Carbon County news., 1937-03-12

| along u1S creek were GV1QGuCGS
labor. Here and there, disregard
ing the high water, men laboret
at the shoveling Of earth into long
wooden sluice boxes which, picking
up the water from a flume running
from a higher point in the stream
carried it downward on a slow de
cline.
''You just wash it through and i
becomes gold?" Kay said curious
ly. isn't that cute!"
1T looks like day laborer'S jot
to me-" her mother reflected.
A shout answered her, from up
stream, where the raw-boned Oh
son and two partners were work
ing. Instantly labor stopped else
where. Necks craned. Heads ap'
peared above the higher portions Of
earth, where the stream temporarily
ran between cut banks. Then men
began to converge upon the sluice
box.
Lets 60 up" Hammond ex-
claimed. "Olson's found something
in the cleanup"
'The clean-up?" Kay asked, hur-
rying beside him. Mrs. Joyce fol-
lowed somewhat in their wake,
glancing acridly about her, a wom-
an who seldom smiled, who seldom
gave interest, yet who seemed al
ways to be weighing everything
within her range. Hammond turned
to explain.
eyes, the clean up. You see,
those long wooden chutes are called
sluice boxes. They've got cleats
across the bottom, called rifles.
The dirt is shoveled in at the top
and is carried along by the water.
The dirt and light gravel fow on
out. Anything heavier settles be-
hind those rifles"
"Oh, see. Then you stop shov-
cling and pick up the gold"
''Not that easy. It takes a long
time for those rifles to fill up. Then
everything they've caught is
scraped out. After that the miners
pan it,
"Pan it," j
"Yes-there's one." He pointed
to a discarded gold pan on the
creeks bank, fiat bottomed and
with sharply sloping sides. 'They
put the scrapings in there and drip
water into it, swishing it around.
It takes a long time to get rid of
everything but the nuggets"
''Oh, I'd love to see a nugget
again. Like those you gave me
in Seattle" i
Hammond laughed. i
''It looks like you'll get your wish.
Olson's pretty excited"
The big man was running about
with both hands in the air. Other
miners attempted to halt him, but
only momentarily. At last he saw
Hammond and headed for him. II
IT told you it was a new K1on-
dyke!" he shouted. Look what !
found in the clean-up!"
He opened his clutched hands. In |
each was at least a dozen nuggets,
some no larger than a pinhead, 9TH |
ers bigger than peas. Kay squealed
with interest.
'Isn't it perfectly thrilling?" she
asked. There was a queer, fever
ish CLINT in her eyes. Her hands |
opened and closed spasmodically.
"Just to think Of digging up the
ground and picking out gold!"
Olson veered again into mad gy-
rations, at last to bring up short |
before Mrs. Joyce and extend his
treasures to her.
Look at Mother" the girl said.
She's actually Interested"
Mrs. Joyce was asking questions
and with an extended finger was
over the nuggets as they lay
in the giant paws Of Olson. The big
man stood there, grinning; some |
what surprised, Hammond saw Mrs.
Joyce smile quite gayly. He
laughed.
"Gold certainly is anybody's in
troduction!"
Kay shrugged her shoulders.
= ''But Mother-!" she exclaimed,
and did not finish the sentence.
They went on then to examine the
sluice box. After time Hammond
followed Kay's glance as she once
more looked back. Olson and Mrs.
Joyce were still talking. At last,
Kay said, almost fretfully:
''But, Jack, all this isn't getting
me started on my gold mine"
He looked at her. ''Why the hur-
ry?"
''But isn't that what a person is |
to do. the minute you get
in camp?"
Jack stared. "You're not seri-
ous?" |
''Of course I'm serious, silly. Why
else should I have a gold mine?"
"A placer claim, since you are
serious" he corrected her laugh
ingly. 'tBut / just laid the thing
aside for you-merely for fun"
''"Then you mean there isn't any
gold in it?''
tOf course, I nope there's gold.