The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-08-23
GOVERNOR TABOR.
The Remarkable Career of q Shrewd
and Lucky Miner.

Tabor's history is one Of the romarces OF
mining. twenty-five years ago when the
Pixies Peak or bust fever Was at its height,
Tabor and his wife left their hungry home in
Maine to seek their fortune in the far West.
They didn't find it. For eighteen weary
years they went up and down the foot hills
and mountains of Colorado pursuing the
phs ntom gold, and growing Old and discour-
AGED in their tiresome ami bootless search. lie
was sober and she thrift y, but somehow they
did not get on in thu world. Now, when
they have more millions than they had hun
'reds then, Mrs. Tabor delights IN telling
Low the, moved in an OK team across the
Park to Orc City, where they started a little
store iur the sale of miners supplies. Orc
City, was a small camp about two miles from
where Leadpille now aourishes, and where
The first discoveries of quartz were made in
Leadville. Tabor "grub-staked" two pros
pectors, August Qisch and George Fryer, to
search for ore, on the condition that he should
have half of all that they should discover.
The first ore they discovered only went eight
ounce to the ION, but as they went down on
Little Pittsburg the quality steadily improved.
About this time Leadville had outgrown Orc
City, and Tabor moved his store to the larger
place. He came to Denver and bought a bill
of goods amounting to $500, and not hav-
ing money enough to settle he offered his
share in the mine to a Denver firm, but the
preferred to take their chanc. on getting
their money back when he disp ,se of the
wares. Later he bought $500 worth OF
goods from another firm, and actually sue
ceeded in inducing them to take his half i'll
When he reached home, however, he received
a letter from the finn asking him to take back
his mine, as they had no desi. to 60 into that
kind of business, and assuring him that they
would trdst him for the bill. Well they
might, for within three months lie had bought
out his two partners for about $3.50, OOO, pay
ing them out Of the proceeds of the niue, and
in turn sold out to Chaffee, Motfat Il Co, for
81 .OOO, 900. In all he made about 81, 3O0,-
600 OIL the mine, which was then stocked at
%-Ct"SS1oo'' phi'a 1iHS JAIN VcSooNS'N" w
its new purchasers, and is now an empty rn-
in. SO far as appearances so. Thousands Of
people in all parts of the country who bought
this stock at fancy prices, i'll the belief that
they would make 1000 per cent. on the in
vestnent, now fee! that they were deceived
and robbed by the clever men who mauipu-
lated the shares, but to disinterested outsid-
ers it looks as if the dupiicity of the sellers
would have proved ~fruitless but for the un-
healthy greed Of the buyers. So Tar as |
knew, Tabor had nothing to do with tie
stock deal, but Chati.e and Mot1at, who got
the credit of engineering that gigantic
scheme. and are heartily hated for it in some
are very wealthy and highly respect
ed citizens OF Denver. Since the Little
Plttsburg strike everything hat Tabor has
touched has turned TO gold. His interests
are scattered in every direction throughout
The States, and, as if this whilom eros s-roads
storekeeper couldn't frd enough to Occupy
his mind in Colorado, he ruslIes off to New
York every now and then to have some fun
with the boys in Wall street. When he first
Iurlieu up III That centre OF sharp practice
they took him for il sreeny who had made
his money easily and who would part with il
In other words, ''they played him
for a sucker,'' and they will never make that
kind of a mistake in his case again. He has
developed a talent for handling vast sums of
money wisely that surprises all butthose who |
used TO play 10 cent draw poker with him, in
he old days. One Of these, dressed in brown
canvass, speaking of Tabor's luck and jiig-
nent, the other day. said: "Horace was the
best 10. cent poker player IN the camp. He
always knowrd when to come in and when
o stay out, VIXEN to bluff and when to lay
down. When a man knows how to do these
in draw, he's able to hold his own and
his way anywhere even, if he gets "a
The speaker evidently either didn't
know them things or his change hasn't
yet. Tabor's wealth is variously es-
between S4,O00,0O0 and $4,000, OOa,
but it is doubtful if even he could state its
exact figure. Notwithstanding his sudden
leap from poverty to millions, he is as plain
and approachable now as ever. His only son
and heir is one of the lesSees of the Windsor
Hotel, and is said TO be a shrewd, level
headed young man. Mrs. Tabor is now en-
Dying a tour OF Europe.