Two Boy Gold Miners: or, Lost in the Mountains

"Did you get him?" asked the bartender.

"Nope," replied Gabe. "It was too dark, and I can't run as fast as I could once. How did it happen he pulled a gun on you, Jed?"

"I knocked him down for insulting my mother."

"Whew!" whistled Gabe. "You're getting right into the swim of things out here. I can't leave you alone but what something happens."

"Who was he? What did you want of him?" asked Will.

"That fellow was Con Morton, the gambler who robbed me of nearly all my fortune," replied Gabe, to the surprise of the boys. "I've been looking for him for some time, but he was too slick for me. How long has he been here?" he asked, turning to the proprietor of the hotel.

"Just came in a little while ago, and tried to start a card game. I didn't know him, and no one else seemed to; did you fellows?" and he appealed to the men. There was a general dissent, so far as having an acquaintance with Con was concerned.

"I wouldn't have a word to say if he'd won my money when I gambled with him," went on the miner. "I've been fool enough to do that in my time, but I've sworn off from cards and drink. These boys are friends of mine. Their father did me a good turn, and they don't drink or gamble either. I say that for the benefit of all who hear it. If any one makes trouble for them they've got to reckon with me."

"That one lad seems able to take care of himself," remarked a man, nodding at Jed. "He sent that gambling chap on his back as neat as I ever saw."

"I'm glad he did," replied Gabe. "I wish I could have caught him. But I'm still after him, and if he shows up around here again, you can tell him I'll have back the money he practically stole from me, or my name's not Gabe Harrison."

"I heard him say he'd been over to the Dizzy Gulch diggings before he drifted in here," volunteered a miner with a very red mustache.

"He did, eh?" replied Gabe. "Did he say how things were going there? That's where I'm headed for."

"Said he cleaned up a pile."

"In his own way, I suppose, with cards. Well, if he got some, the miners must have struck pay dirt. I guess we're on the right road, boys."

This was better news than they yet had heard concerning Dizzy Gulch, and the three gold seekers felt better over it. They soon retired to their rooms, where they slept undisturbed, though Jed had uneasy dreams of fights with mountain lions, and a band of gamblers who had revolvers as large as cannons.

With the first gleam of daylight Gabe was up, and roused the boys.

"We must make an early start for the mountains," he said. "Our real trail begins now, and for some time we'll have to depend on ourselves, for we aren't going to strike any camps."

"Aren't we going to Dizzy Gulch?" asked Jed. "I thought there was a camp there."

"I've made a little change in our plans," replied the old miner. "I had a talk with a friend when I was away from the hotel last night, when you so nearly got into trouble. He told me there had been some good strikes made at the Gulch, where Ted Jordan is, but nothing remarkable. Now I've had enough of ordinary mining. I want to get at something big. So I think we'll strike off into the mountains back of the Gulch."

"Do you think there's gold there?" asked Will.

"I think so. I've made some inquiries about the lay of the land around Dizzy Gulch, and, from what I know about gold mining, I'm convinced that we'll stand a better chance in the mountains than we will in the Gulch. If I'm wrong, and we don't strike some rich pay dirt, we can drift on to the Gulch, and try our luck there. But I'd like to try my way first, if you have no objections."

"We're with you," responded Jed. "We'll follow your lead. You know all about it, and we – well, we're tenderfeet of the tenderest kind, I guess."

"You'll get over that. Now then, if you're ready we'll start on the trail, and bid good-by to such civilization as they have out in these camps. I'll not be sorry, either. I'm not afraid of any man, and I'll take my chances with most of 'em, but I like a peaceable life, and this business of drinking and playing cards I don't like. I've gotten over it."

They made their departure from the town quietly, few persons being up to see them go, for the miners and gamblers, who made up most of the population, kept late hours, and, in consequence, were late risers.

The trail led up the mountain, for the town was situated at the foot of a big range. As they got higher and higher the boys had a view of a big stretch of country. It was different from any they had yet seen, and the great masses of mountain ranges, the deep valleys, the towering peaks, were a strange contrast to the scenery back in the quiet little country town of Lockport.

"Isn't this great!" exclaimed Jed, as he halted his horse on a ledge of rock and looked at the scene below him.

