Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 September 1916 — Page 7

GOLD

By STEWART EDWARD WHITE

SYNOPSIS Talbot Ward’s challenge to Frink Munroe to a personal encounter to determine whether Munroe Is fit to make a trip to California in search of gold Is accepted. Munroe gets a hammerlock on Ward and wins the bout. Arriving at Chagres, Talbot Ward’s knowledge of Spanish and his firm treatment of the native boatmen help wonderfully. The party enters a tropical forest They reach Gatun, and, after passing through several villages where Ward always diplomatically handles the natives, they arrive in Panama. Ward forces steamship agent to refund passage money because ship Isn’t available. Yank has provided accommodations for all on board a sailing ship. They arrive In San Francisco.. Ward puts it up to each man to get $220 in one day. Munroe makes $25 as a laborer. Johnny gambles and gets $220. Ward astounds the party by telling how, by shrewd business deals in one day In the Golden City, he accumulated several thousand dollars.

CHAPTER XII. The Gold Trail. WE came upon the diggings quite suddenly. The trail ran around the corner of a hill, and there they were below us! In the wide, dry stream bottom perhaps fifty men were working busily, like a lot of ants. Some were picking away at the surface of the ground; others had dug themselves down waist deep and stooped and rose like legless bodies. Others had disappeared below ground and showed occasionally only as shovel blades. From so far above the scene was very lively and animated, for each was working like a beaver, and the red shirts made gay little spots of color. .On the hillside clung a few white tents and log cabins, but the main town itself we -later, discovered, as well as the larger diggings, lay around the bend and upstream. We looked all about us for some path leading down to the river, but could find none. So perforce we had to continue on along the trail. Thus we entered the camp of Hangman’s Gulch, for if it had been otherwise I am sure : we would have located promptly where we had seen those red shirted men. We wandered about here and there, looking with all our eyes. The miners were very busy and silent, but quite friendly, and allowed us to examine as much as we pleased the results of their operations. In the pots and cradles the yellow flake gold glittered

“Where can we dig a little of this gold ourselves?”

plainly, contrasting wjth the black eand. In the pans, however, the residue spread out fan shaped along the angle between the bottom and the side, and at the apex the gold lay heavy and beautiful all by itself. The men were generally bearded, tanned with working in this blinding sun and plastered liberally with the red earth. Wo saw some queer sights, however, as when we came across a jolly pair dressed In what were the remains of ultra fashionable garments up to and Including plug hats! At one side, work-. Ing some distance from the stream, were small groups of native Californians or Mexicans. They did not trouble to carry the earth all the way to the river, buL after screening it roughly, tossed it into the air above a canvas, thus winnowing out the heavier pay dirt. I thought this must be very disagreeable. ' As we wandered about here and there among all these men so busily engaged and with oiir own eyes saw pan after pan show gold, actual metallic guaranteed gold, such as rings and •watches and money are made of, a growing excitement possessed us—the excitement of a small boy with a new and untried gun. We wanted to get at It ourselves. Only we did not know how. Finally Yank approached one of the busy miners. "Stranger,” said he, “we’re new to this. Maybe you can tell us where we can dig a little of this gold ourselves.” The man straightened his back to ex-

