An unsuccessful Australian miner went up and down Colorado for several months "prospecting" for gold, and finding none. One day he sat down upon a stone, and while musing over his hard luck, aimlessly struck a stone with his pick. He chipped off a piece, and sprang to his feet. The chip was rich with gold quartz.
He hurried into the little town of Rosita, and went to the assay office, where a teamster had just dumped a load of wood. He agreed to saw the wood to pay for assaying his chipped sample. The result of the assay sent him back to his "claim." When he had taken out of it $500,000, he sold the mine for $400,000 in cash and $1,000,000 in stock.
But these "stumblings" are the exception to the rule that mines are found by painstaking, intelligent prospectors. They spend wearisome months in exploring mountains and gulches. They are mineralogists, geologists, and, above all, practical explorers, who can tell from a "twist" in the grain of the rock, or from the color of a spar seam, whether "paying gold" can be mined in the region.
[YEAR OF THE COCK.]
In China and Japan the year 1909 is "the year of the cock." It is regarded as a lucky year and is symbolized by a cock sitting on a drum. In statesmanship and literature this is called "the drum of remonstrance." Formerly such a drum was to be found in China in front of the imperial palace, to be struck by an official in charge whenever a letter of remonstrance was offered to the sovereign. This practice is said to have originated with Emperor Yao, a benevolent ruler who reigned from 2357 to 2285 B. C. His reign and that of Emperor Shun, who succeeded him, constituted a "golden age" of China.
It is believed by the Japanese that the cock has five virtues. His comb represents civilization and his strong feet denote military power. When he meets an enemy he fights well, thus demonstrating courage. When he finds food he calls friends, thereby showing himself kind and helpful. He keeps watch for the dawn, thus proving himself faithful.