"The mountains for mine! Every time!" exclaimed Gabe, fervently. "Farming is all right, but it's too low down. You can't see enough. Look at this view! It makes a man grow big in spite of himself!"

"Then Will had better look out," advised Jed, with a smile. "If he grows any taller his legs will reach the ground on either side of his horse, and he won't be able to get in ordinary rooms."

"Yes, and if you keep on getting stout, you'll have to get two horses to carry you," retorted his brother.

The little party was in jolly humor. It was a fine day, they had a good supply of food with them, a comfortable tent, and best of all, they were actually about to begin their hunt for gold.

The boys were anxious to start digging at every place they made a halt, but Gabe pointed out that it would be foolish, as the nature of the ground was such that no gold could be expected there.

"I'll tell you when to get out the picks and washing pans," he said. "We're getting closer, and I shouldn't wonder but by night we'd get to a place where we can make a try clean-up."

How anxiously the boys wanted that time to come! They closely scanned the trail on either side, for Gabe had told them some methods of recognizing when they were near pay dirt, and they wanted to test their new knowledge.

"Just think! We're actually going to dig gold!" exclaimed Jed. "I used to think it was wonderful to dig potatoes, but when I turn out a few yellow nuggets I'll think I've really begun to live."

"Digging potatoes is a heap sight surer, sometimes, than digging gold," remarked Gabe, "only it isn't so exciting."

The trail became wilder now, for it was one seldom traveled. The horses had to proceed slowly, and, as it was getting well on in the afternoon, Gabe decided they would make a camp.

"Is this – do you think it would be any good to dig for gold here?" asked Jed eagerly.

"Well, you might try a little surface or placer mining," replied Gabe. "That looks like a good place to dig," he went on, pointing to a gravelly spot, about a hundred feet from where he had decided to pitch the tent. "You boys can be miners for a while until I get camp in shape. But don't be disappointed."

Eagerly unpacking their picks, shovels and washing pans, the boys hurried over to where the old miner had indicated. As the method they were about to use may not be familiar to all of my readers I will briefly describe it.

The kind of gold they hoped to find is known as free gold – that is, it exists in little grains, sometimes only as large as a pin point or a pin head, and, again, the size of a walnut. It is mixed in with the dirt or gravel, and is usually washed to its resting place by some flood. Other gold is held in ores, or hard rocks, which must be crushed and specially treated before the precious metal can be extracted.

The kind of mining the boys were about to undertake is very simple. Acting under Gabe's advice, they first loosened the top soil with their picks. This they threw aside, as it was not very likely to contain gold, which, being quite heavy, would be washed by the rains below the surface.

After digging down a little way, the boys came to some fine gravel. This, Gabe had told them, might contain fine grains of gold, but to determine that point they had to wash the dirt. For this purpose the simplest means are common iron pans, circular and rather shallow. Another method is by a wooden "rocker," which will be explained later.

Filling their pans half full of the gravel, the boys let water run in from a near-by mountain stream. They now had a mixture of very moist mud. This they agitated in the pans by a peculiar circular motion, the object of it being to cause the heavier grains of gold to sink to the bottom of the pan. Repeated applications of water, and shakings of their pans, soon washed out most of the gravel in the pans, which were tilted at a slight angle to permit this. At length there was only a little fine dirt left in the bottom of the pan.

"I think I see something yellow!" exclaimed Jed, greatly excited.

"Don't think – make sure," called Gabe. "Here, I'll do it for you."

He was almost as excited as the boys. The gold fever was on him again. Taking Jed's pan, he let some more water run in it. Then with a gentle whirling motion he threw this water out by degrees, the fine sand and gravel going with it. Then there remained in the bottom of the pan a little heap of glittering yellow grains.

"Gold! It's gold!" murmured Gabe. "Boys, we've struck our first pay dirt!"

CHAPTER XVI

LOST

"Hurrah!" yelled Jed, capering about. "We're in luck! Gold, Will! What'd I tell you? I knew we'd find it!" and he began dancing about like an Indian, or a cowboy celebrating a holiday.

"Oh, it's not such an awful lot," replied Gabe, more calmly, as he scooped up the yellow grains. "You'll have to wash out a good many panfuls before you'll be rich at this rate. Let's see how Will's is going to pan out."