Mbit a roving humorous blue eye, vmn which he examined Yank from top to toe. “If," said he, “It wasn’t for that eighteen foot cannon you carry over your left arm and a cold gray pair of eyes you carry in your head I’d direct you up the sidehill yonder and watch you sweat. As It is, you can work anywhere anybody else isn’t working. Start Inf “Can we dig right next to you, theni? asked Yank, nodding at an unbroken piece of ground Just upstream. The miner clambered carefully out of his waist deep trench, searched his pockets, produced a pipe and tobacco. After lighting this he made Yank a low bow. “Thanks for the compliment; but, I warn you, this claim of mine is not very rich.' I’m thinking of trying somewhere else.” “Don’t you get any gold?” “Oh, a few ounces a day.” “That suits me for a 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 a pick and shovels from beneath the pack ropes, undid our iron bucket and without further delay commenced feverishly to dig. Johnny held the pall, while Yank and I vied with each other in being the first to get our shovelfuls into that receptacle. As a consequence we nearly 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 rhe “pot panners" we had first watched. After a good deal of trouble we found ourselves possessed of a thick layer of rocks and coarse pebbles. “We forgot to screen it,” I pointed out. “We haven’t any screen,” said Johnny. “Let’s pick ’em out by hand,” suggested Yank. We did so. The process emptied the pail. Each of us insisted on examining closely, but none ts us succeeded in creating out of our desires any of that alluring black sand. “I suppose we .can’t expect to get color every time,” observed Johnny disappointedly. “Let’s tty 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 constant immersion 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. “We can’t expect it every time,” I reminded hm. “All the others seem to.” “Well, maybe we’ve struck a blank place. Let’s try somewhere else,” suggested Yank. Johnny went over to speak to our neighbor, who was engaged in tossing out shovelfuls of earth from an excavation into which he had nearly disappeared. At Johnny’s hail he straightened his back, so that his head bobbed out of the hole like a prairie/dog. “No, It doesn’t matter where you dig,” he answered Johnny’s question. “The pay dirt is everywhere.” So we moved on a few hundred feet, picked another unoccupied patch and resumed our efforts. No greater success rewarded us here. “I 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 pickax and went deeper, to the extent of two feet or more. It was good hard work, especially as we were all soft for it The sun. poured down on our backs with burping intensity, our hands blistered, 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 it Yank and I, 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, a 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 first, which was just the whole of nothing. “We’ve got to hit it somewhere,” said Johnny between his teeth. “Let’s try another place.” z We scrambled rather wearily, but with a dogged determination, out of our shallow hole. Our blue eyed, long bearded friend was sitting on a convenient bowlder near at hand, his pipe between his teeth, watching our operations. “Got any tobacco, boys?” Jie inquired genially. “Smoked my last until tonight unless you’ll lend.” Yank produced a plug, from which the stranger shaved some parings. “Struck the dirt?” he inquired. “No; I see you haven’t.” He stretched himself and arose. “You aren’t washing this stuff!” he cried In amazement as his eye took in fully what we were about. Then we learned what we might have known before—but how should we?—that the gold was not to be found in any and every sort of loose earth that might happen to be lying about, but only In either a sort of blue clay or a pulverized granite. Sometimes this “pay dirt” would be found atop the ground. Again, the miner had to dig for it “All the surface diggings are taken up,” our friend told us, “so now you have to dig deep. It’s four feet down where I’m working. It’ll probably be deeper up here. You’d better move back where you were.” Yank stretched himself upright.

“Look here," he said decidedly, "levs get a little sense into ourselves. Here’s our pore old bosses standing with their packs on and we no place to stay and no dinner, and we’re scratchin’ away at this bar like a lot of fool hens. There’s other days cornin’.” Johnny and I agreed with the common sense of the thing, but reluctant-

We Actually Panned Our First Gold!

ly. Now that we knew how, our enthusiasm surged up again. We wanted to get at IL The stranger’s eyes twinkled sympathetically. “Here, boys,” said he, “I know just how you feeL Come with me.” He snatched •up our bucket and strode back to his own claim, where he filled the receptacle with some of the earth he had thrown ouL “Go pan that.” he advised us kindly. We £aced to the water and once more stirred about the heavy contents of the pail until they had floated off with the water. In the bottom lay a fine black residue, and in that residue glittered the tiny yellow particles. We had actually panned our first gold! Our friend examined it critically. “That’s about a twelve cent pan,” he adjudged it Somehow in a vague way we had unreasonably expected millions at a twist of the wrist, and the words, “12 cents,” had a rankly penurious sound to us. However, the miner patiently explained that a twelve cent pan was a very good one, and indubitably it was real gold. Yank, being older and less excitable, had not accompanied us to the waterside. “Well, boys,” he drawled, “that 12 cents is highly satisfactory, of course, but in the meantime we’ve lost about S6OO worth of boss and grub.” Surely enough. animals had tired of waiting for us and had moved out packs and all. We hastily shouldered our implements. “Don’t you want to keep this claim next me?” inquired our acquaintance. We stopped. “Surely!” 1 replied. “But how do we do it?” “Just leave your pick and shovel in the hole.” “Won’t some one steal them?” “No.” “What’s to prevent?” I asked a little skeptically. * l ’ “Miner’s law,” he replied. We almost Immediately got trace of our strayed animals, as a number of men had seen them going upstream. In fact, we had no difficulty whatever in finding them, for they bad simply followed up the rough stream bed between the canyon walls until it had opened up to a gentler slope and a hanging garden of grass and flowerk. Here they had turned aside and were feeding. We caught them and were just heading them back when Yank stopped short “What’s the matter with this here?” he inquired. “Here’s feed and water near, and it ain’t so very far back to the diggings.” We looked about us for the first time with seeing eyes. The little up sloping meadow and dull red with flowers, below us the stream brawled foam flecked among black rocks, the high hills rose up to meet the sky, and at our backs across the way the pines stood thick serried. Far up in the blue heavens some birds were circling slowly. Somehow the leisurely swing of these unhasting birds struck from us the feverish hurry that had lately filled our souls. We drew deep breaths, and for the first time the great peace and majesty of these California mountains cooled our spirits. “I think it’s a bully place, Yank,” said Johnny soberly, “and that little bench up above us looks flat” We clambered across the slant of the flower spangled meadow to the bench, just within the fringe of the pines. It proved to be flaL and from the edge of it down the hill seeped a-little spring marked by the feathery bracken. We entered a cool i giecn place, peopled with shadows a th. the rare, considered notes of soft voiced birds. Just over our threshold, as it were, was the sunlit, chirpy, buzzing, brigbf colored busy world. Overhead a wind of many voices hummed through the pine tops. The golden sunlight flooded the mountains opposite, flashed from the stream, lay languorous on the meadow. Long bars of it slanted through an unguesaed gap in the hills behind us to touch with magic the very tops of the trees over our beads. The sbeen of the precious metal was over the land. (To be continued.)

