Argosy and Railroad Man's Magazine — page 140: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

482 he was not the sinister figure that Dry Gulch later was to blaspheme. Tightfisted? Well, perhaps a bit careful of the pennies; but ready to stake his all at the challenge of any big venture. Men liked his nerve. They liked him. So that when Macdonald announced his determination to ferret out the mysterious source of “ Death Valley ” Scotty’s treas- ure, the half-dozen seasoned prospectors he invited were with him to a man. The adventurers hotfooted it through the entire -length of -Lost Valley and down through the dread valley that yielded Scot- ty his never-failing supply of gold. They found plenty of salt licks and enough de- posits of borax to chase all the roaches in Christendom, but never a sign of Scotty’s treasure cache. So they emerged from Death Valley at the south, where the Amar- gosa Wash enters; having acquired nothing but disappointment, and a thirst that chart- ed their course direct, as the crow flies, to- ward the nearest saloon at Tecopa. Then, a day’s journey south along the Amargosa River, the prospectors made the strike that established Dry Gulch. At this point in the river-bed they discovered placer deposits yielding as high as six hun- dred dollars’ worth of gold to the pan. Here, almost on the boundary line be- tween the California counties of Inyo and San Bernardino, with Needle Peak visible to the northwest, and Owl’s Head and Rot- ten Peak to the south, the prospectors set- tled down among the lava beds, the mes- quite, and the cacti, to prove their luck. For mascot, they had their choice of scor- pion, horned toad, or rattler — lurking among the sagebrush and yucca. Il. THE next glimpse of Macdonald discov- ers him at his mahogany desk in the presi- dent’s office of an important bank in San Francisco, with vast lumber interests and other investments in the background. While the men who shared with him the perils of Death Valley still plug along at Dry Gulch, working claims which seem as productive as ever, yet scarcely a cent wealthier than when they stumbled into this arid region several years before! ARGOSY AND RAILROAD MAN’S MAGAZINE. Every situation has its explanation. The Dry Gulchers pointed the accusing finger at Macdonald, and their allusions to him reeked of brimstone and sulfur. In all fairness, however, Macdonald could not be held responsible for the gam- bling mania that gripped the camp coinci- dent with almost the first day’s panning of gold. : Macdonald alone kept his sanity. He panned gold diligently; accumulated his “pile”; and promptly announced his in- tention of returning to the coast, there to “be somebody.” Upon leaving, he aroused tremendous en- thusiasm by describing his plan to build in Dry Gulch, immediately, the “ niftiest lit- tle saloon and gambling emporium east of Frisco and west of Monte Carlo.” The first impulse of the Dry Gulchers who had held the aces in the last games had been to gather up their vast winnings and bear Macdonald company on his jour- ney. But now, nothing would do but that everybody must wait to pass opinion on the proposed B. Burns Saloon and Casino. This result was nd doubt what Macdonald had coolly calculated upon. Then Mr. “ Foley ” Dugan came out of nowhere, opened the famous General Store, and made living so comfortable for the Dry Gulchers that none felt the urge to hasten away. ‘“ Foley” (née Pat) Dugan, was a wiry little Irishman, addicted to those rambling whiskers vulgarly classified as ‘ foliage.” His capability amounted to genius. “Doc” Yard’s request for a guitar, and the professor’s order of a costly importa- tion of yellow-pine timber and incense ce- dar trim for his pretentious bungalow, were all alike to Foley. Whatever his customers wanted they got. It was under Foley’s stimulating activity that the crude shacks straggling through the rough mining camp gave way to an orderly arrangement of comfortable frame or adobe cottages. Only a handful of chosen worthies were added to the original few inhabitants. The Dry Gulchers were exclusive—tliked to pick their company, and the splendid iso- lation of Dry Gulch assisted their purpose. Moreover, every inhabitant did plain and Conmicooolks.conn