Rocky Mountain adventures

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ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

ROCKY MOUNTAIN
ADVENTURES

BY

M. B. SHELTON

1 1

TlRJSTOPjlER.

PUBLISHING
HOUSE
^ S

BOSTON

65

Copyright 1920
BY THE CHRISTOPHER PUBLISHING HOUSE

CONTENTS
FOREWORD 7

CHAPTER I 9

On my way to the Rocky Mountains. Stop
over at Nashville, Louisville, St. Louis and
Kansas City. Fight with the Indians while
crossing the "Great American Desert." Reach
Denver City in perfect safety.

CHAPTER II 33

Arrived in Georgetown. Went to work next
day. Learning how to mine. First discovery.
Beautiful mineral but low grade ore. Work on
"Terrible" mine. Nearly a mining accident.
Bought half interest in "King David" mine.
Valuable ore but "petered out."

CHAPTER III 61

Could have owned a third interest in "Dives"
mine. Formed partnership, preferable. Found
an iceberg a million years old. Origin of "Boom
Ditch" idea. Mountain lion, bear and black
squirrel in chaparral district. Broke another
one of my seven "dont's" for a short time.
Spent the winter months merchandising.

M142071

CHAPTER IV 85

Allow two old men to move into my cabin
with me. Investigation of Spiritualism. Arrival
of brother Daniel. We build a flue around a
high cliff. Judge Harmon pays us a visit. Mc-
Murty owns the "Dives" mine. David Hersha
dies. Visit of U. S. Grant. Commence tunnel
on the "King David" mine. Arrival of brother
Shepard.

CHAPTER V 113

Lease on Summit mine. Worked on a mine
discovered by a mineral bob. Work on tunnel.
A case of lung fever. The big "Pulaska" mine.
Visited a dance house. Discovered "R. E. Lee"
and other mines. Sold Shelton tunnel. Decided
to leave the country. Selling the "Pulaska." A
new enterprise on tap.

CHAPTER VI 144

Prospecting in the San Juan country. Large
mineral veins but low grade ore. A long trip
of 250 miles. Failed to reach Gunnison mines.
Indian trouble. Discouraged return to George-
town. Agreed with my partners to make an-
other trip into the mines. Return to my native
home to stay.

FOREWORD

Only a few words are needed as an introduc-
tion to this little volume. It was my good fortune
to return home at the close of the Civil War,
sound in limb and body, without a scratch or scar;
but like others of my age without fame or for-
tune, even a little bit. I gave up an easy position
with a small salary on January first 1867. With
a sack full of "wild oats" it was my purpose to -go
into the mining regions of the Rocky Mountains,
discover a big mine, and "get rich quick." To my
mind this seemed plausible, and maybe an easy
thing to do.

My plans and hopes in this direction were simply
visionary dreams which never materialized. A con-
tinued series of failures met every effort from be-
ginning to end. At every turn of the wheel the
Fates were against me, with nothing left but the
memory of past events, which I am now recalling
after nearly half a century. As I look back, the
past seems to rise before me more like a dream
than something real.

The nine years spent in s-earching for the hidden
treasures, with many hardships and adventures,
had all the alluring features of a romance, though
short of a fortunate hero, always found in ficti-
tious writings. The one enduring thing left, was
"a heart for any fate," and ever ready to sing with
the poet:

"Thus humbly let me live and die
Nor long for Midas' golden touch,
If heaven more generous gifts deny
I shall not miss them much,
But grateful for blessings lent
Of simple taste and mind content."

Kooky Mountain Adventures

CHAPTER I

ON MY WAY TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. STOP
OVER AT NASHVILLE, LOUISVILLE, ST. LOUIS
AND KANSAS CITY. FIGHT WITH THE
INDIANS WHILE CROSSING "THE GREAT
AMERICAN DESERT." REACH DEN-
VER CITY IN PERFECT SAFETY

At the close of the war in 1865 I returned to
my native village in Northern Alabama. Like a
great many young men of my age, after this great
conflict had ended, I was bankrupt in everything
of value except hope and a willing hand to do
things. Heaps of ashes could be seen in place of
happy homes that once existed. The solitary,. and
now useless, chimney stems were pointing to the
blue sky above like silent sentries guarding some
desolate coast. We may mention with complacency
the ravages of war, but we have no right to com-
plain, for that was part of the programme from
the beginning, and nothing more than might be
expected, when victory went to the other side.

Only one store building was left which was oc-
cupied by a sutler. By permission he was allowed
to sell a certain line of goods to the Federal army,
a part of which was still encamped around our
village. He offered me a position as clerk, which
I gladly accepted, on the principle that a drowning
man will grab at a straw. All my former aspira-
tions of obtaining a still higher education had been
cast aside and lost in the maelstrom of "Secession."
But to my mind a clerkship, and by no means a
large salary, was a very slow way to retrieve my

10 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

fallen fortune, so I was thinking and dreaming of
something more active.

Gold had been discovered in California in 1849.
Men went wild if not crazy over the excitement.
Large fortunes were made by men, whether they
were worthy of them or not. Of course glowing
descriptions of the country, and the great wealth
men were accumulating, were published in all the
leading papers and magazines, but they failed to
tell that for every success there were at least one
hundred failures. These auriferous products of
Nature were discovered in liberal quantities in
1859 on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains
near Denver, Colorado. The old excitement had
partly subsided, but the world was set on fire a
second time. The war between the States covered
the blaze, so to speak, for four years, but the
embers were there waiting to be uncovered, when
the time was ripe.

In the early part of 1867 with a few hundred
dollars and several of those "sparks of Hope" still
alive and ready for duty, I decided to "beard the
lion" in his den. As it was then too early in the
year, the season not being suitable to cross the
plains or prospect for gold in the mountains, I
accepted for the time a position in a wholesale
dry goods store in Nashville, Tenn., to terminate
at my own option.

In a very quiet manner, and agreeable to all
parties, my contract as salesman was canceled,
which left me entirely free to continue my con-
templated trip to the mountains in quest of gold
and silver, one or both. I left Nashville about May
20th without any definite idea of how I would
reach my destination. As seeing things was one
object in view I concluded to visit Mammoth Cave,
Kentucky, but it would require too much space to
describe this greatest cavern in all the earth. It
took three days to get back to the railroad, but the
sights were worth the trip.

A few days were spent in Louisville, Ky., and

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 11

while there I visited the old prison barracks, where
as a prisoner of war I was an inmate of the hos-
pital department for nearly two months, with some
uncertainty about getting well, but the building
had been removed and I failed to recognize the
place. One object I had in taking this route was
to travel as much as possible by water. To me
this was the most pleasant mode of traveling.
Further down the river I stopped off a few days
at Henderson, Ky. Here the people had been very
kind to me just after I had been released from
Camp Chase prison. I had the pleasure of meeting
many warm friends.

While there Mr. Soaper asked me why I failed
to answer his letter, some ten months previous.
He said that on learning Mr. Watterman could
not comply with his contract, in which I was to
assist him as teacher in the high school, that he
had written me to return and resume my former
position in his store. If I had received that letter
in all probability Henderson would have been my
future home, for I liked the city, and liked the
people. But the time had passed and the current
had drifted into another channel. It often happens
that a very small matter, if taking place at a cer-
tain time, may change the whole trend of life.

From that place I went all the way to Kansas
City, Mo., by water, changing boats at Paducha
and at St. Louis, remaining in the latter place
nearly a week to see the city and the sights. They
were playing Black Crook, a spectacular produc-
tion, at the theater, and had been for a hundred
and sixty nights consecutively, and expected to
continue. It was a mixture of the grand and the
beautiful. I took passage on a boat three days
before it left on purpose so I would have a nice
place to stay without additional cost of a board
bill. The pilot of the boat having nothing to do,
showed me the attractive features of the city.

It took six days on the boat from St. Louis to
Kansas City. From this place a stage line made

12 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

three trips each week to Denver, Col. They of-
fered to sell me a ticket from Kansas to Denver
for $100.00, but I paid my own way to Salina nearly
100 miles, and the agent there asked me $110.00
for a ticket to Denver. This was the Western idea
of doing business, or maybe there was a little
"graft" in this price. Late in the evening, while
sitting in front of the hotel (it pased for such)
the stage all the way from Denver drove up, and
five or six passengers got out and off the coach.

This was the first conveyance of that character
I had ever seen, and with a little "cheek" asked
the driver to let me ride with him around to the
barn. I told the driver my intention of going to
Denver and he remarked, "All right we can put you
there in five or six days and maybe less time." It
was over 500 miles, and the stage went day
and night after it started. The passengers were
supposed to sleep on their seats, or if in the
summer time, out on top. On examining the coach
I noticed in the boot, which is attached to the rear
part and used for carrying baggage and other
parcels, that there was a good deal of blood. In
answer to my question about it the driver replied
that the stage on the way had been "held up" by
robbers. One of the passengers not willing to
give up his money was killed and his body was put
in the boot and carried to the next station for
burial.

At first I thought it was only a joke to frighten
a "tenderfoot," but returning to the hotel and in-
terviewing one of the passengers I found he had
made a correct report. This same party said: "if
you expect to cross the plains I would advise you
to see the banker here and leave your money with
him, and he will fix every thing so you can get
your money from a banker in Denver. About
fifteen or twenty dollars is all you will need. They
charge one dollar for a good meal along the road.
I have been in several "hold ups" but have made it
a point not to have much they want. These des-

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 13

perados certainly mean business every time, and
there is no use losing your life and money too. By
keeping quiet and offering no resistance they will
not hurt you or anyone."

This was one of the ways the "Great American
Desert," as called in former times, was crossed in
1867. Of course numerous emigrant trains had
passed over this route in former years, carrying
their own supplies, and in such numbers as to
secure their mutual protection. There was still
another, perhaps more heroic, way of crossing, at
least it required muscle and endurance. The ad-
ventures and hardships of this latter way I will
try to call to mind as they occurred.

Early next morning while walking down the
street I passed a gentleman standing on the side-
walk, gazing at a crowd on the other side. He ap-
peared to me, as pictured in my mind, an ideal
frontier-man. He wore high-top boots, a broad-
brim hat, a heavy mustache and rather long hair.
As an introduction is unnecessary in the Western
country I proceeded to tell him I was a stranger
here and would be glad to receive any information
in regard to the best way to reach the Rocky Moun-
tains out beyond the plains.

Jfie replied: "Well judging from your appearance,
perhaps the best way for you will be to go by
stage. It will put you there quickest, and in an
ordinary way safe enough. However, there is
another way. I happen to be the owner of a wagon
train now encamped three or four miles out on
the way, and nearly ready to start. I need two
more drivers and am here today looking for them."

This was all new to me for I had never seen a
wagon train, except those used in the army but felt
myself ready for nearly anything. I said to him :
"Captain, it strikes me that I would like to go
with you. What will I be required to do and how
much do you pay?"

"It may not suit you," he replied. "There are
sixty-six wagons and each one is pulled by ten

14 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

oxen. You will be expected to drive one of these
teams, and yoke up as well as unyoke the oxen
you drive twice each day. I pay one dollar per day
and furnish something to eat."

"In my opinion, Captain, if that is all, you can
count me already on the job," I replied. "In my
early days we used nothing on the farm but oxen,
except for plowing and riding, so I understand
their nature and how to handle them. When you
are ready to start for camp give the motion, and
I will go with you. I can get ready in a few
minutes."

"Just wait a minute," he said, "let me tell you
something. The first thing to do is to get those
fine duds off and put away. They will be no use
to you on the plains. Here, I will go and show you
exactly what to get. A pair of heavy overalls, and
four or five dark colored cotton work shirts ; you
may need a change, and there will be no time to
wash clothes after we begin to move. And this
hat like mine you will need to protect you from
the hot sun, also from the sand-storms we may
have to go through. A pair of boots, neither coarse
or fine, you will have special use for them. It may
take us six weeks to reach Denver."

With these purchases I made my way back to
the hotel, and when I emerged, clothed in my new
frontier suit it is doubtful if my former associates
would have known, or been willing to recognize,
me. Of course it is not the clothing that makes
the man, but they are a fairly good index to his
occupation and ideas about society.

Meeting the Captain later, in the early after-
noon, he said : "You are all right now. I have found
another man and we are nearly ready to start. Get
your grip (which was a regular leather valise)
and carry it down to the stable, and I will carry
it out in front of me. But before we start step
over to the harness shop and get a black-snake
whip which you will need as a driver of oxen. Get
a good one; it will cost you $1.50, but you can't

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 15

do without it." We took a kind of turkey-trot
walk and reached camp in good shape.

This day was really the beginning of my West-
ern life, and is one reason why I have described
the events a little more in detail than usual. Al-
though I have commenced the records of my
Western life from the time I left Nashville, yet
traveling on steam-boats with absolutely nothing
to do is more like taking a pleasure trip. Living-
like a regular Nabob, and going to theatres in big
cities is really no part of a Western life, such as I
experienced for many years. The real beginning
should date from the time I met Captain Carlile
on the sidewalk in the street of Salina, Mo.

Our encampment, so-called, consisted of a corral
made by all the wagons, so arranged when driven
into position as to form an oblong circle and nearly
closed at each end, and containing about an acre of
land. The rainy season, for this section, had not yet
subsided. Mr. Carlile, the owner of the train, told
me there was not much use of starting before the
tenth or fifteenth of June, which was nearly at hand
That he had made twelve or fifteen trips across
the plains, often loading at Kansas City. That he
knew the road all the way by heart, especially
the bad places, and for many miles this was one
of them.

With this information I began to feel a greater
degree of safety in crossing this long stretch of
desolate country. As the wagons were already
loaded and their tongues pointing to the west, a
courier was sent out to tell the herders to bring
in the cattle. In about two hours here they came,
660 oxen ; it looked like a thousand or more, but
they were all driven into the corral, and chains
stretched across each end to keep them there.

It was the duty of each driver to pick out ten
oxen that would be his to drive on the entire trip.
The oxen all had big wide horns except two mulies,
and before they went into the corral, I claimed
them as mine. With a bow in my hand I went into

16 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

the corral, as did others, and picked out a large
ox for my right or off wheeler, and took him to
my wagon and put him under yoke. When each
one of the drivers did this, then we all took an
even start with bow in hand and brought out an
ox to match the other, as a near wheeler, and put
him under yoke. This was repeated until the ten
oxen stood ready to drive.

When everything was complete Mr. Carlile passed
around the train to notice the selections made by
the different drivers. When he reached my team
he said: "Pard, you have picked out the best team
in the "outfit"; perhaps he said that to others. It
was the custom in the Western country to call
everything an "outfit" from a pin to a steam en-
gine. He said putting the mulies in the swing,
that is in the center of the team, was a good idea.
This was my second day on duty and my first
"stunt." (The last word is of course slang with
a different meaning from the word found in the
dictionary. The man out West that could not use
slang had better take down his sign.)

When the order was given to "pull out" it meant
that the front wagon of the right wing, driven by
White Jim, was to start, and all the other wagons
of that wing followed in regular file. In this way
the right wing led the van in the forenoon. In the
afternoon the front wagon of the left wing, driven
by Black Jim, the only colored man in the train,
took the front lead, all of the right wing in the
rear. My place was in the center of the right
wing, each one having his special place. This plan
was continued across the Great American Desert,
at the rate of ten or fifteen miles per day.

On the fourth day out we "hung up" at one of
those bad places where the land was low and there
seemed to be no way to go around some other
way. The stage went by in a gallop and hardly left
a print on the turf, but the heavy-loaded wagons
moving much slower cut through, that is a number
of them did. I managed to guy my team a little

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 17

to one side, as did others, and by keeping the
wheels moving easily went across ; however, ten
or fifteen were down with their axles on the turf,
which meant lots of work to get them out.

A corral was formed out about a half mile on
higher ground, and we remained there five days
before getting ready to start. It was the duty of
the night herders to bring in the cattle, when we
were on the move, at barely good daylight, but
when detained in camp they were relieved by a
detail of three men, who remained on duty until
past 9 A. M. when another relief was sent, which
on this occasion fell to my lot. The duty of a
herder is to keep the cattle together as much as
possible, and try to keep them not more than two
miles from camp, which is sometimes hard to do.

This was the third day of our encampment, and
my first duty of this character. About 11 o'clock
I noticed a dark cloud looming up above the south-
ern horizon. By noon it began to look very threat-
ening and I was wishing for the third relief due
at 1 P. M. The lightning in vivid streaks reached
clear down to the ground and the thunder seemed
to shake the earth, such earth as it was. The rum-
bling sounds of the upper deep failed to cause a
cheerful feeling. But all this grandeur of the ele-
ments was cut short for me by the timely arrival
of the third relief.

In the distance the white sheets over the wagons
were plainly in view, tho not less than one and a
half miles away. Under the circumstances I asked
my legs to take me there as quickly as possible.
This electrical display no longer had any charms
for me. The race was not of the "turkey-trot" kind.
It was gratifying to feel that my legs were "on the
job" all the time and succeeded in making precisely
an even race. I have read graphic descriptions of
great storms upon the ocean, where ships and
sailors go down in the sea. None the less terrible
are the great cyclonic disturbances upon these
treeless plains. In fact, the rolling undulations of

18 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

the land reminds me of the waves seen upon the
ocean.

Our wagons were loaded with 7,000 pounds of
freight and locked together in corral shape,
making us safe against hurricanes and whirling
winds. The rain may and doubtless did fall in
sheets of water, but my business now was strictly
on the inside, and I had no time to look out. The
iirst thing was to tighten the guy strings of the
wagon sheet, and even with this precaution a mist
came through enough to wet a man in a short time,
but with several ply of blankets I kept in a manner
dry. A sense of security, and the thought of
barely missing the pelting rain mixed with hail,
rather prepared me to enjoy the fury of the out-
side torrent, made glorious by heaven's finest
artillery.

In about two hours the rain subsided, the clouds
passed away and the sun came out and shone as
beautifully as ever, and even more so, leaving a
quiet impression that nothing had happened. Sonic1
of the boys were surprised to see me as they
thought we were still on the high commons. Mr.
Carlile and his two assistants rode out north five
or six miles and found the herders trying to bring
the cattle back. It was after night before they re-
turned to camp, and hearing them tell of their
adventures and hardships made me feel like shak-
ing hands with myself for being lucky enough to
miss that drive "by the skin of my teeth."

After leaving Salina I noticed all along for
twenty or thirty miles out that some one had
plowed deep furrows around plots of land, which
may have been future settlers marking off their
claims. The soil was dark and had the appearance
of being fertile. The land was level, and without
trees, shrubs or rocks, making a farmer's regular
Paradise with nothing lacking but wood. This con-
tinued all the way out to the place where we were
then camping some fifty or sixty miles. Just a short
distance south of us the U. P. R. R. was laying

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 19

track at the rate of one or two miles each day.
In all probability this entire section is producing
corn and wheat in large quantities, as there was
plenty of rain for agricultural purposes. Mr. Car-
lile remarked that no doubt this was his last time
to cross these bad places that had given him so
much trouble.

We were now in the central part of the great
state of Kansas, and from this point further on
the ground was higher and we moved more rapidly.
From this time it was the same all the way across
the prairie. Every morning, while a big star was
still twinkling in the East, some one made heavy
raps on the side of the wagon and called out
witha lusty voice ; "Roll out, roll out, the cattle
's in the cavey yard." Often it seemed that I
would have given "half my kingdom" for another
hour of sleep.

If anyone said anything about breakfast he was
simply "talking thru his hat." Not any — not even
a crumb. No time to eat now. We usually drove
from five to eight miles in four to six hours, the
distance depending upon a suitable camping place
where both water and grass could be found, two
things absolutely necessary. The further we went,
it seemed the more barren and desolate the coun-
try. If some one should be curious enough to ask
where we got wood to do our cooking, the answer
would be easy by telling him that we used "buffalo
chips" which we found along the side of the road,
and it was easy to put them in a sack hung on
the wagon for that purpose. Some of them were
nearly two feet in diameter and made a splendid
fire. In the afternoon we always started out about
3 P. M. and continued to move until we reached
the next good camping place, sometimes 8 o'clock.

My time to go on herd duty was about once each
week, and after the first one hundred miles further
out, I found a special use for boots. It was
not convenient to watch the foot-step while watch-
ing the cattle, but unless careful I might step on

20 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

a rattlesnake. They seem to congregate in colonies
or at least they were more numerous in some places
than others. In certain localities it was no unusual
thing to see hundreds of acres infested with these
reptiles. They seemed to be a little careless about
getting owt of the way, but if given a little time
would glide out of the way to one side. If I was
to make a reckless statement of seeing ten thous-
and snakes in one day someone might want me
to "fall a snake or two," but they were there to
be seen all the same. While the "rattler" showed
signs of anger by the singing of his tail, yet in his
behalf I can say he bit no one, not even an ox.

Two other denizens of the prairie occupied the
same territory, noted more as objects of curiosity
than otherwise. One of these, the prairie dog,
which in size and color resembled a fox squirrel,
though with tail and head like a dog. He was
conspicuous along the route, especially when pass-
ing through his "city." He stands erect upon the
threshold of his burrow, erect like a soldier at "pre-
sent arms," but on the approach of danger seeks
refuge in the windings of his subterranean home.
The other little creature alluded to is the prairie
owl, about the size of a pigeon, and singular, as it
seems it too claims an ownership in this hole in
the ground as a protection from wind and weather.
But still more curious it the fact that the rattle-
snake makes this burrow his home also. Whether
the little dog invites his guest to share the bene-
fits of his home, and built apartments convenient
for their use, or they occupied his home by force
of invasion, is not a matter for me to decide. In
the science of zoonomy we are not able to find a
similar instance where three distinct species of
creation dwell together in peace and harmony.

Traveling days and weeks without seeing a tree
or even a bush was growing monotonous. The
country in the main was level, though undulating,
with sage bushes between higher places. Off in
the distance small herds of buffalo and antelope

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 21

could be seen nearly every day. One of the drivers
with a long range rifle, side stepped, so to speak,
and by a lucky shot killed a young buffalo. That
night and next day seventy men had something
good to eat. This occurred in the Smoky Hill River
section. That night several of the drivers reported
seeing groups of Indians off on the higher points.

The assistant "boss" took upon himself next
day to vedette for the train and keep us from
falling in ambush by the Indians, which was all
right for us but not for him. Late that evening,
nearly sundown, in plain view of the train, and
about a mile away we saw three of the "red-skins"
make a rushing covert attack upon him. Evidently,
from some cause, he had not seen them, for we
saw the smoke from his gun, and saw him fall at
the same time, and by this we knew his earthly
career was over and his doom was sealed.

The entire train was stoppe^ and about a dozen
of us went out and brought him in. They had
taken his watch, money and saddle, but his horse
was grazing not far away. They also took a piece
of scalp from the back part of his head, about three
or four inches in diameter. That night we buried
him, of course without a coffin, from the light of
a fire made of buffalo chips. It was a sad and
gloomy scene, and caused us to realize that the
only good Indian was a dead one. After this tra-
gical event the driver with a long range gun did
not make any more "side steps" to bring in young
buffalo.

A few days later we crossed Smoky River, or
what passed for a river. As far as I could see it
was nothing but an area of sand one or two miles
wide. It was reported by knowing ones that the
water was running under the sand all right, but I
happened to be very busy at that time and could
not stop and dig down to verify the fact, so had
to take their word for it.

A short distance, perhaps ten miles further, we
came to a "sure enough" spring, coming out of

22 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

the earth like springs do back in the United States.
By making a long drive we got there about noon,
and remained there the balance of the day and all
night to give the cattle time to rest and graze
on the fine grass growing down the branch. There
had been quite a grove of trees there of the cotton-
wood variety, judging from the stumps. The trees
had been used in building a fort called Wallace,
and a number of federal soldiers were stationed
here at that time. We learned from them that
the Indians, quite a number of them, were now
on the war path, because the limbs of these trees
now removed had been used by them as a burial
place for their dead .

The "noble red men of the forest" had donned
their red paint, and very little of anything else, a
short time before, and we were just now receiving
our first intelligence of the fact. They had been
peaceable for many years before. We were just
in time to be "in the midst thereof," and it was
just as safe to go on as it was to turn back ; in
fact we were nearer Denver City than Salina, so
the only way was to fight our way through, if
necessary.

It seemed to me there was very little use in
cutting down these trees, as there was no use in
building a fort, especially while the Indians were
peaceable. It was entirely useless as it gave no
one protection except those on the inside, and be-
sides the railroad would be across the plains in
another year, and the traveling would be a pleasure
instead of a peril. The stage coach had not passed
us for nearly a week, which further convinced us
we might have trouble.

The weather was hot and dry, and the roadway
firm the balance of our journey. We were making
better headway than usual until next day about 4
P. M. the unterrified, uncouth and uncivilized "red
skins" made a dash upon the rear part of the
train and cut off four wagons. The fourth wagon
had only six oxen to it and contained our supplies,

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 23

also extra yokes and chains. It seems the object
of this raiding party was something to eat. In
some way they knew or guessed mighty well
where the supplies were kept. When the fourth
wagon was stopped the other three behind it did
the same ; the drivers made no defense but went
running towards th front, spreading the alarm.
Not a gun was fired on either side.

A train of sixty-six wagons and teams when
strung out in single file will reach over a mile,
but the word was quickly passed up the line to the
front wagon. It required several minutes, but from
the thirtieth wagon back we formed in regular bat-
tle style and charged back to the rear, but "Lo poor
indian" was gone and out of sight. He had carried
with him all the sugar, salt and lard he could find.
According to estimate there were not more than
fifteen or twenty of them. The two wings drove
along by the side of each other to the next camp-
ing place.

A council was held that night and it was decided
we would start out next morning four abreast,
which would put me in one of the front wagons
on the extreme right. This was done in order to
keep the wagons as close together as possible.
The cattle were kept in the corral that night and
a cordon of six pickets, relieved at midnight, was
placed around the wagons in order to avoid a sur-
prise attack that might be made. Others slept
under their wagons in touch of their firearms, so
as to be ready on quick notice.

Mr. Carlile explained to us that they would try
to stampede the cattle as well as kill the drivers.
Western men understood that any animals of the
bovine kind, including the buffalo, when stampeded
want to run, and really with that scare on them
have no cow sense. We were out twelve or fifte . i
miles from Fort Wallace, and near the state line
between Kansas and Colorado. Next morning in
the distance on high places, we could see the In-
dians dashing along on their ponies. About 8 A. M.

24 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

they came upon us with a mighty rush, whoop-
ing, yelling and shooting.

Their attack was made on our left front, riding
at full speed and bent over on the opposite side of
their ponies. There were about fifty or seventy-five
of them and as they passed my corner, making
the turn of the circle, my old Colt revolver spoke
back to them four times. Of course the oxen were
a kind of breast-work for me, except my head
and shoulders. They were not more than sixty
or seventy yards distant, riding in single file. Pos-
sibly they expected us to run but we did not.

They made a complete circuit around the
wagons, but this time at least a hundred and fifty
yards distant, which showed they were getting
weak on the job. As they passed the second time
my old Colt only spoke twice more, to let them
know it was still on speaking terms. The one in
front, or the leader, carried a black flag, which
meant they took no prisoners. After this esca-
pade they rode off a half mile or so and stopped
near our roadway, enough to say : "You can't
come this way." Orders were given to form the
wagons into a corral and take the oxen on the
inside. No one knew their intentions, and the
situation began to look serious. What next to do
was a very important question.

One of the "bucks" was waving a black flag about
a hundred and fifty yards distant. I could not see
him while standing on the tongue of my wagon, so
climbed up the £ront with my head near the bow
that holds the covering. This was a foolish thing
to do. The solid character and curvature of the
bow threw the bullet from his gun downward and
across the corral hitting one of the boys on the
hip, causing a big blue spot but bringing no blood.
I carefully examined the print of the bullet on the
bow and found it did not miss my head more than
three or four inches.

An inventory of our arms showed only forty
pieces all told, and nearly all these were of the

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 25

pistol variety. Our adversaries, from appearance,
were armed with breech-loading carbines and
also side arms. On examination I found six or
eight bullet holes in the upper part of my wagon
and through its covering, showing they had shot
too high. Other wagons showed the same effect,
but next time they might aim lower. There must
have been two or three hundred shots fired on
both sides and it was a very strange thing to me
that neither man nor beast received even a wound.
It is not reasonable to think the whole thing was
for the purpose of gun play. On my own part I
was not much scared or excited, and I know my
shots were fired to hit something.

We often read in novels and in some histories
about the Indian war-whoop, but if this yell heard
that day was the real thing, then my ideas were
somewhat perverted. It was more like the wild
howl of a dog that ended with several sharp barks.
However, they caused one to have a kind of
creepy feeling and wish himself somewhere else
quick. It is all a mistake to say these war bucks
won't fight, can't shoot worth a cent, nor don't
know how to ride. These three things are their
stock in trade, and by them they make a living.

We could see them collecting their forces not a
mile away, and expecting them to renew the at-
tack at any minute. Mr. Carlile had a field glass
and we could easily see the commotion caused by
a fresh arrival to their ranks. Out on four or five
high points they built fires, and the smoke was a
signal for twenty miles afound, which brought
in the recruits. Their long spears with bright tips
on the end, made a war-like impression of a savage
nature to say the least, and served to increase
that creepy feeling previously referred to. There
was no disguising the fact that our situation was
growing more critical and gloomy. Visions of
tomahawks and scalping knives seemed not far
away.

A council of war was held among us to devise

26 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

some plan of safety if possible. We knew our de-
ficiency in arms, but our enemy did not know that,
and doubtless thought we were supplied in that
respect as sensible men ought to have been. And
further, they knew we could use the wagons and
their contents as fortifications which would be
greatly to our advantage. Still we were uneasy
over the prospects and anxious for some definite
plan for our safety. One of the drivers proposed
to go back that night to Fort Wallace and if pos-
sible get the soldiers there and more guns, and
return by daylight next morning. We were still
discussing the probability of a night attack when
Mr. Carlile told us that in his opinion he could see
soldiers coming to our relief. As they drew nearer
we could see more plainly, and in the joy of our
hearts got our artillery in shape and started to
meet them.

The Indians were busy watching us most of the
time and had not seen the approaching soldiers
until they were about ready to open fire on them.
The effect of the first volley was to send them
flying across the plains, though some of them did
make a stand long enough to shoot back. And
this is the last time we saw any Indians while
crossing the plains. This might have been and was
a poor way of celebrating the Fourth of July, but
it was not of our choosing. Four years previous
I had celebrated the day by being captured as a
prisoner of war ; neither was that of my choosing.

We met our rescuers with a profusion of thanks,
and it might be truly said with glad hearts, for
there is no way of telling what would have been
our fate. The troops, about seventy-five or a hun-
dred were furnished as an escort to the famous
Gen. Hancock who had checked the great charge
of Picket at Gettysburg, who in turn had charged
the bloody angle at Spottsylvania. He had seen
our wagons from a distance and knew in reason
we were besieged by the Indians. We went back
to the corral and held a council of expediency. The

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 27

General advised us to go back with him to Fort
Wallace and remain there two or three days. Ac-
cording to his ideas these Red Men were mad
about something, and in keeping with their nature
would have to fight somebody and then have a
war dance over it before they could get in a good
humor and willing to bury the hatchet.

It was nearly sundown before we got strung
out on our return, though when night came on
the moon made it nearly as light as day. We
reached the same camping ground we had formerly
occupied about 3 A. M. after an absence of two
days and nights. The experience of that night
affords material for remembrance if not for re-
flection and meditation. Everything that makes
an unpleasant feature in a healthy man's life was
crowded together during this long drive. We were
tired, hungry, thirsty and sleepy, not just a little
bit either, but a feeling of safety was one consola-
tion. After a late breakfast next morning most
of us crawled back in our wagons and went to
sleep.

Remaining three days at Fort Wallace we re-
resumed our journey. The men and cattle too were
all in fine fettle and the first day out we passed
the old battle ground and three or four miles
beyond went into camp. Further along we came
to higher grounds, a kind of plateau; the station
was called First View. From this point the dim
outlines of the Rocky Mountains could be seen.
It was over a hundred miles to Denver and the
crest of the mountains were fifty miles beyond
that point. At this distance they reminded me of
an undulating bank of clouds just above the hori-
zon, a deception not only pleasing to the eye but
very consoling to the weary foot-sore driver.

All along this plateau the view of the prairie
was also magnificent, spreading out like a great
panorama a hundred miles in every direction.
There may be more lovely landscapes or more
beautiful scenery, but I have my doubts that the

28 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

world affords another view more varied and ex-
tensive. It is well to mention now, lest I forget
it, that piles of rock about two feet high were all
along the route, said to have been put there by
John C. Fremont, the "pathfinder," to mark out
the most direct route to Pike's Peak. I am not able
to tell where he got the rocks but they were there
all the same.

Yoking up of a morning was not now nearly so
much trouble, nor was walking to and fro along
the side of the team nearly so tiresome. The very
idea itself of being in sight of the end made a
world of difference. I conld throw my black-snake
whip twice around my head and clip a fly off an ox
without touching its hide, which was quite an art.
I could also sing out the word "Omaha" in regular
western style. We were now making fine head-
way and could notice the mountains were looming
up higher every day. Our old friends, the prairie
dog and the rattle-snake, were just as friendly as
ever, but the poor Indian had gone where the
"woodbine twineth," and was conspicuous for his
absence. The jackrabbit, the coyote, and the ante-
lope were seen occasionally, but hardly on speak-
ing terms.

The wagons we drove were called "prairie schoon-
ers" or "ships of the desert." They were made
specially strong for this service, with three inch
tire and a deep bed. These schooners were loaded
with a hundred and twenty bushels of shelled corn
in sacks. We commenced unloading at First View
leaving sixty bushels at each station. My career
as driver, most unexpectedly was soon coming
to a glorious termination. Mr. Carlile had my
wagon unloaded among the first ones, and to my
surprise asked me to help him keep tally of the
weights on the sacks left at the different stations.
He was also gracious enough to tell me I could
ride the extra horse that had been kept along with
the train since its rider had been killed by the

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 29

Indians. This was a kind of promotion to assis-
tant boss.

As the schooners were unloaded they were at-
tached to others of the same character, and the
oxen herded and driven that way. The rations
were very short, due to the thievery of the Indians
and the extra time we had been delayed. As Mr.
Carlile had a good horse and fleet of foot, he con-
cluded to ride on to Denver, and meet us on the
way with supplies. This arrangement left me in
charge of the train three days and nights. Once
more I was having a good time after a fashion.
What I was doing was more like play than work,
though there was some responsibility attached.
Perhaps nothing makes a man appreciate an easy
job more than going through and getting off a
hard one. Really I had nothing much to do only
to ride along leisurely and feast the eye on the
rolling plains as a picture, and the lofty moun-
tains as a background.

When we reached Denver I could see that over
half of the corn would be left there or sent on to
other stations further along this same stage line
extending to various points. Mr. Carlile asked me
to go with him up to headquarters and make a
report of the corn I had checked out at the differ-
ent stations. Fortunately the head man was in his
office, and as it is rarely the case with men of this
class, we found him cordial and pleasant in his de-
portment. After receiving our report and draw-
ing a check, we told some of the adventures of
our trip, in which I was permitted to do some of
the talking.

Mr. Carlile remarked incidentally that I was on
my way to Georgetown as a prospector with the
hope of geting rich quick. He further remarked,
as a matter of business, that a complimentary
ticket to that place, no doubt, would be highly
appreciated. Turning in his easy chair to his desk,
he wrote a few lines and handed me, with scarcely
a break in our conversation. Parting with Mr. Car-

30 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

Hie a few hours later my last request of him was
to see that no one mistreated my always faithful
muley oxen. It seems strange to me now that I
did not keep as trophies of the past, the pistol
used in righting the Indians, also the whip used
in crossing the "Great American Desert."