Buy envelopes at The Democrat office. A large number of sizes, styles and colors, both bond and plain finish, to select from, at 5c per bunch of 25. Call in and see them.

J li ROAD BUILDING IN INDIANA

(Coninued from page two)

proval, of a definite state-wide-plan, and then do not permit pressure to cause a deviation from that plan.\ Fisher then turned to a piece of paper, and. with a pencil, blocked out an outline map of the state. ’ Here,” he said, “ is my idea of a five-year constructive program.” He ran a black line the length of the, state north and south. It started at Jeffersonville—Louisville—and?ran north through Indianapolis to South Bend. Then he ran a similar black line across the state from Terrfe Haute to Richmond, crossing the tiorth and south line at Indianapolis. Next he drew a second line across the state, from Cincinnati to Vincennes, and still a |hird across the state from Ft. Wayne, through Goshen, South Bend and Laporte. The four black lines laid on the map showed a backbone and three ribs on each side. ' "There,” said Fisher, “put in those' 700 miles in permanent concrete that will last for decades if it is correctly done, and you have—in five years—the foundation laid.” The next step would be to swing in some more roads, also in permanent concrete. “If we map out a through statewide concept and stick to it for five years,” said Fisher, “and build with cement, or material designed for future ages, we will have, in 1921, a permanent asset.’ Fisher thinks that eighteen or twenty-foot wide concrete pavements would be sufficiently wide for these main highways. An average cost for the entire 700 miles of the back bone and ribs which he blocks out roughly, would be $15,000 a mile —this including bridges, cuts and grading. The total cost at $15,000 a mile for these four roads would be $10,000,000. That is more than twice the amount of money that would be available by the federal appropriation and a similar appropriation by the state. “That is true,” said Fisher, “but the beauty is that a great deal or the building already is done. Already the Lincoln highway from Ft. Wayne to Illinois is half in concrete and the remainder is in good condition and will be completed without this aid—or with very little of it. We are driving that through in a hurry now. So that road, which 1 include in a comprehensive state skeleton, can be dismissed. Now, take the National road—the central east and west line. Take out of it the paved streets and concrete highways between the Ohio and Illinois lines—take out most of 'Wayne, Marion and Vigo counties and other town and city pavements, pnd you have less than 100 miles to build there. The southern rib, from Cincinnati to Vincennes or Evansville, and the north and south backbone would be the real work, and still there would be material reductions in their mileage. So, on the one hand, we might find a contraction of the mileage to 5000 miles to be constructed.

“On the other hand, there can | possibly be found means of increasing the revenues. Local aid might be obtained. It is possible that the automobile revenues could be converted for five years to this work, |or an extra tax placed on automobiles for this permanent highway construction. The automobilists ; you’'’ rebel against taxation for a con tn nation of the waste and inefi ficiency that we have now, but most of them would let loose of another $5 a year, or $lO for larger cars, for something like this. They know they are the ones, not the farmers, who wear out the roads, and they are willing to pay, if we only give them assurances that we will spend their money right.”

