The Tenderfoot.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 73, 27 March 1909, Page 10

The Tenderfoot,

We never knew exactly where the mysteiious mino was located, but to judge from the actions of the Tenderfoot, as we always called him, it was one of the richest- bonanzas in Custer County, and that was saying a good deal, for Ouster County at that time was undoubtedly the greatest mining section of Idaho. The Tenderfoot first appeared in Challis in the fall of 189- — , announced quietly that he- hailed from Michigan, declared his intentions of staking out a second Comstock and otherwise pufc the old-time prospectors' on nettles by making them believe he was a miner of the old school — one who actually mined on the scientific principles of "ideal mineralogy," as it was expounded in the expansive curriculum of the Michigan College of Advanced Mineralogy. He was quiet, inoffensive, and exasperatingly polite — especially to the gentler sex — but when he spoke it seemed tous that his.wordo carried with them, an ambiguous meaning and a depth of conviction that would ha%e made the average- mine promoter look like a plugged nickel in the wrong slot. His "sesquipedaUa verba" and Michigan manners were calculated to knock the common-school graduates of Challis into the back -yard of obscurity ; and even Tarantnla Tom forgot his six-shooter and stood with his mouth open when tho Tenderfoot began to explain the scientific side of mineralogy. The stranger always carried with him a slender walking-stick — ah articlo oi metropolitan fashion that greatly offended Tarantula Tom and his partner, Sixshooter Sam, who frequently found it difficult to restrain themselves in their mutual desire to take a shot at the innocent walking-stick. During the Tenderfoot's frequent visits to the mining camp he invariably wore ft pair of rimless nose-glasses, which, considered with his walking-stick, gave him anything but the appearance of a practical miner j but we believed from our observation that he had discovered one of the rarest ledges in the Northwest. Sixshooter Sam and Tarantula Tom were among the first gentlemen who endeavoured, by every civilised method, to ascertain the whereabouts of the Tenderfoot's discovery ; but these two redoubtable warriors, as well as the rest of us, ' were unable to elicit any definite information, although the stranger conversed freely on the probable assays of his ore, gave us a rough estimate of the "billions of tons" of Free-milling rock in sight, described the "hanging-wall," and went into numerous details concerning the dips', angles, etc., incidentally using the most technical terms in his description of the ledge, which he confidently declared was between three thousand and ten thousand feet wide and a mile long. The float, he said, which had been picked up indiscriminately, would go to something like a thousand dollars to the ton, free milling, besides which metal he believed it carried an amount of native silver, iron/ and copper sufficient to cover the costs t»f shipment and milling. This caused Tarantula Tom to squint both eyes and look for a billiard-table to lean upon, but Sixshooter Sam ordered the drinks and declared that such "dad-blasted, good luck ought to bo a criminal offence agin sassiety. ' The Tenderfoot ignored this polite declaration, and continued, quietly, to say that he had Opened up soveral parallel veins which ho thought contained a finer base ore than the rock of the main ledge, for upon roasting and pulverizing a pan of it he had obtained results to the probable value of ten dollars. So, as we listened to the Tenderfoot, we became convinced that he was indeed a college-book miner, and desperately endeavoured to see a few samples of his ore. But the Tenderfoot cunningly informed us that he never carried samples with him, because the ore | was all so r^ch that some one might at- [ tempt to rob i or the gold in it. Now all of these things pointed to a fabulously rich claim, and of course we were anxious to scent out the trail and stake all the adjoining properties ; but the Tenderfoot expressed a desire to bring out his friends and relatives in the east in order that they might get in on the ground floor, ttnd locate the-, next best ground. This naturally irritated the delicate sensibilities of our friend Tarantnla, land almost caused Six&hooter Sam to give a little 44- ventilation to the Tenderfoot's anatomy ; but at the request of One-eyed Fete, who meekly hinted that such a breach of etiquette would mean the complete loss of the mysterious mine, it was deemed advisable to dispense with the longed-for funeral. So Tom and Sam quieted the troubled waters of their temper, and waited hopefully for the Tenderfoot to betray his secret. I The Tenderfoot had been in camp about, a month when he informed us of his discovery. Three months later we were no nearer a &olufcion of the mystery than we had been the first