s as a Persian tale, for the
young Aladdin did not see in the glittering cave of the genii such
fabulous riches as were lying in the dark womb of the rock.

"The wonder grew as the depths were searched out foot by foot. The
Bonanza was cut at a point 1167 feet below the surface, and, as the
shaft went down, it was pierced again at the 1200-foot level. One
hundred feet deeper and the prying pick and drill told the same story,
yet another hundred feet, and the mass appeared to be swelling. When,
finally, the 1500-foot level was reached and ore richer than any
before met with was disclosed, the fancy of the coolest brains ran
wild. How far this great Bonanza would extend, none could predict, but
its expansion seemed to keep pace with the most sanguine imaginings.
To explore it thoroughly was to cut it out bodily; systematic search
through it was a continual revelation."

The wealth revealed was beyond believing. This Bonanza, alone, yielded
$3,000,000 of silver every month for the first three years.

Yet it was hard to win. Mackay believed in high wages and paid more
than double the wages given to any miners in any place in the history
of the world. All were picked men, who had passed a severe medical
test. The hours were short. The men worked naked save for a loin-cloth
and shoes to protect them from the hot rocks. The heat reached 110 deg.
Three men, who stepped accidentally into a deep pool of water, were
scalded to death. The air was foul. The toil was severe.

Yet ever, the deeper they went, the richer grew the ore. When, at
last, Mackay, Fair, O'Brien, and Flood sold their holdings, the
Bonanza had yielded more than $150,000,000 worth of silver, one-third
of which had passed directly into the pockets of the four men.

But what of the first discoverers, McLaughlin and Riley? They had
found the silver, but the Bonanza was not for them. McLaughlin worked
for a while as a laborer and then was thrown out of the mine by a
foreman who said he was too old. He tried a dozen small ventures and
not only lost in everything he touched, but caused his partners to
lose, also. Bad fortune dogged him steadily. An old man, worn out and
hopelessly dispirited, died in a hospital and was buried in a pauper's
grave. Later, it was learned that this was McLaughlin.

O'Riley fared no better. He refused to work for others, believing that
luck would turn, and that he, who had once discovered so rich a prize,
would, some day or other, dis