Although I was anxious to get up in the moun-
tains to try my luck, yet I remained at this place
a week or more. It was considered prudent and
advisable before going into the mountains to re-
main near the base or foot hills for a week at least
in order to give the lungs time to get in line for
the extra service that would be required of them
in higher altitudes. Denver was especially adapted
to this purpose, being about twelve miles from the
base. It had an elevation itself of 5,000 feet, with
a rolling declivity to the Missouri River.

I had worn off many of the "tenderfoot" quali-
ties by walking across the plains and was prepared
to tackle nearly anything except a faro bank or
poker den. Both of these forms of "innocent
amusement" were in easy touch all the time, where
a fool and his money would soon part company.
Denver was then a kind of rendezvous for men
with a little money, from smaller places, and still
holds that position up to the present time. It had
then four or five thousand inhabitants, it now has
over two hundred thousand and is one of the most
thrifty as well as most beautiful cities in the world.
Its early history is quite interesting, and the future
development of the whole country was contingent
on its accidental location, which deserves more
than merely a passing notice.

From the time gold was first discovered in
California in 1848 a large number of emigrants
had made up their outfit at Omaha, and from there
went through South Pass, a low place in the moun-
tains, and then on by way of Salt Lake City. It
occurred to a number of men from the mining sec-
tion of Georgia that to start from Kansas City
and go south of Salt Lake, would cut off the elbow

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 31

and shorten the route. Of course when they
reached Platt River where Denver is located they
were good and tired and ready to rest, at least a
few days. I am free to accept this as a fact from
personal experience.

This party of pioneers was headed by George
Griffith and Green Russel. The latter being a
practical miner took his pan down to the creek
(it was a creek in time of low water but a river
when the snows in the mountains began to melt
and scooped up some of the sand. On washing it
he found a "color" of gold, and this little find
ended their journey Westward. They divided and
followed the stream up the several canyons from
which the stream debouched and one of them found
the hiding place of the gold near the point where
Central City is now located. They went to work
and before cold weather approached took out in
gold dust and nuggets $32,000.00 as a reuslt of
their labor.

Circumstances, — the want of supplies, if nothing
else, — forced them to return to Georgia. They told
their friends and others of their wonderful disco-
very, and they had the evidence of the truth with
them. As the discovery and its location was a mat-
ter of national importance the newspapers all over
the country gave it wide publicity. This vast sec-
tion at that time was a pathless unexplored region
known as "Pike's Peak," which had been located
and marked on the map, though over one hundred
miles further south.

There was no use making a long trip overland
to California when gold could be obtained less than
half the distance. In the early part of 1859 the
"gold fever" was at a high pitch. A great many
under the excitement began to move in that direc-
tion. It was a common expression in every part of
the country to hear people say: "On to Pike's
Peak or bust," even among those who had no in-
tention of going. It seems strange what a won-
derful effect the magic word "gold" has on the

32 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

popular mind. I was told that some people crossed
the desert plains carrying their supplies in little
push carts.

There was one consolation, however, they were
not called on to fight the Indians as we did. Our
train was not only the last one of any kind to
cross the plains but the only one that had to fight
its way. I might mention here that we hunted up
back numbers of the papers and read a description
of the battle fought by these same Indians that
attacked us, with Gen. Custer up on Republican
Fork on July 8th and 9th. He killed about twenty
or thirty of them, and I presume they had their
war dance and got in a good humor.

Not that there is conection or similarity in the
events, but it brings to my mind that it rained
forty days during the great flood; I served forty
days doing hospital work ; and was forty days in
the army; and now I had been forty days crossing
the plains. Any one can take his choice if he
wishes to make a selection. As for myself one is
about as good as the other. In my future efforts
I was not hunting a job of either kind.

After this great excitement of 1859, eight years
later found me in the wake they left, possibly try-
ing to trace their footprints. It may be, yes it was,
with a hopeful heart, yet with many forebodings
as to profitable results. My purpose now it to tell
about these uncertainties in the following chap-
ters.

CHAPTER II

ARRIVED IN GEORGETOWN. WENT TO WORK
NEXT DAY. LEARNING HOW TO MINE. FIRST
DISCOVERY. BEAUTIFUL MINERAL BUT LOW
GRADE ORE. WORK ON TERRIBLE MINE.
NEARLY A MINING ACCIDENT. BOUGHT
HALF INTEREST IN "KING DAVID"
MINE. VALUABLE ORE BUT "PE-
TERED OUT."

Away up in one of the mountain gorges there
was a small mining camp named Georgetown, the
objective point of my journey. In fact any other
place might have suited me just as well, for hunt-
ing the hidden deposits of mineral may be com-
pared to a blind bat trying to catch a mosquito
on a dark night. One morning at barely good day-
light the stage was ready for the forty-five mile
drive, and so was I, taking my seat with the driver
as previously arranged. The first fifteen miles was
smooth and level and it seemed quite like a plea-
sure trip. Leaving the plains and the foothills
behind us we entered Clear Creek Canyon and con-
tinued in this gorge the balance of the trip.

At many places the high cliffs came so near the
water that it had been difficult to find a roadway,
though it was firm and well built even if steep and
hard to climb. At one place the road had to leave the
creek a short distance, and we went up a hill about
half a mile long. The driver asked the passengers
to please walk up the hill, which we consented to
do. After going a short distance I found my legs
got tired quickly as though they might be lazy,
and my breathing machinery seemed to be on
extra duty. This was my first experience in the
effects of higher altitudes. They changed horses

34 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

twice on the way which enabled us to make good
time, reaching the end of our journey before night.
I found a boarding place for a few days only, at
$10.00 per week.

As Georgetown is to be my future home and
habitation for several years, it might be well to
give some definite idea of its location and sur-
roundings. One of the peculiar features about these
canyons is that they widen out from a quarter to
a half-mile at places, forming beautiful parks from
one to three miles long. This generally occurs at
the confluence of two streams. Although up in the
mountains thirty miles from the foothills, one of
these level spots or parks was formed by the deft
hand of nature, and there Georgetown was built.
Only ten or twelve miles further and we come to
the Continental Range, beyond which the waters
flow into the Pacific Ocean.

At the time of my arival this was a new mining
camp of little importance. Several years previous
George Griffith, one of the first pioneers had made
a few discoveries, and along with others built a
cabin and named the place Camp George, his given
name, but later it assumed the name of George-
town. They soon found by assaying the ore that
it contained silver but no gold. As soon as this
fact was ascertained they abandoned their disco-
veries as worthless, at least for the time. I might
say in this connection that there is a wide differ-
ence in the treatment of gold and silver ore, the
former being always free, wrhile the latter is
always in combination with one or several of the
baser minerals, such as zink, antimony, lead, etc.

The treatment of gold ore taken from the mines
is very simple, though it may be a little difficult to
describe without being tedious. I have seen a
hundred and fifty stamps in operation at one time,
and heard them too, in fact could not hear anything
else when a battery of that size is in motion. A
stamp is a rod of iron four inches in diameter and
about twelve feet long with an eight inch bulge

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 35

at one end, and the other end a crook which acts
as a shoulder, and the line shaft revolving, the
flange lifts the stamp about two feet and passing
on turns the stamp loose and it falls on a die firmly
fixed beneath.

A recepticle of the proper size and strength for
the ore is constructed and properly placed, made
water tight except meshed apertures. A constant
supply of water is kept running into this long
trough and the millman soon learns when and
where to shovel in the ore. As the stamp falls upon
the ore it is pulverized and in the shape of muddy
water forced through the meshes. This muddy
water runs over a slightly inclined sheet of copper,
to which cleats are fastened about one foot apart,
and quicksilver pooured along on the upper side of
the cleats, which at the proper time are removed,
and the amalgam is caught in a tub conveniently
arranged so as to catch it.

In the economy of Nature she has been generous
in providing that these two metals will adhere to
nothing else only each other unless released by a
process of heat, nor will they separate by abrasion.
All this muddy water is conveyed to a tub by
gutter, where more quicksilver has been placed.
The cleats are taken up when thought best and
everything goes into the tub. Then the water is
drained off until nothing is left but the amalgam.
This is put in a retort at a low heat the mercury
is volatilized and collected in a vessel of water
ready to use again, and nothing is left but the
gold dust.

There is another way of obtaining gold called
"placer mining" which is quicker and often more
profitable because less expensive. It seems more
than probable that at some geological age the ad-
jacent surroundings where gold is found, wrere once
much higher than at present. I have traveled on
foot over the trend of this mountain range for
several hundred miles, and visited a number of
gold mining camps, and my observation led me to

36 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

the conclusion that gold was found at a lower ele-
vation than silver.

It is certainly a plausible theory that the moun-
tains where gold is found were once much higher,
and during the glacial period they were torn down
and ground up by this great moving mass. There
is too much debris with the gold deposits along
in the different gulches to have been brought there
by ordinary abrasion caused by melting snow.
There is very little doubt, if any, that these deep
canyons on both sides of the "divide" originated
in the main, during the glacial period.

The ordinary miner was not much interested in
how the gold got there. The main thing with him
was how to find and get it out. Often he prospects
along a single gulch for a year or more by digging
holes in the ground and testing the dirt without
finding anything of value. If he did succeed in
finding a rich deposit it was called "luck" and from
his point of view, labor of itself was of minor im-
portance. When by "patience and long suffering"
he made a lucky find, the mining law gave him the
right to stake off a certain boundary, which, by
putting it on record, became his property.

It requires a vivid imagination to draw a pic-
ture of the glacial epoch and the topographical
changes made in the earth's surface, but they oc-
curred, and the deposits of gold they left were
very treacherous and uncertain. When a discovery
of the kind referred to was made, the most impor-
tant matter to consider was how to construct a
flue, and handle the water in the best way to carry
through the flue the debris consisting of dirt, sand
and gravel, also to dispose of the boulders too large
to enter the flue. But men by experience soon
learned this to a degree of perfection.

When the length and width of the flue is decided,
cleats are tacked on the bottom and quicksilver
placed above them, also in the big tub at the end
of the flue. With this all complete the miner is
ready to commence work. The best and richest

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 37

part of the claim is often found on the bed-rock,
or rock in place. Depressions or saucers have been
formed by abrasion in this solid rock, and a single
scoop of his shovel may bring to light a pint or
more of solid gold nuggets of various sizes and
shapes.

Many a poor fellow after standing in the cold
water for days and weeks has entered his dirt-
floor cabin at night with a tingle of joy in every
nerve and muscle of his body. His dreams of "get-
ting rich quick" have been realized, because there
is more of the same kind of stuff to be captured by
scraping the bed-rock at other places. His mind
is not distrubed by thought of 'graft' or cheating
his fellow man. In turning the wheel of Fortune
his coffer is filled, but not at the expense of an-
other who is left in the race to lament his loss. And
this to an honest man is worth as much as the
gold itself.

When Green Russel dipped his pan in the sands
of Platt River he made a discovery that opened
the way for a band of adventurous men to follow
who were not afraid to take their chance in the
mountain defiles, several hundred miles beyond the
borders of civilization. This discovery of his led
to others still greater in the same line. It opened
up a wide field for the development of commercial
and industrial activities too numerous to mention.
In fact the future building up of this part of West-
ern country hinged upon this event.

In an ordinary way it may seem that too much
space and attention is given to gold, but consider-
ing its great utility to the human family this would
be hard to do. It stands today, and perhaps always
will, as ''king" in the metal kingdom, and is the
unit of value to every other commodity on earth.
Its supremacy commenced even before Aaron
made the golden calf and hung it up for the Chil-
dren of Israel to gaze upon and become healed. A
bible student once told me the real virtue was in
their faith, and not in the "calf."

38 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

But we need not go back to the ages of antiquity
to find the highest appreciation for its necessity
among men. In this modern age of civilization we
find its power has increased rather than dimi-
nished. We can see in all the walks of life that it
is used as a lifting lever to give strength to the
actions of men and cause them to do noble or
ignoble deeds.

As previously mentioned there is a wide differ-
ence in the treatment of gold and silver ores, the
latter being much more refractory. The process of
eliminating it from the baser metals would be
tedious to describe and might not be interesting
in the details, therefore will be omitted. The ordi-
nary miner knew very little and cared less how it
was done. If we concede that gold is king of
metals, silver deserves to be crowned "queen," and
on this basis all other metals are the common
people.

I have now written, it is hoped, not at too great
length, in regard to the two so-called precious
metals which have for centuries served not only as
a measure of value in the commercial world, but
as a basis for our financial system. My next effort
will be directed to trying to tell a few of the priva-
tions, adventures and disappointments encountered
while searching for this alluring and evasive stuff
that sometimes makes men and women go crazy
for the want of it.

The next morning after my arrival I walked
down town, if thirty or forty rather rudely con-
structed houses are entitled to the name of town.
There were already two streets marked off which
met two others at right angles, and a notice on
the corner lots that they were for sale. I soon met
a man who saluted me by the name of "Hello pard,"
and said he wanted to hire two men for a few
days and perhaps longer. I had learned by this
time to dress in the garb of a laboring man. One
of the men that crossed the plains with me
also went up to Georgetown and was boarding at

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 39

the same place, so we found him and he was ready
for work in a few minutes.

We followed our employer to a point where he
wished to commence making a trail over a mile in
a straight line to a discovery he had made or
bought from some prospector. In order to get the
proper grade for pack animals it was necessary to
zig-zag with turns, making the distance about
three miles. He blazed the way and we followed
with pick and shovel. It took five days, the balance
of the week, to reach the objective point. Making
this trail enabled me to gradually ascend higher
points and at the same time get pay for it.

In this connection I might say that though
Georgetown is 9,000 feet above the sea yet the
mountains on either side were 3000 to 4000 feet
higher, in fact as high as the "range" except the
highest peaks. This was my introduction as a pros-
pector for prospecting was my intended business.
When we completed the trail our employer showed
us his so-called mine. There was no mineral in sight
nor anything else except rock as far as I could
see, yet he was confident a good vein of ore was
down below, no telling how far. It was only a
short distance to a mine called "Summit", very rich
in silver though the quantity was too small to be
profitable to work it.

Some one had worked a little on the claim and
sold out to this man, and he told us that pack ani-
mals would bring up mining tools and supplies, and
that we might be ready Monday morning to com-
mence sinking a shaft. We made an honest con-
fession to him that neither of us knew a thing
in the world about mining, as for my own part I
had never seen a drill or a piece of fuse in my life.
That night he paid us $20.00 each, just half as
much as received for the whole time crossing the
plains.

While walking around Sunday we found a vacant
cabin with a floor in it which we rented at $5.00
per month. On Monday we built a bunk and a

40 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

table, also made numerous purchases necessary for
light housekeeping, which in the absence of a
female to give directions, is called 'batching'. The
tinner made us a sheet-iron stove (for $6.00) that
one man could easily carry in his hand, but it an-
swered our purposes all the same. My experience
in the army and in prison had given me some idea
of cooking. My partner had also been a soldier,
though on the opposite side of the "fence," and
knew more of the culinary arts than I did. We
"snaked" down off the side of the mountain that
evening enough dry pine poles to last us three
months, so we were prepared to live on the cheap-
est plan possible, which was less than half of what
we had been paying.

Self-rising flour cost us $3.00 for a twenty-four
pound sack (there was no meal for sale) and every-
thing else in proportion except good steak which
was only worth twenty cents per pound. Fat cattle
were driven up from the valley where it cost very
little to raise them. At that time I did not care
much about working by the day for \vages, as I
had on hand a little over $600.00 which was $100.
more than I had when leaving Larkinsville. My
object in this country was to find or in some way
own a big gold or silver mine.

It so happened next morning that we fell in
company with two miners getting ready to start
out on the mountains. We explained to them that
we would like to find out something of the mines
and mining so they invited us to go with them and
see for ourselves. Their shaft was only six or eight
feet deep, and we watched them strike and turn the
drill until the hole was deep enough to do the work
they expected it to do. We saw them put in the
powder and then the fuse. The tamping was care-
fully done in order to prevent any accident. We
watched them take out all the loose rock with a
gad and get ready for the next shot.

They explained to us the difference between a
pop, foot, lifting and leading shot, and the neces-

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 41

sity of understanding the nature of the rock, be-
cause if the powder was given too much to do it
would do nothing. They showed us where to locate
the next shot, and how to use the starter and the
spoon, also in regard to turning the drill just so
far, and then they sat around until we drilled the
hole, loaded it with powder and made the explo-
sion. We took dinner with them, and went back
to work like regular miners. I noticed one thing,
that they did not have any mineral in sight nor
mucn prospect of any.

This was called "developing" the property. The
mining law required some kind of a hole down ten
feet from the surface, showing a mineral bearing
vein, before a legal record could be made. It fur-
ther required $100.00 in \vork on the claim each
year or it was subject to relocation by some other
party. When $500.00 in work had been made and
proved by witness, the owner could obtain a patent
from the government to a strip of land 3,000 feet
long and 150 feet wride, which was taxable like
any other property. The wisdom and justice of the
law will be seen in the fact that it prevented old
abandoned claims from continuing in force, also
prevented what was called "wildcat", claims, which
meant a record without a genuine discovery.

These mining laws are mentioned here because
it is important for a prospector to understand
them, and I was preparing myself for that occupa-
tion. It seems Destiny or some other power behind
the throne had already, without my knowledge or
consent, rendered a decree to that effect. In my
new field of labor all my former attainments in a
literary way were to be set aside as useless, or at
least worth very little. I must now learn to be a
miner if I expected to follow the business. This
explains the object of our errand with the two
miners up on the mountain, and it was time well
spent.

After learning so much in one day, next morning
each one purchased a new pick and shovel, usually

42 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

emblems of industry, for which we paid $16.00 and
at once struck out to roam over the mountains,
taking them by rotation. It was my private opinion
that we could discover a mine of some kind good,
bad, or between the two extremes. We even went
out above timber line ten or twelve thousand feet
in altitude. From these high elevations we could
see the wide-spreading plains, and thought we
could see the place where we fought Indians.

We spent four days in walking and looking
without wearing much of the "new" off our picks
and shovels. We now agreed to go alone, each
one to work for himself and to do as he pleased.
My idea was to move along slowly and be careful,
as it is a matter of digging more than simply
looking. Incidentally I met a man of more mature
years than myself who had been here some time
and had also been in other mining sections. He
knew a great deal by experience about prospect-
ing, and as a rarity knew how to tell it. A great
many people know many things, and yet have no
faculty of telling it so" as to impart information.

He first told me about "float-stuff," which may
be nothing more than a mineral-bearing rock, but
all the same it broke loose from somewhere above
and might prove to be part of a good mine. He had
several specimens in his pocket each one different
from the other. One in particular that had specks
and streaks of mineral through it, he had spent
weeks digging and was still trying to find where
it came from, perhaps never did find the place. He
said such a thing as accidentally finding a mine
was a very poor dependance.

One little piece of advice he ventured to give me
was : "If you are ever lucky enough to find a mine
and some one offers you above $1,000 for it, be
sure to sell." It was the nature of nearly all mines
to have "pockets", liable to pinch or play out. In
his opinion not more than one in a hundred would
pay to work, and pay a dividend too. As I was a

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 43

new beginner this was all valuable information, es-
pecially in regard to prospecting.

The next week was spent with a more definite
idea of what I was doing and how to do it. I now
had more use for my pick and shovel than for-
merly. This float-stuff, the miners guide, was
easily found, and I spent two days digging and
tracing up a piece of float, and then some one had
already made a discovery by tracing up the piece
of float, and had sunk a shaft twenty feet deep,
and then gave it up. This saved me a lot of work
for I might have done the same. I continued to dig
a number of holes at other places, which like Lot's
wife that turned to a pillar of salt, are there to
this day, also many others of a similar kind scat-
tered far and wide.

In my rambling around I found a dug out place
two or three feet deep and from appearance it
looked like a favorable prospect. It was the usual
custom of the prospector, if he thought anything
of his discovery, to whittle; a smooth place on a
stick, write his name and the date and leave it
there, as the law allowed him thirty days for
further improvement. The name on the stick was
the same one that had been giving me advice and
information. I told him about finding one of his
discoveries. He said: "Yes, I remember that, but
it is kind of a rough place and I have something
now more important, so I will make you a present
of it, and there may be a good body of mineral
down below, not a great way."

I told my batching partner about it and agreed
to give him a half interest if he would join with
me in buying powder, fuse and other mining tools,
as it would require shooting our way right from
the beginning, a proposition he gladly accepted.
The previous knowledge we had obtained from the
two miners enabled us to go right along with the
work, though not as fast as men of experience in
that line. As progress was made in the develop-

44 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

ment we were encouraged greatly by occasional
specks of bright mineral in the vein material.

A new stamp mill was building up slowly for
the reduction of silver ore, and I had some fear
they would not get it ready in time for my patron-
age. It was hard for us to average more than half
a foot per day, yet that was going some. When we
were down some eight or nine feet we put in a
leading shot one evening which brought to light
bright shining mineral in pieces half as large as
my head. I might have been excited while fighting
the Indians, but this was a different kind. We
carefully stacked up our mineral like a banker does
his silver dollars, taking with us some of our nicest
pieces to show to our friends. Some "smart Alec"
suggested that we ought to have an assay made
before climbing up too high, on a hope that might
be a failure, which of course was the proper thing
to do.

I might have slept some that night, but if so I
had no recollection of it next morning. Such a
thing as sleep was very slightly on the program.
A small piece of ore had been left with the assayist,
though of course it was rich in our estimation, be-
cause bright and beautiful to look at. Things of
that kind, like many others, depend upon the eyes
with which one sees. He promised that evening to
give us a written report next morning showing its
real value, at a moderate price of $4.00, worth not
more than $1.00, but I paid it.

When we read the certificate of $14.00 per ton
our peacock feathers wilted down all of a sudden.
At first we tried to "make-believe" there was some
mistake, but he offered to put up a forfeit of $100
and stand by the results, if we wished to get some
other responsible assayer to make a test. It was
folly on our part to doubt his correctness, for his
reputation was at stake on every test he made. It
was like a man trying to find an easy way to get
down from some high pinnacle. We had been

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 45

riding a "high-horse" and it was now our time to
get down and walk, simply had it to do.

There was a smelter here at this time for treat-
ing ore of this character, but they charged $25.00
per ton for treatment, by merely melting the ore,
then eliminating the lead by de-oxidation. The
new mill men told me they would not treat this
character of ore, as it was too low grade, and
that their price would be not less than $50.00 per
ton. All this information was very essential to a
person engaged in mining. This little venture in
the mining industries of the country had the good
effect of wearing off the "wire-edge" from our
"tenderfoot" qualities and put us in line with other
miners.

As a matter of course, on my own part, I was
discouraged and even disappointed, but my feelings
were not of that gloomy character that sinks the
heart of man. Hope might be a little lame in one
wing, but still able to hold its royal commission.
There were a few rich mines in the country, and I
was still able to "pick my flint" again, and next
time maybe I would be in better luck. When I said
to my partner that we had better put on record our
claim he said: "I would not give my part of the
$4.00 recording fee, for the whole thing, so you may
have it"; and besides that, he said: "I am out of
money, haven't a dollar on earth, and must find
some one that has, and will give me work to do."

During the month of October in Colorado there
are a few weeks of the finest weather in the world.
The first snow fails to attract much attention as
it remains only a short time on the ground. With
the blue sky above us indicating no near approach
of winter we were walking down the street when
we met a man who proposed to give us a contract
of $200.00 to sink a shaft twenty feet deeper on
his mine, that was already ten feet deep. We
started at once with him to see his property. We
went with him up the main branch of the creek
seven or eight miles to a saw mill near the foot

46 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

of the range. Turning to the left we followed him
up the mountain fully a mile to a point above tim-
ber line. It was not hard rock like we were used
to working for the last month, and in our opinion
we could finish the work inside of four weeks.

He was to bear all expenses of every character,
and take it out of the amount he was to pay when
the work was completed. Next day he went with
us in order to drive back the pack animals that
carried the supplies, rope and bucket, also other
things necessary to finish the work. We were
then at least 12,000 feet in altitude, and in fair
view of Erwin's peak some two or three miles
distant. The peak ought to have been called by
that name down to the present, as he was the first
one on its top, made a measurement of its height
and gave a written account of the fact. This en-
titled him to the name.

Later, however, a touring party visited the peak,
and a professor, from some Eastern college, named
Gray made a barometic measure of its altitude,
also by noting the difference in temperature of
boiling water, which is conceded to be even more
accurate. In giving an account of his trip and
measurement it showed the peak to be fifty feet
higher than Pike's Peak. His article was published
in the Eastern and Colorado papers, and in this
way the name was changed. I happened to see
the members of the touring party at the time.

But I will "switch" back onto our contract as a
matter of far more importance. Some snow was
falling but the wind blew it into lower places. We
had built a neat strong "bough-house" in a tongue
of timber that extended a little higher up the moun-
tain than timber line generally. After nearly two
weeks our "grub" was getting low and we con-
cluded to measure up our work and go down for
further supplies next day. We only lacked nine
feet of finishing our contract. Early that night it
commenced snowing sure enough in a regular

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 47

storming fashion, and by daylight next day it was
three or four feet deep and still coming.

Our little "den" was comfortable enough as it
was covered with three or four feet of snow, but
we were out of provisions, besides that there was
no abatement in the storm, nor liable to be in the
next three or four days, and the snow getting
deeper all the time. We rolled up our blankets
and tied them around us in regular soldier style.
Realizing the danger of becoming snow bound,
each one with a pole eight or ten feet long to be
used in feeling our way, we began the descent to
a lower level. At first we could scarcely see ten
feet ahead of us, but knew by going down we
could reach the creek below.

Neither of us had ever been in a mountain
storm before, though we had heard something of its
terror. The snow in the canyon below was fully
four feet deep and still accumulating. We con-
tinued to take it "time about" in the front. It was
nearly night when we reached our cabin, and both
of us were just about played out, and as we had
nothing to eat that day we were hungry as well
as tired. In a few days we saw our employer,
thinking he would pay us part as the work was
over half completed, but he held close to the con-
tract that payment was to be made when the work
was finished. He suggested we might take our
time and finish next summer. It was usual to pay
a third when half the work was completed.

My partner, for reasons already assigned, was
anxious to obtain work, and he went to see two
men, one named Crow and the other Clark, who
jointly owned the "Terrible" mine, one of the best
that had been discovered in the whole country up
to that time. I was anxious to see and work on a
rich paying mine, so with a view of learning some-
thing, when he returned and said they would give
us $3.00 per day and board I concluded to try it
awhile. There were only two men working on the
day shift, and they wanted us to work during the

48 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

night. Under the ground and beyond daylight it
makes little difference, when one gets used to
sleeping in the day time.

Neither of us were first class miners, not even
second class, and it was a dangerous piece of busi-
ness in a mine of this character. The shaft was
down seventy-five feet and from the bottom of
this shaft they had drifted on the vein thirty feet
or more. There was a ladder down one end of the
shaft. In putting off a shot the end of the fuse is
bent over, and near the end a small piece of burn-
ing candle is placed, and the shot will explode in
about one and a half minutes ; this gives a man
time to ascend the ladder far enough to be out of
the way.

The ore vein was twelve inches thick and the mill
run averaged $700.00 per ton, giving it the reputa-
tion of a first-class mine. The rock between the
vein and foot wall is called the matrix of the mine,
and in this instance was about five feet wide, and
is generally easier to drill than the adjacent gran-
ite. In this mine, however, it was both hard to
drill and refractory in its nature.

We were at the place ready for work, before time
for the day shift to quit. Our object was to
learn from them how they managed. We worked
hard, made a good showing and our employers
were well pleased. The plan adopted was to
excavate along the side of the vein four or five
feet and then put in a few pop shots behind the
ore, first spreading a heavy cloth on the bot-
tom of the drift. Crow and Clark wanted to be
present when this was done. Of course this took
place in our absence, and ruled me out of the ore
handling business.

On the fourth night an incident took place that
makes me almost shudder to think about, though
we failed to see the danger at the time. There
was a kind of a bench, right in the head of the
drift, and an extra nice place to locate a good
two foot shot. We drilled the hole, loaded and
made our escape in the usual way all right, but

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 49

no explosion. Of course there was something
wrong, either a defective fuse, or we had cut it
with the tamping rod. One end of the spoon was
sharp on purpose for picking out a missfire, but
we had tamped the hole so hard that the pick was
of no service, so we had to drill that one over or
drill another, and we decided the latter less dan-
gerous and drilled another, one inch from the one
that failed.

When the last shot was exploded a print of two
holes was left lacking about half an inch of being
parallel with each other. The Indian lacked two
inches of hitting my head, but this was only half an
inch. If the point of the drill had struck the powder
no doubt our mining career would have been termi-
nated very quickly. The rock was so hard that the
one holding the starter had to bat his eyes when
it was struck in order to keep the sparks out. I
mention this fact to show the danger of drilling
the second hole.

We next put in a good long roof shot which did
lots of work and made a big pile of rock for one
shift. A shot of this character has to point upward
just a little in order to keep the roof in good shape.
Of all the work in the world that has ever fallen
to my lot, this is just about the most tiresome.
Holding one's arms over the head and turning a drill
smooth and regular so as to keep the hole true is
no easy job, nor is striking the drill any less like
work. To load a shot of this kind it is necessary to
fold a piece of heavy paper on a stick the right size,
and then paste the folded places with a certain kind
of soap. By slipping this off the stick and rilling it
with powder, the fuse being inserted, the cartridge,
by folding the top, is ready for use.

The last night of the six I worked there, we had
instructions .to commence a back-stope, which
means to take out all the rock for six or eight
feet above the drift. We knew absolutely noth-
ing about that kind of work, but neither of us
would admit our ignorance. The stull timber of the
right length and size was in the bottom of the

50 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

shaft, ready to be used in making a platform to
stand on while putting in the shot. It was neces-
sary to cut hitches three inches deep in both the
foot and hanging wall, and each one used a small
hammer and moil for that purpose. We cut the
hitches deeper than necessary and it was 2 o'clock
before getting ready to put in the first shot. Expert
miners would perhaps have been ready in less than
two hours. It took us the balance of the shift to
put in one shot, but it did more work than two days
in the drift.

Mr. Clark was more agreeable to talk with than
his partner. I explained to him that it might be to
his interest to employ a more skillful miner to take
my place, but still retain my partner. This arrange-
ment was satisfactory, and I was glad enough to
find myself safely back in the cabin. The truth of
the matter was I still had over $500.00 in money
and did not care to jeopardize my life for a few
dollars. I had let a banker have all my gold at
a premium of 15 per cent which was added to my
bank account, so I felt safe in that respect.

As the "Terrible" was the best mine in all the
country at that time I was anxious to learn some-
thing of its history. In talking with Mr. Clark he
said they had paid $4,000.00 to four prospectors
when it was twenty-five feet deep, and that the mi-
neral vein was about one inch thick at the time ;
that the prospectors, had not tried to save any
of the mineral, in fact it was twenty feet deep
before they found any. Clark and Crow let a con-
tract of fifty feet to Cornish miners at $20.00 per
foot, binding them to save the mineral, which was
an easy thing to do when men knew how.

At the depth of fifty feet the vein was six inches
thick and at seventy-five feet, twelve inches thick.
The products of the ore paid for the work, and
besides paid back nearly all the purchase money.
And further, he said that he and his partner had
been teamsters from Georgetown and Central City
to Denver for several years, making about $6.00
each per day above expenses. They always went

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 51

together for mutual protection and assistance. This
mining venture of theirs shows what the crazy
thing called "luck" will do for some, while it ig-
nores the efforts of others, yet it was an inspiration
to continue and perhaps some day I might own a
mine like this, though I would prefer the rock a
little softer.

In this talk with Mr. Clark he told me they were
now selecting ten tons of mineral to be shipped
across the ocean to Sawana, England, to be treated
there, and a good sale of the east end of the mine
was contingent upon the "mill run" yielding $700.00
per ton. He did not mention the price to be paid,
but I learned later that they received from a Brit-
ish syndicate $500,000.00 in gold. It required a
$3,000.00 revenue stamp placed on the deed. This
syndicate put in an aerial tramway up to the mine
with crane-like buckets bringing the ore down to
their mill on a wire rope. Whether it was a pay-
ing investment or not, no one ever knew. It was
always a strange thing to me that no one ever
worked the west end of the mine. Of course there
was some good reason for this.

Some one in writing a book, put it down that
an idle mind was the devil's work shop, and there
is more truth than poetry in the proposition. As
the hands obey the dictates of the mind they are
liable to find mischief and then comes trouble. I
never was able to sit around and do nothing, unless
reading a book may be rated under that head. I
found a cabin that suited me much better than the
one I was occupying, and finding the owner I pro-
posed renting. He said, "Let me sell it to you."
As I no longer had any particular use for my gold
watch I made him an offer to swap even. After
looking at it a few minutes he remarked: "Young
man, I guess you have bought a cabin."

It was located on the hillside between two large
jutting rocks, a rather ideal place for a man to be
alone in the big wide world. It had two glass win-
dows and a little porch in front facing the city

52 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

below. There was a nice table and two bunks made
of dressed lumber. I bought a bale of hay, made a
mattress and was prepared to board at home. I put
a good lot of stove wood in one corner of the
cabin, and soon had everything to the "queen's
taste" or rather to the king's taste, for I was
monarch of all I surveyed when the door was
closed. This deal stopped paying rent, and in every
way suited my purpose.

I was now prepared to take the world easy, but
the very thought of tramping my way through
the world as a pauper or nearly so, disturbed my
peace of mind. I had, in a manner lost my former
aspirations for a higher education, and the one
absorbing thought was how to own a good pay-
ing mine. No lingering doubt in my mind that such
a thing was here in the country for me, if I only
knew how to find or get hold of it.

Several important discoveries had been made
since I reached Georgetown that were yielding
valuable ore, enough to keep the new stamp mill
in operation day and night. Among these mines
was one called "Equator" both rich and prolific in
mineral. This mine was really discovered by an
old negro named Bowman, sent out by lead miners
from Missouri. He had made several excavations
in a kind of soil that looked like an old ash bank,
but had not found the vein.

An old prospector passing along asked him what
he was doing; "Well, boss, there is a big mine
here and I's trying to find where he goes down in
the ground but it is hard to do. May be some of
you white men could find it." The white man went
forty or fifty yards further along where the ground
was a little higher and after digging a few minutes
found a piece of ore, continuing to dig found more,
in fact was on the vein. By law he had a priority
right, but according to a strict justice the old negro
was entitled to part of it.

This old prospector named McFarland was the
same man who had given me so many mining dots

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES S3

formerly mentioned, also gave me one of his dis-
coveries that proved to have low grade mineral.
He had a good vein of mineral when down ten feet,
but he was afraid to risk its holding out. Two capi-
talists happened to hear of the mine and offered
him $5,000.00, and the mistake of his life was in
accepting the offer. He started back to the States
and got as far as Denver where he entered a gam-
bling den and lost all his money except $100.00.
In two weeks' time he was back in Georgetown.
After a short time I lost sight of him and never
learned where he went.

Returning to my cabin home, to take up the
thread of my narrative, I will mention that it was
now the middle part of the winter. It generally
stormed one or two days and then high winds
drifted the snow and packed it into low places.
While the temperature was often only a few
degrees above zero, yet it was not the same kind
of cold as back in the States. The air seemed to
be dry as well as pure, and in the absence of mois-
ture it lacked that penetrating quality I had been
used to in a southern climate.

Incidentally I met an old time prospector, a re-
gular 59er, by the name of David Hirsha. At first
he engaged in gulch mining and made some money
but had about run through with it. He had made
several discoveries but none of them were deve-
loped; of course their value was uncertain. Like
nearly all prospectors, he was very hopeful of
their final outcome. As one of them was only a
little over a mile distant, and about two hundred
yards off the road leading to the Terrible mine,
I concluded to go with him and look at it.