A fight may be expected between the element that looks forwjard for permanent results and to a constructive system, and contractors who have inferior temporary construction and materials to offer, land speculators and politicians. Those who are proposing that each county “get its share” of the money are face to face with the fact that if the $4,218,000 of state and federal aid is spread out over ninety-two counties in appropriations covering a five-year period, each county will get so little that it will accomplish nothing, or next to nothing. Perhaps it might prove to be much worse than nothing. The “divvy” would be only SIO,OOO a year to the county. This would build less than one mile of permanent highway, a mile of heavy oil-bound macadam, two miles of temporary stone roads, or it would be scattered out in gravel or impermanent uses which might only entail heavy upkeep. “The thing,” said Fisher, "that 1 can not get away from is the spectacle of six little cars keeping up air of the concrete roads of Wayne county, Michigan. They only have to keep going six or eight mdnths a year. The upkeep a mile is practically nothing, while Marion county is putting out $225,000 this year. The roads have been down already several years are now built so they don’t even pin-crack in that severe climate which offers changes of 130 degrees of temperature a year. The same is the case over in Milwaukee county, Wisconsin. "Here we put down roads that cost $4,000, $5,000 or SIO,OOO a mile and they wear out. The upkeep is terrible and then in a year or two or three they have to be rebuilt. The state and the counties and the farmers can’t stand the load that is coming on them.” The trouble has been in the method of spending road money. Taking the state over, and Marion county is most conspicuous, the expenditure of the vast amount of road money has bee n in the hands of county commissioners, road supervisors and road superintendents and others who have not been x abreast of what changes were going on, who have been woefully ignorant and inefficient and positively criminally wasteful. A good illustration is offered by

nil W-I-M I!!!! 4-I-M mm H-HIl il II 1 !1 i l| I||. INDIANA'S GREATEST CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION AT INDIANAPOLIS Big Civic and Patriotic Demonstrations Cover Two Weeks, Oct. 2-15, Inclusive. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS. Oct. 2.—Grand review of patriotic and fraternal organizations in streets of Indianapolis. Indiana Centennial pageant at Riverside park first six afternoons. Oct. 3. Homecoming of Hoosier exiles from other states. A great welcome awaits the “exiles” at Indianapolis. Oct. 4.—lndiana art, literature and architecture. f lmmense exhibit of fine and domestic arts at John Herron Art institute. Oct. 5. Religious pageant, floats by Indianapolis churches, reviewing the denominational history of Indiana. • Oct. 6.—County processional pageant, With floats representing the counties, cavalcade of 92 young women on horseback, reunions of Indianapolis people with “the folks back homfe.” Great Hoosier reunion at state fair coliseum at night. Address by former President W. H. Taft. Massed band concert. Review of Indiana music of 100 years. Oct. 7. Olympic games, with contests by college, high school and athletic associations at state fair grounds, for Indiana championships. Oct. B.—Centennial services in Indianapolis churches. Union meeting with united choir at night at Soldiers’ monument or state fair coliseum. Oct. 9—Parade of floats showing development of Indiana manufactured products and industrial enterprises, given by Indianapolis business houses, manufacturers and labor organizations. Oct. 10. Women’s day. An extraordinary program of features for the women of Indiana. , Oct. 11.—Public health parade. Floats showing- the old and modern ways of safeguarding public welfare. Given by the Indiana and Indianapolis board of health, hospitals and others. Oct. 12—Motor parade over historic highways. The greatest auto parade ever given. Delegations from over the state, all concentrating at Indianapolis, where a gigantic parade will be given. A great “good roads”, meeting at state fair coliseum with speakers of national fame. Oct. 13. —Educational day. ForEy thousand school children in a great patriotic demonstration at state fair grounds. Boston Grand Opera company, with ballet of 100 and orchestra, in “Andre Chenier" at Murat theater at night. Oct. 14. —Boston Grand Opepa company in Japanese opera "Iris" (matinee) and “Faust” (night) at Murat theater. Oct. 15.—Grand musical finale. Boston Grand Opera company, with Indianapolis choral society in Verdi’s “Requiem,” at state fair coliseum (night).

Marion county which is now building wide concrete roads that lead nowhere and mean nothing in a general scheme, and that, more-over—-in some instances—are -not well constructed. The county commissioners are building thirty-foot concrete pavements where a twentyfour foot pavement would, it seems, be amply wide enough. Such an orgie of heedless expenditure is enough to chill the taxpayers. The above article advocates those principals in road building whiclr The Democrat has been trying to’ further for many months; A twentyfoot concrete road is really wider than ordinary occasions would demand, and a sixteen-foot roadway would serve the purpose just as well and could be constructed much more cheaply. It is twelve miles from Rensselaer to Remington, and we believe this highway to be one of the most heavily traveled roads in the state of Indiana. Thousands upon thousands of dollars have been spent on this road in building and repairing, and the drain upon the taxpayers will never cease so long as the road is not made of a more permanent material. This road, because of the great amount of travel thefeon, would be an ideal place to commence permanent road building in this section. Upon recent occasions we have traveled this road, continuing on through Monticello, Delphi and Lafayette, and again going west at Remington and to Kentland and Watseka, near which latter place is a five-mile stretch of permanent concrete road. During these trips we have made note of the cars passed, and always find about three times as many travelers on the road between Rensselaer and Remington as on any other of the roads mentioned, and all of which are trunk roads. When permanent road building commences in Jasper county, it should be started on the heaviest traveled roads, and in this respect the road mentioned above heads the list. Upon any day the cars one meets in driving over this road will average about two to The mile.

