166 WASTE-LAND WANDERINGS. 



out of which he had rings and bracelets made. He then 

 asked the Indian to take some men with him, which he 

 promised to do, but had not time at that moment ; he 

 would, however, return in a few days and bring some 

 more gold. But afterwards meeting with other Indians, 

 he began to boast of what he had received from the 

 governor, on which they asked him what he had given 

 for it, which being informed of, they put him to death, 

 in order that the place should remain unknown, fearing 

 that its discovery might occasion to them some mischief ; 

 and so the gold mountain was never discovered,' " and 

 never will be. 



With this I leave the minerals in the bluff that 

 guards, and the bed that sustains, the waters of the 

 creek, and with a sigh of relief come back to the pretty 

 creatures that dwell in the stream itself. 



Wherever the clear, cool waters of a hill-side spring 

 enter the creek, there many minnows of many kinds are 

 sure to congregate. At one such spot I was attracted 

 by the great gathering of blunt-headed minnows, the 

 many barred cyprinodont that throngs every stream 

 from Maine to Florida, or nearly so. Ordinarily I should 

 have passed them by, but some individuals seemed dif- 

 ferent, even at a considerable distance, and I leaned over 

 the boat to view them more closely. A large percent- 

 age were darker in color, with broader transverse bars, 

 and prominent in that the dorsal fin was beautifully 

 marked with a blue -black spot, encircled with clear, 

 opaque white. After much effort, with an improvised 

 net, I captured a number of them, and found, to my de- 

 light, that they were the " ornamented minnow " of Le 