To my surprise there was a well defined vein
though no mineral, yet I thought favorably of its
appearance. His proposition was to sell for $500.00,
but I soon convinced him that he had nothing to
sell in the first place, and besides that I was a
prospector myself and not a capitalist. If you
think this hole in the ground is a good mine I will

54 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

make you a proposition that will test your faith.
I am willing to risk my labor if you are yours. If
it proves worthless, in my estimation, I will quit
any time and lose my labor, and you will know a
little more about the value of your claim. If the
mine improves to my satisfaction I am to have the
privilege of paying you $100.00 and we will be
joint owners.

He accepted my proposition and went to work at
once. As we were near the surface, we could work
only as the weather would permit. In about three
weeks we were down ten or eleven feet and the
vein had widened out to four or five inches with
some mineral in it at places. I paid him the $100.00
and placed it on record under the name of "King
David." One month later we were down twenty
feet with a decided improvement in the ore vein,
and that was the main thing. It was something like
a quarter mineral and the balance rock. On going
deeper we were hoping and expecting the vein
would be thicker and solid ore. The mineral as-
sayed $485.00 per ton, which would be good enough
if solid.

We had improvised a way of getting out of the
shaft by driving small pieces of timber from one
side of the shaft to the other at one end. As I held
the drill it was my busines to locate, load and ex-
plode the shots. The device for escaping from the
shaft seemed to be safe enough. Putting the pieces
of candle under the fuse I caught hold, as usual,
of the first piece of timber, expecting to reach the
next one, but it gave way and I fell back in the
shaft. Somewhat stunned, I seized hold of the
burning fuse, and with great effort twisted it off,
though my hand was burned in doing so.

In five or ten seconds more the fine powder in-
side the fuse would have caught and then my
mining career would have been over, or at least
a thousand chances to one against me. My leg
and face was considerably bruised and we had to
stop work for a week to give my hand time to get

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 55

well. It was not a matter of ignorance but one of
pure neglect, for I knew very well how to construct
a ladder down a rock shaft, as I had carefully no-
ticed the one in the Terrible mine made by cutting
hitches on each side at the end of the shaft and
putting in 6x4 stull timber, and fastening to them
2x4 scantling, with iron rungs.

It required two or three days to put in a sub-
stantial ladder way, and I felt safe in getting out
of the way of danger. When we reached the depth
of twenty-five feet the ore vein was still improv-
ing and we were saving every pound. Some pieces
would weigh twenty or thirty pounds, but it seems
something was bound to happen. The old man (he
was past fifty years of age) was welting the drill
with a hefty lick when the hammer struck the drill
head a glancing lick and hit my hand. It felt like
every bone was crushed, and my hand was bleeding
at several places. The doctor dressed the wound,
said none of the bones were broken, but I had to
put my hand in a sling. It seemed to hurt the old
man nearly as bad as it did me.

Spring of the year had arrived which brought
much nicer weather. For obvious reasons I was
not doing my own cooking, but taking my meals
at a restaurant. This forced leisure gave me time
from my own little affairs, to pay more attention
to passing events. One thing that impressed me
was the increased number of people on the streets
especially after night. Some eight or ten new busi-
ness houses had been put up and occupied since
my arrival, less than a year previous, and perhaps
thirty dwelling houses of a much better type were
built and occupied, nor was this all.

A newspaper was published, called the George-
town Miner, a Methodist church was going up,
two new hotels were doing business, .a large bil-
liard hall was in operation and liberally patronized,
also six or eight saloons were not neglected. Gam-
bling dens could be found by parties looking for
them. The town was yet in its infancy and very little

56 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

regard paid to law and order. Shooting and killing
scrapes were quite common and it was a usual ex-
pression, "another man for breakfast this morn-
ing."

Something like five miles below Georgetown
and one mile up from where the creek forks, there
had been a thriving village of three or four thou-
sand inhabitants engaged in placer mining. The
houses there were pulled down and brought by
wagons to help build up Georgetown, in fact my
own cabin was one of these houses. I met a man
named Martin who told me all about Empire City
as it was called. He was there during its flush
times.

Four of them, he said, took out $200,000 in six
months, but it came easy and went easy, all they
cared for was to have a good time. There were
theatres, dance-houses and all kind of dissipation
and depravity by both men and women. This was
in 1862-3, during the war. As their claims played
out they left the city like rats deserting a sinking
ship. Part of this element was now infesting
Georgetown. But the better class were in the ma-
jority and decided to protect their lives and pro-
perty. They organized a vigilance committee and
at least one man was hung for highway robbery.
A mayor of the city and a police force brought con-
ditions in line with civilization.

It occurred to me that I might do something
while waiting for my hand to get well, and no-
ticing a number of children on the streets occa-
sionally, I went to see their parents in regard to
opening a school, and found may of them very
much in favor of it. A merchant, in building his
store, had prepared the upper story as a hall for
public meetings, which was used at night for occa-
sions of that kind. I rented the hall at $10.00 per
month, put an advertisement in the paper, giving
the time of opening and price per month.

The school was much better patronized than I
anticipated. Being the first school taught in the

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 57

city it naturally had a good moral effect upon so-
ciety and gave the people assurance they were
living in a part of God's country. In speaking of
the States they were frequently referred to as
"back in God's country." I cleared above expense
about $60.00 per month. I took my meals at one
of the hotels that was patronizing the school to
the amount of my bill. In leisure time, of an eve-
ning and on Saturday, I got acquainted with the
best class of people, which of itself is worth a
great deal.

I formed the acquaintance of two gentlemen
willing to make a small investment in undeveloped
property if the location and outlook for mineral
resources met their judgment. It is easy enough
for a prospector to boast about his mining pro-
perty ; in his estimation he has the world and the
"fullness thereof" but it requires a "show down"
to convince the other fellow. In due time we
reached the place and they were pleased with
the location. The stacked-up ore did not look as
nice as when it was fresh, but I broke some of the
largest pieces in order to make the best impression
possible.

We went down in the shaft and found the drill
in the hole where it had been left. They took some
of the mineral from the vein and then we went
back to town. The next day they asked me to
make them a reasonable price that I was willing
to take and make them a deed. I told them only
half belonged to me, and for them to make their
best offer and I would submit it to my partner.
After considerable talk they agreed to pay us
$10,000. in cash for the mine just as it was and
take the chances.

The next move now belonged to me. I studied the
matter over carefully and deliberately. I knew
how McFarland had in a foolish way disposed of
the Equator easily worth a million dollars, and
how the four prospectors had let the Terrible slip
from them, still I was impressed with the uncer-

58 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

tainty of mining ventures. I could now reach Lar-
kinsville with nearly $5,000 more than when I left
there one and a half years before, and have some-
thing to talk and think about all the balance of
my life, so I decided to make the deal if my part-
ner was willing. That night I tried my best to
dream about it.

I knew Hersha was riding a mighty high horse
in his estimation of the mine, and it would require
caution not to get him excited. I commenced by
saying a few thousand dollars would enable him
to develop his other discoveries, but he was in-
different and had very little to say. When I men-
tioned to him that we could get $5,000. each in cash
for the "King David" he spoke out with emphasis
and said: ''No sir, I would not take a cent less
than $50,000 for my half interest. The mine is
worth in my opinion more than that, but I could
make out with this much right well the balance of
my life. I have been here now nine years wearing
my life away, and this is the first and best chance."

There was no use in arguing the question with
the old man for he was "sot" in his notions, and
besides he might be right. It was simply a matter
of whether the vein would increase and become
solid mineral, or diminish and finally peter out. No
one could tell what might be the results. I told the
parties the decision of my partner, and we let the
matter drop.

In two months time my hand was well enough
to resume work. It seems strange I did not hire a
man to take my place, for teaching school was cer-
tainly much easier than mining, and I was making
nearly enough to pay a good miner; instead of
that I quit the school, donned my overalls and went
back in the mine. My partner had been working
at another place, but was anxious to get back and
come in possession of his own, just a little further
down. He was a stalwart brawny man, as tough as
a pine knot and as strong as an ox. He struck the
drill all the time, and used the windlass in pulling

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 59

all the rock out of the shaft, but he never com-
plained of doing more than his part.

The first three or four feet, the mineral in the
vein increased and in places was nearly a foot wide.
I began to think the old man was right in his de-
cision. It is said that Hope springs eternal in the
human breast, but I always found it more lively
with a little encouragement. It began to look like
fortune was staring us in the face and daring us
to take hold, but the elusive phantom evaded our
touch and slipped away.

When we reached the depth of thirty-five feet
the mineral had played out and the vein had
pinched down to three or four inches. Our $5,000.
each, had "vamoosed the ranch" as the Mexican
greaser says when anything disappears. But Hersha
had the true "grit" of a prospector. He was cast
down and disappointed, but still buoyant with
hope. He contended it was the nature of all mines
to have lean places. Because the rock was getting
harder it was evidence to him that it had to be that
way in order to hold solid mineral. Ten feet further
our mine would be in again and bigger than ever.

As the finances of Hersha were running a little
low, and my own bank account in a dwindling
shape, he suggested that we go over our pile of
mineral and chip out as much rock as possible and
carry the best ore to the mill for treatment. We
borrowed forty ore sacks which were filled and car-
ried down to the road on our shoulders and we
paid a passing teamster a dollar to deliver them at
the mill. There were just two tons, which netted
us $105.00 each after paying all expense. This was
adding, by the way, that much to the wealth of the
country.

The ringing sound of the hammer might be heard
day after day without the loss of time. As the
weather was fine we put in ten hours work like
working for wages. Things were a great deal
cheaper, both living and mining supplies, than
they were a year previous. Perhaps this was due

60 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

to the completion of the Union Pacific railroad
across the "Great American Desert." Still mining
was expensive, and when seven weeks put us down
fifty feet my partner was willing to quit as he was
again out of means. In fact he was discouraged,
as well as I had been for some time past, though
I wanted him to say "enough."

We had not been able to find any mineral for the
last fifteen feet, but it is a well-known fact that all
mines have lean places. In one notable instance the
Bob Tail near Central City, after yielding nearly a
million dollars pinched out and the owners ceased to
do any further work. One of the men, an Irishman
by the name of Pat Casey, who had been working
on the mine for wages, still had confidence and
took a lease on it for six months. In less than two
weeks he struck into mineral bigger than ever.

Pat in his new found wealth, as the tale goes,
quit work himself, and his butter-fly friends began
to tell him how to spend his money. They induced
him to buy a fine carriage and four horses. With
a lackey perched on a high seat in front he drove
his friends to the different saloons and had re-
freshments brought out to them on a tray. With
a high-top hat, a diamond pin and other fine "tog-
gery" he had a "swell" time. It might be too
tedious to mention his various escapades with his
pseudo friends.

CHAPTER III

COULD HAVE OWNED A THIRD INTEREST IN
DIVES MINE. FORMED PARTNERSHIP, PREFER-
ABLE. FOUND AN ICEBERG A MILLION YEARS
OLD. ORIGIN OF "BOOM DITCH" IDEA. MOUN-
TAIN LION, BEAR AND BLACK SQUIRREL IN
CHAPARRAL DISTRICT. BROKE ANOTHER
ONE OF MY SEVEN "DONT'S" FOR A
SHORT TIME. SPENT THE WINTER
MONTHS MERCHANDISING.

Men never receive any material benefit for their
effort unless crowned with success. There was
nothing for me to gain by sitting down and cry-
ing, or even whining, nor was there any use in
laying the whole blame of failure on an imaginary
something called "bad luck." Even with the proper
industry there is always an element of uncertainty
in every kind of business. The farmer depends
upon the season, the merchant waits for a cus-
tomer, the doctor waits for some one to get sick,
and so on with other avocations. The only thing in
sight for me was to keep on trying.

My partner in the King David said he had an-
other discovery that might turn out better, though
a man named Burr owned a half interest with him.
They both agreed that if I would bear the "grub"
and other expense we three would work together
and sink it ten feet deeper, and they would make
a deed, so as to make me an equal owner. I went
with them, examined the mine and found some
mineral in the bottom, at one end of the shaft, then
ten feet deep, and recorded under the name of
"Dives." I took a small piece of the mineral and
paid $4.00 to find out that it assayed nearly $500.00
per ton,

62 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

Possibly it might be only a pocket and peter out
like the King David did. I made a calculation and
the expense would be about $100.00. Approaching
winter, which comes early in that section, warned
me to be careful of my bank account. I was none
too good to work by the day, but that was not
my purpose in the country. I was to tell Hersha
and Burr in a few days what I decided on doing.
It so happened that I met John Burkholder, the
teamster that hauled our ore to the mill for us,
during the time I was deciding. I told him about
our mine playing out, and that I was now going
to try my "luck" in finding a beter one. And hereon
hangs a tale that I will unfold.

The smallest kind of an event, the shifting of a
straw to show which way the wind blows, some-
times changes the whole tenor of a man's life. In
talking with Burkholder he proposed to pay me
half wages ($2.00) for a half interest in any dis-
covery I might make. He knew as well as I did
the uncertainty in prospecting, yet was willing to
lun the risk. He was clearing between $5.00 and
$6.00 per day above expense and could afford to
make this investment. As he was a nice, quiet,
well behaved man and not addicted to the drink
habit, I accepted his proposition. In fact it suited
my purposes exactly.

Finding the owners of the Dives I declined their
proposition, which beyond any doubt was the
greatest mistake of all my life. I will have more to
say about the Dives in the regular sequence of
events. The mistake I made however was not in
the selection of a new partner for he was always
prompt in payment and liberal in his dealings. He
was a Canadian by birth, and always accepted dis-
appointment without complaining.

This might have been a proper time to complete
the contract of the past winter which we failed to
finish on account of deep snow, but I had a little
unpleasantness with my partner in this contract,
and we were not now on speaking terms. In his

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 63

movements as a soldier in the Northern army he
was in Jackson County, my old home, and knew
by name a number of people I had once known.
He spoke of those he met, as "poor white trash,"
very little if any better than the negro. Yes that
may be so, I said, for no decent, respectable white
people down South would associate with a yankee
soldier, and as it was congenial for him to meet
this "white trash," perhaps he sprung from that
class in his own country. I told him it was best
for us not to talk of things pertaining to the war.

Once more, with pick and shovel, I took the
"blind trail" in search of "float" rock or any kind
of "croppings" that appeared above the debris.
The greatest trouble in prospecting was this "de-
bris" which was sometimes twenty feet deep, and
underneath this mass of stuff there might be the
hiding place of a good mine. Due to this fact it
may be a thousand years before the country is
thoroughly prospected. Even tunnels may pass
through a lean spot in a mine.

After the first week, in consultation with my
partner I concluded to seek "pastures new." Only
a little after daylight found me on my way up the
left branch of the creek. The mountain between
the two creeks was covered with timber, and the
mountain not so high as those on each side of it,
however it gradually increased in height the nearer
it approached the range. I had never been up this
creek before and of course it was all new territory
to me.

Slowly winding my way along the mountain
side I came to the famous Equator mine. To my
surprise they had installed a small steam engine
and all the hoisting was done by that means. New-
ore chambers were being opened and fifty men
were working day and night. It required a team
making three and four loads each day to the mill
There was very little use of prospecting near this
mine for men had already been there with pick

64 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

and shovel, so I passed on from one to four miles
further.

It was nearly a mile from the Equator to the
top of Leavenworth mountain, and from there due
west some seven or eight miles to the Continental
Range. In this area, which was really in the heart
of the mining region, there was quite a territory
of unexplored ground which might contain valuable
mineral deposits. This was a problem no one could
answer without investigation, which meant work
with the pick and shovel. Of course this work
must be guided to some extent by indications, often
uncertain and misleading.

To find a mine, either good or worthless, it is
absolutely necessary to find the bedrock in place.
I spent two weeks with this object in view, but it
is always uncertain how deep the fill may be. The
greatest obstacle the prospector encounters in this
debris composed of loose rock and dirt. Just how
to remove this obstruction was a matter of great
importance. About six miles above Georgetown I
saw a branch flowing into the creek. Following this
up I found its source was from the lower part of a
large glacial ice bank. Perhaps it had once been
snow at some remote period of the earth while
adjusting its surface, but it was solid ice now. It
was about one mile long, and at places a quarter
mile wide. I made no effort to ascertain its thick-
ness.

My intention in going up this little branch was
to look for bedrock, and maybe a solid vein of mi-
neral waiting for some one to come along and claim
it. Prospectors like others often imagine things far
beyond the real. Instead of this glittering wealth I
saw many beautiful cascades, with scraggy chap-
arral bushes growing down to the edge of the
water and difficult to get through. At one place
they covered four or five acres on each side of the
branch so dense and thick that I had to go around
them. This was an excellent place for bear and

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 65

mountain lion that infested this part of the coun-
try, as I learned later.

But the great iceberg was the principal feature
that attracted my attention as well as admiration.
At the lower end of the "berg" there was no small
undergrowth, but a liberal number of large hem-
lock pine trees. With all these wild surroundings
I took my frugal lunch, using ice cold water as it
emerged from its own repository. This solitude
and loneliness was enough to inspire one's thoughts
and lift him above the sordid affairs of life, but in
my case they continued to grovel on a lower plane,
with mercenary views only.

It occurred to me this wasting water might be
turned aside from its natural channel and carried
along by a ditch to desirable points and used in re-
moving the debris that covers the bedrock. The
more I thought about the scheme the more plau-
i>able it appeared ; of course the details would have
to be worked out as we got to them. I followed
along up the mountain near the iceberg in order
to find out more definitely in regard to its dimen-
sions. It extended on above timber line, in fact
nearly to the summit. On reaching the top I could
see Gray's Peak some three or four miles in the dis-
tance, also the place where I had worked and never
received any pay for my labor.

I retraced my route back to the lower end of
the iceberg, and then moved along what I deemed
to be on a water level for a mile or more, in order
to see if there was anything to prevent the con-
struction of a ditch. Finding no great obstruction,
as it was late in the evening, I hastened to my
cabin, reaching there a little after dark. I found
Burkholder down in the city, and we went back
to the cabin where I drew a diagram of the two
creeks, with Leavenworth mountain between them,
also showing the location of Equator and Terrible
mines. We agreed, as next day was Sunday, to go
out on the mountain where I had been digging,

66 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

also to the little branch, the chaparral thicket, and
iceberg.

We spent the entire day walking, talking and
making investigations too tedious to mention. We
decided however several important questions.
First, that it was rather a big undertaking for two
men with a very limited capital ; he said $2.00 per
day was about as much as he wished to take out
of his earnings, and with me I would soon be at
the end of my rope. Second, that it was too far to
walk and do a day's work, and for this reason it
would be necessary to camp near the place. And
we reached still another conclusion, that consider-
ing the altitude it would only be a short time be-
fore snow would stop the work, as I had learned
to my sorrow just a few miles across the mountain,
and about the same height, so it was deemed pru-
dent to wait until next season.

I might have found employment in some of the
mines but did not like the idea of working by the
day under a boss. I had never been used to it, so I
spent two or three days providing enough wood
for the approaching winter, as I wanted to take a
rest and not be in too big a hurry. I felt safe enough
on the money question for any emergency, by
being careful. Sometimes there is luck in leisure.
I might try it a little while. I had tried work and
the results were not very encouraging.

Formerly I had always been very fortunate in
finding something to do of a suitable character.
One of my slogans, that I often repeated, was that
a man can always find something to do if he is
willing, ready and competent. These three things
are needed to give satisfaction. A few days later,
in a most casual way, and without any particular
purpose, I stopped at a vegetable store. Meeting
Mr. Clark, the proprietor, a man some sixty years
of age, who had recently sold a mine for $5,000.,
and now had more money than sense, I suggested
to him that he ought to have a clerk to help him
in the business.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 67

He said: "Yes, I need one but there are so many
"dag on" rascals in the country I am afraid to risk
them." I told him about teaching school here in
Georgetown, and that many of the best citizens
knew me, that I neither gambled, nor even went
into any of the saloons, also that I had clerked
for a number of men in the mercantile business. In
further conversation he mentioned that the busi-
ness would not justify him in paying more than
$40.00 per month, if that suited me I could com-
mence at once.

The stock he kept for the trade consisted of po-
tatoes, cabbages, onions, tomatoes and other pro-
ducts the farmers in the valley brought up for sale.
Before the day was over I suggested to him, as
there were already counters and scales to begin
with, why not add the proper shelving and put in
a general line of groceries. The suggestion met his
approval at once, so I found a Denver paper, and
the advertisement of a wholesale grocery house
with the various items kept for sale, just the things
we wanted.

I made out an order that evening, enclosed a
certified check and instructed them to forward out
as soon as possible, also requesting them to fill the
order at their lowest prices, as future orders would
follow. Clark was a good carpenter himself, so
the shelving was all in good shape by the time
goods arrived. I told him to have a nice sign put
up over the door, and to place an advertisement
in the paper that he was ready and prepared to
wait on the public with a fresh supply of family
groceries.

He was nearly tickled to death at the idea of
being a real merchant. He cut off the back end
part of the store room by a partition for a sleeping
room. We were doing well and building up a good
trade and had sent in our second and third order.
I noticed the old man, at times, was slow and in-
different, frequently he was absent half a day, and
made no explanation of what he was doing. At

68 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

other times he talked too much and too loud, say-
ing many things unnecessary and out of place, es-
pecially for a merchant.

To my surprise he told me one day that he had
rented another house, and after making certain
changes was about ready to open a new restaurant,
and that from now on he wanted me to occupy his
room at night, and take my meals at the restau-
rant, and to look after its management all I could,
for he had still another scheme that would take up
most of his time.

From this and other various causes I began to
suspect that he had wheels in his head that were
not running as smoothly as they ought to. The
new plan suited me very well as I had been staying
in my cabin and doing my own cooking. In clean-
ing up his room I found several empty wine bot-
tles and egg shells. Asking him about it he said
that he broke a fresh egg every morning in a gob-
let, and after filling it with wine, drank it in order
to rejuvenate his system and make him young
again. This explained to me why he talked too
much and too loud at times, but it was none of my
business, so I said nothing.

Just about this time Bob Harper and Milt Buck-
hana from Alabama made their appearance. What
on earth they wanted to come for was more than
I could tell. They were both dead broke. They were
nearly scared to death, had pawned their pistols
and valise in Denver for enough money to ride up
in the bus for fear bandits might attack them if
they walked. I had to give them $15.00 to send after
their things. After supper at the restaurant I con-
veyed them up to my cabin and explained to them
some of the arts of cooking, and showed them
where there was plenty to eat as long as it lasted,
and when out we would get more. So they walked
back with me down to the store.

We met Mr. Clark and he was in one of his
moods to be pleasant and kind hearted toward the
boys. He told them to come down to the restaurant

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 69

and get their breakfast, and that he would give
them their board and $3.00 per day to work for
him, provided they did good work. He was pre-
empting vacant lots by putting foundations for
buildings on them, and putting posts around to
show the size of the lot. He had bought several old
buildings from parties, putting up new houses,
and was moving these onto vacant lots. This was
a money-making scheme of his own, and no wheels
in his head on that score.

He paid them of! at night and said to Harper
that he would not need him any longer, and told
me privately that he was no account to work,
though the other fellow did fairly well. I knew Bob
of old and did not expect him to hold his job. Next
evening he came down to the store and I asked
him what he expected to do out here in this rough
country, and he replied that he was not going to
stay any longer than he could help. That he had
already written his mother to send him enough
money to carry him back home.

Really I had a very poor opinion of him myself
and was glad to learn that he was going to leave.
It was still fresh in my mind that while he was
fighting a man in the streets of Larkinsville, I step-
ped to the door, and, as I did so the man broke
away and ran. Harper threw a rock that hit the
door facing close to me and glancing off broke a
lot of queensware on the shelf. When he returned
to town later, and while sober, I called his atten-
tion to what he had done but he made no offer to
pay for the damage, but this was all Harper blood.
A few years after returning home he was killed in
a fight. He must have been afraid the big moun-
tains out here would fall on him, for he was a
holy terror at home.

The other "feller" as Clark called him continued
to work while the job lasted. His brother-in-law re-
ceived his remittance and we both gladly saw him
depart. Buck went up one of the forks and found
work at a saw-mill, returning in about a month

70 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

with more money than he earned by wages. Of
course I knew how he got it. The next I heard of
him he was connected in some way with a saloon
that had a gambling den upstairs. Later he knocked
at my door one morning between three and four
o'clock and asked me to get up.

He had lost sleep for several nights and maybe
had "booze" under his belt. While I was fixing him
something to eat he was telling me what a "rat-
tling" time he had with the gamblers, and pulled out
a roll of money nearly as large as my arm. "How
much have you got, Milt?" I asked. "Oh there is
no telling, I have been adding to the roll for several
nights, I know there are a number of 20's but I
couldn't take time to count it. I am going to start
home on the coach which leaves at daylight. I may
have some trouble in getting off but I am going to
try it." I saw him off all right but I learned later
he did not get home with any money. He did well
to get home alive. These events are mentioned to
show the kind of a life a man may lead in the moun-
tains.

It was now spring of the year, though there was
lots of snow on the mountains, but the roads were
kept open by constant travel. I might mention here
that during the winter I met a lawyer by the name
of Frank Pope. He was by birth a Mississippian,
and had been captain of a company, from that state,
during the war. He was a fine looking man, dressed
well, and the presumption was that he had lots of
money, though a person cannot always tell by ap-
pearances. On his invitation I stepped into his
office one night, and in talking about the mining
prospects in general I mentioned the plan I had
in view. Taking up a piece of paper I drew a dia-
gram of the whole scheme and explained its possi-
bilities.

The main thing needed by me now, as I explained
to him, was a partner with a small capital, who
would hire a man to work with me all the time
during the season, and who would share equally

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 1\

in all discoveries that might be made. This seems
to me, he said, "one of the best things yet presented
to my mind, a kind of machine for making disco-
veries. I have a friend back in Mississippi by the
name of Harmon. He is a judge in chancery court
embracing a certain division of the state, and is a
man of some means. In a letter from him a short
time ago he spoke of becoming interested in some
of the mines. As this venture will not cost him
much, I will send him the diagrams with full ex-
planations, and if he thinks favorably we will take
a half interest with you."

The more Pope thought, and perhaps talked to
others about the scheme the more enthused he be-
came, even writing his friend Harmon a second
letter, who wrote back expressing his willingness
to be one of the four partners. Clark sold out his
restaurant, as it was not paying expenses. I had
insisted from the beginning that everything taken
from the store for use in the restaurant must be
charged that way, otherwise I would not be re-
sponsible for the success of the store.

When the snow disappeared around Georgetown
I notified Mr. Clark that as soon as it was off the
higher altitudes, where I expected to do prospect-
ing, that I would have to quit, and was giving him
timely notice to that effect. About a week later
he told me that two grocery men had agreed to
take all his goods at first cost, and for me to assist
them in making an inventory. I was gratified to
show Mr. Clark a balance sheet that he had made
a few hundred dollars in the grocery business. The
last I heard of him he was in the butcher business
in Central City.

It was now about the 20th of May 1869. I easily
found Burkholder and on Sunday, the only idle
day with him, we went out to see the iceberg and
the condition of the snow in that region. We found
it melting rapidly, but too much in the timber
where we had to commence, though thought it
would be all right in another week. By inquiry of

72 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

parties who had used water in the valley for irri-
gating purposes I learned that a fall of one inch
to ten feet was just right for water to flow without
washing the channel. I also learned from them how
to make a triangle, and how to use it so as to give
the ditch a uniform grade. A man might guess at
it but the eye is often deceived.

A device of this character would be very useful
to a farmer in draining his land. It is made by
taking two pieces of timber 1x2 and dove-tailing
one end of each at right angles and then cutting off
the legs so they will be ten feet apart and of equal
length. One foot above, and inside each leg adjust
a bar of the same size as the legs of the triangle.
Suspend a plumb line from the apex of the trian--
gle, first placing its legs on a level surface, and
mark on the bar with a scribe awl where the plumb
line touches. Put a substance an inch thick under
one leg of the triangle and mark where the line
touches and this will give a fall of one inch to
ten feet.

As a good deal depended upon the correctness of
this instrument, I made it myself to be sure it was
right. Walking down the street one day I was
about to pass a man. He didn't have the appearance
of a business man, a miner or a gambler, and I
could generally tell what a man was by his appear-
ance. He was moving along rather slowly, I asked
him if he was looking for something. "Yes I am
looking for a job. I have been working on
a ranch down in the valley at $25.00 per month
and thought I might do better up here, but so far
have failed to find anything to do."

"Well, I want to hire a man to help me build
a ditch, and if you are a good worker I will give
you $50.00 per month and board, such as we cook
for ourselves out in camp." "That will suit me
exactly," he said, "for very few men can do more
work with a pick and shovel than I can, but I am
nearly out of money and want to commence at
once." I told him he could stay in my cabin with-

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 73

out any cost to him, and could begin next Monday,
to which he agreed.

This was my leisure week in which to get every-
thing ready. I bought a heavy piece of cloth, 10x4
wide and 5 yards long to make an "A" tent for our
camp, also gave an order to the tinner to make me
a "dutch" oven for baking bread. The next day
being Saturday I asked Lum (that was the first
part of his name) to walk with me up to the place
we were going to work. We carried a pick and
shovel, making a kind of "jack trail" from the
creek below up to the camping place. Lum was de-
lighted with the iceberg and the wild scenery which
had become commonplace to me. There was yet
some snow in the timber.

I hired from the owner, a driver with two pack
animals to carry our equipage consisting of two
picks, two shovels, one axe, one hatchet, blankets,
cooking utensils and "grub" for two weeks. The
triangle was light and I carried it myself. After
we had unloaded and the driver had departed, we
went around to a point below the iceberg, and at
places Lum shoveled away the snow. I made a
survey to the camp where the timber was much
lower and the snow had disappeared.

After dinner, as we had the water grade esta-
blished, we commenced the ditch and continued
the balance of the week on both sides of the camp.
In the meantime we took our hatchet and other
tools needed and hewed out a place in the iceberg
to place our beef steak. Perhaps few men have
had the privilege of eating beef frozen in ice,
formed ten thousand or perhaps a million years
ago, but we continued to use it for that purpose
all the summer.

The next week we pushed the ditch on back to
the little branch and turned in the water to see
if it would flow as expected, and found it moved
along just right. The next thing was to find a suit-
able place to make the first "boom." It was all new
to me and I had some erroneous ideas. For instance

74 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

I thought the water turned loose down the moun-
tain at any old place would move off the debris
and expose the bedrock, but in this I was sadly
mistaken, for it had very little effect on it. I began
to think the enterprise was a most egregious fail-
ure, but it was not my intention to give it up so
easily.

It is said that necessity is the mother of inven-
tion, in my case it was at least an incentive to
thought. That silent monitor used by men as a
lever in the social, literary and financial affairs
of earth, must help me solve this dilemma. I did
not care to let Lum or any one know that I was
disappointed and puzzled. As it was Saturday eve-
ning and we were nearly out of supplies we stacked
our arms and went to town. This gave me more
time to decide the proper thing to do. I could use
a whole night and day for that purpose.

Evidently the one thing needed was more water.
I was not nearly big enough to squeeze the ice-
berg. Jack the giant killer or Sinbad the sailor
might do things of this kind, but it was not in my
line. There was only one thing to do, if it was
possible, and that was to build a reservoir at the
proper place on the side of the mountain. It seems
that I ought to have thought of this the first thing.
There was some question in my mind whether I
could do it or not. One thing sure, I could try,
even if failure should be the result.

The plan was all worked out in my head, pro-
vided there was no hitch in the program. I pur-
chased a heavy open-tooth saw, a hammer, nails
of different sizes and six planks 1x10 inches, six
feet long, dressed on one side, also one piece 1x12
and two feet long. Resuming, in due time, our work
on the mountain, Lum continued on the supply
ditch, while with pick and shovel T went to make
a careful selection of a place to build a reservoir.
I went all the way to the creek below, a half mile
or more and then back taking in the declivity of the

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 75

mountain, which is an important matter in making
a "boom" down the side.

About forty feet below the supply ditch I marked
off the reservoir giving it fifteen feet frontage,
flanging into the hill on each side. Next morning
•ve both commenced throwing dirt. After diggin^
back on a level six or eight feet we embedded about
a foot inside of where we commenced digging two
six-inch logs two feet apart, and on these logs
constructed a flue twenty-five inches wide and
eight inches deep. We built on each side and over
this flue with logs as close together as possible,
filling in between these logs with dirt, packed with
a pestle. When complete it was in a measure
water tight.

We dug back fifteen or eighteen feet and it was
nearly twenty feet across at the top, and when
nearly full was four feet deep. We had made a
head-gate with handle so as to raise it and let
the water out. It required two hours to fill and
five minutes to run out. Most of two days was re-
quired in tracing the water down the mountain,
cutting roots and removing obstructions in the
beginning, and it kept one man busy along the
ditch for that purpose, while the other remained
at the reservoir to put off small booms at the
start.

These details are mentioned here because they
were common to all other reservoirs and booms,
made in the various other places. It required all of
a month, including building the reservoir, to com-
plete the chasm down the side of the mountain,
for it took two or three days to repair the road
near the creek. When the chasm was made and
completed the bedrock was exposed nearly all the
way, and that was the object of the enterprise. The
cut was from five to twelve feet deep, and shows
the difficulty that menaces the prospector in making
discoveries where the bedrock is covered up to
this depth.

From the fact that loose dirt and rocks were

76 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

still falling from the banks of the cut it was rather
dangerous to make a close inspection, though we
could see down from the surface favorable indica-
tions. We went to work again on the supply ditch,
for I had already picked out a place for another
reservoir. Lum was a good faithful hand, with an
easy agreeable disposition. He could do about a
third more ditching than I could. In body he had
more strength and also more endurance for hard
work. If a tree happened in our line of survey
we simply dug it up, and in this way kept a smooth
flow of water.

The location for the second reservoir was about
a half mile from the iceberg, and on reaching that
point I decided to stop work for a short time on
the supply ditch. I concluded it would be safe to
go down the boom and find out the results of the
first cut made. Maybe I was as rich as Croesus
and didn't know it. In case of an accident it was
best for both of us to be along, and besides Lum
was a good hand with a pick and shovel. We com-
menced at the top in order to knock off any loose
rocks that might seem dangerous.

About two hundred feet below the reservoir we
found what would be ordinarily termed good in-
dications. Any vein extending down through gra-
nite, the indigenous rock of the country, is simply
"indications" until it has some kind of mineral,
and then it assumes the dignity of a mine. The more
gold or silver, the two royal metals, that are found
in the vein, the bigger it is. With this definition of
a mine we had merely found a fissure, which might
be a mine by development.

We worked there two days with a well-defined
vein but no mineral, so concluded to go further
down the cut, and fare better or do worse. Some-
thing like three hundred feet further down we made
a similar discovery. Working only two or three
hours on this we passed on, hoping to find some-
thing better. Over half way down to the creek
where the mountain was not nearly so steep, nor

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 77

was the cut more than four or five feet deep, we
found "indications" much more promising.

The lay of the ground and the flow from the
mine, if such it was, reminded me very much of
the Equator at the time the old negro was trying
to find the vein, and the white man virtually took
it away from him. No doubt Bowman the colored
man would have discovered the mine if he had
been let alone. I was greatly encouraged, at least
for the time. We commenced fifteen feet below
with an open cut ten feet wide, with two objects
in view. First, to make sure of finding the fissure
in the bedrock, and second, that we might be able
to timber and cover a place for sinking a shaft
during the approaching winter.

