Adventure Magazine Cover, April 1916 — page 148: what you’re looking at

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

146 Fawcett. The hull creek looks wrong.” “Well,” decided the Gold Commissioner, “there’s only one thing to do, and that’s to measure. Most of the boys know me, and they know Captain Constantine also. They’ll not object to us coming officially on to their claims.”’ Fawcett produced a steel measuring-tape and, accompanied by Constantine, Sark, Bassett and the crowd of non-stakers who had gathered to await developments, sled- ded down to Montana’s mouth. To facili- tate the measuring in the deepening gloom, brush fires were kindled on the claims, and a score of men in the crowd carried big torches of gummy spruce knots. From the first it was evident that some- thing was wrong with the ground, but the Commissioner said nothing till the party came to Ante Baker’s claim, where Ante, Gunboat and Casino were conspiring to- gether and discussing ways and means to meet the uneasy situation. And there, af- ter due measurement of Ante’s holdings, Fawcett delivered himself from the tally in his note-book. ‘“‘Below the bluff,’ he proclaimed, ‘“‘T find fifteen men in where there should be only twelve; that is, fifteen four-hundred-foot claims instead of twelve five-hundred-foot ones. The first location above the bluff, be- longing to Jess Tolume, runs the orthodox five hundred. Gunboat Kane’s, next it, measures seven hundred and fifty . A howl of protest broke from the crowd. ‘Robber! Pirate! Mud-wallowin’ hog- ger!’ rang the medley of anathemas. ‘Shut up!” ordered Captain Constantine. “The ground jointly claimed by Bassett and Casino,” Fawcett went on, “runs seven | hundred and fifty, too, and likewise Ante Baker’s.”’ “It measured only five hundred feet when Eric and I staked it!’ announced Bassett. “IT don’t doubt it, Tom,”’ returned the Commissioner. “And that accounts for but two men being in between you and the bluff where there should have been three. Sav- vy? Tolume’s five hundred, Gunboat’s seven hundred and fifty, and two hundred and fifty added onto your original limits makes the fifteen hundred. Now I’d like to know how these claims were measured. Paced, eh?” ‘“‘No,”’ clamored the crowd; “‘with a rope belonging to Casino—a fifty-foot rope. Ten lengths of her gave one claim.” Adventure ‘“‘Ten lengths!’’ echoed the Commissioner. ‘Then that rope was ten feet short. A for- ty-foot rope, boys, instead of a fifty-foot one. But how does your ground run true, Tolume? Didn’t you measure with Casino’s rope?”’ “T paced mine,” informed Tolume. ‘Over the snout of the bluff yonder it wasn’t very easy to use the rope. So I just step- ped her off.” “Pretty lucky for you, then! You hit her dead to within inches of five hundred feet, and it’s the only legal claim I’ve seen so far. But what about these overgrown ones? What happened your rope when it got up as far as Gunboat’s ground, Casino? Begin to stretch?” ‘“‘How in blazes do I know?”’ flared Casi- no. ‘The creek was stampeded in the dark of the mornin’, and you know blame well it’s easy to make mistakes in the dark and excitement and all. Don’t you go accusin’ me of under-measurin’ or over-measurin’ either. You ain’t got no grounds for them accusations, and if you persist, Commis- sioner or no Commissioner, I’ll sure have you up in Dawson for slander and defama- tion of character.” “Like thunder you will!’ laughed Faw- cett. ‘You’re colossally conceited to think there’s anything to defame. Where’s the rope that was used in measuring?” “Up at the head of Montana, I guess. Tyin’ some one’s dogs, most like, or holdin’ in somebody else’s tent-pegs.”’ ‘Yes, or shredded into tow to kindle that fire of yours,” retorted the Commissioner. *“‘I suppose there’s no use in looking for it. So we'll just go on with our measuring and see where we jump off.” Since it took the lengths of ten creek claims and a little over to total a mile, and since there were several miles of Montana stakings, this operation consumed much time. It was long after midnight when the Gold Commissioner finished and called all the stampeders into a huge council. On top of a four-foot stump he stood by one of the claim-fires half-way down Montana and set forth the situation in explicit terms. “It’s exactly the same above as below,” he declaimed. ‘‘The claims run in general four hundred feet, stretching out in spots to six hundred, seven hundred, seven hun- dred and fifty and even eight hundred feet. It’s not easy to detect the differences with the naked eye, on account of the inequal- ities of the bank, but the tape betrays the CoOMmichoooks (©