Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1872-10-02
FORTUNES IN LEAD.
a Lucky Lot-Buyer and a Wealthy
Hermit.

Lucky Lot-Buyer and Wealthy
Hermit.
A correspondent of the New York
Tribune relates the following stories ::
A few years ago young man bought
a building lot in Dubuque for 5000. In
digging for foundation he struck ore,
and Immediately called in three or four
friends to enable him to buy the sur
rounding lots From a cave in those
lots, which afterward made a frst-class
cellar, at an expense of an additional
$500 for labor in excavating, &c, he
took out $50, 200 worth of lead, within
fortnight. My informant is citizen
of this place, and was himself the hero
of his story.
WESTERN HERMIT-ToM KELLY's CAVE.
There is shade of romance con
nected with another lead cave which I
visited. There poor old Tom Kelly
lived and died; poor, though rich.
Tom was an uneducated Irishman, and
when he had discovered his cave kept
the fact to himself He smelted bis
own ore and carried his lead down to
the river bank secretly, until he had
hidden in the bank about twelve
thousand dollars worth of lead.
This he shipped and went with it down
the river, reshipping it at New Orleans
and going with it to New York, where
he sold it, taking his pay in gold.
Perhaps the gold was heavier than the
lead. At all events poor Tom sat down
with his money-bags to rest, and as he
was dirty looking old fellow, some
boys collected around him and began
poking fun at him. A great fear seized
Tom-a fear for his money-bags. He
snatched them up and started to
run for the dock where his boat was
lying. The boys followed, hooting.
Tom stumbled and fell. One of the
boys ahead of the rest came upon him.
Tom drew knife and stabbed the boy
through the heart. At the trial which
ensued it was shown that Tom Kelly
was more than half crazed, and he was
acquitted and kept in confinement as q
lunatic. Here his instincts as miner
stood him in good stead he burrowed
out and escaped. Before long, Tom
was at work IN his mine again, but he
was now more secretlve than ever. He
built himself stone house, where each
window was an embrasure pointing out
of which was fixed loaded musket, and
the only man who ever got enough into
Toms confidence to examine the house
says that there was also fixed musket
enfilading the doorway. He told this
person that he was having an iror
house made for himself that he thought
would be much more secure. In gen
eral it was but little, and only to mere
children, that Tom ever spoke AnG
there came a day, somo two years ago
when Tom fonnd Unnecessary to prepare
to go to house where he is likely tc
be permanently safe. Two brothers
| almost as uncouth as Tom himself
came lowering about the dying man
He asked the priest to bring lawyer
and when this was effected said: 81
you will send them OUT pointing tC
his brothers. g will tell all " But the
brothers would not go out O.
the house, and Tom died as mute as he
had lived. Application to the proper
authorities in New York recovered
Toms gold which he had been toe
much frightened to apply for after his
escape. The brothers left not one
stone of the house upon another, and
they found $4,000 in gold hidden il
and around it. Out of Toms cave
they took in addition, it is believed,
ore to value of not less than $780, 000
They divided their treasures as they
found gold or sold ore, by dealing out
coin or bills as if they were cards al
poker, one to each alterna tely. What
is left of Tom Kelly's real estate looks
like the debris of an earthquake.