While Lum enjoyed himself with the shovel I
went below to examine other "indications" which
would be developed if those above proved any value.
As he was still enjoying himself I cut logs to
build a small cabin 12x14, also timber to fix a
shelter over the intended shaft. It took us two
days to complete the cabin and prepare for work
during the winter. There was a well defined fissure
of about five feet, which is the proper width for a
shaft, and it ought to be eight feet long to give
good working room. All we lacked now was a
good pay streak of mineral. Like the young man
telling that he came very near getting married, all
he lacked was the girl saying yes! But the season
for top work was rapidly passing and we must get
back on the supply ditch.

As it occurs to my mind I must mention a little
episode that took place while we were working on
the cabin. It was only a short distance, say a hun-
dred yards, up toward the branch, where the cha-
parral thicket set in. A disturbance of some cha-
racter caused the little black squirrels to chatter
and bark a great deal more than usual. From ap-
pearance there must have been a hundred or more
all trying to bark at the same time. As we could

78 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

see nothing, Lum concluded to pick his way out
into the thicket and try to find out the cause.

In a short time I lost sight of him but could see
the bushes shaking. While watching and looking
I saw* a big mountain lion move up on the hill
beyond the branch in clear view, not more than a
hundred yards distant. He stopped, switched his
long tail, looked back, and I could see he had one
of the squirrels in his mouth. I called to Lum and
told him to go on across the branch and he could
see the lion better than I could, but he came back
and said he was not hunting lions, though he had
often heard of them and would give $10.00 to see
one, provided there was a good running chance to
get away.

On our arrival at the "North Pole," and taking
possession of the iceberg, we noticed these sleek
black, squirrels were both numerous and very
frisky. At first they barked at us as intruders, but
the less attention we paid to them the better they
liked it, until they got so tame that some of them
were careless about getting out of our way. Just
where they came from, or how they got there, is
more than I can tell. They are the only black squir-
rels I ever saw or heard of. They are about two-
thirds the size of the gray squirrel. Perhaps those
well versed in zoology may be able to tell all about
them.

Returning to the city I soon found Burkholder,
and we called on Pope at his office, where I made
a verbal report of the progress in the work and the
visible results, and in turn they made payment of
their part of expenses. Pope suggested that we
name the three discoveries Faith, Hope and Chan-
ty. In all probability the names had very little to do
with their future value.

At the request of Mr. Pope I wrote to Judge E.
P. Harmon at Friars Point, Miss., a rather long
letter giving him the full particulars of the work
and the results, with a hope of something better in
the future. I also enclosed a statement of his part

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 79

of the expense. In his reply I was pleased to find
his check in full payment, and also a kind request
that I write him another long letter. As future
events unfold I will have more to say of the Judge.

In building the second reservoir it required less
than half the time spent on the first. We used some
of the same material over, nor was it nearly so
large. Experience had taught us several things that
we might have known at the beginning. We felled
a number of trees near the creek to prevent damage
to the road, completed the whole thing in about
ten days and resumed work in pushing the supply
ditch further along.

Already we had spent a day with my theodolite
(triangle) in making a survey of two miles or more
to find out for sure whether water could be put
on the top of Leavenworth mountain or not. We
found there would be both trouble and additional
expense, of which I will speak further along, yet
it was possible, though it might require two or
three years if only two men were to do the work.
Examination of the second cut showed up several
fine "indications" similar to the first but no min-
eral. Of course I was greatly disappointed but had
a mighty poor way of helping myself, otherwise
than to have a heart for any fate. Maybe these
fissures were yet in their budding period, and the
fruit would have to grow and ripen before it was
ready to gather. No one knows, or ever will know,
how these fissures cleft their way through a solid
granite formation, and still less do they know how
the mineral found its way to fill up the space. A
few thousand or hundred thousand years hence,
these fissures and others of a similar character
may be valuable mines, worked by people living at
that remote period who will need the various kind
of mineral the same as we do now. I am not ser-
iously advancing this as a theory, but as an idea
worthy of consideration. It may be one of Nature's
ways of providing for future generations.

We were now working fully a mile from the ice-

80 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

berg though had to go there two or three times
each day after water, as it had to be turned back
into its natural channel. Several little flurries of
snow had passed over and I knew it was coming
pretty soon. One morning a little later, there was
eight or ten inches of the "beautiful" on the ground.
After breakfast we carried our blanqets and sup-
plies down to the cabin where a brand new feature
presented itself.

All around the cabin there were fresh bear tracks
that looked to me half as long as my arm. We fol-
lowed his tracks up to the chaparral thicket. I said
to Lum to go in and stir him up, and I would stay
out so as to see him run, and then I could tell how
big he was. "No sir," he said, "this is your time
to go in and run out the bear. I went in and ran
out the lion." But I insisted the bear was not bo-
thering me, and I preferred to let him alone. So we
went back after the tools and other things and
brought them down.

While we were resting and talking I suggested
that we could now commence developing our dis-
covery, and that we would fix up a nice place to
work. I could see Lum was thinking about some-
thing. Presently he said: "I expect to spend the
winter down in the valley, and to tell you the truth
I don't like the prospect of being "chawed" up by a
bear." So we rolled up our blankets and went down
to the city.

The first thing I did on reaching Georgetown
was to hunt up a man named Roberson whom I
knew qnite well. He had killed several bears, and I
told him about this one. He tried to get me to go
back with him and see the fun as he called it, but
such amusement was out of my line. I told him that
maybe Lum would go, but he too declined the
honor. However, he found a man willing to go, as
he said to help him bring back the carcass. I gave
him the key to the cabin and told him there was
plenty in there to eat, and wood to use in cooking.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 81

He expected to be absent two or three days or
longer, if necessary.

If time and space permitted I might describe
this punitive expedition as related by Mr. Rober-
son; suffice to say that the deceased Mr. Bruin was
given a free ride down the mountain on an impro-
vised sled, thence bj wagon to the butcher's shop
where he hung on exhibition to an admiring crowd.
His remains, some six or eight feet long, and fat
as a pig, when sold at 20 cents per pound, and in-
cluding the pelt enriched the hunters to the tune
of $100.00 or more. Mr. Roberson told me he went
through the chaparral thicket and found where his
bearship had commenced building his hibernating
quarters.

A few of my friends, who like myself were more
prospectors than miners, told me about a rich float
found up above, and west of the King David. I had
dug a number of holes trying to find where this
float came from and knew the location referred
to by them. This particular side of the mountain
had no timber on it, so a light snow soon packed
down and in a manner disappeared. Finding a mine
is like looking for a needle in a hay-stack, the
same place may be searched over several times
before finding it, so I concluded to try it over at
least a few days.

I may as well confess that I was not very an-
xious to spend the wrinter at my new mining camp
where preparation had ben made for that purpose.
In a measure I felt it both my duty, and may be
greatly to my interest, so had not entirely given
up the idea. I held a consultation with Burkholder
and Pope and they were inclined to think it best
to wait until next year. I told them my only busi-
ness now was prospecting, and they could use their
own option in sharing in the results. They agreed
their interest would be confined to the Leaven-
worth Boom Ditch Co., and that only.

With an early start I returned by noon from my
new mining camp with part of my tools, and the

82 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

balance of the supplies left at the cabin, so I am
now ready to commence searching for the "needle
in the hay stack." A man gets very little credit for
his effort or for anything else in this world except
success. On the third day out on the desolate
mountain side, with a gloomy tired feeling I sat
down to rest. Reflecting over some of the events
that had taken place since leaving my Alabama
home nearly three years previous was not calcu-
lated to put me in a very pleasant frame of mind.
For the time I lost sight of the many good things
received, for which I ought to feel truly thankful.

Under this spirit of resentment I stood up and
with outstretched arm exclaimed: ''Damn such a
country anyhow !" Ordinarily, the use of this little
expletive, which is in common use by a large num-
ber of men, would not amount to a "hill of beans,"
but it was decidedly different with me. This was
the first profane word that had passed my lips for
sixteen years dating back to the time of the first
school I taught in my fourteenth year of age. It
seems this little slip opened the flood gates, so the
next two years a species of profanity was adopted,
on special occasions, which for freshness and vigor
was in keeping with the latest and most fluent
style. One day Reason came back and claimed her
own, then the vile habit stopped and was no more.

The above paragraph might have been left out,
gladly I would do so, but there is a dereliction of
duty by omission as well as commission. In writing
these memoirs it is not my intention to throw bou-
quets to myself, but to hold a steady hand and hew
to the line even if the chips fly back and hit me in
the face. Some may think I had simply lost my reli-
gion, but this was not the case for I didn't have
any to lose. Without knowing it I had drifted into
a kind of pantheism, tempered in a degree with
rationalism. I knew there were certain things I
didn't know and couldn't find out, nor could any
one else. In this respect there was a strain of
agnosticism which was accepted as a fact.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 83

During my early years of maturity before the
war I kept a book in which I formulated at differ-
ent times a number of "dont's" as a rule and guide
to my conduct in life.

(1) Don't drink intoxicating liquor, because it
will ruin the physical and nervous system and will
cause a man to do foolish things.

(2 Don't use tobacco in any form, it is a use-
less, filthy habit and contains a poison that will
kill. A big unsightly worm and man are the only
living creatures that will put it inside their mouth.

(3) Don't use profane language, because it will
only add fuel to an angry feeling, and show to
others that you have a wicked harmful nature.

(4) Don't use obscene language, it indicates a
base heart and depraved nature.

(5) Don't gamble ( because it will train you in
line to want something for nothing, which is next
thing to stealing. It opens the way to a life of dis-
sipation.

(6) Don't keep bad company. All nice people
will shun you as a bird of the same "feather." It
is sure to corrupt your morals and lead you to
trouble.

(7) Don't spend your time in idleness, because
life is too short to lose an hour that might be spent
to a useful purpose.

For several years these seven "donts" were kept
inviolate, and as such were almost part of my life ;
due to this fact they deserve this passing notice.
To break one was in a measure like breaking a
spoke in a wheel, or making a gap in a fence en-
closing a wheat field. The second one was broken
while a prisoner of war at Camp Chase, and the
first one was slightly fractured shortly after the
war. And now the third one had slipped into the
"flint mills," though subsequently rescued without
a great deal of damage. The two first rules have
never been restored to their original position, yet
I am glad to say their violation has never beet]
sadly abused.

84 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

We read about a set of ten rules said to have
been made by Moses about 1400 B. C. called the
Decalogue. They were given to the Israelites as
a guide to their conduct, and hold good now for
the same purpose among men dwelling on earth.
It is not my intention to supplement or substitute
these seven rules for that ancient document, which
Moses said was written by the finger of God,
though it took him forty days and nights to do it.
Reading the life of Ben Franklin we find he for-
mulated twelve cardinal virtues to be used as point-
ers along the journey of life. I am making no
claim to the originality of the idea of formula-
ting certain rules of conduct, but do claim there is
virtue in these seven dont's if practiced.

These so-called "donts" were supplemented with
an appendix in the shape of a resolution : "Do right
under every condition, and assist your fellow man
to bear the burdens of life as much as possible."
This was all the religion I had or knew anything
about. It may be these rules, and as some may
think erratic views entertained, in a measure con-
trolled some of the events I am now trying to re-
call, but the failure of success in my efforts evi-
dently was due to some other cause.

CHAPTER IV

ALLOW TWO OLD MEN TO MOVE INTO MY CABIN
WITH ME. INVESTIGATION OF SPIRITUALISM.
ARRIVAL OF BROTHER DANIEL. WE BUILD A
FLUE AROUND A HIGH CLIFF. JUDGE HAR-
MON PAYS US A VISIT. McMURTY OWNS
THE DIVES MINE. DAVID HERSHA DIES.
VISIT OF U. S. GRANT. COMMENCE
TUNNEL ON THE KING DAVID MINE.
ARRIVAL OF BROTHER SHEPARD.

One of the characteristics of a prospector is to
carry a lot of rocks in his pockets, regular geolo-
gical specimens of mineral-bearing quartz, which
when traced to their original home may make him
a bonanza king. Of course these visionary dreams
only occur when he is in one of his hopeful moods,
which happens about as often as the moon gets
full. .Sometimes he has so many of these specimens
that it taxes his memory to recollect their different
locations. It becomes a kind of second nature with
him to pick up every strange looking rock and
then break it to see what is inside. He carries with
him a magnifying glass for that purpose ; also to
light his pipe by coverging the rays of the sun.
If the wind is blowing it is all the same to him.

A few days yet remained before the season would
close against surface prospecting, and the time
was spent with more vigor than usual. There were
several of us engaged in trying to locate the same
mine somewhere above us. We often met and com-
pared samples of float, and knew it would be rich
in silver, but could not tell whether a "big thing"
or not. There was a spirit of friendly rivalry as to
who would be the lucky one, but a heavy snow
made its appearance, which caused us to seek shel-
ter and wait a more favorable time.

86 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

I had a good cabin and reasonably plenty of
everything to make me comfortable, so concluded
not to "rush the cattle." On a bleak cold day while
the howling winds were drifting the snow, two old
men, at least much older than myself, knocked at
my door. One of them was named Webster
and I have forgotten the name of the other,
but he had hurt one of his legs and it had not yet
healed. They wanted to occupy part of my
cabin. Though strangers, yet they were prospec-
tors like myself, and not being first class miners
were unable to get work in any of the paying
mines.

There was an empty bunk and plenty of room.
They told a tale of disappointment and failure, but
still hoped for better results. A fellow feeling often
makes us wondrous kind, so I told them under cer-
tain conditions they could move in. First, that I
had no patience with a drunken man, or one drink-
ing enough to think himself smart, and want to talk
with his mouth. That I would expect them to keep
the cabin clean, and to use their own cooking ves-
sels and table ware, also to keep the stack of wood
up to its present standard. And another thing in
particular, not to use my bed in my absence.

Later I found them to be nice, agreeable men
and I had no regrets for my extension of kindness.
After a short time the one with a lame leg went to
the valley and I saw him no more, but Webster con-
tinued to stay two or three years. My time was
now engaged in reading a few books and many
papers, some of them old ones, in regard to Spir-
itualism. It was entirely a new cult to me and
might be true or it might not. I had pamphlets and
papers on both sides of the question and was try-
ing to sift the chaff from the wheat, so to speak.

Any person investigating an assumed fact ought
to do so unbiased by previously formed opinions,
prejudice or self-interest. If he can not clear his
mind of these three impediments, that will pre-
vent his reaching a just decision; he is sure to

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 87

reach an erroneous conclusion. With either or all
of these three things standing in the doorway of
light and knowledge it is simply a loss of time and
talent to investigate any kind of a subject. It is
well to bear this in mind for it is a self-evident
fact. During the winter it was my privilege to at-
tend a number of seances, given by Mrs. De Lamar
and William Gray as the mediums. Her husband,
Frank De Lamar, was one of the leading lawyers
of the city, and my acquaintance with the family
was due to their children, at a former time, attend-
ing my school. It is not my purpose at present to
tell all that I saw or the conclusions reached, as
it would extend beyond the scope of these mem-
oirs. I have in manuscript form, enough written
on this subject, and others of a kindred nature, to
fill a book two hundred pages or more, in which I
have given the evidence for reaching certain con-
clusions extending through a period of over forty
years.

That a spirit entity, or whatever it is, might be
able to impart information to denizens of the earth,
was to me at that time a very unreasonable pro-
position. But it was not a question whether it was
reasonable or not, but one involving truth.

During the winter season a man by the name of
Caney Doss made his appearance. His brothers
and sisters had attended my school, taught in
Marshal County, Ala., and from them he learned
my location. Being of a roving disposition he was
here for business or adventure, however preferring
the latter. He seemed to have plenty of money and
was quite independent and self-reliant. Remaining
with me a week or ten days he joined an expedi-
tion, headed by Col. Jackson, who had been a Col-
onel in a Texas Regiment, and crossed the range
on snowshoes, pulling their supplies on sleds made
for that purpose.

Some three or four months later he returned. I
was a little anxious to learn the nature of the ex-
pedition but deferred asking at once. The next

88 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

morning, about four o'clock, he was up preparing
a hasty meal and said he would leave on the stage
at daylight. Calling for pen, ink and paper, he
handed me an order on Col. Jackson for $30.00
and said, make him pay you. I received one letter
from him out in Nevada and never heard from him
any more. When Col. Jackson returned I presented
the order, and he paid it without asking a single
question, as he was about ready to take the stage
and leave the country. I have mentioned the above
incident to show some of the many features of
mountain life.

Possibly I might have spent the winter working in
some of the mines, but I had decided not to work
for any one but myself. As a recreation I spent
part of my time in a nice, well-conducted billiard
hall where I found a number of the popular East-
ern papers, such as Harper's, Leslies' and Days
Doings. I also learned to play the fascinating game
of billiards, which cost me to the tune of $20.00
or more, but I had at least that much fun. Here I
met a new lot of guys, and gamblers, though never
allowed myself to call them by name.

About the middle of April I concluded to visit
the place where I quit prospecting the year before
to see if the snow was off and the frost was out
of the ground enough to resume search for the
"needle in the hay stack." I found on reaching the
place one of the prospectors, a week before, had
stuck his pick down exactly at the right place and
turned up a lot of nice ore close to the grass roots.
Several were at work sacking up the ore as taken
out. I asked who made the discovery, and no one
paid any attention to .my question. The last hole I
dug was a little below, to one side, and not a hun-
dred feet from the place they were working. Some
one named it Silver Plume. One singular thing
about this mine was that in following the ore vein
it went into the mountain on a level sixty or seventy
feet before reaching solid bedrock, and then turned
down at an angle of 45 degrees.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 89

The mine became involved some way in a law
suit and was tied up, and I never heard of it pro-
ducing valuable results after this. Due to other
mining resources, of which I will speak later, people
began to build houses at the foot of the mountain
below, and the village went by the name of Silver
Plume. The last time I saw the place there was all
of a thousand inhabitants, and some of the houses
were less than a hundred yards from the King
David. A big stamp mill had been built on the creek
a short distance below.

At this time I was geting dowrnright tired of a
rather forced idleness, and I was anxious to push
the work of the Boom Ditch Co. I knew there was
a big summer's work ahead of me if I reached cer-
tain objective points. It was no easy matter to get
the right kind of a man to help me in our work. I
would have written Lum but did not know his ad-
dress. Just at this nick of time brother Daniel
came to me, fresh from the old home back in Ala-
bama to try his luck in this foreign, and as some
would say, God-forsaken country. I had been care-
ful in all my letters written to home folk not to
say anything that would encourage any one to
visit this country, and I wrote the truth too. There
were too many uncertainties, even of life itself, to
take the risk of advising others.

Of all the men in the world I thought more of
him than any other except my dear father. He was
eight years my junior lacking a few days. I had
taught him his first lessons at school, and it became
natural for him to seek my council and advice. The
seven rules previously mentioned, three of which
I had broken, were easily kept by him, inviolate,
without knowing of their existence as a guide to
my conduct. We had both been raised on the
same farm, and each one knew the meaning of
the word "work." Some people think it means to
"kill time" and then draw full pay all the same,
which is altogether a selfish idea.

In a few days we took a trip on the mountain to

90 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

see the condition of the snow in that locality. It
was still too deep to reach the iceberg though all
right at the old camping place. I explained the
magnitude of the enterprise, and that I could offer
him fairly good wages to join with me in the work,
which suited the purpose of his visit. The cabin
previously built was all right, but would involve
walking some distance up hill to reach the work.
On the way I stopped at a saw mill and ordered
800 feet of lumber 8x1, 10 feet long to be delivered
at a designated point for use in building a flue.

One week on the supply ditch brought us to a cliff
at least two hundred feet high, around which we
had to build a curving flue four hundred feet, in
order to convey the water to ditch building ground
beyond it. I had enquired of men who had used
flues in gulch mining and they told me it would
require a flue two feet wide and one foot high,
but my own observation taught me that to in-
crease the fall of the current would diminish the size
of the stream, so I decided to give it five inches
to the ten feet, instead of one inch. On the basis
of this assumption I decided to make the flue eight
inches wide and seven inches high.

These same parties advised me that if the flue
was much crooked I had better get a good car-
penter to build it, but this would be an additional
expense, so decided to do the work myself with
the assistance of my brother. It occurred to me
that any man with a careful steady hand could saw
one piece of lumber to fit another, and then by
tacking them together with small nails, there could
be no chance for the leakage of water.

After making a winding trail about two mile
long I hired the use of ten small pack animals
called "burros," and in one day the lumber was
conveyed to the point where we could use it, at
a cost of even $10.00, and cheap at that price. The
most difficult part of the work consisted in put-
ting in the trestle around the cliff so as to give
the water a fall of exactly five inches to ten feet.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 91

But I still had the triangle to use for that purpose.
It was often necessary to moil out a place in the
rock to put the leg of the trestle. The rock below
was not a cliff, but it was very precipitous and
made it dangerous in case the foot was to slip. It
was essential to be very cautious in every move-
ment.

The trestle had to be fastened in some way to
the cliff, but my new partner in the work was
always ready to assist me in devising some plan
to meet every predicament, which would be too
tedious to mention in detail. Several parties had
predicted we would make a failure, and there was
some doubt on my own part, as it was in a measure
experimental. By leaving off one section of the
flue near the objective end, so the water could run
over the rocks below without doing any damage,
we went up to the iceberg, turned on the water
and watched results. The flue leaked a little at
the beginning, but as soon as the lumber got soaked
with water, even that little ceased.

We moved camp two miles nearer Georgetown,
and it seemed like getting back in sight of civili-
zation. With plenty of cold water fresh from the
iceberg we began to push the supply ditch which
lacked still another mile of being on the top comb
of Leavenworth mountain. It was our usual cus-
tom to visit the city on Saturday evening and re-
turn on Sunday evening. During one of these visits
I met my old friend and former partner, David
Hersha.

My eyes were not in the habit of deceiving me,
so I had to recognize him in spite of his changed
appearance. He wore a new suit of the latest style
and fashion, a dangling gold watch chain across his
vest, a fancy necktie, smooth shaved except a heavy
gray mustache, and a broad brim hat completed
his attire. He was too large and too old to pass
for a cow-boy, so he might be rated from appear-
ance as a typical well-to-do frontiersman.

My curiosity led me to inquire of him in regard

92 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

to all this evidence of prosperity. He seemed a
little dilatory about telling, but finally said: "Burr
and myself sold the Dives to John McMurtry for
$1,000.00 each, and we have been on a "high lone-
some" ever since. We both tried to get you to
furnish the powder and grub to sink it ten feet
deeper for a third interest. We would all three have
been rich long ago, but I don't blame you in the
least for no one can tell much about what may
be below out of sight, and that is why we decided
to sell. It was my fault we did not get a nice little
stake out of the King David." All of which was
quite true.

By enquiry I learned that parties were then sink-
ing on the shaft, and the mineral more than paid
expenses. In fact when the shaft was seventy-five
feet deep McMurtry had to his credit $20,000.00
without doing a lick of work. Another shaft a
hundred and fifty feet east was being sunk with
about the same results. McMurtry a short time
after his purchase was elected Probate Judge of
the county on the Republican ticket, by a majority
of two votes, but he failed to qualify into the
office, and in some way it went to his Democratic
competitor.

He built a fine $15,000 residence and his parents
came, either on a visit or to live with him. His
mother was a sister to Casius M. Clay of Ken-
tucky, a noted politician and diplomat. His father
was an able minister in the Episcopal church. I
heard him preach often and liked his style of ora-
tory, also his liberal manner of presenting the sub-
ject. They were pleasant people to meet, social and
sympathetic in their nature, as the sequel will
show.

During the next few months I lost sight of my
friend Hersha, in fact my own business on the
mountain absorbed my attention to the exclusion
of nearly everything else. In due course of time we
reached the crest of the mountain and after build-
ing a reservoir commenced the process of making

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 93

a chasm down the side, directly opposite the side of
the mountain to the Equator mine. It was over a
mile down to the creek below, and the road was
on the opposite side of the creek, so there was no
danger of damage on that score. The prosperity of
the country depended upon the discovery and de-
velopment of paying mines, so many others as
well as myself were hopeful of good results.

The trouble of making these cuts has been pre-
viously explained, but it was even more trouble-
some here due to the greater depth of debris, which
had been a barrier to prospectors finding mines,
that is if there were any there. We could look
across the ravine and see the dump-piles of the
Silver Plume, Dives, Terrible and other mines,
while the Equator, Colorado Central, O. K. and
other mining property were in another direction
but equally as near.

Here was an area of three square miles between
these prolific mining centers, that had in a manner
remained untouched. Our business was to uncover
the bedrock and solve the uncertainty, and then
abide the consequences whether good or bad. If
the munificent hand of Nature had failed to put
veins of mineral in this special part of the earth,
in order to please one of its toiling children, it
would be no fault of mine, nor would I even have
the prerogative of filing a bill of complaint, in case
of a failure.

While making this out Judge Harmon of Miss-
issippi paid us a visit. We went to see the flue, the
iceberg, and the cuts made the previous year, and
then came down the mountain in order to see
a boom pass. The force and grandeur of a swiftly
moving mass down a steep incline, with the roar-
ing sound it produces is simply terrific to say the
least, and beyond my ability to describe. I was an-
xious for the Judge to see the sight. He was a dif-
ferent kind of man from Pope — more home-like
and less aristocratic. On taking his departure he
spoke very enthusiastically of our enterprise, an4

94 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

said to write him long letters, and when in need of
money let him know ; that "sink or swim" he would
stay with me to the end.

Would some one be unkind enough to ask if we
found any mineral? If so, I would have to answer
in a whisper — "No, not a speck," though we did
find some good "indications" at a number of places.
Selecting the best one in appearance we decided to
prepare for winter work, just as I had one year
before, but this time not in the range of bears and
lions. Some poor fellow following a forlorn hope,
no doubt, had built a cabin which was now vacant,
so we took possession. Of course we had to visit
the iceberg and turn off the water.

Any man likes to see the fruits of his labor in
whatever vocation he may follow. This is natural
and commendable. We had a nice comfortable place
to work. The fissure was well defined, but no valua-
ble ore in the vein. Perhaps in some future geolo-
gical age it will bear fruit in the shape of mineral,
but we could not afford to wait. At a depth of thirty
or forty feet, surrounded by deep snow, and nearly
out of rations, we stacked our arms, threw up the
sponge, and made a safe retreat to the cabin down
in the city.

Here we found Mr. Webster with plenty of wood
and glad to see us. After resting a few days Daniel
said he would like to work on some of the already
"ripe" mines bearing fruit. I felt it my duty to go
with him in the beginning, and knowing the fore-
man on the Dives asked him to give us a job. He
said : "I can give you a night shift on the drift
from the main shaft. We will meet the drift from
the other shaft in about ten days, then there will
be a change in the program, and can make no pro-
mise beyond that time."

On my part I felt confident that with my know-
ledge of locating and charging shots, and Daniel's
brawny arm to strike the drill, we could make a
showing equal to the best of miners. We could
easily hear, through the rock, the tapping of the

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 95

hammer made by the men on the other side, but it
so happened that the two day shifts made the
opening.

More extensive development of the mine required
sinking of the main shaft a hundred feet deeper,
and the foreman wanted to put his best men to
do the work, and Daniel was one of the selected
men. He didn't know how to get tired and I did,
perhaps that was the cause of his selection. I had
noticed that small pieces of ore were frequently
sent up in the bucket mixed with the fine rock, so
I made a proposition to assist at the windlass on
shaft number 2, without pay, if allowed to empty
the bucket on the edge of the dump, so I could
pick out the pieces of mineral and keep them as
my own.

No one could be damaged a penny by this deal
Twice each day I put the ore in a sack under my
bunk at the boarding house. When filled they
weighed about a hundred pounds. I filled one sack
every two days and sometimes a little more. They
had commenced a back-stope over the drift, which
meant an increased amount of mineral to my part,
for they did not know how to save it all like Clark
and Crow did on the Terrible. Some of the boys
called the foreman's attention to the "land office
business" I was doing. He was afraid the company
would hear that he was not careful in saving the
mineral, so he decided to put me on the back-stope
as long as I knew so much about saving mineral,
but not being an obedient servant I refused to be
"put."

The mineral in this mine was worth about
$700.00 per ton, which means a little over 30 cents
a pound and I had saved seven sacks in ten or
eleven days. This little incident shows what "fickle
fortune" can do for a man taking his chances in
the mines. Instead of owning a third interest in
this mine, by a proposition that stood open to me
for two long years, I was refused the privilege of
gleaning the buckets of rock as they were emptied

96 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

over the dump pile. Such is life, and the man that
kicks hurts no one but himself. The mill man, how-
ever, paid me $181.00 for the seven sacks of ore,
and this eased my feelings in a measure for the
loss of a good paying job, which by rights be-
longed to me by contract.

During these ten days while working at the
windlass an incident occurred worth mention. Bro-
ther Daniel and his partner were in the main shaft
then about eighty-five feet deep, when the bucket
filled with rock had nearly reached the top, from
some cause the iron crank of the windlass broke,
and the whole thing fell back in the shaft. It was
a mystery to me how they escaped, but neither of
them were hurt. They were standing in opposite
corners watching the bucket when it started back,
but a six-foot windlass made it much more dan-
gerous.

At that time, just across a depression or small
gulch, and about three hundred feet west of the
Dives, parties were working a mine called Pelican.
While this mine was not so prolific, yet is was a
paying mine and same character of ore, and a
strong probability that they were the same vein.
Attention is called to this fact now in order to un-
derstand the relations of the two mines when re-
ferred to further along. The Pelican was discovered
by a prospector named Stewart, who lived alone in
a cabin of his own not far from the mine, and it
goes without saying that we were on the best
terms of friendship. I would tell how near I came
to owning a half interest in this mine, but it might
look as though I were writing fairy tales instead
of realities. He sold out to a man named McNiff
and went back to the States, and no doubt did a
wise thing.

It had now been six months or more since I
had seen my old partner Hersha, had been too busy
to keep track of him. I wanted to tell him about
working on the Dives and its wonderful produc-
tion, but he was not on the streets nor could any

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 97

of his butterfly friends tell me where he was. On
entering his cabin I found him on his rustic bunk,
without fire or wood to make one. The black dirt
floor was as innocent of a broom as it well could
be, and to my mind presented an unhealthy con-
dition.

In answering my inquiry, said he did not feel
well, though perhaps would be up in a day or two ;
but I knew on taking hold of his hand that he had
a fever, and told him he must have a doctor and
further attention. The physician gave instructions
in regard to the medicine he prescribed, and told
me privately that he was in a bad fix, though agreed
that I might bring him a poached egg, a cup of
coffee or nearly anything he felt like eating. I
got Mr. Webster to stay with him most of the
night.

Next day in the forenoon I met an elderly lady
at the door of Hersha's cabin. Two gray curls be-
decked her massive forehead, and from her dis-
tinguished appearance she might have been the
counterpart of Queen Victoria. She asked if this
was where Mr. Hersha lived, and said she was the
mother of John McMurtry, that the doctor had told
her Mr. Hersha needed more comfortable quar-
ters and special attention. That the object of her
visit was to request someone, if he was willing, to
place him in a nice room, with a carpet on it, at
some boarding house or hotel, and present the bill
of expense to her.

At first he refused to make the change, but be-
fore night he was in a cozy room, and I went to
see the lady and report what had been done. She
went with me at once to his new quarters and
spoke to him very kindly. She directed that two
men nurses be employed, one for night, and one
for day, men that could talk cheerfully as well as
wait on him, and then ordered all bills of expense
be presented to her for payment. Of course she
knew he was the original discoverer of the Dives
mine. With all the care and attention that a man

98 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

could receive, yet in a short time the spirit of
David Hersha took its flight across the great di-
vide, and he was gathered to the land of his fathers.

Some one has said that Opportunity knocks at
least one time at every man's door. I am confident
she knocked at my door not less than a thousand
times but I never found it out until she had left
for parts unknown. While dame Fortune is always
with her, yet it takes courage and quickness of
thought to say "walk in ladies." Though I discarded
my chances of ownership in 'both the Dives and
Pelican, in some strange way there was left a feel-
ing of identity in these two mines. They seemed to
me a part of my mining experience and prospecting
life in the mountains. This feeling is my excuse
for telling a few incidents connected with these
mines before hanging up the receiver on that sub-
ject.

The Pelican was recorded a short time before
the Dives, though the latter was some two years
previous in point of discovery, due to these facts
there was talk on both sides of serving injunctions,
and even a conflict of a more violent character was
threatened. There was enough mineral in sight to
make both claimants immensely rich if a peace
basis could be established. McMurtry did not feel
any too safe in the legal rights of his valuable
property, so concluded to use a little of that diplo-
macy inherited from his uncle Casius Clay.

It had been decided by the Catholics to build a
church, and of course it must be finer than any
other in the city. Arrangements were made to hold
a fair at the big new hotel, and a gold watch was
to be given to the most popular young lady, and a
gold headed cane to the most popular young man.
Everybody was cordially invited, and a great many
attended, including myself, for I wanted to see
how it was done, and also see the excitement. The
voting was lively enough, though in rather a small
way until McMurtry picked out one of the girls,
drew his check for $500.00 and cast that many votes

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 99

for her. This was a kind of signal gun that a more
extensive business was about to open.

The McNiff party soon got together and concen-
trated on a certain one and then the fun began,
which would cost some money. The best of good
feeling and sociability prevailed. They knew that
McMurtry had a barrel of money, and they began
to gather round him like he was a hero. They knew
his father was a minister of the Episcopal church,
a kind of half-sister to the Catholic, and not much
difference on that score.

Voting continued for an hour or two in $500.00
blocks until McMurtry had spent $3,000.00. Libera-
lity, however, has its limitation, Mr. McNiff an-
nounced that the voting on the most popular young
lady was the one selected by Mr. McMurtry, and
that he was now requested to make the presenta-
tion speech, which he did in a very graceful, plea-
sant manner. He took the occasion during his re-
marks to allude to the prosperity of the country,
and suggested that in a measure it depended upon
the peace and harmony of all the citizens, which,
by the way, had a very happy effect on all present.

In a short time, as McMurtry had no opponent
as the most popular man, the gold-headed cane
was presented to him in a nice speech made by
McNiff, in which he said the good of the country
demanded the enforcement of the law, and as the
war between the States was now over and peace
declared, we were also entitled to peace in all our
business affairs of life. It was the general impres-
sion, as an aftermath to the fair, that the two Mc's
got together and agreed that each one would stay
on his own side of the fence, although a fine sec-
tion of ore might stand between the two claim-
ants.

Discord and confusion had subsided and while
everything was moving quietly McMurtry formed
business relations back East. It is a little sin-
gular that all rich men want to travel toward the
East, and sometimes still further in that direction.

100 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

Perhaps they want to find other rich men to asso-
ciate with, like birds of a feather seeking others
of the same kind. News soon reached us that he had
married a niece of Vice President Colfax, and he
was expected to introduce his bride, to the fascina-
ting charms of Western civilization. But with an
income of $50,000.00 per day, Georgetown was only
an obscure mining village and had lost its former
attractions.

In 1868, Gen. Grant, the nominee of the Republi-
can party for President, along with Gen. Sherman,
spent a whole week in Georgetown, either resting
or hiding out from the numerous toadies. They
were dressed in ordinary citizens' clothes, and if
much attention was paid to them it was more than
I could see. This may be one of the reasons why
they stayed so long.

During Gen. Grant's candidacy for a second term
in 1872 he paid us another visit, accompanied by
his wife and daughter, also other attendants too
numerous to mention. They came up from Denver
in carriages, and hours before their arrival three
or four cannon (blacksmith anvils) gave notice to
the miners out in the mountains that something
unusual was happening. As a result some four or
five thousand people were on the streets to give a
vociferous welcome to the distinguished party.
Quite a difference from his former visit !

