt right Off top of the ground"
objected Johnny
However, we unlimbered the plcbax
and went deeper, to the extent of two
feet or more 1t was good hard work,
especially as we were all soft for It,
The sun poured down on our backs
with burning intensity, our hands blis-
tered, and the round rocks and half
cemented rubble that made the bar
were not the easiest things in the
world to remove. However, we kept
at 1t. Yank and L. having In times
past been more or less accustomed to
this sort of thing, got Off much easier
than did poor Johnny. About two feet
down we came to a mixed coarse sand
and stones, little finer than the top
dirt. This seemed to us promising, so
we resumed our washing operations.
They bore the same results as had the
flrst, which was Just the whole Of
nothing.
We've got to hit II somewhere"
said Johnny between his teeth Let's
try another place"
We scrambled rather YEARLY, but
with a dogged determination, out Of
our shallow hole, Our blue eyed, long
bearded friend was sitting on con-
venient bowlder near at hand, his pipe
between his teeth, watching our OPP
erations.
SCOT any tobacco, boysr" he inquired
genially. Smoked my last until to-
night unless you'll lend"
Yank produced plug, from which
the stranger shaved some parings.
"Struck the dirt" he Inquired. mo;