day, and every one was asking, "Where is the rich bonanza discovered by the Tenderfoot?" No one was yet able to solve the problem. For the first time in his life, Tarantula Tom opened up his sack and_ "set 'em up" IreeJy to the camp — hoping that a few good diiuks of the Kentucky embalming fluid would loosen the Tenderfoot's .tongue. But the .Ten- . derf oot only drank down the drinks with an alarming evidence of unconquerable sobriety, returned the treats, and remained invincibly taciturn. Nothing could unlock the coveted secret in his breast, and so the attempt was finally abandoned by all but Tarantula Tom and Sixshooter Sam. The iormer, on several occasions, endeavoured to shadow the Tenderfoot to his claim, but the Tenderfoot was not to be taken off his guard, for after leading poor Tarantula over the mountains, through a halfdozen forests, and xlown a labyrinth of canons, he invariably disappeared as completely as though swallowed by the earth. On these occasions Tom returned^ to the* camp looking like a lost sheep in a blizzard— his teeth on edge, his head on his breast, and his rusty six-shooter ready for the first target that presented itself. It looked as though ho would never find out the location of the big bonanza until the Tenderfoot had filed his lucation notice, and by that time, his relatives from the east would probably have monopolised the adjoining territory. Ab6ut once a week the Tenderfoot returned to camp for a sack of provisions, and usually brought with him on his shoulder ii sack of precious ore, which he stored in n private vault afc the Miners and Merchants' Savings Bank. Then, when he had purchased his flour, matches, and bacon, he disappeared ud the canon in the forests. But the .it-lion? of the Tenderfoot reached an intolerable climax when he became acquainted with Bessie Holzel, and presumed to enter into a passionate courtship, in .«pite of the fact that Tarantula Tom, Sixshooter Sam, Three-fin-gered Joe, and other eligible miners of the camp had endeavoured tor several months to stake out her heart. She had hitherto seemed unapproachable and had refused to "be located;" yet the way that, the oily young Tenderfoot insinuated himself into her good graces, and "jumped the claim," was something that could not be righted except by a hanging-bee, or an up-to-date funeral. Had it been left to the decision of Tarantula Tom it is probable that the Tenderfoot would have been buried a little at a time — on the instalment plan — but it was difficult to arouse public prejudice to the necessary pitch, for everyone was living in the fond belief that if the Tenderfoot was allowed to

live ho would reveal the whereabouts of his bonanza, and thus create a boom for the dying camp. On tho other hand, if Judge Lynch was allowed to prevail the secret would never be known ; and, anyway, it was whispered that Bessie Holzel was really in love with a desperado ! by the name of Jack Billings, and that j she was merely deceiving the Tender- ; foot in ol'dor to get into possession of hk prospective wealth. So the funeral Tom was anxioiis to bring about was indefinitely postponed, and the stranger went unmolested. Outside of the ridiculous phase of the affair, there were many good points in favour of the Tenderfoot. He was a hopeful, hardworking, energetic chap, whose whole soul seemed to be wrapped up in the mysterious bonanza. By this time we had begun to suspect thab he. was not a first-class praebical miner, bub his evident good fortune in discover- . ing the rich lode made him n,n enviable creabure in the eyes of the old-timo prospectors, and, after all, we admired him for his ability to keep the secret, while in a measure, we pitied him, for as soon as he became acquainted with Bessie Holzel we saw that his mine was but a secondary consideration. His hearb wenb Qiib to her at their first meeting, and subsequently his time was mostly given to the girl with the hazel eyes — the niece of tho direputable sa-loon-keeper known as "Reddy Black" — an ex-con vicb, pasb grand highwayman, and retired murderer. Of course, no one held the faults of the uncle against Bessie, but it was known that she was far from the good pure wofoan she pretended to be. Her life in the east had been such that she was compelled to come west for concealment, and her footsteps in Challis had closely followed in ■the wake of "Reddy Black," who defended her in every intrigue, and shared with her the profits of her infamy. She was pretty — almost beautiful — bub she was likewise cunning, treacherous, and deceitful — a woman who would stoop to any depth to obtain her ends, and for whom more than one fool and his money had magically parted. Her acting in the presence of the Tenderfoot would have done credit to a Bernhardt, for she realised that the boys in camp were too much in fear of her uncle to divulge her character, and a word to her discredit would have meant a mysterious