He repeated the operation, and got more of the gold. The eyes of the two brothers shone with excitement, nor was Gabe altogether free from excitement, though it was an old story to him.

"Come on, Will, let's clean up another panful," suggested Jed.

"Hold on!" called Gabe. "Help me get camp in shape first. It'll soon be dark. That pay dirt will keep. It's been there a good many hundred years, and it isn't going to run away in the night."

"Hadn't we better stake out a claim?" suggested Jed, who was rapidly becoming familiar with mining terms.

"We'll prospect a bit more first," replied Gabe. "It may not pay us to remain here. No use cleaning up a little bit like this, when we can get big nuggets a bit further on."

"But we're sure there's gold here," objected Jed, "and we don't know whether or not there's any further on."

"Go slow," advised the old miner. "Come on, now, help me fix up the tent."

The boys knew that Gabe's advice was good, and, though they felt a wild desire to remain digging gold, they realized that they must have a place to sleep, for it was getting cool at night, now that they were well up in the mountains.

The boys were up early the next morning, and each one had washed a pan of gravel before breakfast. They obtained about a quarter of an ounce of gold each.

"How much is it worth?" asked Jed eagerly.

"Well," replied Gabe critically, "you've made about ten dollars between you this morning."

"And last night?"

"A little more. Say twenty-five dollars altogether."

"Why, we'll soon be rich!" exclaimed Jed.

"Maybe, if this gravel holds out," admitted Gabe. "But don't be too sure. I think it's only a surface mine, the gold having been washed down from some place higher up. Now get your breakfast and then we'll do some mining, until I can see what sort of a place we've struck."

They washed several panfuls of dirt that morning. To Jed's disappointment on several occasions the result, after a careful washing and shaking, was only a few grains of the precious yellow stuff. Again they would get nearly half an ounce.

"I think I'll make a rocker," said Gabe, at length. "We can do it faster then, and find out if this is going to pay."

"What's a rocker?" asked Will.

"I'll show you."

From some pieces of a box, in which some of their camp stuff was packed, Gabe constructed a sort of rude cradle, on rockers. The bottom of the box, which was rather shallow, was covered with a number of cross sticks, nailed to it like the cleats on a gangplank.

The box was filled with gravel and water. The water ran out of the lower end, carrying most of the dirt and gravel with it. The gold, being heavier, settled to the bottom, and was prevented from flowing away by the cleats. After about two hours of this work or "rocking," so called because the cradle is rocked from side to side, Gabe gathered from the box nearly a handful of pure gold grains.

"There! What do you think of that?" exclaimed Jed. "Have we struck a bonanza or not?"

"I can't tell yet," replied Mr. Harrison cautiously. "It may peter out any minute, but it's good so far."

The miner's fears were realized. As the day wore on the result of the various "clean-ups" was less and less, until, after the cradle had been filled several times, the result was only a mere pinch of gold.

"Let's dig over a wider space," suggested Jed.

"No," said the miner, "it's just as I thought, there was only a small deposit of gold there, and we've cleaned it up."

"Then there isn't any use in staying here?"

"Not unless we can find another deposit."

They hunted for it without success, remaining for several days in the place of their first strike. Then the miner decided they should continue on up into the mountains.

"The gold is above us," he said. "We've got to climb up to it."

They broke camp, packed their supplies on the backs of the horses, and started forward.

"Well, we made some money, anyhow," said Jed. "Our first attempt wasn't so bad."

"Yes, we cleaned up a few hundred dollars," admitted Gabe, "but that's hardly enough to pay our expenses for the time we spent. We'll have to have better luck than that, and I believe we will."

"I wish we could send word to dad," added Will.

"Better wait until we make a real strike," suggested Mr. Harrison. "No use raising false hopes."

They journeyed on for several days in a lonely part of the mountain, meeting no one. They had some luck, but not much, and the boys began to fear they would never reach a place where they could make a permanent camp, and dig gold in quantities sufficient to make it pay. But Gabe was not discouraged. He was too old a hand at the game of gold hunting.