THE HEBREWS. The revival of Jewish Hopes is a burning topic. To all who are interested in the restoration of Israel and their re-establisbment in Palestine, soon to be accomplished, we recommend reading a little volume of Scripture Studies entitled “Thy Kingdom Come,” which contains nearly 2,000 Bible references, harmonized and corroborated by leading Jewish and Gentile writers. Looking in the direction of the Jews the signs of the times are so pronounced as to be startling. Send 85 cents with this advertisement. Bible Study *Club, 28 West 63rd Street, New York City. Ideal Account Files are the best, simplest and most economical method of keeping small accounts and having them right at your fingers’ end at all times. These files with 250 blank statements are on sale in The Democrat’s fancy stationery department for only $1.50 each. Extra statements carried in stock at all times and sold In any quantity desired. ts

Printed Stationery. Every farmer who owns his farm ought to have printed stationery with his name and the name of his postofUce properly given. The prln* ed heading might also give the names of whatever crops he specializes in or his" specialties ,in stock. Neatly printed stationery gives you personality and a standing with any person or firm to whom you write and insures the proper reading oi your name and address. The Democrat will print you up a bunch of such stationery in any quantity desired and for about tho same price you pay for blank paper elsewhere. ts FARMS FOR SALE. 20 acres black land, on pike, R. F. D., telephone. Six-room house. $75. 35 acres. Good house and outbuildings; well located. $75. 35 acres. All good land, near station. Small house and barn. SBO. 40 acres. No buildings, on public road; good pasture or farm land, ten acres timber. $35. Terms, S3OO down. 80 acres level land, half timber and half cultivated. Six-room house and outbuildings. 30 bearing fruit trees; good well; near school and pike. Three churches within two miles, on R. F. D. and telephone. Will sell at the low price of $37.50. Terms, S6OO down. 30 acres on dredge ditch, on stone road, near station and school. This is all fine soil and all In cultivation. Price $65. 100 acres. All cultivated except 25 acres timber and pasture. Half black land and half sapdy, on R. F. I)., two miles of two towns. There is a seven-room house, outbuildings and fruit. Will sell at the low price of $37,50. Terms. SBOO down. 100 acres all good land, near dredge ditch, on main road, 80 rods from pike, in Union tp. There is a good five-room house, numerous outbuildings, wind mill and tank, good orchard and in good neighborhood. Only $57.50. 80 acres in Jordan tp. This farm lies well, good outlet for drainage, half cultivated and half nice, young timber. There is a good four-room house, good barn, granery, fruit and good well. Price $57.50. 160 acres all black prairie land with 12-inch tile for outlet for drainage. There is a good five-room house, large barn, cribs, large silo, wind mill, fruit, hog lots ahd lies on main road, R. F. D., telephone, mile to station and half mile to pike. Will sell for tho low price of S6O. Terms, $2,500 down. 97 acres. Good small house, large new barn, on pike, and has 12-lnch tile for outlet with lots of tile in the land. 80 acres is in cultivation, remainder pasture and timber. Can sell this farm for $75 on the remarkable low terms of SI,OOO down. 80 acres in Union tp. This farm lies near dredge ditch, has five-room house, large barn, wind mill and good well. 25 acres in timber and pasture, remainder In cultivation. Price $55. Terms, $1,400 down. Might take property as first payment. 240 acres. All nice level black prairie land, except 20 acres in timber. This farm lies near stone road, is on R. F. D. and telephone line. It lies near dredge ditch and has good outlet for drainage. There is a good six-room house, large barn, some fruit and good well. Price $65. Terms reasonable. 131 acres. Good house and barn and all in cultivation except 20 acres timber, fenced hog tight. Lies on R. F. D. and near station. Price SSO. Terms, $1,500 down. GEORGE F. MEYERS, Rensselaer, Indiana-