death to the man who uttered ib. So. the Tenderfoot was kepb in surprising ignorance of her true nature. To him she was all virtue, kindness, modesty — everything thab goes bo constitute a good and true woman. She carefuly avoided even the use of such cosmetics as she feared would betray hei character, and instead of rouge, she indulged freely in Old Bourbon — to an extent thab kepb up the hectic flush of her cheeks, and concealed their sallowness. Her gaudy raimenb became exceptionally refined; her conversation guarded, her actions reserved. The way the Tenderfoot grew to idolise her would have made Romeo ashamed of his incompetency, for certainly no lover in fiction Was ever more ardent or more thoroughly subservient. But one evening the affair came to an unexpected close. Bessie, , by artful pleadings and coquettish inducements, persuaded the Tenderfoot to let her have a sack of his treasured ore from bli6 vaults of the Savings Bank. He brought it on the following day to her home, and there she opened it eagerly, and took from it a sample of the mysterious contents. For a moment she gazed at ib blankly, then looked searchingly at the face of the Tenderfoot. Finally, as the .truth impressed itself upon her, she burst oub laughing, and laughed hysterically for several minutes. Jack Billings was in the room at the time, and he said thab never in his life had he heard such a terrible, bantering, scornful laugh. The whole camp must have heard it. The Tenderfoot was kneeling beside her when that laugh pierced through his brain like the mocking banter of a devil. He never knew how long he had knelt there, listening to her laugh, but when he arose to his feeb it seemed that he was an old, old man, who had just awakened from a Rip Van Winkle slumber. Bessie, after all, was more of a miner than the Tenderfoot. Finally, when Jack and Bessie had left the room, the Tenderfoot took up his sack and staggered from the house. The night was dark, and bha air bracing. It seemed to inspire him with a new lease of life, for he hurried to the Owl Eye saloon and pioceeded to order the drinks for all present. "Bessie Holzel has gone insane," he said, calmly. "She is mad— stark mad. I left her but a few minutes ago — raving." "Reddy Black," the greatly-to-be-avoided uncle of Lite woman in question, h.id just returned from Bessie's home, and was standing at tho end of the bar when the Tenderfoot entered. But he only smiled Oddly, and drank to the stranger's health. For some reason he did not draw his gun, or even offer an answer to the Tenderfoot. Oniy when the latter bad passed oub of the saloon, carrying his sack of ore, did "Reddy Black" tell us the story of the mysterious mine. But wo did not believe him, until ib was finally pioved to us by subsequent developments. It was a, week later thab I happened to be with a searching party which discovered the Tenderfoot's mme — and with it the Tenderfoob. It was up on an filmosb perpendicular mountain, several miles from Challis, and in a mineral betb that had been greatly prospected, but which was known to be worthless. The lrfysberious mine was a hole in the ground — a hole cutting through a great wide ledge of granite — with streaks of argentiferous galena. The main ledge •coiua-ined strong cropping*? of pyrites and stalagrnitic melanterite, or sulphates of iron, running along the surface for a distance of about four hundred feet, but with an actual width of only eight inches, though the outcropping." pointed to a width of several hundred feet. We had always believed that the Tenderfoot was. at least a book-miner, but his knowledge of words deceived us, perhaps the strong stain of iron imparted to the pyrites and sulphates caused him to believe it> gold. Of the Tenderfoot. himself, there i& little more to tell. In respect to his memory I will add that he was a good citizen, sincere, and conscientious. We found bin- lying m the mouth of the tunnel, with his left hand clasped over a nugget of pyrites. The familiar sack, full of worthless rocks, was lying at his side. We opened it, and gazed curiously ab its "contents, but no one laughed. It was all the same — sulphates and pyrites, lumps of worthless granite, and galena which he mistook for native silver. "All is not gold that glitters," bub the Tenderfoob had learned ;t; t too late, and so — Well, when we spoke to him ne made no answer. Then we shook him, and found where the bullet had pierced his heart. We found, also, where ib had pawed through the picture of Bessie Holzel, the girl with the haze) eyes. It was too Jar to take him back to Challis, so we improvised a coffin of pine boughs and piaced him in the little tunnel. Then we covered him up wibh the ore he had taken from the mine. We re-set a locabion stake ab the head of his grave, and marked it to the memory of the Tenderfoot. And thus passed from exibtence the bubble-bonanza of Custer county. — Scenic Ameiican.