I trudgealongthelinesofmenworking.
Clang,crash,clang!Theirheavysledgeham-
mersslamdownontherailsina steady
rhythm.Thewoodenpoleacrossmyshoul-
dersdigsintomyskin,andthepailsofwater
hangingoneachendfeelliketheyaremade
ofstone.Sweatdrenchesmyshirt.I squint
throughthedustandglaringsun,andhurry
towardtheharshvoicescalling.
Mynameis LiMinWei.It meansclever,
andalsopowerful.Butthesedays,I donot
feelI’meitherone.
I amfromChina,butI’mveryfarfrom
home.MyfatherandI leftourvillage.We
leftbehindmymotherandbrotherstocome“HEY, YOU—WATER BOY!” tothisplacecalledUtah.Backhome,people
toldusamazingtalesaboutthisstrangeland.
Theycalledit GumSham,theMountainof
Gold.Here,theytoldus,a mancouldget
goldoutoftherocks.Myfathersaidwecould
makeenoughmoneytobringourwholefam-
ilyhere.Wecouldalllivea betterlife.
NowthatI amhere,I seethatthereare
certainlyhugemountainsallaround.But
theyarenotmadeofgold.Theyareonlyred,
dustyrock.Theemptylandis hotanddry,
withscarcelya spotofgreenorshade.
Myfathergotusworkhere.Wearehelp-
ingtobuilda greatrailroad,layingtherails
fortheironmonstertrains.Peopletellusthat
whenthetracksarefinished,theywillstretch
Golden Spike
by Cynthia Overbeck Bix
IllustratedbySuling Wang
text© 2019 byCynthiaOverbeckBix,art© 2019 bySulingWangMay 1869, Promontory Summit, Utah
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