It was the current report, and generally accepted
as true, that the President owned a tenth interest
in the Dives, and if so his dividend was not less
than $5,000.00 per day. The Dives and the Pelican,
no doubt the same vein, were producing more silver
by far than any other mine in the whole Mountain
Range, or even in the world, at that time. It was
more important, financially, to own a small in-
terest in a mine of this character than to be Presi-
dent of the United States. As for honor, Grant
had all of that commodity he needed. To receive
the surrender of Gen. Lee, the greatest military

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 101

chieftain in modern warfare, was honor enough
for any one man.

Silver at this time was worth $1.29 per ounce,
and on par with gold, and both at a premium above
greenbacks. The free and unlimited coinage of
both metals, 16 to 1, caused the Government to be
the principal purchaser. The Treasury Department
had to build a big rock house in Washington City
to hold the silver dollars, and before Congress
could stop the unlimited coinage four hundred mil-
lion dollars was stacked away in this building. It
is still there and will be for many years to
come. The people refused to use it as a circulating
medium because it was too heavy according to
value. Yet a man named Bryan made an ass of the
Democratic party for twelve long years. By a little
flowery speech of his they were led to advocate
the unreasonable policy of unlimited coinage of
silver, which caused their continued defeat.

About this time, 1872, there were a number of
mines in this section, perhaps a dozen or more,
producing a liberal quantity of silver and it was a
prevailing idea among the miners that the white
metal would soon be as plentiful as copper if not
more abundant. Gen. Grant told some of the miners
in conversation that they held the keys to unlock
the secret vaults, and from their treasury deposits
we could pay off the national debt.

When a big howling crowd called for him in
front of the hotel he made his appearance on the
balcony or veranda of the hotel, but no speech. His
friend, Frank Blair, of Missouri, took his place
and said a great many nice things for him, but
nothing that pleased them half so well as the little
metaphor of their holding the keys of the hidden
vaults. It is a noted fact that no great military
leader in either ancient or modern times could
make a speech before the public; in fact they are
not fit for anything else only to arrange men in
the best possible position so they can kill each
other.

102 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

A few more events, of rather a sad character,
will be mentioned and then I will bid adieu to the
Dives and Pelican mines. Men that "get rich quick"
have to see many things all at once as fast as pos-
sible, in order to talk fluently and knowingly with
other rich men when they meet them. For this and
other purposes the Mc's were "over the hills and
far away." They had left their mining interest in
the hands of skillful managers. At first there was
only a spirit of friendly rivalry, but it was followed
by ill feeling and animosity between the two par-
ties.

While traveling in some of the Western States
McMurtry stopped at some fashionable resort. He
was very temperate in his habits. On this occasion
he drank a glass of cold lemonade. As a result in-
flamation of peritoneum caused his death three days
later. He was carried back to his Kentucky home
and buried among his kindred. He had very few,
if any, enemies.

Standing on the street, Saturday evening I saw
two men riding rapidly down the graded road not
two hundred yards distant. The one in the rear,
named Bishop, and manager of the Dives mine,
was firing his pistol at the one in front, named
Snyder, and manager of the Pelican. On entering
the wide door of the livery stable, being much
nearer each other, a ball pierced his brain and Sny-
der fell dead on the spot. Bishop reloaded his pistol
and quietly rode back up the road, no one attempt-
ing to arrest him. I knew both men well, and was
one of the jury holding an inquest over the body.
All work ceased on the mines and in a short time
they were tied up in litigation.

After this rather lengthy disgression I will try to
return to the main subject and take up the thread
where it was left. It was yet mid-winter and I spent
part of the ensuing month cultivating the art of
playing billiards, and enjoying a few of the social
features of life. It is quite a relief from the toil-
ing pursuits occasionally to put off the garb of a

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 103

miner and change to a nice suit of citizens' cloth-
ing, especially if money resources give one a fel-
ing of easiness. A change came over the "spirit of
my dreams" and I began to realize it might require
many years to reach the object I had in view. My
idea of the two words "money-plenty" meant not
less than a million dollars with still more in sight,
rather visionary ideas, no doubt of that.

For some adequate cause Daniel quit his job and
resting a few days, bought a half interest in the
King David mine at a public sale of the property,
paying only a nominal price. Being equal owners,
we at once commenced a cross-cut or tunnel, to
strike the vein a hundred feet deep and about a hun-
dred and fifty feet west of the shaft which was fifty
feet deep. In a few days we were out of the weather
and had a nice place to work. We moved part of
our effects up to a house owned and occupied by
Dr. Guthrie, and only a short distance below our
tunnel.

In a social way I had known the Doctor and his
partner Ulhorn for over a year. They were both
highly educated. Their parents had given them
$2,000.00 each, no doubt with a hope they would
lead brilliant careers, one as a doctor the other as
a lawyer. They came to Georgetown, spent part of
their effects in purchasing a mine called Alhambra,
about a thousand feet west of the King David. At
first they took out some mineral that paid expen-
ses, but like many other mines it soon played out.
Spending the balance of their means in a vain
effort of restoring it to life, they continued to work
themselves.

Too proud to write home for money, the Doctor
answered professional calls, which kept them in
supplies, often leaving his partner in the mine to
work by himself. Returning home one day to his
sorrow and surprise he found Ulhorn dead in the
bottom of the shaft. The supposition was that his
foot slipped in climbing the ladder, but the Doctor
intimated that a certain man may have knocked

104 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

him in the head just as he reached the top of the
shaft, which was nearly a hundred feet deep. I
mention this little episode which shows that others
as well as myself had a hard time contending with
the uncertainties of mining ventures. I could men-
tion the names of half dozen men with diplomas
from some college who in the garb of miners were
trying to obtain the favors of Fickle Fortune.

About the middle of April 1871, entirely un-
expected, our brother Shep made his appearance.
The Doctor had accumulated a little surplus and
hired Daniel to work with him on his mine, and
Daniel in turn hired Shep to work with me. In
less than a week after leaving home he was strik-
ing a drill with an eight-pound hammer, but he
was a chip off the same block and proved him-
self equal to the occasion. Fortunately we found a
"muck seam" leading in the same direction of the
tunnel. It was a feeder or spur from the King
David. By removing the soft material with a pick
we could locate the shots, so they would do twice
as much work as they would have done without
the seam.

It was nearly time to commence work on the
top of Leavenworth mountain for the snow dis-
appears, even from this crested point, fully a month
earlier than up around the iceberg. We suspended
work on the tunnel after a week or ten days and
in a short time began building reservoirs and
making ready to use the water as soon as it could
be turned into the supply ditch. It was my inten-
tion this year to either "make a spoon or spoil a
horn." I had located the previous year places to
make six more cuts on that side of the mountain,
and was anxious to complete the work during the
ensuing season.

In a month we had three reservoirs about com-
pleted. Digging the ditch was hard enough work
to suit the brawny muscles of any man, but the
two or three days required in tracing the water to
start the boom tested my endurance and patience

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 105

more than anything else encountered, except driv-
ing ten oxen in a drifting sand storm on the desert.
It generally required a week or ten days to make
one of these long cuts but the labor was over
after the first two or three days as there was
nothing to do only to raise the gate when the re-
servoir was full, which was about once every
hour.

The water was kept busy all the time. As fast
as one cut was finished another reservoir was
ready. There were barely four months of the year
that water was available for our purposes, and we
could not afford to take much time to dig and de-
velop the various "indications" we saw in the
different cuts, which could be done later just as
well. I was anxious to find a big rich mine sticking
up through the bed rock, but this was only a vi-
sionary wish not to be realized; in fact my luck
was not built that way.

We had deferred making the last cut on purpose.
I knew from the lay of the ground that it would
be a deep one and perhaps cause some damage to
certain property on the creek below, though it
might not. Anticipating extra work, we built a
much larger reservoir than the others. We turned
in all the water the iceberg produced as it was
growing late in the season, yet it required over
two hours to fill ready to turn loose. The debris of
this particular place was composed mostly of sand
and boulders, more so than at other places.

The indigenous rock of the country is granite,
and this is the case up to the top of the range or
continental divide. I have been on or near this
range for three or four hundred miles, and the
same kind of rocks exist all along. I had noticed
in the different cuts that sand and boulders reached
a certain altitude and there was none above that
point, which indicates that they were deposited
there during some great glacial period. But the
question might be asked, where did they come
from? Possibly this great mountain range was

106 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

once much higher, and from these heights were
sent both sand and glacier.

This last "boom" of that season was a record
breaker in more respects than one, as it caused
some trouble from damage, and in turn gave rise
to a small future profit, which I will tell about fur-
ther along. In the first place it was much easier
to get under head-way than others had been. We
moved our tent down to the reservoir, and at night
built up a good fire so as to raise the gate both
day and night, and even then it required a whole
week to sweep out to the bed rock.

When the water was turned loose it quickly
mixed with sand, gravel and boulders some of them
as large as a hogshead, and produced a scene of
terrific grandeur beyond my power of description.
This volume of moving slush-like material in a
channel down the side of a mountain meant de-
struction to everything in its way. Trees as big as
a man's body falling in the chasm were torn into
fragments by the time they reached the foot of the
mountain. It caused a roaring sound like distant
thunder, and people from the city came out on the
road opposite the creek to see the sight. The depth
of the cut depended upon the distance to the bed-
rock. In places it was forty feet deep and a hun-
dred feet wide.

From the beginning I had known it was dan-
gerous to enter these cuts, but we were anxious to
find out the results of our labor. Toward the foot
of the mountain we found uncovered an unusual
large "indication" that might be a big mine when
developed, so we spent two or three hours with
pick and shovel expecting to return in a few days.
When nearly at the top of the cut, being a little
in front of Shep, I noticed the bank was crumbling
under a large boulder, in fact it was already mov-
ing. I shouted to him vigorously to look out. He
leaped up against the side of the bank and during
this nick of time the boulder passed under instead
of over him, indeed a very great difference.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 107

The creek was about a hundred yards from the
foot of the mountain with a gradual sloping of the
ground, yet the boulders came down with such
force that they bounded across the space and filled
the creek, along with sand and gravel to a depth
of five or six feet, which unfortunately drowned a
turbine wheel that furnished the power to run a
big quartz mill. Of course this had to be removed
or the mill would be of no further service. It was
not my intention to dodge or evade the conse-
quences, so I went to see the owner of the mill. At
first he was very indignant, and was going to bring
suit for damage. I let him talk all he wished, know-
ing one man can't quarrel by himself very long.

When the wrath was removed from his system
so he could talk business I said to him : "General,
I regret very much the damage to your property,
but you can't make anything out of me by bring-
ing suit, simply because I have nothing in the
world except a dozen or more "indications", which
it would be improper to call mines, located on the
mountain above your mill. Each might contain one
of the golden eggs that the traditional goose laid,
but as yet they are only granite rocks and of no
value. If you will furnish me with $300.00 I will
hire men and remove those boulders and pay you
back two dollars for one out of the first ore I deli-
ver to your mill."

To this proposition, and much more that was
said, he answered by saying: "Young man there is
a good deal of the rainbow hue in your talk, but
you seem to be willing to do the fair thing, so I am
going to give you a chance, though I want to say at
the outset, in my opinion, it will take more money
than you think, even if it can be done at all." He
went with me to the bank and placed to my credit
$300.00 to be used for that purpose. This was
Friday and the next day I went among the labor-
ing class and by an offer of $5.00 per day selected
six men to help me do the work.

On going to a blacksmith and telling him what I

108 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

wanted to do he made me two grappling hooks
with handles five feet long so as to give leverage
power, also five crowbars of the same length. We
bought seven pairs of rubber boots that fastened
with a belt around the waist. On Monday morning
we commenced the work which was a big job, no
doubt, but it looked bigger than it really was. The
plan adopted was to make the water help do the
work as much as possible, and to do this the water
was reduced to a smaller channel. The bed of the
creek was solid rock, and sometimes three or four
boulders would be moving down the creek at the
same time, followed up by as many men with their
crowbars to keep them moving.

In a measure it was like fun, though hard work
and in the cold water all the time. The owner of
the mill passed by nearly every day to look at the
work but said nothing. His idea was to rig up a
derrick run by a steam engine, but to do it that
way might cost several thousand dollars. On the
afternoon of the fourth day the turbine wheel was
ready to do its usual work. I had paid $50.00 for
the rubber boots, but in paying off the men I made
them a present of the boots. I drew the mill owner
a check for the balance yet in the bank to my credit
charging nothing for my own labor.

It might be said that this was one way of settling
a lawsuit, and many others might be settled in
the same way by using a few sober thoughts in
the beginning. I fully expected some day before
long to pay back the money as promised. It has
been my effort not to give too much space to events
of this character, and with this object in view have
left out most of the details, yet they are inter-
woven with the many tribulations of my moun-
tain life to such an extent that at least a few of
them ought to be mentioned.

Spending a few days in Georgetown, in order to
catch my breath before renewing my investigation
of discoveries in the various cuts, I was forcibly
reminded that the summer season was over. Less

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 109

than a half mile up the mountain on each side of
the city a rather spectacular view presented itself.
Looking out one morning the snow three or four
inches deep could be seen down to a certain alti-
tude, and below that line the conditions of summer
tended up and down the valley as far as the eyes
still prevailed. These two horizontal snow lines ex-
could see. This was one way old Borreas had of
sending his signal that the country belonged to him
for the next eight months. Quite likely a foot of
snow was around the iceberg at this time, but for-
tunately the water was turned off.

To our great surprise and delight Daniel returned
from the Stephens mine where he had been work-
ing for the past several months. This property is
located immediately under the apex of the Gray's
Peak which by measurement is fifty feet higher
than Pikes' Peak, and perhaps one of the highest
silver mines in the world, being 14,000 feet in alti-
tude. They had been paying him $5.00 per day and
board, for none but the best miners were wanted,
and those aclimated to a light atmosphere were
the only ones that could stand the hardships and
do good work. They were drifting on the vein,
taking out some nice mineral, and gaining a foot
in depth from the surface above, for every foot
advanced on the drift.

At the breast of the drift, between four or five
hundred feet from its entrance, there was a kind
of frozen dirt with some ice in it resembling hard-
pan, and possibly containing sand and gravel. In
order to reach the mine a much nearer way from
the boarding house, they held on to a rope around
a big high cliff. If there had been no other silver
in the world only in this mine, and it devolved upon
me to get it out, the supply of white metal would
have been completely cut off. But some men can
do with ease things dangerous to others.

The most astonishing thing of all was the an-
nouncement made by Shep that he had seen enough
of the Rocky Mountains and intended to return

110 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

to his native home. In making a calculation he
would be able to go back and have $100.00 more
than he left with. Neither of us presumed to give
him advice one way or the other. There was an ele-
ment of risk and uncertainty connected with every
venture in this country, so we thought it best to
leave each one free to decide for himself, and there
would be no one to blame for any bad results.

As we wanted to rest awhile before commencing
work again on our tunnel to strike the King David
I concluded to learn how to make an assay to de-
termine the value of metal which had been my in-
tention for some time. I had been talking with a
man named Nichol who was willing to teach me
and also allow me the use of his furnace, for $10.00.
It may be a little tedious to tell the process but
it is worth knowing, and a thing every prospector
ought to know. There is no way of finding out
what a piece of mineral contains only by a crucial
test.

An assay furnace is made of fireclay and about
the size and shape of a twenty-gallon keg, and is
usually kept at the same heat about two hours in
order to complete the assay, though several may
be made at the same time. It requires careful ma-
nipulation to make an accurate fire test that will
show exactly how many ounces of silver there are
in a ton of ore, or any given quantity of ore. The
point of a pen knife will hold enough of the pul-
verized sample, which is placed in the polished
scoop of scales so nicely adjusted that a pencil
mark on a piece of paper will put them out of
balance. The exact weight of this small sample is
carefully noted for it forms the basis of a future
calculation as to value of the ore.

After adding to this sample three times as much
triturated lead and the same amount of borax, wrap
all three of them in a piece of tissue paper, and
then with a pair of tongs put the cupel containing
the sample in the red hot furnace. Half an hour
later take out the cupel, and remove the substance

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 111

with a pair of tweezers, and tap it lightly with a
small hammer on a smooth substance and the slag
will fly off like a piece of glass, leaving the lead
and silver, if there is any silver.

Then place this lead button in a bone-ash cupel
and put it back in the furnace for about an hour,
and if there is any silver a bright metalic flash over
the little button will indicate that the lead is gone
and only the silver remains, the lead being vola-
tilized by the air and absorbed by the bone-ash.
If the sample is from low grade mineral the button
will be hard to handle, yet it can be weighed and
the value of the ore determined

Accuracy in weighing, manipulating and calcu-
lation were essential to a correct assay, but to be
an expert required practice. During my week of
scholarship perhaps I made forty assays and felt
myself as able as any one to do the work. In order
to make this information available to me as a
prospector it was necessary to substitute the "blow-
pipe" in place of the furnace. This little instrument
consisted of a brass tube a foot long with an ivory
mouthpiece and a two-inch crook at the other end,
tipped with platinum, which could be bought for
$3.00 and a cheaper one for a third that price.

A blowpipe assay can be made in less than ten
minutes by preparing the sample just the same as
used in the furnace. The platinum tip is put in the
blaze of an ordinary candle above the end of the
wick, and the entire flame is diverted, terminating
in a blue point, which must be kept in touch with
the sample. By inflating the cheeks and breathing
through the nose it is easy, after a little practice, to
keep a constant current of air pasing through the
tube. It is said the end of this blue blaze contains
the most intense heat that can be produced by any
known process. I obtained a graded scale marked
on a strip of ivory showing by measurements the
value of assay buttons per ton of ore. By using
this scale an approximate value of a piece of ore

112 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

could be obtained, which was good enough in a
general way for a prospector.

The process by which the mill man obtains a little
dust that will lay on the point of a knife which
establishes the value of a ton, or any other amount,
of ore, might be interesting if it were not too te-
dious to tell. How it is done is important, if not
interesting to the purchaser, as well as owner, as it
involves a matter of money which represents labor.
A man presents a bale of cotton on the market ;
it is sampled and paid for according to grade and
quantity. In the same way one with a small quan-
tity of ore, say less than a ton can deliver it at a
mill and get his check in less than three hours. In
a large producing mine, the owner can contract
with the mill man to treat his ore at so much per
ton, and then the bullion will belong to him.

I might mention before leaving the subject that
the three ingredients for making an assay, including
the bone ash, and mold for making the cupel, would
weigh less than two pounds, and enough to make
a hundred assays or more. This is one of the first
things I ought to have learned as a prospector.
Searching for something and not knowing when
it is found is like playing blind-man's-bluff, all
guess work after found.

It is now about time for another chapter so I
will hang up the receiver and tell "central" to give
me a different number.

CHAPTER V

LEASE ON SUMMIT MINE. WORKED ON A MINE

DISCOVERED BY A MINERAL BOB. WORK ON

TUNNEL. A CASE OF LUNG FEVER. THE BIG

PULASKA MINE. VISITED A DANCE HOUSE.

DISCOVERED R. E. LEE AND OTHER MINES.

SOLD SHELTON TUNNEL. DECIDED TO

LEAVE THE COUNTRY. SELLING THE

PULASKA. A NEW ENTERPRISE ON

TAP.

Not even the inspiration of a new chapter can
change the old song which has for its refrain "get
rich," though the word "quick" is left out, as a
known failure. The accumulation of a competency
in life, or even a fortune so to speak, is a laudable
ambition and is the first step that leads out of
poverty's vale. An inordinate desire for wealth,
however, if prompted by the alluring pursuits of
pleasure, often causes some people to disregard
the rights and possessions of others. When honesty
is cast aside for the sake of wealth, the material
left will make a bandit and a thief.

During the time we were taking the boulders
out of the creek one of the men, Dick Simmons,
a Cornishman, told me that on a contract he sunk
a shaft on the Summit mine a hundred feet deep,
and it had to be timbered all the way to the bot-
tom. This work was done in the first part of 1867,
a while before my arrival in Georgetown. Accord-
ing to his statement the rich "sulphurett" was worth
$1.00 per pound, the richest mine ever discovered
in the Rocky Mountain range, but the stuff was
found in pockets and scattered through the shaly
rock making it hard to save, in fact he didn't make
much effort to save it

114 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

The mine was bought by J. B. Chaffee, a rich
banker of Denver, who was also one of the dele-
gates in Congress representing the territory. He
expected that the mineral vein would become solid
at a hundred feet or less, so with other business of
importance, gave out the contract and then paid
very little attention to it, waiting for results. At
the depth of forty feet the pitch of the vein caused
them to leave it on the outside of the shaft, it
being easier to timber straight down than to follow
the mine. Of course this was an injustice to the
owner, and almost equivalent to robbery.

His propositon was to obtain a lease from Mr,
Chaffee for three months and after that to pay
him a royalty. Dick did not want his name used in
the lease, nor did he want anything said about his
leaving the vein at forty feet. As Mr. Pope, my
partner, was a friend of Mr. Chaffee, he drew up a
lease and sent it to Washington City, which was
returned properly signed by the time I was through
learning to make assays. On Monday morning Dick
was ready and we hit the old trail, loaded down
to the guard with tools, blankets and supplies to
last a whole week. It is amazing the amount a man
can carry on his back, through the snow and up a
mountain, when he decides to do so.

We found a nice cabin with a floor in it, and a
fairly good cook stove and everything as Dick said
he left them four and a half years before. We were
afraid to risk the safety of the old windlass so
Dick tied a loop in one end of a rope we brought
with us and fastened the other end to one of the
timbers around the shaft. Wrapping the rope
around one leg he slid off down the shaft with a
hundred feet between him and the bottom. He put
one foot in the loop, and with another smaller rope
I lowered to him pieces of timber the right length
and size to drive between the timbers of the shaft.
In a short time he had a good platform to stand
on.

With saw and hatchet he cut out four of the shaft

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 115

timbers, the lower one fifty feet below the top. By
doing this it would expose more of the ore vein.
While he was doing this I cut pieces of the right
size and length and put them in between the
timbers, down one end of the shaft, form-
ing a ladder way so as to get in and out of
the mine without being forced to climb the rope.
We found two or three old tin buckets, and in these
Dick saved the "sulphurett" ore, some of it fine
as flour. In the process of saving he had to include
a good deal of the shaly rock, and part of my busi-
ness was to spread it out on a table for careful
separation. A lot of the ore was sticking to the
rock like melted beeswax, and had to be scraped
off with a knife or a chisel.

Several pipe assays, by measurement, showed the
ore to be worth close to $1.00 per pound. As the
snow on the trail was too deep to use a pack animal
the only alternative was for each of us to carry
about forty pounds of it on our shoulders. Consi-
dering its value, and being down grade all the way,
this work was no worse than moving boulders out
of the creek. We continued the work until Friday
morning of the third week, when during the pre-
vious night the whole thing fell in, so we had to
hang up the "fiddle."

It had been my usual custom to peep in two or
three times each day and watch Dick working in
his "gopher" hole. He was a first class miner and
was so rated, having followed the occupation back
in Cornwall, England, from the time he was ten
years of age. Part of the time I might have helped
him take out some of the ore, as he was drifting
both ways on the vein, but I thought it too dan-
gerous without putting in timber, and told him so,
but it is every man's business to use his own judg-
ment.

No doubt a lot of money might have been made
by working the mine in a careful systematic way.
Dick's hands were large and clumsy and he didn't
save more than half the mineral, but I could not

116 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

afford to tell him so, as he was doing the risky
part of the work The beauty of the whole thing
was in the wind-up when the mill man gave his
check for $220.00, nearly $40.00 a week for our
work, and on my part not hard work either.

While staying on the summit point which is in
plain view of Georgetown, I must not forget to
mention that I saw my first and only flock of Rocky
Mountain sheep. It seems they range along on
points where the wind blows away the snow and
leaves the ground bare, or nearly so. At first they
were about sixty yards distant and moving slowly.
Some four or five of them were wearing their horns,
perhaps for my benefit. It is said the horns are
about a quarter the size of the sheep, but it
looked to me like they were half the size.

An occasional "wind-fall" helps to keep a man's
bank account in good shape, and has a tendency to
inspire a safe feeling. Since the death of Hersha I
had decided to keep enough money on hand to be
used in case of an accident, or any other emer-
gency. After a vacation from work for one month
Daniel was ready to enter the conflict. We had
about decided to resume work on our tunnel when
a new field of uncertainty presented itself.

Our old friend Webster still occupied part of the
cabin. His resources consisted in owning a placer
mining claim somewhere down the creek which he
worked about two weeks each year, the balance
of the time there was not enough water for sluicing
purposes. Some years he took out more than others
yet always enough to keep him up by using eco-
nomy. I have in my possession one of the gold pel-
lets he made, worth about $5.00, formed by press-
ing the quicksilver through a piece of buckskin,
which shows the grain of the skin on the surface
of the pellet. It is not for sale at present.

One of the peculiarities of the old man was the
unbounded confidence he had in his power of lo-
cating a mine by the use of a mineral bob. We
both knew that father once sent for a man who

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES li?

with a forked limb told him just where to dig, and
the number of feet before striking water, and it
turned out exactly as he said it would, but that
might have been an accident. As for my own part
I was willing to give any man's ideas on anything,
however unreasonable they might be, a fair trial be-
fore condemning them. If I had been present on
the ground and had seen Elijah step in his fiery
chariot and fly away into the upper deep, I would
have accepted it as true, but I was not there, which
makes a difference, and requires a good deal of
salt, and then some more, to make it go.

The mineral bob he used was made of a cartridge
shell partly filled with amalgam and two pieces of
whalebone stuck into it and fastened there by a
wooden peg between them. He held these whale-
bones in his hands in such a way that the bob stood
out before him, and in crossing a vein of mineral
the bob dipped down, either toward or from him,
without any volition on his part, that is he said it
did. I found it would bob over in my hand by moving
the muscles very little. As the bob always went
down at a certain place, I asked him to move slowly
so I might see and detect any movement of his
fingers or wrist, but with all my care and scrutiny
I failed to detect any motion or pressure.

Neither of us had much confidence in his wizard
ability to control the laws of gravitation. He had
a kind of vague theory that his nervous system
acting as a battery caused an electric current be-
tween the bob and the mineral below. On my own
part I realized that it was not a question of con-
fidence or belief, but one involving truth and false-
hood, whichever it might be. There was only one
way of settling the matter and that was by giving
it a fair and impartial trial, and this we decided to
do. If it proved true it would be far better than
running boom ditches, if false it would only be
time lost.

Next morning we struck out, it seemed to me,
like the "blind following the blind." It was now

118 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

mid-winter and lots of snow, but we cared little
more for this than walking over plowed ground,
unless it was over waist deep. The high winds
generally formed a crust strong enough to bear
one's weight. Webster told us before starting he
had several places in mind where by digging we
would find a good body of mineral, but could not
tell how far to it, or how rich in silver it might be.
That he could tell as to quantity but not quality.

By following the road up the left branch of
the creek we passed where Mr. Glenn, a man about
60 years of age was working in a tunnel by himself.
He was using a 5-8 drill and doing his own striking
with a four-pound hammer. He was an old Cali-
fornia miner, leading a kind of hermit life in a
cabin by himself. I will have more to say of him
further along. After leaving the tunnel Webster
remarked that he was prospecting for one of his
locations. I had known the old man Glenn for some
time and in talking with him he said he was trying
to strike an extension of the Equator, which was
about a quarter mile further west.

Passing this mine about two or three hundred
feet, and then up the mountain not at all steep,
about the same distance, Webster produced his bob
and began gyrating around and located several
places in line with each other, and said by digging
at any of these places we would find a large body of
mineral. The snow was two or three feet deep, and
timber would be hard to get in case we were forced
to use it. This and other reasons caused us to move
to another place much nearer town, though higher
on the mountain, where as he said the bob worked
equally as well, and we would have plenty of tim-
ber.

If there is not a "gray eyed" destiny in the af-
fairs of men there is something else very close kin
to it, as the sequel will show when the proper time
comes to mention it in the regular routine of
events. We had every "mineral bob" assurance that
the place selected had prolific deposits of a metalic

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 119

character. After shoveling away the snow for
twenty feet around we marked off a 5x8 shaft and
commenced throwing dirt. On the third day at a
depth of four or five feet we passed through the
hardpan formation and struck into a fine species
of "indication" or "flow" from a mine. This was
very encouraging and gave us exhuberant feelings,
for awhile at least.

That night in telling Webster of our luck, we
also told him while there was no contract to that
effect, yet we were willing to give him a third in-
terest and name it "Webster," and give him credit
for its discovery. It seemed to put new life in the
old man, turning back the dial of time ten or fifteen
years. Next morning he had breakfast prepared for
all three of us before daylight, also a lunch for din-
ner. He was not a lazy man but seemed to have no
energy, which may account for the reason why he
did not follow up with pick and shovel as directed
by his mineral bob, as he had so much confidence
in it.

While two worked in a shaft the other one got
out timber to rig up a windlass which we would
need in a short time. At the tepth of twelve or
fifteen feet the "lead" was between well defined
foot and hanging walls, with a pitch of about
twenty degrees from a perpendicular, which was
often the case as very few mines went straight
down. This in principle was against Webster's idea
for his bob told him to continue in a direct line,
however he was willing to follow the vein as the
most sensible thing to do.

The hanging wall was smooth and solid and
looked like it had just received a fresh coat of white
paint. When down twenty-five feet we noticed the
powder smoke hung unusually long, which caused
us to think there might be some foul air, nor did
the candles burn with their usual brightness. In-
stead of getting better the conditions grew worse.
We put up near the shaft a sheet-iron stove with
two pipes attached, one of them leading down into

120 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

the shaft. A brisk fire soon restored normal condi-
tions but did not remove the cause, so it was neces-
sary to keep up the fire nearly all the time.

At the depth of thirty-five or forty feet the me-
phitic air was more difficult to control, nor had we
yet found any mineral. Possibly, and in all proba-
bility the real mine was less than one inch from us
behind the white, sleek wall. I will mention later
my reasons for this conclusion. For these and
maybe other reasons we decided to suspend work
and try something else. It was not fully proven one
way or the other whether Webster could discover
a mine with his mineral bob or not. The way the
thing stood it was about an even break both ways,
with some little difference in his favor.

Finding a vacant house near our tunnel we took
possession, but the house was none the worse off
because we could not find the owner. Pealing the
bark off my knuckles one day while rolling the
wheelbarrow caused us to hire a carpenter to make
and put in a car, with track complete, which cost
$30.00. It held four or five times as much as the
wheelbarrow and could be pushed along with one
hand, and was self dumping by simply moving a
latch.

We had a nice place to work and were making
fine progress but in spite of all these favorable con-
ditions I took the lung fever, the only spell of sick-
ness during my nine years in the mountains. The
neighbors were very kind to me, and under treat-
ment of a doctor I was restored to health in about
two months. Daniel had made some progress in the
tunnel with a 5-8 drill and dynamite, during my
convalescence. The snow had nearly all disappeared
and it was time to look after "indications" on
Leavenworth Mountain.

In a few days we found three men in a hole al-
ready ten feet deep, and they, were taking out quite
a lot of mineral. I pointed out to them that they
were guided by my discovery in the boom ditch,
and for this reason would ask them to discontinue

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 121

their work, and also to abandon all rights to the
property. This they very positively declined to do,
but fighting was not my way of settling a dispute
of any kind unless forced as a last resort. I saw my
partner Pope, and through him commenced some
kind of ejectment suit which brought them in
court.

In a private way Pope explained to me that we
might lose the case before either judge or jury on
the grounds of neglecting our rights too long; that
some points of law were against us. I was well
acquainted with one of the parties and concluded
to have a talk with him, and also his partners. In
this conference I suggested that as prospectors we
could not afford to spend money in a lawsuit. If the
mine should prove valuable it was big enough to
make us all rich. That each party had vested legal
rights, and speaking for my company, we were will-
ing for them to own the east end of the mine com-
mencing at the ditch and including their discovery,
while we would take the west end.

They readily accepted this proposition and the
mine was recorded that way under the name of
"Pulaska." After a few weeks they quit work, but
said nothing about the cause. We went about two
hundred feet west and made a cross-cut showing
the ore vein to be six or seven feet across at a
depth of twenty-five feet. This was decidedly the
largest mine ever discovered in that section of
the country, the ore consisting of galena and py-
rites. In crossing the vein which required several
days, I made two or three pipe assays every day
with the uniform results of very little if any silver.
For fear my assays might not be correct I took a
good sample and made a furnace test with the same
results.

There was nothing left for us to do only to quit,
as the other parties had done. From there we went
on top of the mountain and built a reservoir in-
tending to make a cut some five hundred feet west
of the Equator. When we were in fairly a good

122 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

headway an injunction was served against us on
the plea that travel on the road would be stopped
for several months and maybe for all time. I had
this cut in view before making those on the other
side of the mountain the year before, but antici-
pated there might be trouble. As there was no
way to compromise the matter, we simply quit the
drive.

It is not my intention to tell about troubles and
misfortunes, but the events in the life of an ordi-
nary man are in constant touch with these stalk-
ing spectres so that it is necessary to mention one
in order to tell about the other. If I was writing a
romance the hero would not be allowed to do a
single day's hard work, and every mine he discov-
ered would be worth a million dollars. This coun-
try produced a few heroes after a fashion, which
will be mentioned in due time, but without any ex-
ception they had to climb many high hills before
they reached the heroic part of their career.

With some limitations old man Glenn possessed
heroic qualities. A few pages back we left him in
a tunnel, all alone, removing the ribs of rock be-
tween him and a supposed vein of mineral. After
hammering six long months he reached the coveted
prize, but found the mineral too poor in silver to
pay its way through the mill. Perhaps a fourth of
the mines in the country were of this character.
As a prospector he had been "short" on the lucky
side for over twenty years. He simply "picked
his flint" after this failure and commenced digging
at the very spot, near the Equator, where Webster
first told us there was a big deposit of mineral
below.

There was some kind of an arrangement between
Glenn and the owner of a saloon and billiard hall.
His name was "Tobe", though doubtless he had
some other name, yet I never heard it. He was very
reticent, but quite popular with the miners and
prospectors. When they got "stuck" for the game
and had no money he would say "all right, come

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 123

again." He furnished Glenn with all his supplies
of every character, but could not trust him with
a jug or bottle of liquor. Glenn knew his failing
and submitted to an allowance.

Every morning before breakfast he walked nearly
two miles and back to get his goblet of liquor,
holding a third of a pint. When the day's work was
over this was repeated, no matter how cold or how
deep the snow. He was digging this hole in the
ground at the time we were stopped from making
the cut previously referred to, which would have
mised him about two hundred feet. There was no
indication of any mine whatever where he was dig-
ging, nothing but dirt and gravel known as hard-
pan. He filled a bucket with this stuff and then
climbed a ladder and pulled it up with a windlass,
doing all the work himself.

During the summer, at the depth of thirty-five
or forty feet he broke through this compact dirt
and "mirabile dictu" the dream of his life was
beneath his feet. Two feet of solid mineral worth
$700.00 per ton, one of the richest mines consider-
ing its size ever discovered in that mining region.
If we had been allowed to finish our last cut we
would have beat him to it at least thirty days, but
it seems the irony of fate was against us. Of course
there was great rejoicing in the house of Tobe and
Glenn, and no doubt the old man was given an
extra goblet of liquor.

The mine was recorded under the name "Colo-
rado Central." Very little was said and perhaps very
little known of the very singular manner of its
discovery. It seems results are about the only thing
interesting to people in a general way. No doubt
our old friend Webster deserved credit for locating
the mine, though Glenn would not accept it as a
fact. It seems unreasonable that a man of his age
and experience in mining would dig just anywhere
for mineral without some kind of a pointer. In the
meantime Webster had sold out his placer claim

124 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

and left for parts unknown and there was no way
of proving the fact.