"Boys," said the old miner one morning, as they were preparing to break camp, and travel on, "suppose you stay here for a few hours? I want to take a little side trip, and as it's rather dangerous I'd rather you'd stay here. I want to go up that mountain," pointing to one, off to one side, "and see if I can't see some new signs. I'll be back in a little while, so wait here for me."

Removing the pack from his horse, and with only his rifle, pick and pan, the old miner set off. The boys, for want of something better to do, dug up some gravel and washed it in their pans, but with no success. It served, however, to pass the time.

"Say, don't you think it's about time Gabe came back?" asked Will, as he looked up at the sun, and noted it was nearly noon.

"That's so. He has been gone longer than he said he would be," answered Jed. "But he'll come back. Let's try digging over here," and he went to a new spot.

He was encouraged by finding a few grains of gold, and then he and Will set feverishly to work, but they had no great success.

"My! But I'm hungry!" exclaimed Jed, several hours later. "Why!" he exclaimed, as he looked at his watch, "it's three o'clock, and Gabe isn't back yet!"

"Let's get grub," proposed Will. "Maybe he's struck good pay dirt, and he hates to leave."

They ate their meal, and again went back to their gold pans, but they found no yellow metal. The sun sank lower and lower. It was getting dark, and there were no signs of the old miner. The boys looked anxiously at each other.

"Maybe he's hurt," suggested Will.

"Maybe," admitted Jed, accepting his brother's rather gloomy view, which was something new for him.

"Had we better go look for him?"

"I don't know. He told us to stay here until he came back."

"But if he's fallen, and can't move, he'd want us to go for him."

"That's so. Let's go. Get your gun, Will, and put plenty of matches in your pockets. We may want to light a torch. Tie the horses so they won't stray."

The two boys were soon walking up the mountain path that Gabe had taken earlier in the day. It was fast getting dusk, and they were very anxious. The trail was a winding one, and twisted and turned in every direction. At first they could see the marks made by Gabe's horse, but the hoof-prints soon disappeared.

"Guess we'd better go back," suggested Will, after they had tramped for an hour. "There's no sign of him. Maybe he went on another trail, and is back at camp now. Anyhow, we can't see any more," for it was now quite dark.

"All right," agreed Jed. "Back to camp it is."

They turned, and thought they were taking the same path they had used in coming up. But they had not traveled far before they were made aware that it was not the right one.

"I don't remember that we passed this big rock before," said Jed, pausing near one, which, even in the darkness, they could see was perched on the edge of a deep gully.

"Me either. I wonder if we're on the right trail?"

They paused and, lighting matches, looked about them. They were observing lads, and it did not take them long to arrive at the conclusion that they were on a totally different path.

"Will," said Jed solemnly, "we're lost on the mountain, that's all there is to it."

"Lost! What are we going to do?"

"Stay here until morning, I guess. See if you can find some wood, and we'll build a fire. This rock will make a good shelter."

CHAPTER XVII

CORNERED BY A BEAR

The boys passed a dreary, miserable night. There was a heavy dew, and they were wet, almost as if by a rain. Their fire went out, for in the darkness they could not find wood enough to keep it going.

How glad they were when morning came! The sun warmed them, and took the stiffness from their limbs.

"Oh, for something to eat!" cried Will.

"Same here," replied Jed. "But, listen! What's that?"

"Sounds like water running. Queer we didn't hear it before."

"We were too excited, I guess. There must be a stream around here, and maybe there are fish in it."

They found just below where they had spent the night a swift mountain stream foaming along over a rocky bed. Jed and Will had not gotten over the habit, formed while on the farm, of carrying hooks and lines in their pockets. It was short work to cut poles, adjust their tackle, and, with bait of worms, dug with their pocket knives, they were soon casting in. The fish of that stream must have been very hungry, for they took the bait at once, and soon the lads had several beauties. These they cleaned, and broiled by holding them in front of the fire on sharp sticks.

"They'd be better if we had salt," said Will.

"Use gunpowder," suggested Jed, and they did not find it a bad substitute, when they had taken some of the black grains from a cartridge, for salt-peter is the principal ingredient of some powders, and it is very salty.

"Now suppose we get back to camp," suggested Will, after their simple breakfast. "I suppose Gabe is back by this time, thinking how foolish we were to disobey him."

