Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1881-10-21
STRUCK IT RICH.
A Former Memphian's Big 30.
nanxa-A Mine Worth a
Million "YOu Bate

About eighteen months ago, Peter
Murtaugh, who did business as a
house and sign painter on Adams
street, nearly opposite tho station
house, removed to Leadyille, Colora-
do, where he opened a shop. Esquire
Quigley received a letter from him
this morning, written on one Of his
bill heads about which clings the odor
of the bloated capitalist. The sud
denly elevated painter is a good fell
low and his friends will be glad to
hear ofhis good luck, even if he does
inform them of it in a grandiloquent
way.
The following is a verbatim copy of
the surprising epistle:
Friend Peter: j have struck it at
last. j was ofired one hundret tousand
Dollars for my mine at holy cross
mountain on Saturday last, it
is worth one millen. You
bate i an not sorey i come
out here. i have a Unrest in II good
clames and sum of them is worth 30
thousand dollars. This is the cuntry.
| am goen home to ireland and i will
go to Memphis first. made the Big
est good strike ever was made in the
west. give my best wishes to Barney
carbery, John Spelman, P. Winters
and all the boys. My hart is still in
the south with all her faults j love her
still. will call on you some of these
days. i hope this will find you and
family in good helth. Peter Phase sind
me a Memphis paper so i can see how
things is goen on. Yours,
PETER MURTAUGH."
Enclosed with the letter was
NEWSPAPER CLIPPING,
which is copied below:
Located on French Mountain, near
Gold Park, the golden wave is still
looming up as a rich discovery. The
claim was discovered only about a
month ago, and at a depth of six feet
the vein was fifteen feet wide with
three pay streaks about q foot and a
half wide each. The looators of the
claim are Peter Murtagh, Charles
O'ConoR John Brown and p. 0'Conor.
Arrangements are being made to de-
yelop the property as rapidly as posi-
BILE. An ore chute about 500 feet long
will be constructed at once for the
purpose of conveying the ore to the
bottom Of the mountain, where it will
be treated, as a twenty stamp mill is
to be erected for that purpose.
Specimen of the ore have been
brought to town, which run high in
gold, two of which are on exhibition
at the drug store of He'll & Hoelke,
in the Quiency block. Mr.. Murtaugh
took some twenty pounds to the assay
Office ofJames K. Morris for the pur-
pose of getting a mill run, and the re.
suit was that the ore made nine and
one-tenth ounces in gold, and one and
nine-tenths ounces in silver, equal in
coin value to $l90.33 to the ton. Spec
linen assays have been made, which
run as high as S908.4S in gold to the
ton. The owners of this mine have in
deed a bonanza, and only need to de-
velop it to own one of the richest gold
mines in the State. We wish the boys
success, as they are all poor men and
have worked hard and spent every
dollar they could raise in locating and
working the property.
Murtagh is a queer genius, and his
friends here predict that he will spend
his EOney right royalty. He once
wrote a book on the yellow fever
epidemic Of 1873, with his face on the
cover and the pages embelished with
drawings. He spent about $500 on it
and it was a wonderful production.
He also had a penchant for poetry, and
on one occasion wrote a piece for a
morning paper, which printed his pro-
duction just as it was written. To a
friend next day he said: What's the
differenceihow it is spelled SO the senti-
ment is there2"