As a sequel to this great discovery, Glenn with
a few thousand dollars, left to visit his old friends
back in California, and it is almost needless to say
was never heard of any more. I had heard the old
man tell of his adventures out further West in his
younger days. However before leaving he gave
Tobe written authority to manage and own the
mine in his absence. In a short time Tobe sold his
saloon, and in less than a year was a very wealthy
man, and like others that got rich quick he went
back East to spend his money.

It is said, and with much truth it may be, that
the beneficent hand of Nature makes nothing in
vain or without a purpose. According to wise plans
of Creation this great system of mountains ten
thousand miles in length must have been designed
to contain veins of different kinds of mineral, other-
wise their formation would have been without a
purpose. Advancing civilization caused a greater
demand for these minerals and a great army of
men were enduring hardships and privations in
order to find their hidden vaults. My career in life
for the time was devoted to pursuit of these treas-
ures.

Several miles of bedrock had been exposed for
this specific purpose. These veins above referred
to, which in some mysterious way penetrate the
ribs of granite rock, chimney out at certain places
forming what is termed in mining parlance "crop-
pings" of a mine. But they are very treacherous
and misleading. A fine "indication" often, very
often, proves to be a false blossom with no fruit
to follow, while a poor one might with a little de-
velopment show up a valuable mine as the case
with the Dives. Due to these facts we ought to exa-
mine nearly every foot of exposed bedrock.

Not being able or allowed to finish what we con-
sidered one of our most important cuts near the
Equator we commenced exploring the cuts on the

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 125

other side already made. We dug out numerous
holes in the rocks, ran open cuts where the moun-
tain was steepest, in fact did lots of work worthy
of a better cause, but with the same invariable re-
sults, nothing doing. Four of the cuts had been
examined, two yet remaining, but as it was sur-
face work and the winter snow made its appear-
ance we struck camp, moved back into the same
house, and resumed work on our tunnel which we
left about six months previous.

Silver Plume consisted of eight or ten houses
at this time, and others in process of construction.
The citizens thought this little house belonged to
us, as no one else claimed it. We knew better, but
said nothing. No one ever did claim it, as far as I
know. In order to keep up the connecting links of
my narrative I will mention that this was in the
latter part of 1872 after Grant's visit, but before
the death of McMurtry, or the shooting of Snyder
by Bishop, and of course the Dives and Pelican
were large producers of ore.

In the early part of 1873 we struck the King
David at a depth of a hundred feet from the sur-
face and a hundred and ten feet from mouth of
tunnel. After drifting some distance each way on
th|£ vein we became discouraged and felt like throw-
ing up the sponge and retiring to private life. But
we found the spur, as we called it, that brought us
to the mine continued on into the mountain. We
made a record of our cross-cut and called it the
Shelton Tunnel, and began talking about striking
an extension of the Dives and Pelican, just off their
territory and at a depth of six hundred feet, pro-
vided their limitations were that extensive.

In this way the "spur" became more valuable
than the mine. The tunnel was talked about by
others and mentioned in the papers as an enter-
prise promising big results. There are "fads" in
mining countries as well as other places. At this
time the Diamond tunnel, about a quarter of a mile
west of purs, was in operation for the purpose of

126 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

striking the Dives five or six hundred feet under
its discovery point. But our tunnel could be driven
at a third the cost of others on account of the
"gouge" or spur, and of course this enhanced its
value.

The Burleigh tunnel situated half way between
Silver Plume and Brownville, named for the man
who discovered the Terrible mine, had been in oper-
ation for some time. Mr. Burleigh was the in-
ventor of a drill run by compressed air. I have seen
it at work and it made a kind of clatter. No man
living could count the strokes, they were so rapid.
They struck a mine which had a big lot of low
grade ore at the surface, a thousand feet above,
but it did not vary an ounce in value. 'Work had
been conducted on the Marshal tunnel for two
years, expecting to strike the Equator and other
mines in its line.

Mention is made of these tunnels, and still there
were others, to show this was one way of develop-
ing mining property. It not only facilitated taking
out the ore in many ways, and delivering it to
wagons on a lower level, but gave the mine drain-
age and pure air. Our object now was to place the
Shelton tunnel on the same basis with other big
tunnels, merely prospecting for mines that might
be and doubtless were in front of us.

As our tunnel was easy to approach, we had a
number of visitors nearly every day, and it was
always easy enough to tell them that we expected
to strike other mines before reaching the exten-
sion of the Dives. I met a man one day by the
name of John Murley, and he suggested to me
the plan of forming a stock company retaining a
half interest for ourselves. Let each stockholder
bind himself to pay $10.00 per month on each
$100.00 of stock for two years. It would only re-
quire a capital of $5,000. paid in as needed. By
adopting his plan two shifts could be paid, both
night and day.

He ventured to suggest that if the property be-

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 127

longed to him he would work it that way. His con-
fidence and enthusiasm in the scheme prompted me
to propose selling out to him. As a fact neither
Daniel or myself had much confidence in the scheme,
or in the probability of valuable mines in line with
our tunnel, nor did we wish to spend too much time
and money on a venture of this character. After a
good deal of talk too tedious to mention we made
him a deed to the tunnel and he gave us his check
for $800.00. There was nothing said about selling
the King David which we thought might be worth
something

Quite true this did not pay us in full for our
time and expense on the tunnel, which we had
driven a hundred and forty feet, but we had the
prospect during the time and lively hope of striking
a young fortune by developing our mine. Murley
was meeting with some success in his scheme of
raising a company when unfortunately he took sick
and died, and there was no one to take his place.
Nothing more was done about it up to the time I
left the country, which was forty-four years ago.
Perhaps it still remains just as we left it.

Nothing else being in sight we moved our trap-
pings down to the old cabin in Georgetown. It
seemed a little strange not to meet Mr. Webster
there to give us a warm welcome and glad hand,
but before leaving he had stacked a nice lot of
stove wood under the bunks ready for use. The
woods were full of worse men than Webster. Some
one found out that we did not claim the little house
left in Silver Plume, and as it was a good building
site they moved it, and built a regular "dance-
house" in its place. I will refer to this building
later when finished, and the wild orgies held there
after it was in swinging operation.

We had not lost a day for nine months, and why
should we unless for some good cause. Getting back
home made us feel like returning from a long visit,
and it was pleasant to have our old friends call to
see us. Bill Moore and the Coules brothers were

128 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

welcome visitors as they always had something to
tell that we liked to hear. Tom Johns and his bro-
ther Frank were from Florida. They were pleasant,
agreeable companions, and their absence from their
home was for purposes similar to our own. Cooley
and Bob Harper were Mississippians and cousins to
my cousins, but were a different and better class of
men. They had plenty of money and spent three or
four days with us before leaving for Nevada and
other Western countries. We felt like going with
them but were not ready.

To our great surprise my partner John Burk-
holder made his appearance with a tale of woe and
misfortune. His wagon was loaded with two tons
of ore, and he was making his way down a graded
road as usual when the lower side gave way and the
team and wagon went down the mountain two hun-
dred feet or more, breaking the wagon into pieces
and killing the horses, barely saving his own life
by jumping in the nick of time, when he felt the
wagon going over.

He had on hand plenty of money to buy another
team and have some left, but he was badly upset
over his loss and the close shave in losing his life.
It was his nature to have very little to say, but now
he was gloomy and more reticent than ever. I men-
tioned to him one day that it was nearly time to
resume our work on Leavenworth Mountain, and
as one of the partners it was his privilege to work
with me if he wished to do so. After some hesitan-
cy he said : "I have about made up my mind to try
some other section of the country. If I can be re-
leased from further obligations I will deed you all
my interest in the company, except the Pulaska."

My only alternative was to accept his proposi-
tion, as I knew Daniel would accept his place. The
mistake was in not taking a power of attorney to
sell his interest in the Pulaska, if an opportunity
presented itself, as the sequel will show. When
the season permitted we commenced work where
we left off the year before. We had very little hope

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 129

of finding anything of much, or any value, but we
had spent too much labor and money on these cuts
to abandon them without a thorough investigation.
Disappointment sinks the heart of man is a trite
old adage, and very true, especially if repeated
quite often. Water puts out fire and in the same
way repeated failure puts out the fire of enthusiasm
and effort.

Nearing the top and on the last cut we found a
small vein of mineral about an inch thick, we came
near passing over it, on account of no other indi-
cation only the mineral. In appearance it reminded
me of stuff found in the Summit mine. It had been
a full year since having a direct use for the blow-
pipe when it told me the Pulaska was no account,
but now it told a different tale and said $1200.00
per ton or 60 cents per pound. We now owned the
least though richest mine in the country, also the
largest and most worthless one. The two extremes,
and yet not more than a half mile apart.

We ran an open cut so as to strike the vein ten
feet from the surface. This would enable us to
save the ore to a much better advantage, and also
determine whether other small veins were near
this one or not. In three weeks we had in sacks
over two hundred pounds of ore, but the vein had
pinched down to about half an inch. Some mines
increase in size as depth is gained while others
taper a different way. There was a party in the
city that made small bars and buttons from rich
ore. I carried down to Captain Pope fiften or twenty
pounds of ore to make him a paper weight for his
office. I have now in my posession a small silver
button, containing three or four dollars in silver,
sprouted to resemble a full blown rose, but, like
the gold pellet, it is not for sale.

Every night we could see the lights gleaming
over in Silver Plume. Through curiosity we con-
cluded to walk down and see how a dance house
was conducted, on the principle that the cat is not
hurt by looking at a king. The village of five or

130 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

six hundred inhabitants was a regular mining town
run on the wide-open plan. This was awhile before
Snyder was killed and the Dives and Pelican were
giving work to over a hundred day laborers and
paying them $100.00 each per month when they
put in full time, and there were other mines doing
the same, so nearly everybody had a pocket full
of money, of no other use than to spend it.

There was a large hall with a new sleek floor,
and it cost nothing to enter. A bar with large mir-
rors attractively arranged occupied most of the
rear end, the balance of the rear space was used
by a band of musicians. There were fifteen or
twenty women, I didn't count them, of the demi-
monde character of course. Fifty or seventy-five
men, some of them well-dressed, the gamblers, but
most of them wore the garb of a miner. As they
were the bone and sinew of the whole thing, de-
cided preferment was given them. A "set" lasted
five or six minutes and then the music stopped, and
every man treated his partner at the bar. He paid
in fifty cents for what cost the bar less than five
cents, and the balance was clear profit. In the mean-
time another "set" was forming so the Bacchana-
lian ball went on.

Everybody seemed to be laughing and talking
about something, but I could see nothing funny or
interesting. How on earth men could find pleasure
or amusement in such debauchery passed my com-
prehension. The Spaniard and Mexican spend their
time and money to see a man fight an infuriated
bull. On Sunday morning he attends church, and
in the evening he goes to see and bet money on a
chicken fight, and we call them half-civilized. The
highest type of civilization spend their time and
money to see a lot of young men risk limb and life
over a ball game in which some of them are maimed
for life while others are kiled outright, and they
call this heathen game, "football." Men and women
travel thousands of miles to see two beastly men
stand up and knock each other down, and they call

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 131

it pugilism. There might be question whether dance
house amusements were a greater evil than the
others mentioned called athletic sports. After an
hour or two we quietly "skidooed". Further com-
ments on the subject will be deferred to some other
occasion, which may never occur.

While working on the little mine which we gave
the big name of "Robert Lee," we discovered an-
other mine about two hundred feet further up the
mountain. It showed two inches solid mineral and
in some places better, and we were greatly encour-
aged because across the way about five hundred feet
distant, though on the other slope of the moun-
tain, three Welshmen owned a mine just like it
from which they had taken several tons of ore. A
few weeks later Bill Moore paid them $10,000.
each and they left for the old country. Moore made
$45,000. on the sale he told me.

The blow-pipe said it was worth $400.00 per ton
which means 20 cents per pound. To get a fairly
good price for a mine it was necessary to show a
mill run of more tons of ore than one. Capitalists
were shy in buying gopher holes. I had imbibed an
idea that one man could run the risk of a mine
continuing to produce ore as well as another, yet
it might be best on general principles to let the
man with lots of money assume that risk. We sold
the ore taken from the "Lee", which brought us
over $200.00.

In the spring or first part of the year Judge
Harmon had moved to Denver and was then en-
gaged in the practice of law at that place. I received
a very kind letter from him inviting me to attend
the big fair and spend a week or so with him. As
I had been in the mountains for six long years I
concluded to accept his invitation. It is not my pur-
pose to write about the fair but will say the exhi-
bits of every character were far superior to what
I expected. One of the attractive features was a
stack of silver brick as high as my head. They were
stacked across each other like building a rail pen

132 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

and capped off with a gold brick on top. These
bricks were near the size and shape of an ordinary
brick. A guard, dressed in blue uniform stood near,
and a little paper flag, with the words "hands off,"
was a warning to the public.

The principal object of my visit to Judge Har-
mon was to talk over with him our mining enter-
prise. He had spent some money keeping up his
part. We might easily get two or three thousand
dollars each for the two mines without incurring
any further risk of their pinching out, and he had
a right to his preference in the matter. I wanted
him to have some assurance he could get his money
back and some besides. But I found he was more
enthused over our prospects than even myself. He
thought some of those mines we had discarded
might yet prove valuable, at any rate if we failed
it would be an honest failure.

On my return to the mountain I found Daniel
had been out among the cliffs, which were directly
opposite where we built the flue, and discovered a
small streak of mineral. It seems like maybe things
were coming our way, so we concluded to put in a
few shots, in fact worked there two or thre days.
A thunder shower, a very unusual thing, passed over
and the sun came out with vigor. Fortunately, yes
very fortunately, I happened to look up toward a
jutting cliff some thousand feet or more higher up
than where we were working, and to my amaze-
ment saw part of the cliff toppling over and the
rocks coming toward us. I called Daniel to run, ex-
pecting him to follow me in safety to a cliff some
forty feet distant. I could see millions of rocks
whizzing and scooting by. There is no use trying
to describe a thing of this kind for I am not able
to do the subject justice. But where was Daniel?
Naturally I supposed he had been swept away by
this deluge of rocks. Presently he made his appear-
ance. He had taken refuge behind a bluff some
nearer, where the rocks had passed over him.

The rocks passed within a few feet of the place

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 133

we were working and filled up the excavation we
had made. As the danger might not yet be over we
gathered up what tools we could find and made a
hasty departure. A few days later we went back,
but never did get all our tools. We deemed it a
dangerous place to work and concluded to wait
until our scare was over.

After an absence of nearly two weeks we re-
sumed work on our new discovery with a vim.
Taking out mineral from a mine of our own was
quite exhilerating. Before this our work had been
on "indications" except the Pulaska and it was very
little better. We were always hopeful, but hope
with something in sight was a new experience in
our mining career. There might be a fortune near
at hand, at least the prospects were fine in that
direction. To me it was very gratifying to know
that Daniel would be an equal partner.

Our mine was near a pathway, not trail, leading
from Georgetown to a huckleberry patch of nearly
a hundred acres. The little bushes grew about
twelve inches high, thick with small limbs, on
which the berries grew. In former years I had
gathered the same kind of berries from bushes
higher than my head, on the Cumberland Moun-
tains. The tinner made a device with prongs, and
a tin cup attached, by which the berries could be
gathered without picking them. One person could
gather two gallons in less than an hour. From
twenty to fifty people passed by our mine every
day as long as the berries lasted.

Further along and below the place where the
loose rock had given us a close call, there was a
two or three-acre patch of red raspberries, also
ripe at that time. Due to this fact many people went
there. This place was also the home of the coney
rabbit, a little animal about the size of a big rat,
though size and shape of the rabbit. They seemed
to be busy putting up their winter supplies. These
were the only conies I ever saw. And these two
kinds of berries, found at no other place, are the

134 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

only two things fit for people to eat that I ever
saw growing in these high altitudes.

The many people passing soon spread the news
around that we were opening a number of valuable
mines on the north slope of Leavenworth Moun-
tain, which brought us a different class of visitors.
There were four classes of miners: (1) the man
that worked by the day and took no chances ; (2)
taking a lease on a mine or discovery with a writ-
ten or oral agreement; (3) the prospector, and to
this class I had the honor of being a member; (4)
the man that took an option on a mine, and if he
sold it retained the better part for himself.

Our visitors referred to, belonged to class No.
2. If we were opening up mines as reported pos-
sibly they might get a good lease. I explained to
them that we had numerous discoveries and many
of them no doubt might be paying mines when pro-
perly developed. After going over the different cuts
with six or eight parties, three of them decided to
take leases. We had already built a trail up that
side of the mountain in order to carry our ore to
the mill. Pope wrote the lease giving them all they
might take out for the first six months, binding
them to work the mine so as to leave it in good
shape. We were anxious to see some of these "in-
dications" at a depth of seventy-five or a hundred
feet.

Some men made good money on leases. I will
mention one instance and could mention others.
Judge Coules discovered a small pay streak on the
hill above the Equator. His two sons, Mart and
Clay, by drifting on the vein could gain depth from
the surface as fast as sinking a shaft, and the min-
eral paid some more than wages. The boys were
good miners, yet for some cause they lost the pay
streak. Continuing the drift forty or fifty feet fur-
ther leaving behind them what they supposed was
the sleek, smooth, hanging wall, and not finding
any mineral, concluded to quit at least for awhile.

My special friend Tom Pirtle belonged to class

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 135

No. 2 and with candle and pick entered the drift
with a view of taking a lease if things looked fa-
vorable. In a half accidental way he picked in
through the supposed hanging wall and found two
or three inches of solid rich mineral. He lost no
time in taking a lease to have all he could take out
of the mine for two months. With his brother and
two hired men they took out $11,000. by the time
the lease expired. This was a little fortune to the
boys, so they left for their home in Nebraska.

With a positive knowledge of the above facts
before us it seems strange we did not at least put
in one shot in the sleek wall of the Webster dis-
covery. It is my opinion even at this late day that
there might have been maybe a foot of mineral
behind that wall. No doubt it remains just as we
left it over forty years ago. Possibly it may wait
for my return to earth a second or third time ; if so
there is a gloomy uncertainty hanging over its fu-
ture development. If one should wish to know more
let him ask the whistling winds.

Some one had built a large cabin, and by econo-
mizing space eight of us were now occupying it,
and the work vigorously pressed with hopeful re-
sults. This was our time to finish making the spoon
or spoil the horn. Two of our lessees went down
seventy-five feet and the other eighty-five feet be-
fore hanging up the fiddle. We drifted east and
west on our mines, and then went down toward
China until patience and fortitude ceased to be a
virtue. At least one consolation, we had taken
out enough mineral to pay fairly good wages, so
did not have to call on our partners to make good
their part of the expense.

The old cabin in the city made us feel like getting
back home. We had about run our length and done
our do. The "Boom Ditch Co." was a thing of the
past and no use to whine over results. We talked
some of going further west and maybe our luck
would change. Everything in sight had vanished,
except working by the day, but this was no part of

136 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

my program. I spent nearly every night, two or
three hours for a few weeks, playing chess with a
friend. His wife and I played against him ; we dis-
cussed our moves and their result, and then he
moved to suit himself. We sometimes beat him,
though he was the best in the city.

Occasionally I met my old friend, of several years'
standing, Bill Moore. He no longer wore the garb
of a miner for he had quit that kind of business.
He was two or three years younger than myself,
had no education, could scarcely write his name,
but he had energy and "cheek" to make up for
that deficiency. At that time he had made three
or four hundred thousand dollars selling mines that
did not belong to him. Mr. Rodgers who lived with
his family at the foot of the hill a hundred feet
below my cabin had discovered a mine and named
it for himself. Moore paid him $50,000 for it and
kept for himself $100,000. He went to St. Louis,
Chicago and other cities in order to make his
mining deals, but invested his money in and around
Lincoln, a new town just starting up in Nebraska.
Tom Johns, another one of the boys, was in the
same business and not far behind him. Moore often
told me if I ever expected to make big money I
would have to quit throwing dirt.

On my own part I had made my mind to leave
Georgetown, but Daniel was undecided. I could
not afford to persuade him to follow me, for there
was no telling what wild venture I might under-
take. I had now been away from my native home
over seven long years. My efforts in a manner had
been a failure, from my standpoint of what con-
stituted a success. I had a good deal of dearly
bought experience which every man needs in the
battle of life, but his feelings prompt him to want
something else as a recompense. My better judg-
ment appealed to me to return home and take up
the thread of life where I had left it, but my pride
of purpose stood in the way.

The snow was disappearing rapidly from lower

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 137

points and I was hesitating and fully realized
that I must make a decision now that would affect
my destiny for years to come. While in this state
of uncertainty I received a letter from Judge Har-
mon in Denver telling me of a party there wishing
to buy a big mine for only a little money. This
seemed to me more like a joke than business, but
he advised me to pack up some fine samples from
the Pulaska, come to Denver and help him talk a
sale of the property.

In due course of time I received an introduction
to the parties referred to in Judge Harmon's letter.
The parley that ensued for the next several days
would be too tedious to relate. I told them the
mineral vein was five or six feet in width and con-
tained mineral like the samples. That by a tunnel
four or five hundred feet the mine would be tapped
three or four hundred feet deep and from the mouth
of the tunnel the ore could be delivered, on an
easy grade, by a car into a mill already built for
the treatment of ore. As they were willing to pur-
chase a big mine for small money we set our price
at only $25,000.

Very few questions, if any at all, were asked in
regard to the value of the ore. To verify my word
about the mine I proposed to pay all expenses of
any one they might designate, if he found it misrep-
resented. They had made a rough calculation that it
would take $8,000. to run the tunnel and that $15,-
000. was all they would invest in the venture, leav-
ing only $7,000. in actual cash to pay us. At first
Pope and Harmon were opposed to accepting their
offer, but I explained to them that the mine was
worth nothing to us, and that this money would
pay them back three or four times as much money
as they had expended, so we finally agreed to ac-
cept their proposition.

While this deal was going on, another, in some
respects more important, was working itself to
the front. The Government had bought part of the
Ute Indian reservation, and from the glowing ac-

138 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

counts in the papers it was rich in mineral. A
banker by the name of Collins as a partner with
Mr. Harmon proposed to pay me two-thirds of all
expenses, including wages at $4.00 per day, to go
into this section and we would be one-third owners
in all I might find. As I wanted to see more of the
Western country, I accepted their proposition to
take effect as soon as we completed our mining
sale, which would require only a short while.

Returning to Georgetown with the party desig-
nated we visited the Pulaska next day, and he was
highly pleased. I told Daniel about my expected trip
through the mountains and found he would like
to go with me, in fact I was anxious for him to go,
but did not want to insist or even advise him to do
so. We called on our friend Tom Johns at his room
in the hotel. After a conference lasting an hour
or two he took Daniel's receipt for $200.00 and
they were to be equal partners in the discoveries,
virtually the same arrangement I had made with
the parties in Denver.

This man Johns was a shrewd trader and had
made over $200,000. selling and dealing in mines.
He had this actual cash in a leather valise or grip
which he carried in his hand swung across his
shoulder by a strap. He had a tinner to make tin
boxes, with hinges to them, of a certain size to
hold $500., $100., $50. and $20. dollar bills. The grip
and its contents would not weigh over six or eight
pounds. He expected to start in a few days, so he
said, out through Utah and other Western sections
on a speculating detour, and wanted to have his
money with him. According to his idea it was too
much money to risk in the banks.

A favorable report on the Pulaska mine consu-
mated the deal and the money was ready on pre-
sentation of the deed but one of the owners was
absent. I had received a postal card from Burk-
holder at Halls Gulch, out in the mountains about
seventy miles west of Denver. As it was very un-
certain about getting a letter to him quickly, Judge

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 139

Harmon went with me to a livery stable and we
hired a suitable conveyance to make the trip. That
evening I drove out to the head of Turkey Canyon
about thirty miles.

Halls Gulch was a place of one store and a few
other buildings. I had feed for my team with me,
and for some cause quite a number of men were
standing around, some of them pitching horse shoes,
others seeing it. I saw several parties that knew
Burkholder and they told me he and others had
left for Oro City, about forty miles distant, ex-
pecting to make part of the trip on snowshoes.
They also told me there was a way of reaching
that place by going through Fairplay, and then
some hundred and fifty miles or more still further,
with practically a good road and no snow all the
way.

Being on the job to stay, after night overtook
me I let the ponies do their own driving, and about
nine o'clock they stopped in front of a livery stable,
perhaps they had been there before. I had traveled
all day over good roads in an altitude of 10,000
feet, another 1,000 feet in height would have been
above timber line, and had made seventy miles,
paying out $3.00 at the different toll gates. Next
morning I could plainly see a mountain range five
or six miles distant, bearing off toward the west,
yet covered with snow. A man offered for $10.00
to furnish the snowshoes and lead the way through
Mosquito Pass over to Oro City only fiften miles
away. But I was not in the snowshoe business.

The memory of this long trip and the events are
still fresh in my mind, but time and space warn
me that most of them must be left out of this nar-
rative. Middle Park is a level tract of land in the
heart of the mountains, suitable for grazing in
the summer season. It was fifty miles to Chubb's
ranch on the head of Trout Creek, and not a house
of any kind on the way. Three or four miles out
on my journey I noticed a number of men working
in a pit fifty or seventy-five feet in diameter and

140 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

about twenty feet deep. As this was something new
to me I halted a few minutes to see what they
were doing and how they did it.

They were using a derrick run by a small engine,
and with a large iron scoop were depositing sand
and gravel in a flue on top of the ground, partly
filled with water. A gentleman came forward and
we shook hands. I readily recognized him as Mr.
Clark for whom I had worked on the Terrible mine.
He was a rich man now but still hunting for some-
thing bigger than ever. I learned from him that he
was taking out some gold but expected to find
better pay on reaching the bed rock. Six days later,
on my return trip, bed rock had not been found,
the derrick had fallen, which killed one man, and
that man was Mr. Clark. The irony of Fate or some
other decree had called him to a higher court.

Next day at the mouth of Trout Creek I crossed
the Arkansas River and made an acute angle bear-
ing east of north, and recrossed the river next day
near Granite City. This village was in a fever of
excitement over the killing of a man in the court
room during a trial. It was yet twenty-five miles
to my point of destination. About three miles above
the city I found an obstruction across the road. A
large flat boulder and part of the bank had filled
the road two-thirds full for ten or fifteen feet
making it impossible for me to pass without assist-
ance.

Unhitching the team and pushing back the buggy
a hundred yards I turned it around and was soon
on the way back to Granite City but I failed to
find any one willing to assist me until I approached
a man hammering on a piece of hot iron. I asked
him the question if he was a mason, and after a
brief conversation he banked his fires, took a ham-
mer and a wrench, and went with me. He seemed
to know exactly what to do and how to do it.
Taking the tongue and wheels off, we lifted the
balance of the conveyance over the obstruction. It
took fifteen or twenty minutes to put me on my

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 141

journey. The dashing waters of the river could be
seen and heard fifty feet below. I offered and in-
sisted on paying him for his trouble, but not a cent
would he receive, telling me it was not a money
job.

I reached the mouth of California Gulch between
sundown and dark. When darkness overtook me I
still held the lines but the ponies did their own driv-
ing, as it was too dark for me to see the road. At
last a gleam of light in the distance caught my eye.
When the team stopped I could see men in a room
paying cards, but could not make them hear me.
I was numb with cold and fatigue ; finally when
they came out one of them assisted me into the
house. A cup of hot coffee and a warm supper
brought me to the fore, right side up with care.
If any man shauld presume to say that traveling
through a strange country on a very dark night
was a species of fun and amusement, he might
open up a good case for impeaching his veracity.

In commencing my search for Burkholder next
morning I soon learned that the object of my long
drive through the mountains was liable to prove
a failure. I made it a point to ask everyone I met
if he knew a man by the name of Burkholder and
received the same negative answer from each one.
I was not much surprised at this for we had been
partners in the prospecting business for three or
four months before I knew his name, in fact did not
know it until we organized the Leavenworth Boom
Ditch Co.

Oro City was simply a placer mining village
that had been on wheels, so to speak, from the
mouth of California Gulch. Parties had been sluic-
ing for gold in this gulch for ten years past and
had gradually moved their camp higher up the
gulch as the gold deposits were worked out below.
They expected ultimately to find the mother lode
where the gold had its origin, and then commence
quartz mining on the vein which is often more
profitable. At several places, on my return trip,

142 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

I noticed banks forty feet high with a chasm a
hundred feet wide, while at other places the banks
were lower showing- the bed rock was much nearer
the surface. I noticed one place in particular where
my buggy wheel had run within a foot of a forty-
foot bank, but I did not know it at the time.

In the head of the chasm or gulch six or eight
men were working and I went down among them
to make inquiry. They were using two large noz-
zles, which under hydraulic pressure were throwing
water against the banks, the water carrying off the
sand, dirt and small gravel through a flue pre-
pared in the regular way for catching the gold.
Several men were moving boulders, large and small
so as to assist the water in doing its work. This
was the most systematic way of gulch mining I
had ever seen, and reduced the labor to a minimum.

The only man I could find that knew Burkholder
was the one merchant of the city. He had sold
Burkholder a bill of supplies for him and his com-
panions, but did not know how far or which way
it was to their camp. As it was yet early in the
day I decided to take a tramp through the hills
and ravines to see if I could find them. This gave
me an opportunity as a prospector to examine the
mineral croppings of that particular section. Per-
haps I walked ten miles or more as the ground was
not nearly so rough or precipituous as I had been
used to.

Possibly it would have been greatly to my in-
terest had I remained there another day, or even
several days, and continued my tramping with pick
and shovel. It is always a hard and difficult thing
for a man to wear his "fore" sights, where there is
a strong element of uncertainty, but I picked up
during the day a number of fine float specimens,
and saw three or four of those gray ashbank indi-
cations which led me to know from experience
that lead, and maybe silver, could be easily found,
and a few years later, was found in large quanti-
ties.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 143

To prove the correctness of this idea and state-
ment, in less than five years from that time a flour-
ishing" city, called Leadville, with a population of
20,000 inhabitants was built up there in the vici-
nity of Oro City. It was the largest strictly mining
town in all the Rocky Mountains. Georgetown,
less than a hundred miles distant in a straight line,
once had a population of 5,000, and Cripple Creek
12,000 or 15,000; they were the next largest.

As my expenses were $14.00 per day it looked
like burning up too much money, though later I
could see this was a mistake on my part, so I con-
cluded to write Burkholder a letter, telling him all
the particulars, and left it with the merchant, ex-
plaining to him its importance. On my return I
made the regular fifty miles per day except the
last lap of thirty miles. It was eighteen miles down
Turkey Canyon, and then twelve further to Den-
ver. Both ponies were lame in their front feet, so
had to let them walk. It was dark when I drove in
the home stable. I had been absent ten days and
expected to pay him $100.00 but he reduced the
bill, of his own accord, to $70.00.

Of course I met Judge Harmon and explained to
him the results of the trip. We both called on the
purchasers of the Pulaska, but found they were un-
willing to pay the money until all parties had signed
the deed. We assured them that Burkholder would
be on hand in ten days or less time, and they agreed
to wait. Really we were afraid they might back out.
Daniel had arranged with four other men that on
my return six of us would pay a teamster that had
agreed to take us to Del Norte for $20.00 each. I
gave Judge Harmon power of attorney to collect
my money, and we started on our long trip.

CHAPTER VI

PROSPECTING IN THE SAN JUAN COUNTRY.
LARGE MINERAL VEINS BUT LOW GRADE ORE.
A LONG TRIP OF 250 MILES. FAILED TO REACH
GUNNISON MINES. INDIAN TROUBLE. DIS-
COURAGED RETURNED TO GEORGETOWN.
AGREED WITH MY PARTNERS TO MAKE
ANOTHER TRIP INTO THE MINES.
RETURN TO MY NATIVE HOME TO
STAY.

Beginning a new chapter is also the beginning
of a new venture. The estimated distance to Del
Norte was three hundred miles. With nice spring
seats, an easy running wagon and a spanking good
team, the driver expected to make an average of
forty miles per day, and at this rate reach our des-
tination in seven days. I had just made fifty miles
a day and in higher altitudes. As our board was in-
cluded in the price of transportation, he hired an
extra man to do the cooking. The supplies were
carried with us and we were not overly hard to
please, so they did not cost much. Riding all day
long for a whole week grows monotonous and tire-
some, otherwise we had a pleasant time and a good
chance to see the country.

On the third day we passed through Manitou,
and circling around Pike's Peak, camped a little
north of where Cripple Creek is now located. Of
course we all expected to get rich in the new "El-
dorado" of the San Juan (San Wan) country, and
were in high glee over the prospects. There is
nothing like a high-grade incentive behind a man's
movements. We had lots to talk about, and nothing
else to do, so camp life was very like a pastime.

We reached Del Norte, situated on the Rio

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 145

Grande River, a little before noon on the seventh
day. From this point the real tug of war com-
menced. It was a hundred miles to the head waters
of the river, and then ten miles further to Bakers
Park, the supposed center of the new mining re-
or the mill would be of no further service. It was
gion. The necessary equipment to make this jour-
ney was the next thing in order. We knew every-
thing needed in prospecting and developing a mine
if such was found, also we knew the largest amount
of supplies possible, would all have to be carried
with us, for such things as these would be hard to
get in a new mining camp.

One of the very important things was to pur-
chase two good pack animals. There were two bur-
ros' corrals near the town owned by two Mexicans,
an dthey, the burros, were there for sale. The price
of these little animals ranged from $10.00 to $30.00
according to size and age. They were gentle and
easy to handle, in fact they are "born that way."
Using our best judgment we selected two of the
best ones. We gave a greaser fifty cents to select
two good pack saddles and show us how to do the
packing act. He showed us how to tie knots that
would not slip, and taught us the secret of the
"diamond hitch" by which the pack was kept to
its place up or down hill.

We drove out eight or ten miles the first evening
and selected a good camping place which contained
of wood, water and grass, three indispensable
things. One of the commendable qualities of these
little animals is that with plenty of grass they will
stay near camp, and frequently come in at day-
light to get a taste of salt. They will carry a hun-
dred to a hundred and fifty pounds all day and
never sulk. He needs no shoes for his feet, and can
go anywhere a man can go without using his hands.
So much said for the donkey, and I ought to know
him well.

Fifty miles on our journey we passed Wagon
Wheel Gap which was the limit of the expedition

146 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

led by John C. Fremont seeking a low pass in the
Continental Divide. Two old wagon wheels were
on the side of the road said to be part of his train.
The river passes through a gorge at this place a
mile long, and it was five miles over a rough moun-
tain to get back into the valley.

At Pole Creek we found several parties unable
to get across. After 10 or 11 A. M. until midnight,
the creek was a raging torrent, but in the early
morning it could be crossed with safety. One of the
men went up the creek and killed a mountain sheep
and brought the hind-quarters into camp, but for
my part I preferred taking a rest instead of hunt-
ing. Next morning our donkeys easily took the
lead. Usually I walked in front to pick the best
part of the road, and they soon learned to follow
my footsteps. The numerous little branches, some
of them knee deep, we paid no more attention to
than if they had been dry land.

On the sixth day we crossed the "Great Divide."
There were yet patches of snow in low places. A
deep ravine was down below us, and the moun-
tain was steep. We could look up the canyon and
see a beautiful cascade, formed by melting snow,
pitching off a cliff not less than 1,000 feet high. We
struck camp that night about a mile above Bullion
City, so-called, on the Animus River which flows
westward and finally into the Pacific Ocean.

In talking with several parties that evening and
night I learned from them that a number of pros-
pectors were up the river about eight miles at the
mouth of Eureka Gulch. This is where Baker and
five of his comrades were massacred by the Indians
a few years previous, two of them escaping to tell
the tale of horror. Their representation of vast
mineral deposits led the Government to purchase
the Indians' claim to the country, though some of
them were still displeased about it and frequently
went on the war-path.

