The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1880-05-05
Tha q ArIzona niamonds. ;,


A writer in the San Francisco Call re-
wives the recollection of the famous and
fabulous story of the Arizona diamond
fields, and gives its origin in this wise:
Several years ago the always large
floating Bohemian population OF San
Francisco included Thomas Seymour,
who will be remembered by many of the
profession, and who was kind of para
graphic tramp, having successfully done
"local itemizing" on every paper of
every town west ofthe Rocky mountains.
Seymour'5 knowledge of the topography /
of this slope was most detailed one,
and had been painfully acquired by al
ways going aioOt, but always of necessity /
and never of choice, from the place |
where his usefulness had just been ex-
hausted to where he hoped TO have tire
newed. In San Francisco Seymour made |
his usually precarious living by writing |
specials for the Sunday edition of such |
papers as would buy them. By virtue
of the common guild of vagabondage
Seymour had made the acquaintance in
this city of one who was, when his
energies set in any direction whatever,
mining prospector. How do you
newspaper fellows liveP" once asked
the prospector curiously OF Seymour.
"Come with me and / will show YOU"
said Seymour. and he led the other to
his meagerly furnished room. Now.
see. Here's good two columns. I'll
probably get $l2 for this. Listen" and
Seymour subjected his friend to the fear
full punishment of listening to an author
reading his own manuscript. Were
you ever there, at that p. ace describedPn
asked the miner, who had listened with
out an interruption to the tull reading
"Well. l was never exactly there,
but I've been near where that place is
supposed to be, and it's a tough coun-
"What put it into your head to spin
such q yarn as thatP There's no truth
| in it.n
Anything is true that you can't
prove to be false How can one prove
that it amt trueP"
The miner dropped his head in his
hands, thought long and intent ly with
out moving, notwithstanding Seymour's
growing impatience to get back to tue
beer cellar from which they had issued.
| Finally, the prospector asked abruptly :
whats the most paper'l give for
that roorbackpn
"Oh, Sl2 or $lS at the outside.m
docs anybody else know about that
yarnp"
"Not person
/ "Say, Seymour" said the miner, after
another pause. know something
about that country, too There amt
no stones there, that's fact; but that
whopper you have there is a pearl itself.
if you only knew it. I'll give you $25
for it, and if you keep your mouth mum
, on it will make that story pay yor
better than all the yarns you ever spun
in your life" Seymour gladly made
; the sale, and soon lost sight of his friend
and in succeeding literary inventions
that which he had sold, not for publ
cation, had long been forgotten, when
, individually, he was astounded at The
! announcement of the discovery of ths
/ great Arizona diamond fields, in almost
the identical spot where he had 10
: Gated in newspaper fiction field o
! precious stones. That announcement
was one that startled the whole civil
lied world. Seymour followed the sue
cessively-announcedf facts with the in
tense interest of one who believed tha'
his own genius had been prophetic.
s Then came the even more startling ex
position of the even more wonderful fac
c that the diamond field was the crudest
{ most barefaced and most enormous
. "plant" that had ever been made
! in Pacific coast mining. The pros
: / PIOlOAe WhOnl OOJ t1O0A hONNA ottFs
4 again. was not one to forget mis- prom
: ises, for Seymour received an unsigned
| letter, presumably from him, and in
closing certified check for 81 800, anC
: which reads as follows: ''Do yor
think have improved on your story
i think so. 1t has made a great dea
. more than two columns. and as it wa
very interesting, inclose what hop
d you will think fair pay for it. Whel
r you invent another equally good dia
: mond field or gold mine, or anything
J, of that sort, please hunt me up, as
: will give the story point, and it will b
!, ior the interest of both of use Sey
e mour was so startled that il was loEl
after she diamond pant had lost its in
terest that it was generally known tina
= It was founded on the invention Of
J Bohemian and that it was only acci
dental that its interest was not Tn
T" ephemeral one of the publicati of
/, surprising story in a newspaper.