"Well, we did it for the best," said Jed. "He can't blame us."

"Of course not. Do you think we can find the way back?"

Jed did not answer. He was looking about him. They were on a totally unfamiliar trail, and he did not know which way to go. He admitted as much to his brother.

"But we came up the mountain," said Will, "and naturally, to get to camp we ought to go down. That's easy."

"Yes, it's easy enough to go down the slope, but where will we come out? I'm in favor of going up."

"What for?"

"Well, the higher we go the better view we'll have. Then we can size up the country, and decide which way we'd better travel. No use simply going down, for we may come out miles and miles from our camp."

Will agreed in this view, and the boys started up the trail again. But luck was against them. They did not know it, but they were on one of the wildest mountain ranges in that section of the country. Many travelers had been lost on it, for the trails, made by wild animals, were confusing, and there were a number of them.

"We don't seem to be getting anywhere," said Will, at length.

"That's so," admitted Jed. "I'm hungry; aren't you? Those fish weren't very filling."

"No, indeed, but I don't see how we're going to get anything to eat."

For several hours more the boys wandered on. They were tired, and their stomachs craved more food. They saw no game, or they might have provided themselves with food, and they came across no more streams from whence they could take fish. They were in a sad plight, for night was coming on, and they were farther than ever from camp – lost in the mountains.

As Jed, who was in the lead, was turning around a big rock, that marked a shift in the trail, he uttered an exclamation of surprise.

"What's the matter?" asked Will eagerly. "See anything to eat?"

"No; but I see a good place to stay to-night. Here's a big cave."

Before them, opening off from the trail, was the mouth of a large cavern. It looked inviting, after their night spent in the open, with the heavy dews soaking them through.

"That's the stuff!" exclaimed Will. "Now if we only had something to eat!"

"Maybe we will strike another stream around – " began Jed, when his words were suddenly interrupted by a whirr of wings.

"Partridges!" exclaimed Will, as a number of birds flew up from the bushes in front of them.

"I don't know whether they're partridges or not," said Jed, "but they look good to eat. Got any shot cartridges?"

Will had some, and Jed, inserting one in his rifle, which in an emergency would shoot those shells, hurried forward. He was lucky enough to kill a couple of the birds, and in a short time the two hungry lads were roasting them over a fire they quickly kindled at the mouth of the cave.

As they intended to spend the night in the cavern they decided to explore it a bit, and, taking several torches, which they made from white birch bark, that is most excellent for that purpose, they set forward. They found the cave was a large one, and, having selected a secluded place, that was nice and dry, and far enough away from the entrance to insure of their being warm, they stretched out, and went to sleep, for they were utterly tired out with the day's fruitless tramp.

"Hello, it's morning!" suddenly announced Jed, as he awoke and looked at his watch, by the light of a match. "It's seven o'clock. Get up, Will."

"Oh, I'm as stiff as a man with the rheumatism. How are you?"

"Well, I have felt better."

"Morning? Did you say it was morning?" asked Will. "Why, it's as black as midnight."

"I know it. We're quite a way into the cave. The light doesn't come this far. I'll light a torch, and we'll see if we can't get out and shoot some more of those birds. They were fine."

He ignited a roll of the birch bark, and leading the way started toward what he thought was the mouth of the cave. But he was soon convinced that he was mistaken.

"We didn't come in this far," said Will.

"I guess you're right," admitted his brother. "I must have taken a wrong turning. Come on back."

They retraced their steps. They came to the place where they had slept, and an investigation showed them several passageways leading from it.

"I didn't imagine there was more than one," said Jed in bewilderment.

"Me either. Say, Jed, we're lost again!"

"Looks like it, and this is a big cave."

There was no doubt about it. Frantically the boys tried passage after passage. Some ended at blank walls, and others led so far into the blackness that they were afraid, and turned back. They could not find the passage by which they had entered.

"Well, we certainly are up against it," sighed Will despondently, as he sat down on a rock, and watched his torch slowly burn. "What can we do?"

"Keep on hunting," replied Jed. "I wish we'd stayed in camp, then we wouldn't have had all this trouble. I wonder where Gabe is?"