On reaching that point next day we found much
nicer camping ground, and soon formed the ac-

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 147

quaintance of other prospectors. Three or four of
them had already made a big discovery, and in
their vivid imagination were quite wealthy, or soon
would be. On invitation we visited their mine and
found it big enough, in fact larger than the Pulas-
ka. It was hard to tell where it commenced or
ended. There was no break in the granite rock to
indicate the walls of a mine, such as we had been
used to see incasing a vein either large or small.
They were very kind in explaining to us the na-
ture of mineral deposits and how to determine their
value, taking great pride in pointing out to us the
spots and streaks of ruby silver seen in their spe-
cimens of ore. As we had been in the business of
prospecting only seven or eight years we readily
conceded to them a superiority of knowledge. I
had often been in their fix and well knew that
"where ignorance is bliss it is folly to be wise."
They presented us with several small specimens
of their ore to carry in our pockets as a "mascot"
to give us luck in rinding a mine of the same kind.

Leaving our new found friends we proceeded to
trace the croppings of their mine, which was easily
done as there was nothing but bare rocks all the
way, a distance of a quarter mile or perhaps 2000
feet. We made a discovery of our own, however,
as we had no drill with us we passed on to see if
some other mine was waiting to be located. We
made a kind of preliminary survey of the country
that day, passing by the spot where Baker and his
men lost their lives. A few rusty shovels and other
tools bore a silent testimony to the sad fate of their
former owners, but such is often the ending of an
early western life.

In a measure we now had a secondary interest
in the "Ruby Mine" (maybe that was its name)
by virtue of a discovery on its extension. Due to
this fact and partly through curiosity I decided to
take out my blowpipe and see how it stood the
recent 400-mile trip, with a view of making an
assay on the "mascot" specimen. The little Wedge-

148 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

wood mortar and pestle was all right. I soon
made a few bone-ash cupels, and in a short time a
small part of the specimen, was under the "blue
blaze." Ruby silver is nearly a third pure silver,
and I might expect a nice little button as a result,
but instead it went into thin air and only a trace
of silver was left, possibly six or eight ounces to
the ton.

Our friends paid us a social visit that night, and
we told them of making a discovery on the exten-
sion of their mine, and that it was our intention
to cross-cut the entire width of the vein with a
view of finding the core or rich streak if such
existed. We also showed them our y% drills, two of
them eighteen and two nine inches long all sharp
and ready for use. Each one of us by using a three-
pound hammer drilled a hole, and then a little stick
of giant powder or dynamite did the work. We
learned this from Mr. Glenn formerly mentioned.

Drills in constant use require sharpening and
the nearest place for that kind of work was Bullion
City, six miles distant. This fact forced us to build
a forge of our own, and by the way it is worth
mentioning how it is done. Build a rock flue about
a foot in diameter at the base and gradually draw
in to six inches, three feet from the ground, and
then flange it out for the next foot. About two or
three inches from the base leave an apperture 2x4
or less, to insert the drill or point of the pick. If
too much draft at any time the place can be closed
by a rock of the proper size. As a substitute for
an anvil we used a small steel plate 1-4 inch thick
2x3, fastened on a stump or log.

Ten days work put our claim in proper shape for
record. The "stuff" when first brought to light had
a metallic appearance, but a few days exposure to
the air turned it to a dingy black. I made a dozen
or more assays, each time with the same result,
"nothing doing." We might have quit the job, but
thought maybe there might be a rich streak, but
it was not there. It reminded me of zink-blend,

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 149

sometimes called "black-jack," and is about as
innocent of gold or silver as granite itself. Perhaps
mines of this character are yet in their adolescent
period, and in the course of a thousand years or
longer they will be valuable for future generations.

We continued to prospect for several days higher
up on the mountain on both sides and the head of
Eureka gulch. It was much preferable to find a
smaller mine with richer mineral, something like
the Robert Lee, formerly mentioned, for instance.
There were large mines of little value around
Georgetown, but there were smaller ones of great
value, and such might be the case in this section
of the country. But failing to find anything of that
kind we folded our tent and went back to Bullion
City to take a new start.

On going up the gulch, we came down the first
day, we noticed the beautiful cascade was no longer
in business, the supply of water had given out. We
made a circuit higher on the mountain, and as it
happened found two men we had formerly known,
though had lost sight of for the last few years.
They were crossing a big mine just as we had done.
I took a specimen of their best mineral to our
camp and found it just like ours. I was slowJy
making up my mind there was no rich mineral in
the country, but did not want to reach this con-
clusion until I had tested the mineral from dis-
coveries made by others as well as myself. If I
could find some one with a rich specimen I would
visit that location.

In order to obtain better, grazing for our burros
we moved further down the Animus, which was
called a river, though in size was only a creek,
easily forded in the first part of the day. It was our
intention in starting one day to go out as far as
the Continental Range, perhaps six miles. Men
looking for a needle in a haystack possibly might
find it near the top. I owned a small telescope
about six inches long kept in a leather case with a
shoulder strap. When extended it was about two

150 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

feet long and enabled me to see things at a dis-
tance, a hundred or more times better.

When going into high altitudes I usually carried
this instrument with me. Part of my business in
the country was to see things. Like the miser that
never gets enough gold, so with the eye it is never
feasted. Ascending the mountain a short distance
we concluded to take a look at Silverton situated
in the upper end of Bakers Park and about three
miles distant. To our great surprise we could see
a number of "Noble Red Men" of the forest riding
around and others on their way. We changed our
intended trip to another day, and started to the
park to see what it meant.

As it happened a number of prospectors and
others were on hand and had staked out a race
track in the park by the time we got there. Ouray,
the big Chief of the Ute tribe, was on his way down
to the Animus valley, about thirty miles further,
where some of his "big braves" were threatening
to take the "war path" against white settlers. This
part of the valley was included in the purchase by
the Government yet the Indians, some of them, did
not want to give it up, as it was valuable for graz-
ing purposes.

Chief Ouray was a large portly Indian of over
two hundred pounds. He wore an old rusty high
crown beaver hat, a faded yellow vest and buck-
skin pants. It seemed to me his mouth was at least
four inches from corner to corner. Like other In-
dians he had very little to say, though could grunt
out a few English words. Some ten bucks were
along, his bodyguard I suppose, all riding nice sleek
ponies. Only two of his squaws were present, both
riding astride the same animal. But Ouray was
friendly to the white man and was trying to keep
peace.

Baker's Park was three miles wide and five long,
and certain parties had a few nice ponies picketed
out on the grass. They brought several in to race
with the Chief's ponies, but he would only bet

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 151

$5.00 on each race. Out of ten races the Chief lost
three. The last race was a close one, and there was
some contention over it. After this the Chief said
"Umph ! me bet no more, good white man, big
Indian go, want peace." Ouray put up his money
like a good gambler, but did not decide the winner
of the race.

We met three of the men that camped with us on
Pole Creek, and they were jubilant over their pros-
pects. They had beaten us to the "jug" and had
taken a good "swig" in the shape of several big
discoveries. With pride and assurance of great
wealth they showed me specimens containing near-
ly half gray copper, which of itself is twenty per
cent pure silver. For the time I was encouraged
that there was valuable mineral in the country,
and told them we would visit their mining section
at an early date. I was allowed to keep a small spe-
cimen.

Silverton was rated as the County Site, and a
nice location for a large city, which is more than
can be said for most all mining towns. We found
a man for the paltry sum of $4.00 who was willing
to write a few lines in a blank book, and then fill
out the blank and sign his name as Recorder. After
handing back the change for a $5.00 bill, he could
afford to sit back with an air of assumed importance
of holding an office.

After Ouray left the crowd dispersed. In order
to reach camp we had to cross the Animus which
was then at full tide. Where the water was shallow
it was too swift to be safe, so we found a good
wading place and it circled around just under the
chin, and good cold water too. The first thing on
docket after reaching camp was to find out what
the "blue blaze" said about the sample of gray
copper. With amazement and disappointment I
watched it vanish into thin air. There was no use
now in keeping the engagement, just as well stay
on our own side of the river, at least the chances
were equally as good.

152 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

In prospecting we usually carried a pick, ham-
mer, drill and a few sticks of giant powder. No
use looking for "indications" for there were none.
We had not even worn the new off our shovels, in
fact had very little use for them. Perhaps we put
twenty shots, on as many discoveries, trying to
find mineral that would pay its way through a mill.
I invariably made an assay from each shot and each
one of us kept a sample of the mineral, wrapped
in a piece of paper and numbered. This would en-
able us to make a report of our work.

We had no idea of quitting the job. The con-
tract was for the summer season, and our inten-
tion was to stay with it, hit or miss. We were about
ready to move our camp up around the head
waters of the Animus, some fifteen miles, when I
received a leter from Judge Harmon telling me
the sale of the Pulaska was consummated, and the
money paid over in full, and that Burkholder had
paid him, for me, all my expenses on the trip hunt-
ing him. He also wrote me that the papers were
giving very favorable reports from a new mining
section on the Gunnison River, and suggested that
I make a short detour through that country and
see if the reports were true. By looking on the
map, which doubtless he did, the distance might be
estimated at about seventy-five miles.

But there was not even an Indian trail connect-
ing the two points. The only practical route was
to go to Del Norte and Saguache, a distance of
over two hundred miles. As we were badly rattled
over the value of mines in that section we con-
cluded to make the trip and on the way prospect
up the different creeks flowing into the Rio Grande.
This entire country consisted of mountain ranges,
and the mountain streams with their parks and
valleys gave it drainage. In the economy of Nature
the mountains were made to contain mineral for
the use of man as he became more enlightened;
the thing was to find it.

A long trip like this meant much walking. What

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 153

is the use of money anyhow, unless to buy com-
fort? For $35.00 we bought a pony and cheap saddle
so we could take time about riding. The only
trouble with a pony, it had to be picketed out, as
it might take a notion to leave for parts unknown.
We prospected one day up Pole Creek, and one day
at Antelope Park, and two days at Wagon Wheel
Gap. Several years later a man named Creed found
valuable mines near this place. We gave them a
close call but it was not our prerogative to find
them. Luck, as such, is made of that kind of ma-
terial.

After a long ramble on the evening of the first
day at this place, while Daniel got supper I took
my line and hook and went up the gorge about two
hundred yards and walked out on a jutting boulder,
with the hopeful object of catching the speckled
trout that inhabited the stream. I only had fifteen
grasshoppers in a tin can with which to .bait the
hook. It was not a matter of either art or luck, but
simply to throw the line as far up stream as pos-
sible and watch the bait as it floated down. When
the fish struck it, I gave a quick jerk, and the
speckled beauty would come wiggling along until
he stood in front.

If a small one less than two pounds happened on
the hook, I threw it back and let it grow larger
for somebody else. In an hour or less time I had a
nice string of ten that would weigh from two to
four pounds each. I was not fishing for fun, but
for a change in diet, and something better to eat.
We knew from others that it was the nature of
these fish to migrate up or down the stream in
order to find water of a certain temperature to
suit their preference, but that exact location was
sometimes hard to find.

Fishing never was much pleasure to me, it re-
quires to much patience and not enough work,
though lots of people think it is great sport. Next
day we went further up the gorge, and might have
gone all the way. There was a fascinating charm

154 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

about the dashing roaring waters, enhanced by the
surroundings, hardly excelled if ever equalled. On
the oposite side a massive volume of rock was so
high that it seemed to be looking over in astonish-
ment at the performance below. It was not less
than 2000 feet high. Of course we did not measure
the height, it might have been 3000 feet.

Nor was this the only wonderful thing at that
place. A short distance from the road, maybe a
hundred yards, a big boiling spring of hot water
came out of the earth with enough force to bulge
up in the center. We had crossed the stream made
by it, in passing that way before, but did not know
it was hot water. Nor did we know this time until
next morning from our camp we could see a big
smoke, and went down to find out the cause. The
spring looked like the inside part of a large black
caldron eight feet in diameter with a hole in the
bottom..

The water was too hot to hold one's hand in it
longer than two seconds. My report in regard to
the source of this supply of water will necessarily
be incomplete, as we didn't have time to dig down
to the big fire that did the heating act. About two
hundred feet off I noticed a nice little stream of
clear cool water trickling through the crevice in
a rock. It was just about the right height from
the ground, so I concluded to take a drink, but it
only got part of the way to the swallow point. My
first impression was of rotten eggs. Some people
might like this kind of water if bottled up, and
they had to pay twenty-five cents per bottle, but
for my own part I would prefer a different brand.

Eventually we reached Del Norte and struck
camp about half a mile out from the city. Fortuna-
tely a friendly looking Mexican was standing near
his gate, and we asked him the privilege of turn-
ing our burros in his pasture. "As you are pros-
pectors it won't cost you anything," he replied,
which was very kind of him. As it happened he
knew the animals, and was glad they were in good

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 155

hands. That night we visited the city to make a
few purchases so as to be ready for an early start
next morning. We passed a new building with many
lights, and the sound of music and revelry on the
inside and we stepped in to see what it meant. To
our surprise we found a regular dance hall in full
blast, and a motley crowd it was, consisting of men
and women galore. Judging from the costume and
deportment I think the Mexican element predom-
inated. It was different, however, from the one
we had formerly visited. There were various rooms
set apart, one for faro, one for poker, one for the
wheel of fortune, and one for roulette. Neither of
us spoke a word to a single man or woman, in fact
we were not neded as a factor in the success of
the institution.

There was a bridge across the river at this point,
but at this time of the year when the waters were
high there was an overflow about a hundred yards
further along, which was both too deep and swift
to ford. A large rope about a hundred feet long was
stretched across, and a man in a skiff waited on
the traveling public by pulling on the rope. But
how to get our animals across was a difficult ques-
tion to me. The ferryman assured us there would
be no trouble by following his instructions which
was easy to do.

Taking our packs off he tied one end of a rope
to the pack saddle, and one of us got in the skiff
with him, holding the other end, and when half-
way across the other one pushed the animal into
the current. The ferryman pulled on his rope while
the animal slued around and came out on the other
side. Of course this process was followed with the
other two animals. While crossing it dawned upon
my mind that the ferryman was our old friend
Henry Adams. We had entirely lost sight of him
for the past two years.

This man Adams discovered a mine and named it
Matilda Fletcher, after a young lady that gave a
lecture of some kind in Georgetown. Either Bill

156 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

Moore or Tom Johns paid him $10,000 and kept
the balance of a $40,000 deal. He invested a few
hundred dollars in a little cigar and tobacco stand
on one of the side streets. I called several times
to see him but he was always absent. There was a
back door, locked all the time, supposed to be his
private room, but as I learned later was used as
a gambling den. In five months Henry lost in a
manner, all his money and then dropped out of
sight. He was now making some good money,
and when he had enough for a "grub stake" would
try it over.

A journey of thirty-five miles lay before us, and
as our baggage was reduced to a minimum in the
way of supplies we put all on one burro and rode
the other. No animal, as far as I know, moves
with more ease to the rider than the burro. He has
a kind of pacing movement that reminds one of
being in a swing. The road all the way was smooth
and level, not a single hill to climb, and only one
branch on the route where we rested about an hour.
We were passing through the lower part of the
San Luis valley. South of us lay the Sangre De
Cristo range, showing we were still in the confines
of the mountain regions.

We reached Saguache about sundown and stop-
ped in front of a store. The merchant came out
and invited us to put our baggage in his store, and
turn our stock in his pasture. There had developed
a spirit of rivalry between this town and Del Norte
as an "outfitting" place for parties going into the
new mining country, and this gave the prospector
favorable consideration. As the hotel only charged
us $1.00 per day for board and lodging we con-
cluded not to be in any extra hurry getting away,
as it was a nice place to stay.

Quite a big trial was going on at the courthouse
— not much house - - in which a Mexican was
charged with some misdemeanor. As the witnesses
were all Mexican and could not talk English it
was necessary to have an interpreter. My interest

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 157

in the trial was to hear the lawyer ask questions
in English, and then watch the interpreter "jab-
ber" awhile with the witness, and then answer back
in English. The novelty of the thing made it in-
teresting. Several large counties in the southern
part of the teritory were occupied by Greasers, and
the legislature had to provide interpreters for the
benefit of the members elected from these counties.
The Spanish language, as such, when spoken by a
glib tongue sounds very nice, much more so than
the German, French or English.

We made our purchases that evening and next
day went up the Saguache valley about twenty-five
miles. Opposite our camp, across the creek, and
about two miles distant, we could see what ap-
peared to be holes in the high cliffs. With the glass
we could see clearly enough they were holes, but
could not tell whether made by Nature or by hand.
I have regretted many times not spending at least
one day of investigation. Possibly they had been
used by the early Indians as a habitation and place
of refuge from other tribes.

There was a passably good wagon road all the
way across the Continental Divide into the Gunni-
son mines, and we expected a pleasant speedy trip.
This is the route Fremont ought to have taken in
order to find the low pass across the great divide
that he was looking for when he went up the Rio
Grande. Next day we met four men riding in a
wagon and direct from the Gunnison. This was de-
cidedly a fortunate meeting for us as they could
give us definite information, which we had failed
to obtain by asking others.

They were armed both with guns and side arms,
and told us we would not be able to reach the
mining region without a fight with the Indians.
They had no objections to parties coming out, but
were on the war path against those going in. These
Indians claimed the treaty included the upper part
of the Gunnison, but not where the mines were lo-
cated. This same trouble existed on the Animus

158 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

when Chief Ouray went down there to setle it as
previously mentioned. These men advised us to
wait awhile until the trouble was settled.

My past experience with the Indian, as a human
being, gave me a very poor opinion of him, and that
he placed a low value on the life of the white man.
When we came to the fork of the road, we decided
in about three seconds to take the left hand which
led back to the head waters of the Animus. A few
of the progressive citizens of Saguache had ten men
at that time marking and building a road to the
Animus, and when we finished was much better and
at least fifty miles nearer, than the route via Del
Norte.

We had left the Saguache valley several miles
back and were gradually ascending some higher
altitude, in fact we pased the great divide on such
an easy grade that we scarcely realized the fact.
As I recall some of the events of this trip, I will
mention crossing one stretch of ten miles with no
trees or rocks, though covered with a kind of short
grass. It was not a park in the usual meaning of
that word, because there was no high frowning
cliff to be seen. The road builders had put up a
line of stakes to mark out the way to go. On reach-
ing the far side a nice small stream crossed our
route and as there was plenty of wood, water, and
grass, we struck camp.

We noticed along up and down this branch
rather a peculiar growth different from anything I
had ever seen before. It was more like a big stalk
of some kind, than bush or sapling. They grow
from twenty to thirty feet high without a single
limb on them, though a bunch of leaves grew
on top. They are four inches in diameter at the bot-
tom, and three inches at the top. I cut three of
them down and found they had a pith on the in-
side, and was told by others that the pole when
peeled and dried, was light and nearly as hard as
bone.

It seems Nature is always bountiful as well as

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 159

generous in supplying the demands of her crea-
tures, either creeping, flying or walking. She pro-
vided this singular growth here, and here only,
for the special benefit of the Indians, as teepee
poles. They grew just the right size and length for
that purpose, and used by a people unable to make
or obtain them any other way.

In pursuing our journey, without expecting such
a thing, we came to one of the agencies established
by the government, where supplies of the various
kinds were issued according to the terms of the
treaty. Here we could see a number of these good-
for-nothing scamps sitting and loafing around, and
a short distance up the valley could see their tee-
pees reminding one of a city, after a fashion. This
was a fortunate arrangement between Uncle Sam
and the Big Chief, especially the latter. Under the
new deal his people belonged strictly to the aristo-
cratic class, with plenty to eat and nothing to do
but to organize excursion parties and hunting
bouts. Like a rich man with a big income they
could "laugh to scorn the ills of life, and be gay
and happy still." It was easy enough to comply with
one part of the treaty, that of drawing rations and
supplies, but they were disposed to break over in
other respects. Due to this disposition on their part
we failed to visit the Gunnison mines.

Merely by accident we camped one day at noon
where an Indian trail crossed our road. Entirely
unexpectedly a moving band of Indian passed with-
in a hundred feet or so of our camp. Perhaps there
were two hundred or more of them, old and young,
male and female. This was one of the sights I was
anxious to see. It took them fully half an hour to
pass. The bucks were riding in front at an easy
gait in single file, in fact they all passed that way,
seemingly without the least bit of confusion. The
squaws were all walking and looking after the
pack animals. The teepee poles were fastened on
in such a way that one end dragged on the ground
behind the pack animal. A device of some character

160 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

was fastened to these poles about five feet from the
end in which the small papoose did the riding act,
perhaps it was tied there. None of them paid the
slightest attention to us, which met my hearty ap-
proval, I am sure. It is part of the Indian's nature
to be indifferent toward the white man or anything
he does, except when he encroaches upon his hunt-
ing ground. The chances are he would go to sleep
while watching a display of fire works. We had no
idea where they were going or whence they came.

I am free to admit that after seeing so many
of them, and looking at their savage faces, which
bore the marks of a cruel nature, I formed even a
more unfavorable opinion of them than formerly.
I felt more inclined than ever to accept the com-
mon western opinion, that the "only good Indian
is a dead one." Several passed us that evening
going the same way we were. This of itself was a
little suspicious, considering the low opinion we
had of them. Two or three were more liable to do
a real mean thing than a large number.

As the evening shades drew near we were glad
to strike some lower levels. We crossed Saboia
River (creek) on a bridge made by the road build-
ers. The river took its name, I am told, from wild
onions that grew there. On acount of the land
being nearly level the creek was too deep to ford.
On each side the grass was growing over waist
high. That night we went down near the creek
bank and spread our blankets on the tall grass. All
through the night we could hear thudding sounds
like some one pitching rocks in the water. On exa-
mination next morning we found the banks were
made slick by beavers sliding down into the water.
Only a short distance below was a regular beaver
dam.

It was only three miles down to the Gunnison
River forming a rich valley of several thousand
acres, in my opinion suitable for wheat or other
cereal growth. We followed the newly made road,
which was through the woods above the river,

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 161

though near enough at times to hear the rushing
waters. All along for ten miles the pine trees, per-
haps a hundred or more, had been denuded of their
bark as high as one could reach. On inquiring of
others I learned that the squaws took it off to use
as bread before the treaty. I can't vouch for the
explanation, but can vouch for the trees being
barkless.

By making rather a long march that day we
reached the forks of the Gunnison. For some dis-
tance below, by the widening of the valley form-
ing a park it was evident that we were approach-
ing the forks. Late in the evening we passed by
what semed to be an old camp with pieces of striped
blankets and a few cooking vessels left behind.
This of itself was very unusual, yet such things
could happen. Here we overtook and camped near
the road builders that night. It was a little like get-
ting back into civilization once more to find white
men that would speak back and give us some at-
tention.

That night, when we first visited their camp, I
noticed the carcass of a beaver hanging up taking
the cool night breeze. But it looked so much like
a little baby that next morning when they offered
us some of it as a breakfast food, I declined with
thanks, in fact I was always a little tender about
eating animal flesh. That night while sitting
around the camp fire I asked Mr. Hodgkiss, who
was in charge of the road hands, in regard to the
old camp we had passed about a mile below. He was
a little surprised that I had not heard the events
connected with this camp while in Saguache, that
it was the chief topic of conversation four months
ago.

As he related the events pertaining to this old
camp they semed like some big ghost story, or
more like a part of the history of Captain Kidd
and John A. Murrell combined. I will try to be as
brief as possible in relating the story he told which
was corroborated later by others. The story is

162 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

about as follows : A company of four men, no doubt
prospectors, were taking their chances in finding a
new mining region. They were under the leader-
ship of a half-breed, part Indian and part Mexican,
with the duplicity and cunning of both races.

After wandering around through the mountain
defiles, being either lost or so arranged by inten-
tion, found a resting place and escape from star-
vation in the Uncompahgre valley, the home
grounds of Ouray the big chief, where he kept his
ponies through the long winter, also a herd of
sheep and goats. This plateau was maybe fifty
miles long by ten miles wide, and was sheltered by
high ranges of mountains, making it a fine winter
resort. About the first or middle of March they con-
cluded to pass over onto the head waters of the
Gunnison, which they did, and camped at the place
about a mile below. Under the plea of saving his
own life from starvation this half-bred knocked
his companions in the head with a hatchet, one at
a time and used their flesh as a cannibal. After this
horrible deed he passed over the Cochatopa Range,
which we had passed a few days previous, and on
down to Saguache. He had plenty of money and
spent it freely. In telling of his exploits through the
mountains he failed to tell the same tale every time
which led men to suspect he had killed his com-
rades for their money. He was arrested, put in jail,
but broke out in some way and no trace of him
had been found up to that time. The road builders
found the camp as he described it, but the mur-
dered men no doubt were thrown in the river and
the high water from melting snow had washed them
down in to the gorge below.

This gruesome tale might have been left out of
these memoirs as I was not directly connected with
the tragical events. But it serves to illustrate what
might befall any prospector that risks his life too
far in any field of uncertainty. We know nothing
of these men that lost their lives only that they
had some money. Seeking gold (which is a synonym

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 163

of wealth) and the love of adventure, induced these
men to undertake this perilous journey. This same
incentive caused Baker and those with him to go
beyond the bounds of safety, and hundreds of others
were still doing the same thing one way or an-
other.

Next morning Mr. Hodgekiss moved his camp
six miles further up the left fork of the river. It
was twenty miles yet to the head of the Animus.
As this was an extra nice place to recuperate we
remained there a whole week prospecting up both
forks of the river, also to give the road builders
more time to finish their work. We went up the
right hand branch first and found several fairly
good looking mines. Putting one or two shots in
each one the "blue blaze" told us it was not the
kind of mineral we were expecting to find. My ex-
perience had taught me there was no use wasting
time on low grade mineral.

On the last day up this branch we went higher
up on the mountain, even above timber line,
hoping to find a vein or croppings of some kind in-
dicating a higher grade of mineral. Out on top of
one of the higher points or peaks, with the aid of
the glass we could see in the distance the winding
course of the Uncompahgre valley, and where its
waters emptied into a larger river. Less than half
a mile up the left fork there was a beautiful lake
some three miles long and one mile wide. A lake in
the mountains is something of a novelty, though
in my travels I have seen several.

About a hundred feet below the lower end of
this lake there is a chasm through the solid rock
fifteen feet wide and thirty feet deep, and the lake
maintained its same level by flowing through this
fissure. Keeping the road on the south side of the
lake we stepped across a nice little stream of clear
water. It was about my time to "take a drink" but
the first gulp made me wish there was some way
to get it back. Vinegar sweetened with green per-
simons might give an idea how it tasted. The as-

164 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

tringent effect was due to a strong solution of
alum. This was not the first time I had been de-
ceived in taking a sip of what I thought was
"Adam's ale" in its purest form. We followed this
little streamlet up the mountain nearly a mile to
its source. It was not large enough to be called a
branch. A very short distance above the source of
the branch, we came to a freaky section that baf-
fles my power of description. It did not consist of
ordinary earth or rock, one or both such as I had
been walking over up to this time. From appear-
ance it might be a mixture of wheat bran and saw-
dust mixed together under a pressure, and at places
not a very high pressure.

Through a spirit of curiosity we walked out over
this strange formation maybe half a mile and came
to a place, where from the sound of our footsteps
the earth below might be holow, and perhaps the
crust not very thick. A conclusion was rapidly
reached that this was a good place to be far away
from. By no means was it a good location to esta-
blish a health resort. If some wise-acre suggested
it was the remnant of an extinct volcano which had
been in active operation two million years ago, I
might accept the plausibility, but I would want to
know how he knew it was true. It would hardly be
reasonable to think that Nature was holding this
vast deposit of raw material in a large hopper, so to
speak, for the purpose of draining out a little
measley branch of alum water, yet that seemed to
be the only result. On reaching terra firma we con-
cluded to leave explorations of this character for
some one else. Our object was to see things, and if
possible, to find a mine with enough gold or silver
to pay for working. With these two objects in view
we bent our way out into higher altitudes, where
by the aid of the glass we could see the high cliffs
around Wagon Wheel Gap not more than forty
miles distant, though a rough unexplored country
intervening.

Next day we followed the road to a point above

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 16$

the lake and prospected the mountains on each side
of the stream and made one discovery on each
side, and had some hope that they might prove
valuable, but such was not the case. That evening,
perhaps just at the right time, we witnessed a
sight few people on earth have ever seen. Out
across the smooth waters of the lake we saw what
at first we thought were ducks, but the glass
seemed to bring them up to us and we could easily
see they were beavers. On a rough estimate I think
there was between one and two hundred. We could
see them in a manner clear across the lake and
nearly in every direction. Seemingly they were
divided in bunches, sometimes swimming in single
file, and then in double columns as though out
on dress parade. Occasionally we could see a
general mix-up and a splashing of water; then
they would disappear and rise again not far
away. Apparently they were catching their eve-
ning meal consisting of bugs and grasshoppers.
This lake was too remote, otherwise, it might have
been a trapper's paradise.

Speaking of grasshoppers reminds me that I have
seen them in various parts of the mountains, fly-
ing in the air so thick, that the sun seemed to be
shining through a hazy atmosphere. It is wonder-
ful the distance they can be seen overhead with
their myriad of glistening wings. When exhausted
they fall to the earth, some of them in swift
flowing streams and are washed down into
eddie waters, where I am told the squaws
gather them in large quantities and in some way
prepare them for winter food.- And why not? Like
cattle and other ruminating animals they are only
one remove from the grass or other vegetable mat-
ter.

We prospected, high and low, on both sides of
the mountain below the forks of the Gunnison. As
we were the first prospectors in this section of the
country we were very anxious to make at least one
valuable discovery, say three or four hundred dol-

166 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

lars to the ton. We could afford to stay with a
mine of this character and cease further rambling
which was wearing to both the physical and ner-
vous system. It would have given us the privilege
of naming the new mining district, also the right
to ask the Governor of the territory to authorize
us to make records of mining claims, and records
of other kinds. This might have been done by
virtue of the eight or ten discoveries already made,
but the "blue blaze" told us the mines were not
worth staying with them. If men received credit
according to their effort we might have been able
to show a good balance sheet. It is a generally
known fact that kissing comes by favor and not
by merit. There was nothing left for us only to
fold our tent and seek pastures new, leaving behind
us reminiscences of an eventful week.

At the foot of the divide between the head waters
of the two rivers the Animus and the Gunnison
we found the encampment of the road builders. In
a mining country the prospector is about as much
at home one place as another if he has wood, water
and grass, so we concluded to give them a few
days longer to complete the work, and during that
time we scoured that part of the country in search
of the needle in the haystack. One day we passed
over the Continental onto the head of Pole creek.
We had an idea that maybe valuable mines might
be found in higher altitudes as we had failed to
find them of that character in the lower regions.

While in camp near the builders I told Mr.
Hodgekiss about our discoveries down at the forks
where we first met them, and showed him our spe-
cimens of mineral, but did not tell him why we
left. At the point where the road crosses the divide
within a radius of five or six miles you will reach
the head waters of four rivers each one flowing in
a different direction. The Rio to the South, the Ani-
mus to the West, the Uncompahgre to the North,
the Gunnison to the East. We had the distinction
of being the first travelers to pass over the new

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 167

road, which brought us on the head waters of the
Animus. It was about fifteen miles down to Bullion
City, where we left, yet we had traveled over two
hundred and fifty miles to reach our destination.
Instead of a one day trip, we had been over a
month, with many adventures and uncertainties.

In our new camp on the Animus we were sur-
rounded in a measure by rough and rugged cliffs,
and if they contained valuable mineral we were
ready to greet them with brawny arms. For several
days we climbed over and around them with no
success, so we decided to move across the divide
onto the head of the Uncompahgre. There were
about ten miles here unclaimed by the Indians, and
included in the treaty. Very few if any prospectors
had been in this particular locality. We picked out
a possible way of going before starting.

Individually I was imbued with the idea that
there might and ought to be valuable mines in this
vast mineral-bearing region. We were not spe-
cially hanging around where others had made dis-
coveries, but were willing to go even where others
had never been. At first we were favorably im-
pressed with the location though it was rugged
and precipitous. After making two or three prom-
ising discoveries we found our drills were too
dull for use, which forced us to build another fur-
nace, as previously described. We added half a dozen
or more samples to our list, with labels and loca-
tions. A few of them contained the so-called "gray
copper" which according to rules in metallurgy
ought to be rich in silver. I felt a hesitancy to apply
the test that would decide their value. Our whole
year's work, in a measure, depended upon the re-
sults. In all probability this was our last chance to
establish a new mining district, for the summer
season was rapidly passing, and something like
three hundred and fifty miles with high mountain
ranges intervened between our home and present
location. Traveling in the mountains at best is a
slow progress, but with deep snow it is simply im-
possible, especially with pack animals.

168 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

One entire evening was spent, in order to be
extra careful, in making these assays. One by one
I watched the 'blue blaze" convert them into thin
air. It is said that disappointment sinks the heart
of man, but it was no new thing for me, in fact I
had grown use to it through a series of defeated ex-
pectations during the last eight years. However,
we were not yet ready to throw up the "sponge".
It wouldn't do to get lazy or indifferent, for that
would be a reflection on our high calling as pros-
pectors, in which we took some pride. So we de-
cided to widen our circle and maybe we could see
something if we couldn't find anything.

It was our intention to go down stream some
five miles, keeping well up on the mountain above
it, for the purpose of taking in a view of the much
noted valey below. The beautiful landscape, with
all its suroundings, was of itself enough to repay
us for the long walk, but this was not all. During
the day's rambling a sight presented itself not down
on the program. Without the least expectation on
our part we came to a charming little cascade,
maybe thirty feet high fed by a snow bank, higher
up the mountain, which had been in the business,
no doubt, these many years.

In bold relief there stood out before us in all its
flashing beauty, a regular pyramid of pyrites, per-
haps ten feet in height and six feet on its base,
gradually tapering from bottom to the top. While
thousands of the little facets glinted in the rays
of a noonday sun, sprays of limpid water fell upon
its uncrowned head. Just behind the falls and
on each side we could see the same kind of min-
eral. Although it had the appearance of bur-
nished gold yet it contained only sulphate of iron,
and practically without value. At the risk of get-
ting wet, with my hammer I chipped off a nice
little sample. This brilliant statue might be useful
and appropriate in some Fairy Land exhibition,
otherwise it is only a thing of beauty.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 169

As a sequel or rather a winding-up of our career
for the season we traced out a mammoth mineral
vein forty feet in width. The trend of the vein is
along on top of the divide between the two rivers.
The ground is in a manner smooth and easy to
walk over as there are no trees, shrubs, or cliffs.
We spent nearly the entire day chipping off speci-
mens at different places and examining them with
our magnifying glass. We followed this king of
mineral veins more than two miles, over to a lower
level where there was more grass and in fact a
better place to camp. If anyone doubts the accu-
racy of this statement I will take great pleasure in
pointing out its location, also the pyrites statue,
if he wishes to make an investment in either or
both.

For several days the burros had been staying
around in camp more than usual, which was their
way of telling us that their feed was getting scarce,
and it was hard to find a good place to picket the
pony, so we decided to move at once. A short dis-
tance from our new camp we could see what ap-
peared to be an extra high peak, which seemed to
be only four or five miles distant. Early one morn-
ing with pick and hammer we started and it took us
all of five hours to reach the top, perhaps ten miles
instead of five. Our camp was on the upper edge of
timber line which usually marks the 11,000 feet
altitude. In my opinion we ascended not less than
5,000 feet higher that day, which would be nearly
2,000 feet higher than Pike's Peak, considered the
highest point in the United States.

