The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1917-06-22

Diuy StuEuuCA tkleu 10 Tell VI Wueo
the first Of the missing mining claim
owners began to shout at u.s."
"Starbuck has long head, and what
he doesn't know about mining claims in
this part Of the country wouldn't Ill a
very big book. remember he said
there had never been any prospecting
done In the upper Timanyoni gulches
and now you'd think half the people in
the United States had been nosing
around up there with pick and shovel
at one time or another. But It was a
thing that Starbuck told me no longer
ago than yesterday that set me to
thinking" Baldwin went on. "As you
know. the old Escalante Spanish grant
corners over In the western part Of this
park. When the old grants were made.
they were ruled of on the map with
out reference to mountain ranges or
other natural BARRIERS"
Williams nodded.
"Well, as say. one corner Of the Es-
calante reaches over the Hophras and
out into the park. covering about eight
or ten square miles Of the territory
Just beyond us on our side of the river.
Starbuck told me yesterday that big
Eastern colonization company had got
q bill through congress alternating that
tract"
The chief Of construction bounded
out Of his chair and began to walk the
floor. by George!" he said; and
again: by Georgel That's what
we're up against, coloneli Where will
those fellows get the water for their
land7 There is no site for dam lower
down than ours. and, anyway. that land
lies too high to be watered by any
thing but q high-line ditch!"
"Nice little brace game. isn't itr'
growled Baldwin. "If we hadn't been
a lot of hayseed amateurs we might
have found out long ago that someone
was running In a cold deck on us.
What's your notion7 Are we done up.
world without end?"
Williams laugh was grim.
what we need, colonel. Is to go out
on the street and yell for DOCTOR" he
said. IT'S beginning to look as II we
had acquired pretty bad case of ma
lignant strangle-itis."
Baldwin ran his fingers through his
hair and admitted that he had lost his
sense Of humor.
This Eastern crowd Is trying to
freeze us out. to get our dam and reser-
voir and ditch rights for their Esca-
lante scheme. When they do, they'll
turn around and sell us water-at fifty
dollars an inch: or something like
that!"
rh-k - t. Hnk
haven't been able to surround the sure
enough fact while there was still time
to do something" lamented the ex-
reclamation man. 1.-THE first thing we
know. Stanton will own a majority Of
the stock and be voting us oil out Of
Job. You'll have to come around to
my suggestion, after all. and advertise
for a DOCTOR" 1t was said Of the chief
Of construction that he would have
joked on his death-bed, and. rs a fol-
lower for the Joke. he added: "Why
don't you call Smith in and give him
the jobT
"You don't really mean that. VIII
liams, do you" growled the colonel.
mo, didn't mean 1t when I said It,"
was the engineers admission II was
only trying to get rise out Of you. But
really, colonel, on second thought. |
don't know but it is worth considering.
AS I say, Smith seems to know the
money game from start to finish. What
is better still, he Is a fighter from the
word go-what you might call a Joyous
| fighter. Suppose you drive out tomor-
row or next day and pry into him n
little"
The rancher-president had relapsed
| once more into the slough Of discour-
agement.
You are merely grabbing for hand
holds, Bartley-as was a minute ago.
We are In bad row Of stumps when
we can sit here and talk seriously
about roping down young hobo and
putting him into the financial harness.
Let's 20 around to Frascati's and eat
before you go back to camp. It's bread
time, anyway"
! The chief Of construction said no
more about his joking suggestion at the
moment, but when they were walking
around the square to the Brewster Del
monico's he went back to the dropped
subject in all seriousness, saying
"Just the same, wish you could know
Smith and size him up as I have. l
can't help believing, some way, that
he's all to the good"
CHAPTER v.