CHAPTER XXII.
DIGGING FOR GOLD.
A nugget worth two hundred dollars! Randy could scarcely believe hiseyes and ears. He gazed at his uncle for a moment in open-mouthedwonder.
"You're in luck, and no mistake!" broke in Earl, as he also examined theyellowish lump. "Say, but that's a strike to start on, isn't it!"
He had hoped to make the first find himself, but he was too unselfish tobegrudge his brother that pleasure. Leaving the lump in his uncle'spossession, Randy led the way back to where the find had been made, andall three set to work without delay to empty the "pocket," as FosterPortney called it, and examine the contents.
"Here's another!" cried Earl, presently. "It's not quite so large,though."
"But it's worth at least a hundred dollars, Earl," answered his uncle."And see, here are a number of little fellows worth from ten dollars tofifty each. Randy has struck a bonanza beyond a doubt. Don't scatterthat dirt too much, for we must wash out every ounce of it for littlenuggets and dust."
"And maybe there is a vein of gold back there," said Randy, proudly."If there is, we can all work it, can't we?"
"Yes, unless the captain and the doctor have struck something equallygood. There, that seems to be the last of the nuggets. Let us countthem. Fourteen in all, and worth at least four hundred dollars. It paidto stay over in spite of what that miner said, didn't it?" And FosterPortney laughed, and the boys joined in readily, for the discovery of somuch gold had put all into the best of humor.
The nuggets picked out, they set to work to wash out the sand and dirt.While Foster Portney filled the pan and washed, the two boys took turnsin bringing up water from the pool, using for the purpose a rubber waterbag the man had thoughtfully provided for just such an emergency. Thewashings continued until it was quite dark, and by that time half of thedirt had been gone over and something like two ounces of gold dustextracted.
"Not so bad," said Mr. Portney. "Perhaps to-morrow we'll do evenbetter."
"I could keep on all night," declared Randy, who was loath to quit thelocality. "Somebody may come in and take the claim away from us beforemorning."
"We'll leave the pick and the shovel in it, and that will prevent them,"was the answer; and this was done. No miner dares to touch another's"prospect" so long as any tools remain in it.
When they got back to camp they found the doctor and the captain alreadythere. The two had tried half a dozen spots, but only one had yieldedsufficient gold dust to warrant their continuing to work it. Theylistened with keen interest to the account of the find made by Randy,and were quite willing to take a hand at prospecting that locality thenext day.
Eight o'clock found all hard at work. While the captain and Earl washed,the others went into the opening of the cliff and brought out all thatremained of the dirt and loose stones. There was not a great deal, andshortly after noon every shovelful was heaped up close to the artificialpool of water Dr. Barwaithe had constructed. While the washingcontinued, Foster Portney examined the sides and the bottom of theopening, and then moved forward through a tangled mass of brushwood andtundra until he came to the bed of a second gulch a hundred feetdistance from the first.
"There is nothing more in the pocket," he declared. "And if there is anymore gold, it is either in that gulch or this, and I am half inclined tothink it is over there, although we may as well prospect this gulchthoroughly first."
By the morrow the washings from the pocket came to an end, with fourmore ounces of gold to the credit of the prospectors, making in all afind of about five hundred dollars. Previous to going into camp it hadbeen decided that for the present everything found should be dividedinto five parts, one to go to the captain, one to the doctor, and threeto Foster Portney for himself and his nephews. The Portney share, as weknow, was to be divided, one-half to Mr. Portney and one-quarter to eachof the boys. Thus the boys received each three-twentieths of the entireamount found; not a large portion, but then they had nothing to pay outfor expenses, which were bound to be considerable, and each wasperfectly willing that his uncle should have the one-tenth extra of thewhole amount on that account.
"Three-twentieths of five hundred dollars is seventy-five dollars," saidRandy to Earl, when they were alone. "We've each earned that, free andclear, so far. That's not bad."
"If only we can continue, we'll make our fortunes," replied Earl,earnestly. "But the pocket's at an end, and now we've got to prospectelsewhere."