My comand of words and capacity of arranging
them so as to convey an adequate idea of the im-
posing grandeur as seen from this lofty height will
fall short of doing the subject any kind of justice.
We were not only above timber line but beyond
the sight of timber. Spread out before our vision,
in every direction, even by the aid of a glass,
nothing could be seen but mountain ranges with
piercing peaks here and there, like steeples in a

170 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

large city. A panoramic view covering hundreds
of miles far and near with deep shaded spots and
streaks that might be caused by rivers and parks.

All this vast section now before us was the
hidden home of gold, silver and other metals, which
future generations for a thousand years to come
will not be able to explore and determine their
value. While we were about to retire from the
field of effort, yet we had only scratched at a few
places, so to speak. We built a small rock house
about four feet high, leaving a window near the
top, in which we placed a smooth rock with the
name Shelton engraved upon it, also the date. Some
one might have been there before us, but I have
my doubts. The only expedient and sensible thing
that presented itself was to turn our heads in -a
homeward direction. Before starting I rode down
to Bullion City to enquire for letters and mail
others. We sold our picks and shovels for more
than they cost us, our mining munition had been
used up, and our grub supply was getting low, so
the pack animals would have a much lighter load.
We made the trip through to Saguache, a hundred
and twenty miles in four days, on an average of
thirty miles per day. We camped the first night at
the forks of the Gunnison where we found several
prospectors that had come through in wagons. Mr.
Hodgekiss had spread the report that mineral had
been found in quantity at these forks. No one asked
us in regard to the quality of the mineral, nor did
we tell them we knew its low grade character. One
or two of the men that had worked on the road
knew us, and that was all they cared to find out.

Our route from Saguache lay through the San
Luis valley noted for its beauty and fertility. It is
a hundred miles long and forty wide, with a lake of
some size in the lower end. While in camp late in
the evening, incidentally we looked down the valley
and saw a horseman apparently riding very rapidly.
But the strange thing was that he seemed to be
up in the air about twenty degrees above the level.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 171

We quickly brought out our glass and to our sur-
prise coud see the waters of the lake far boyond
and at the same height. We were camping on a
small stream where large cotton wood trees were
growing. I suppose the atmosphere and other con-
ditions were favorable to produce a mirage. At any
rate it was a thing worth seeing, nor did we have
to climb a mountain to see it, either.

After passing through the gap betwen the Co-
chatopa Hills, part of the Continental divide, and
the Sangre de Cristo range, we noticed a left hand
fork to the road, but we did not know whether it
went somewhere or nowhere and then stopped,
but all the same it would have been a hundred miles
or more nearer home by this road. Eventually we
passed through Manitou and camped a short dis-
tance beyond in the celebrated Garden of the Gods,
where we remained two days. It was about a hun-
dred miles to Denver, with a nice smooth road all
the way, and we could have easily made the trip
in four days, and from that place the railroad ex-
tended within ten miles of Georgetown. We were
now on the edge of the plains and it seemed almost
like summer time. It would look like "going back"
on our job to go in too early, in fact we might
have remained on the Animus, or at the forks of
the Gunnison two weeks longer, if there had been
any occasion for doing so. To relieve the situation
a "wild goose" notion entered our minds that would
serve to round out our excursion trip.

In telling the events of our trip my narrative
would be incomplete if I fail to call special atten-
tion to the Garden of the Gods. It is a level area
of fifty acres more or less with rough grotesque
rocks protruding from the ground, ranging from
ten to fifteen feet high. Some of them are round-
like in form, giving one an idea of a sculptor's
model in its early stage. By walking around the
supposed statue, at a certain distance, and catch-
ing the proper angle, also with a liberal supply of
imagination, the rough outline of the human spe-

\12 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

cies may be detected, consisting of the eyes, nose,
mouth, chin and other parts of the body. The In-
dians called the place Manitou, which meant in
their language a home of their gods. The entrance
to this so-called garden, from the plains, was by a
road between two large rocks. One of them was
not less than three hundred feet long, a hundred
feet wide and over two hundred feet high. Looking
around we found a place where by using caution
and muscular exertion we could ascend at least
part of the way. Perhaps others had been that way
before. When we reached a point something like a
hundred feet high, there was a rather small level
space, giving us a fine view of the plains. There
was a narrow walk-way around to the far end of
the huge fock, but I was afraid to even stand up
where we were, yet Daniel walked to the far end,
and then out on top where he remained so long I
was uneasy about him. From our high perch we
could see Colorado Springs, and could count the
houses if we had time, as it was only four miles.
From appearance there might have been 2000 in-
habitants.

Manitou was a town of four stores and half
dozen hotels or big boarding houses, in which the
"idle rich" spent their time in playing checkers,
billiards and drinking fine liquor. If I had a barrel
of money I would be with them, there or some-
where else. There is a beautiful soda spring here,
walled up with rock. The water bulges up in the
center, and the thousands of bursting bubbles as
they flow toward the wall present a sight worth
seeing. Nice pavilions with easy seats and swings
for the half sick and convalescent, were some of
the attractions. We found very few springs in the
mountains, it was either snow water or nothing.
In all my tramps and travels in the mountains I
never saw a snake. These two things, snakes and
springs, were conspicuous for their absence. Colo-
rado Springs was also noted as a health and plea-
sure resort. All along the base of the mountains

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 173

the air was pure, being free from dust and malaria.
It was claimed by parties that there was in the
air an element called "ozone", which gave health
and vigor to the body, but I am not stating this as
a fact.

In a casual way we met an old mountaineer, not
so old in years, who had been a kind of scout or
guide to exploring parties until he knew many of
the trails as well as roads. He told us by taking
the left hand fork after passing through Cochatopa
Pass we would have shortened our distance to
Georgetown over a hundred miles. By going back
he said about twenty miles to the edge of
South Park there is a pathway leading all the way
to Georgetown, crossing the road from Denver to
Fairplay about ten miles east of Halls Gulch. As
that suited our "ticket" exactly we offered him
$5.00 to show us the trail, and that suited his
"ticket." Next morning about sunrise he rode into
our camp and found us ready to start, having pur-
chased two weeks' supplies the evening before. A
few miles north from the base of Pikes' Peak he
pointed out rather a dim trail, which we followed
all next day when late in the evening it ceased to
exist. He was kind enough on parting to tell us if
the trail played out, keep due north and we would
be sure to find the road, a fact we already knew.
We were thirty miles or more from the designated
crossing of the trail and road. While we had lost
the trail, if such existed, yet we were not lost in a
strict meaning of the word, for we had no uneasi-
ness about finding our way out.

The section of country we were passing through
had a peculiar grandeur and wildness which I will
not attempt to describe, though it was well worth
seeing. Under different conditions we might have
done a little prospecting, for there was no good
reason why mines might not exist here as well as
other localities. Fortunately we had with us a
pocket compass which always told the truth about
the direction toward the North, though at times

174 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

if I had trusted my own judgment we might have
traveled in a different direction. It was impossible
to go in anything- like a straight line, clue to the
rugged nature of the country, and more than one
high peak that had to be surrounded. It took us
four days to travel the last supposed thirty miles,
and no doubt we went sixty miles in doing so.

One feature of our different encampments I have
failed to mention up to the present time. When we
struck camp, if only one night or a month, before
retiring we broke pine boughs and spread them
on the ground shingle fashion with the broken part
next to the ground. By spreading over this a pair
of heavy blankets we had a bed like a spring mat-
tress and as soft as a cushion. There was a kind of
aroma from the pine boughs which was somni-
fic in its effect. With the twinkling stars above,
and the moaning winds in the pinery, there was no
use for any one to "rock the cradle." No matter
how much toil during the day, with a good night
of sleep the muscles of the body are restored as
well as the activity of the mind. Nature requires
this much of all her children.

It was yet forty miles to Georgetown, and then
some more, with rugged mountains all the way,
but the trail was some better and easier to find.
We made our last camp at the far end of a nice
little lake, something near a mile long and half a
mile wide, and about fifteen miles from George-
town. At the other end of the lake we saw in pass-
ing a few hunters in camp. I am unable to say what
they were hunting. On hearing the rapid yelping
of dogs we looked up the trail, and saw two coal
black grayhounds in close pursuit of a big jack
rabbit. They passed about ten feet from us at full
speed. It was a pretty race but too soon over. I
think the jack outrun the hounds.

Next day in the afternoon we drove up in front
of the "little old cabin" and made a deposit of our
plunder. At first in the livery stable our animals
refused to eat the dry hay and pint of oats allowed

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 175

them. We went at once to see a party that owned
a train of pack animals, and after some parley
closed a sale at $5.00 more than we paid for them,
though we ought to have received more, as they
were in fine shape. The burros had been so true
and faithful all the time that I felt toward them
like I did toward the muley oxen I had driven
across the plains. Part of next day we spent in
looking for Tom Johns, as Daniel was ready to
make his report to him as a partner. He left about
the same time we did and no one had ever heard
from him, in fact he never was heard from even
at a later period. He had plenty of money and
might be doing well, though plenty of money often
leads a man into trouble, it depends upon the man.

It seemed to me that I was getting nearly to
the end of my row, and no use trying to go any
further. I was now past thirty-six years of age
and a few gray hairs forcibly reminded me that
old age, if nothing else, would eventually claim
its own. All my thoughts and plans for the last
eight years had been in line that I would in some
way own in whole or part a valuable paying mine ;
however, I was not in the habit of building air-
castles. While this plan, so to speak, or rather
hope as it was, seemed both laudable and possible,
yet it had failed to materialize or reached a tan-
gible shape. Continuity may be one of the cardinal
virtues, yet it is not prudent to give it a life long
test.

My first big failure was in my lack of efforts to
obtain a better education. This failure was caused
by the Civil War, as previously mentioned, and now
I was about ready to abandon the idea of recouping
this loss by getting rich quick, yet there was no
use in hanging a dark cloud over the future. From
the time we broke camp on the Uncampahgre I
had been seriously thinking there might be some
other pursuit in life that would bring better re-
sults. Though I said nothing about it, yet the time
had come to mention the matter to Daniel and let

176 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

him know my decision ; also to test his ideas in
regard to leaving the country. He was eight years
my junior and could afford to spend a few more
years chasing the rainbow, so he decided to remain
a while longer. I explained to him that part of my
object in returning to our native home was con-
tingent upon certain events which might happen,
and then again they might not. In case they did,
my life would be spent in a different channel, and
my career in the mountains would be over for all
time to come. Under these uncertain conditions
the cabin and all my mining interests would belong
to him, and I would send him a deed to that effect
later.

At this particular time there was no lingering
doubt in my mind that Harmon would pay the
$1,800. and over he had collected under the power
of attorney I had given him. With the mineral spe-
cimens nicely packed in a box for that purpose, I
was prepared to make a report to Judge Harmon
and Mr. Colins. In taking the specimens out, one at
a time, I gave them a description of its location,
interspersing my remarks with various things in
regard to the rough features of the country. Seem-
ingly they were both very much interested, and also
highly pleased with my successs in making disco-
veries. From their view of the enterprise all we
had to do was to follow up what had been done
in order to make big money. They both paid the
amount due me, but my report was not finished.
The most important part of the report was yet to
make, though Mr. Colins wished to defer the matter
until after banking hours, and then he could give
it more attention. On meeting a second time I in-
formed them that I carried with me all the time a
blowpipe, and the ingredients for making a test
of any mineral that might be found. That I would
not consider myself properly equipped as a pros-
pector without some way of knowing the value of
a piece of ore. I then told them that I had made a
careful assay, not only of these specimens, but also

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 177

other specimens obtained from mines discovered
by other parties, and that they were all without
any exception low grade mineral.

In view of this fact I confessed to them that I
was greatly disappointed with our venture, and that
I had about made up my mind to return to my
native home and give up all further mining efforts.
It seems strange that they did not accept the im-
portance of the fact that our ore was low grade
in the same light I did. Possibly they doubted my
ability to make even an approximate assay, though
did not say so, at any rate they contended that it
would not be justice to them or myself to get "in
sight of the game and then quit the hunt," as they
put it. In the conversation, which was a friendly
discussion, in regard to our future progress in the
new mining country, I learned their plans was to
form a Stock Company embracing all the mines I
had discovered. Out of the proceeds in sale of stock
part would be set aside for developing the property
and the balance retained for the benefit of the ori-
ginal owners. Judge Harmon was a good lawyer
and knew how to manipulate a scheme of this cha-
racter. I noticed one thing in particular, they never
mentioned the fact that our mineral was low grade.
I had told them the truth about it one time, and
there was no use making myself a nuisance by
continually referring to it.

Both these gentlemen were men of some wealth,
or at least I thought so, and doubtless had influence
with others of that kind, which of itself is worth
a good deal. Their judgment in fact might be better
than my own. Making a second detour through the
country would be far less labor than the first one,
for I had already climbed many of the high peaks,
and no use to repeat that part of the program.
The mines were already located, and besides all
this we could ride both going and coming which
made a big difference.

A Georgetown paper published two letters I had
written it in regard to the country, which they had

178 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

read. The plan they had in view was for me
when the season opened, to do some more work
on two or three of the best looking mines and ship
them a box of the mineral, say fifty or a hundred
pounds, and write them letters every week or two
in regard to the progress I was making, and also
the mining interest of the country in general, but
not to mention the formation of a stock company,
they would attend to that at their end of the line.
As this was extra duty and responsibility on my
part, they proposed to pay a third each of all ex-
pense including my wages at $6.00 per day, instead
of $4.00 as formerly.

To the casual observer it may seem that there
was an element of fraud connected with this plan,
but to parties speculating in the result of mining
ventures it was known, if not they would soon find
out, that mining was a risky business. It might
be rated as a species of honest gambling, where the
chances of failure were at least ten, against one in
favor of success. Under this arrangement, as sug-
gested, there was no chance for me to lose any-
thing, unless failing to make a large amount in
the deal could be considered a loss, which of course
would be an unfair construction of the word.

If I returned to my old home, with all its fond
memories, I might feel as I did on getting home
from the war. After spending two days and nights
there at that time an occupation presented itself
and that ended my visit, and no doubt it would be
the same thing over. Considering these and other
uncertain conditions surrounding my future course
I concluded to accept their proposition, and we en-
tered into a written agreement to that effect. As
this was a matter of more than usual importance to
me at the time I have taken more space to detail
the particulars than was intended. When this bu-
siness was disposed of, at my first opportunity I
asked Judge Harmon about the money he had col-
lected for me in my absence. To my great surprise
I learned from him that he had used it along with

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 179

his own in building another residence of a more
expensive style, which was now in process of build-
ing and nearly completed. Of course he knew as
well as I did that it was very poor business to use
another man's money without his consent, and I
had no hesitancy in telling him so. His rather lame
excuse that he thought it better, and that I would
so consider it, to have my money out at interest,
than in my pocket or laying idle in some bank. I
told him on general principles this was true enough,
yet I preferred to handle my own money and make
my own investments.

My disappointment was not so much a want of
confidence in the Judge's honesty, integrity or sol-
vency, as in the fact that I wanted to show my
money to my father and mother, and perhaps to
one or two others. Possibly it was better for me
financially in the long run, but a man can stand
straighter and walk "pearter" with a thousand or
two dollars in his pocket than he can with only a
few hundred. At any rate there was no use to kick,
squirm or complain for that would only make mat-
ters worse. However, we parted on friendly terms,
yet I could not help feeling a little grouchy. As
my trip back in the mountains was about five
months off, I was in no great hurry in starting
back home, in fact ought to have put it off another
year under the circumstances, no doubt about that.
While in this quandary over the proper thing to do
I happened to meet my old friend Rogers on the
street. He and his family had been my near neigh-
bor for many years. When he sold his mine he spent
part of the $50,000 for a ranch about six miles
out from Denver. He insisted on my going home
with him to see his farm, which I did.

He owned about six hundred acres below the
supply ditch, divided off into fields to suit his pur-
poses. He showed me one area of about 200 acres
from which he saved 6,000 bushels of wheat. It is
said the finest flour in the world is made from
wheat grown in this section. His land below the

180 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

ditch was in a high state of cultivation on which
many kind of vegetables grew to a high degree of
perfection, and found a ready market in Denver.
Among other things he owned a fine herd of sheep
and some young cattle. He pointed out to me that
the land above the ditch was not worth $1.00 per
acre while that below would easily bring $100.00
per acre. He did very little work himself, yet his
net income ranged between five and eight thousand
dollars per year.

Traveling across the plains, sitting on a cushion
seat, and pulled by an engine is quite a different
thing from crossing with a wagon train pulled by
slow-moving oxen, and every man doing his own
walking. If any one refuses to believe there is a
big difference let him try it. Looking out of the
window of the moving train, at times I could see
the print of the old road we had traveled. When we
reached a proper distance by keeping a sharp look-
out I saw the place where we fought the Indians,
and further along where we buried one of our com-
rades who had been scalped.

During the trip a rather amusing episode occur-
red in the shape of a race between the train and a
small herd of antelopes, perhaps thirty in number.
It was hardly intended as a special diversion for
the passengers, yet they enjoyed the race all the
same. Going in the same direction and about one
hundred and fifty yards apart, it was nip and tuck
which one went the fastest. From the baggage car
we could see and hear the rapid firing of magazine
rifles not carried for that purpose, but specially for
general protection. We could see the animals fall
and knew some of them were being killed. The
train stopped, most of the passengers and the
train crew brought in four of them and they were
put in the baggage car. It might seem this was
taking an unfair advantage of the contest.

Early in the morning by going under part of
St. Louis the train stopped at the big depot. Walk-
ing up the street I saw a sign hung out, "Board

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 181

$1.00 per week." It had always been a mystery to
me how so many people in a big city managed to
make a living, maybe I could find out right here.
The proprietor, a healthy looking German, said the
bell will ring now in a few minutes. As soon as
the signal was given about twenty "bummy" look-
ing men passed back to what I supposed was the
dining room, and I followed the procession. They
quietly arranged themselves around a long table
each man helping himself.

There was nothing on the table except a lot of
brown looking bread and cold half-cooked beef,
which, perhaps the butcher couldn't sell, and a
bucket of water with one dipper. There was good
order, no pushing or loud talking, perhaps this was
according to the rule. I was standing back looking
on without any intention of joining "Gideon's band"
when the proprietor came around and said to me,
"You can eat with me and my family," for which
I paid him twenty-five cents and it was well worth
it for I was hungry. But I had seen and learned
enough for one time, and decided to change my
location. From there I went to the Southern Hotel,
which they were building when I was there eight
years before, and as it was to be absolutely fire-
proof. I had some curiosity to see it. The charges
there was $4.00 per day, but the difference in price
was no greater than the difference in other respects.
This palatial edifice was built of iron and stone.
The sills, joists and rafters were made of iron. The
walls, floors, stairways and bannisters were made
of stone in fact there was nothing but chairs, tables
and bedding that would burn. I remained there
three days looking over the city, however, not with
a view of buying even a smal part of it.

When convenient and not in a hurry I always
traveled by water. To me there was a peculiar
charm and fascination in this mode of transit. Due
to this penchant I took passage on a boat bound
for Memphis, and maybe further. It was a slow
way of getting there, but it was a pleasant one

182 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

and beat walking. At times we were hung up on
account of heavy fog, and at other times stuck in
a sand bar, and to avoid this a man sat on the prow
of the boat throwing a plumbline. When the chan-
nel was less than six feet a tinkling sound of a
bell could be heard back in the engine room. When
the depth was greater than ten feet he would sing
out "mark twain." I have been told this is where
Clemmons got his pseudonym as a writer — mean-
ing deep water.

On a trip of this character, which lasted a week
or more, a number of both amusing and interesting
events occurred, which are still fresh in my mind,
but will not try to mention them at present. We
could feel the pulsating effect of a warmer breeze
as each day brought us further south. While on
passenger deck we could frequently see, while
passing some island, large flocks of cranes and
wild geese. Attention was called one day to a large
buck, at least he had large horns, that had crossed
our line of headway, swimming from the Arkansas
side. A party of hunters on board fired a dozen
shots or more, but without effect, for we saw him
make a safe landing on the Kentucky side and dis-
appear.

While on the train from Memphis I formed an
idea to pass myself off as a stranger when I reached
Larkinsville. I had barely touched the ground and
had taken a few steps when several parties came
up and called me by name, there was no use trying
to play off as a stranger. Of course I was glad to
see my friends and relatives, especially my dear
father and mother. It might be to tedious to tell
the consecutive events that occurred, or to men-
tion the various changes that had taken place, nor
would it be in line with this part of my narrative
even if I wished to do so.

Part of my object in returning at this time, may
be the greater part, was to see a lady — Miss Dora
Pittman. On leaving eight years previous my agree-
ment with her was to return in three years. By

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 183

looking back through these pages the cause can be
seen why I did not comply with this promise. She
asked to be released from this engagement, which
was right, and in justice to her was granted. With
me "absence had only caused the heart to grow
fonder," but she might have drifted into a different
channel, where the thoughts and feelings had
changed. This is the meaning of the uncertainty
formerly referred to.

To be brief and concise in relating this most im-
portant event in all my earthly career will say
that on February 24th, 1875 we were married. My
purpose in life has been to give her as little cause
for regret as possible, considering my imperfec-
tions, for I never posed as a saint. The latter part
of April I started on my second trip to the moun-
tains, and about the first of May found me in Den-
ver ready to comply with my part of the contract
as previously agreed upon. My partners were still
hopeful of our success.

My trip and wages were both to commence on
the first of May. I thought more of my wages than
I did of the prospects of making big money. The
very idea of men investing their money without a
thorough investigation seemed to me absurd, but
possibly my ideas were wrong. Just how to get back
into the mines was a problem left for me to solve.
I might buy a pony and ride through alone in about
ten days, but traveling and camping alone in the
mountain wilds is not a thing to inspire pleasant
dreams. I remained around Denver several days
and found several parties expecting to make the
trip but not ready to start.

While in this dilemma I concluded to pay George-
town another visit and see how Daniel was getting
along. He was working on a lease with another
party, but not making much, yet they had a pros-
pect of striking a pocket of good ore; more than
I could say. He had no thought of going with me
on another wild goose chase. While there I called
on my friend Pope. He seemed to think some one

184 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

had not treated him right in leaving him out of my
prospecting venture. He could count himself over
$1,000 ahead in his association with me as a part-
ner. Mr. E. Q. Walcot the law partner of Mr. Pope
I had met before quite often. He is the only person
I ever saw who by changing his seat a little, could
write as well with the left hand as with the right.
Colorado is called the Centennial State because it
was admitted into the Union in 1876. Mr. Walcot
became a famous senator from this state, a few
years later, gaining a reputation as such in Eu-
rope as well as America.

Part of my business now was to talk about the
wonderful resources of the San Juan country, and
the vast amount of mineral waiting for skillful
miners. The editor of the paper was kind enough
to mention that I was on my way to this section
for the second time. This of itself caused many to
ask me the best way to get there. The output of
the mines around Georgetown was not nearly as
good as it had been, in fact some of them were
"playing out." Many had already left, and others
were thinking about it. A mining town can un-
make just about as fast as it built up.

The dilemma that had troubled my mind regard-
ing how to get back to the Animus river dis-
appeared one day in about ten minutes. Dr. Bell,
who owned a team and wagon, proposed to carry
me and what supplies I might wish, free of charge,
to pilot them through the mountains, a near way
that could be taken. Two other men, Steve Baxter
and another man whose name I am not able to
recall, were included in the transport, and all of
them about ready to start. We went by Idaho
Springs, and the first night out, camped not far
from the hotel thirty miles west of Denver where
I had stopped on my way to hunt Burkholder.

From this point we had a direct route through
Fairplay, the bridge across the Arkansas River, and
the low gap between the Sangre de Cristo range,
and the Cochatopa hills, cutting off, so to speak,

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 185

an elbow of nearly two hundred miles. Reaching
Saguache we stopped in front of the merchant's
store that had formerly been very kind to me. He
was even more so now for I brought him new cus-
tomers. We remained there two nights and one day
in order to rest and ask a few questions about the
mines and the road leading to them. I met several
parties that had heard I was the first one to dis-
cover mines at the forks of the Gunnison. We
bought supplies to last two months, as they were
much cheaper than they would be in the mining
region.

In passing the forks of the Gunnison, where the
three men were killed, and where we had over-
taken the road-builders some nine months previous,
I noticed ten houses already built and others in
process of construction, and they had named the
town Lake City. Whether they knew the pauper
quality of the ore or not I never asked, it was my
policy to let every one find that out for himself.
Possibly there might be good mines there, but I
had spent eight days traveling over the adjacent
mountains without finding anything of that cha-
racter.

Finally we reached our destination and struck
camp within a few hundred yards of the place
where Daniel and I made up our minds to leave
the country on account of "pauperosity" of the
mines. This was a nice plateau of several hundred
acres between the head waters of the two rivers,
and good grazing for stock as well as a fine field
for prospecting. Several houses had been built since
I left, and there was some talk of calling the place
Ouray. The doctor and his men built them a cabin
the first thing, but for myself I preferred camping
out in the open until a definite inducement pre-
sented itself.

It was now about the first of June. My object
in view was well defined and the hard part of the
work was over. I wrote Judge Harmon of my safe
arrival and that he might look for a box of mineral

186 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

as soon as possible, and a more lengthy letter
would follow. Some of the mines previously disco-
vered, and partially developed, were only two miles
from camp, and with hammer and drill I made
them a friendly visit. The bright looking stuff,
formerly brought to light which passed for ore,
now had more the appearance of black rock, but
this appearance was only on the outside, as it was
bright when again broken.

Three or four shots each in two or three of the
best looking mines enabled me to select a number
of fine specimens which were carefully wrapped in
paper to protect them from the air. To make more
sure of their value, several assays were made with
the same results as formerly. In passing along,
though not specially looking for it, I made a very
promising discovery less than a mile from camp.
Prospecting like everything else becomes a habit.
It was part of my nature, whether thinking about
it or not, to look for mineral croppings and float
rock, and this habit followed me the balance of
my life.

The mine we had worked on more than all the
others was on the mountain above Eureka Gulch
some ten miles distant, but it was necessary to get
ore from this mine to complete the shipment.
There was no other way only to walk down there,
even if I had to walk back the same day. I found
my old friends that owned the mine with ruby sil-
ver, formerly mentioned, but they had been absent
during the winter. They very kindly invited me to
remain overnight' with them. We had a great deal
to talk about, though nothing said in regard to
the low grade character of their ore. I knew this
subject was not for discussion. They still had full
ideas about their ability as prospectors.

When men know a great deal that is not true,
there is very little to be gained by pointing out
their errors. They mentioned as a fact that a mine
grew more valuable in its ore as depth was gained
from the surface, whether by sinking or drifting on

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 187

the vein, and this was conceded as a fact by every-
one they had talked with. To this I replied it was
not according to my experience and observation.^ If
they were in Georgetown and went to the Burleigh
tunnel they would find where it crossed a mine a
thousand feet from the surface, and it was worth-
less at that depth as well as at the top. Take the
Terrible, Dives and Equator mines, each one had
produced over a million dollars, and were down to
a depth of four to six hundred feet, yet the value
of the ore per ton had neither increased or de-
creased, and other mines would show the same
results.

This is mentioned to show one reason why the
prospectors continued to have confidence in the
valuable resources of the country. When asked
my opinion of the country and its mines I told
them it was like every other man's, worth very
little ; nothing was any value only cold stern facts.
It will be seen by this that the subject of the ore
being low grade was ignored. These men like nearly
all others were getting their mine ready for sale
to some men with less sense than money. It was
very unpopular to talk about the value of the ore.
The slogan was quantity and not quality.

With a fine specimen of twenty pounds I made
my way back into camp, a little tired but not out
of breath. After making my first shipment of fifty
pounds, and writing a leter in regard to the mining
activities of the country and many other things
"appertaining thereto," I felt the burden of my duty
had been performed. With this part of our agree-
ment on my part filled in first class shape I felt
like moving out on "Easy Street" to work or play
as it might suit my taste. I wrote the Judge a
second letter in regard to my new discovery, pro-
posing to ship them some of the mineral if they
wished to see it.

Weeks and weeks passed and no letter. The time
seemed long to me, for naturally enough I wanted
to be back in my native home, yet if we made a

188 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

failure in our efforts, the cause must be on some
other shoulders. Finally I received a letter acknow-
ledging receipt of box and contents. The Judge
generally wrote long letters but this was brief and
rather formal, in which he stated they were making
some head-way in forming the stock mining com-
pany, though capital at that time was inclined
to be a little shy. From this I inferred they were
meeting with very little success, which would not
surprise me at all.

Another small shipment of mineral was made, this
time from the new discovery, followed by a letter
which they could use if it suited their purpose to do
so. In this letter I asked them if they had any sug-
gestion to make that would benefit the company. I
was ready and willing to do anything on my part
of the enterprise. A month or more slipped away
and yet no instructions or advice. There was only
one legitimate conclusion reasonable to me, that
they were making a failure, and would not admit
the fact by writing.

Cold weather was approaching, which meant
deep snow in that country. I had written several
letters without any reply, and I began to think
about some way of getting back to Georgetown,
for Dr. Bell and his party were, like other pros-
pectors, enthused over their prospects of getting
several mines in shape for a big sale, so their
movements were uncertain. A stray pony had taken
up with the doctor's horses, supposed to belong to
some prospector. He had tried to run the pony off,
but it would not run. As it was gentle, I asked the
doctor to loan me his saddle and bridle, and I
would ride it around and find an owner.

By visiting the different camps and not being
able to find an owner I decided it did not have any.
I rode all the way to Silverton, twenty-five miles
distant, stayed all night, paid a man $2.00 to write
a few lines on a book describing the pony which
he called "posting." While there, parties found a
mark on the animal showing it belonged to the

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 189

Indians, and now according to law belonged to me
as much as anyone, as somebody ought to take
care of it. Under this version of ownership I bought
a saddle, bridle and blanket, fixed them up in a
bundle and carried them back with me to camp.
There was no earthly use to remain longer in this
section. I had done my duty to the best of my
ability, and was now equipped for the return trip.
Wagons occasionally brought supplies of different
kinds to the few merchants in this country. I pre-
ferred to have company at least as far as Saguache,
and it was nearly a week before I found a wagon
returning to that place. As we passed through Lake
City I saw they were still building houses, and
one man was nearly ready to issue a paper for
the reading public. This was the western way of
doing things.

We camped one night on the Saboia where we
had heard the beavers slide in the water. A man
had built him a house there within a hundred
yards of the place where we first camped, and had
his wife and children with him. He also had cattle
and sheep grazing on the rich valley below, for-
merly mentioned. Again I remained in Saguache
two nights and a day, for I seemed to like the
people. By making long and short rides, to suit the
distance, I managed to find a house to stay at all
the way to Georgetown, except one night, I
camped all alone near the lake where we saw the
greyhounds chase the jack rabbit. Next day I
reached the little old cabin a few days earlier than
the year before. This time I sold the pony and the
outfit for $35.00 to a livery man, which was a
good deal less than it was worth, as it was a
good one.

My career as a prospector and miner was now
about to reach the closing period. I had sowed the
last handful of wild oats, and the wild goose no-
tions had been eliminated from my system. There
was a charm and fascination about the adjacent
high cliffs and the distant azure piercing peaks. J

190 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

could see them today and tomorrow, but in a few
days I must bid them adieu, perhaps forever, at
least I felt that way.

In a casual way I met my friend Bill Moore. He
had just returned from some point back East where
he had made a mining sale of some character. I
asked him why he did not turn his mining interest
toward the San Juan country, and told him that
there were more mines in that section than he
could shake a stick at in a week. He replied that
reliable information had reached him that the mines
were of a low grade quality, which would by no
means suit Eastern capital. This was the whole
thing in a nut shell, and explained why my part-
ners had failed to get up their company. When it
came to a show-down they had nothing to sell.

To my great surprise I met a man that asked me
if I owned a mine called the Peru, and would I sell
it cheap. This was the first mine of my own that
I worked on in the country, and assayed only four-
teen ounces to the ton. I asked him to make me an
offer, remarking at the same time that it ought
to be worth at least $500.00. He offered $200.00
and I said to him, "Make it $300.00, and we will
trade." "All right, make out the deed and it is a
go," he replied. We went to the Recorder's office
to see the description and finding a blank deed
there I soon filled it out and signed it, and he paid
me the money. This all happened within an hour
from the time I first met him.

But this was not all. I had loaned a man named
Kimberlain $200.00 which I never expected to get.
He was now working on a lease and taking out
good money, and when I presented his note he gave
me a check for all he owed me. It began to look
like things were coming my way. Maybe the long
"lean place" that hung like an incumbus over all
my efforts had at last given way to brighter days.
It is a mighty long lane that has no turn, and it
was high time to reach an angle of some kind. This
all took time, and yes, my wages were still going

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES 191

on at $4.00 per day and I was in a big hurry, too.

Only one more day before my departure, and
part of this I spent in visiting Daniel on the moun-
tain at his lease. Sometimes he received good pay
and at others very little. He had been working
there nearly a whole year, barely making wages.
I handed him a deed to the cabin and to all my
mining interest in that section, and told him to do
as he pleased with it. I regretted to leave him in
the mountains all alone more than I can tell here,
but we both understood well enough that each one
decided for himself the best thing to do. He re-
mained there twelve years longer before returning
to his native home.

On the first day of December I met both my
partners in Denver City after an absence of seven
months. I gave them a brief report of my trip,
though I had written most of the facts. I was glad
to hear them say that our failure was no fault of
mine. Their part of the expenses aside from my
wages was very little. Each one drew his check
for $280.00 which added to the amount on hand
made nearly $1,400. quite an item considering the
new responsibilities I had assumed. There was no
use explaining to me the cause of their failure, for
I almost knew that from the beginning. The Judge
told me they were getting along fine with the
company until a few smart Alex's insisted on an
assay.

But the greatest disappointment was yet to come
when Judge Harmon in a quiet inoffensive way told
me it was impossible for him to pay me nearly
$2,000. he had of my money. I had met with dis-
appointments for many years, but this was the
climax. In a business kind of way he handed me his
note with positive assurance he would send me
the money by the first of next April, at which time
he would receive a lot of money from parties in
Mississippi. As this was the best I could do, there
was no use making things worse by trying to settle
the matter in a personal difficulty, for then I might

192 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES

never get it. I might say in this connection that at
the appointed time he sent me every dollar includ-
ing the interest.

My career in the Rocky Mountains had now ter-
minated forever, though I felt a strain of sadness
in leaving the grand old peaks and canyons. They
had for me a weird charm and fascination in spite
of the many hardships and privations. It was fully
my intention to visit them at some future period if
a favorable opportunity presented itself. Long
years have rolled away leaving their imprint upon
the scroll of time. With only a slight jar I passed
the eightieth mile post on life's journey, and for
all I know those old frowning cliffs and yawning
canyons are still waiting for me to return and claim
my own.

While still in the vigor of manhood, yet I was
willing to throw up the sponge, to use a pugilist's
term, and try my efforts at something else. True
enough my fondest hopes had been wrecked, still
I had one consolation, that of making an honest
effort. After all, mediocrity in life may be the best
in many respects. Of course this depends upon the
kind of a man one is. According to my idea, life
was made up of events, and viewing life from this
peak, a person could live more in five years with
a million dollars to spend, than he could in fifty
years plodding with barely enough to make buckle
and tongue meet.

In looking back over these written pages the
past seems to rise up before me like a dream, and
many events not here recorded are still fresh in
my memory. The romance of a Western life, which
once had its charms and allurements, had in a
measure grown monotonous. In bidding adieu to
these high altitudes I fully realized the fact that I
was nearly thirty-eight years of age, and that the
flower of my manhood had been spent in trying to
get rich quick in an honest way, and had failed. I
was now ready and willing to follow the more plod-
ding pursuits of life, yet I had no regrets for
making the effort.

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