Without Further Eloquence

Okay, I'm working on a piece called "Flash in the Pan." I have two possible openings. I need feedback on which one you like better.

Opening # 1.

The man stood at five-foot-seven, about average height, although stooped in a river it was hard to tell. Rubber waders covered his corduroy trousers to the knee. An embroidered linsey-woolsey shirt, a departing gift from his wife, kept him warm and cool by measures. A sweat-stained floppy hat with a wide brim protected him from the relentless sun. Water slowly swirled around the lip of a pan, washing away the silt and sand, hoping to hit pay dirt.

The man put in a hard day, and later that night he ate good. He tossed an extra slice of salt pork in with his beans, and sopped up the gravy with flour and water biscuits. He sat in front of the small campfire with his hands wrapped around a tin cup of coffee. He looked at the small shack which was the only thing separating him from the unforgiving elements, and thought of the farm and family he left behind, mortgaged to the hilt, while he pursued this crazy dream of achieving wealth beyond imagination.

He scratched under his whiskers, at thirty-seven years of age, already turning gray. Why had he traveled two-thousand miles, to endure this backbreaking labor and loneliness? Sure, he made his way to the mining camp on Saturday nights, where a few hours of gambling and cheap whisky soon parted him from his meager earnings, but he refused to forsake his vows for one of the broken women who serviced the camps.

He'd lost a friend attempting to cross a rain-swollen river, and his own brother, who'd followed him out here on this pipe dream, died of the bloody flux.

Yet, day after day he toiled, and day after day his heart skipped a beat when he caught the tantalizing glint that drove Midas mad, only for it to be "a flash in the pan."

And still we can go further back... 

It's a pitched running battle. The redcoats are everywhere. You seek shelter in the woods, ford streams. You're pinned down in an open meadow. You turn and sight along the barrel of your trusty flintlock rifle. The back of your neck tingles, and you are instantly aware that your opponent has drawn a bead on you.

It's you or him. The rest of the world fades away. The vision of your mom and dad, your little sister, and your girl, Sally Sue's angelic face framed by golden locks, appears before your eyes. You sense your adversary's cool, even pressure on the trigger. You do the same.

You see the spark and flame of your weapon. But alas, nothing happens. Your former countryman still stands. You see the puff and flash of his musket. Something's wrong. You're on the ground looking at the sky. How could you have missed? As your life ebbs away it all becomes clear.

The main charge of the flintlock firearm that projects the shot or ball out of the barrel is fired by a smaller charge of gunpowder in the priming pan. If the fire from the smaller charge does not pass through the touch-hole and ignite the main charge, the gun will not shoot. The resultant noise, smoke, and flame is called "a flash in the pan."

Wikipedia uses the term "coruscation" to describe this effect. Coruscation is a well-chosen word because it has the double meaning of a gleam or flash of light, as well as a sudden or striking display of brilliance or wit.

The term has come to refer to any ineffectual, short, spasmodic effort which dies in the attempt, as in, "He was named best new writer of 2016, but his career was a flash in the pan."

or... Opening # 2.

The phrase, "flash in the pan," according to Wikipedia, comes from the days of flintlock firearms. The main charge that projected the shot or ball out of the barrel was fired by a smaller charge of gunpowder in the priming pan. If the fire from the smaller charge did not pass through the touch-hole and ignite the main charge, "the momentary coruscation produced noise and smoke, but no substantial effect, and was termed a 'flash in the pan.'”

The well-chosen word “coruscation” means a gleam or flash of light, as well as a sudden or striking display of brilliance or wit.

The term has come to refer to any ineffectual, short, spasmodic effort which dies in the attempt, as in, "He was named best new writer of 2016, but his career was a flash in the pan."