The days went by, and they tried the first of the gulches from end toend, sometimes working together, and then each man and boy for himself.But though they struck gold often it was never in paying quantities, andthe end of the week saw them somewhat discouraged.
"It wouldn't be so bad, only we made such a fine start," grumbled Randy."Now there's no telling when we shall find gold again."
"That's the fortunes o' prospectin'," said the captain. "It may be wewon't git a smell o' gold in the hull district ag'in!"
"I move we try that other gulch on Monday," put in the doctor. "It'sfull of loose sand, isn't it?" he went on to Foster Portney.
"Yes, the sand and gravel are at least two feet thick," was the answer."I believe there is gold there, as I said before, but to clear off thebrush and moss will be no easy task."
"We came out here for work," said Earl. "I didn't expect to sit aroundand sun myself." And all laughed at this remark.
It was Sunday, and late on Saturday night a miner had been aroundannouncing a religious meeting to be held over at the Bottom at noon.Mr. Portney, the boys, and the doctor walked over, nearly half a mile,leaving the captain in charge of the camp. They found about fifty minerscollected around an improvised platform, where an earnest-looking youngman was reading a chapter from his Bible. A song by three of the womenpresent followed, and then came a short sermon on the brotherhood of manand the value of a faith which would carry a man above the temptation todo wrong, even in that desolate region. At the close of the service acollection was taken up, for the preacher's benefit, some of the minersgiving ordinary money, and others pouring gold dust into the littlechamois bag the preacher had provided for that purpose.
At this meeting the Portneys again met the Wodley crowd, who had locatedabout a mile up Gold Bottom Creek, at a place called Rosebud, a nameparticularly inappropriate, since no roses were to be found in thevicinity. Wodley and his companions were doing fairly well, and thoughtthe "doctor's flock" might do worse than to locate just above them.
"We'll remember that," said Foster Portney. "But first we are going totry again over where we are."
Wodley had heard again from Tom Roland and Guardley. He said the gang,as he termed it, which they had joined had gone up Hunker Creek andstaked out three claims somewhere above Discovery, as the first claim ona creek or gulch is called. The claims had overlapped some alreadystaked out, and the miners in that section had had several fights andhad threatened to drive out all the newcomers if they did not do whatwas right.
"I was going over to Hunker Creek myself," concluded Wodley. "But Idon't want to quarrel with anybody."
Monday morning found the entire Portney crowd over to Tangle Gulch, asMr. Portney christened it. It was a name well chosen, for the tangle ofbushes, vines, and moss was "simply out of sight," so Earl said,although as a matter of fact it was very much in sight--that andnothing else. No one could move forward more than a yard before havingto stop to loosen himself, either from the bushes and vines or theclinging moss, and muck under the moss. And to add to their discomfortthey stirred up a legion of mosquitoes, gnats, and black flies, whichhovered over their heads like a cloud.
"Let us burn the brush first of all," said the doctor, when at last themiddle of the gulch was reached. "That will clear the surface andscatter those pests overhead. Oh, my!" He broke off short as he wentdown into a concealed water hole which was several feet deep. "Here'sanother of the pleasures of hunting gold in Alaska!" and this was saidso comically that everybody roared.
Axes and knives had been brought along, and s
oon a large pile of thebrush had been cut and piled in a heap and set on fire. As it was green,it burnt slowly and raised a large smoke, which made the mosquitoesscatter immediately. From that day until the end of the summer they kepta smudge fire for protection. The brush cleared from the sides of thegulch, which was very narrow, they went at the tundra, throwing the mosswherever it would be out of the way. This took a long time, and it wasnot until almost nightfall that they got down to the sand and gravel ofthe choked-up watercourse.
"Now we'll see if there is anything in this gulch or not," said thecaptain, as he scooped up the first panful off the bedrock. "If thereisn't, then we've had most all-fired hard work fer nuthin', eh?" And hestarted in to wash up the sand, gravel, and dirt, while the otherslooked on in breathless interest.