The Elk Mountain pilot., 1881-03-31
JOHNNY SNES Big CHANCE
W'AA si0,000,000 Two Years As, IT,
Day Working for a Living

Johnny Skae, whom every body knows,
would visit Carson several times a
month and as he passed down the
street from the railroad depot, with
an Independent swagger and still
more independent look in his eve,
men would enviously gaze after him
aa4 express their convictions that he
would soon outstrip any single men,
Der OF the bonanza firm in the posses
sion of millions. This was when Sier-
ra Nevada and Union were selling at
from $25o to 5000 per, share, and
Skae was supposed TO hold $4,000
shares of the stock of those two mines.
At that period he would have had no
difficulty in realizing $40, 900. 900 in
cool gold coin for his stock; but no.
he was ambitious, and desired no
longer to play second fiddle even to
such colossal financial power as the
bonanza firm. He farcied that the
prospective dividends of the Sierra
Nevada and Union Consolidated
mines would be greater by tenfold
than those paid by the California and
Consolidated mines. Johnny was over
sanguine he imagined himself a 1oo-
millionaire, whose millions were safe
ly deposited in the bowels of the earth.
Of that he felt certain. In the mean
time he entertained his friends in
regal style. He invited them from
San Francisco to participate in prince
ly fish and champagne banquets,
which were spread near the reservoir
of the Virginia and Gold Hill water
works, from which the lucious trout
was taken, and in various other ways
extended his hospitality to friends in
such manner that they privately
called him "P,ince John" In the
midst Of this, however, he did one
prudent thing, and that was in settling
s25o,ooo in bonds upon his wife. Be
lieving that the stock Of the mines of
which he was so heavy a holder was
sure to reach at least 81, 900 per share,
he hypothecated the same to the Ne
vada bank, and purchased several
thousand shares on a margin. Soon
thereafter the market crashed, and it
was not long before his socks were
quoted at $50 and 500 share. OF
course that nearly ruined Skae but
being man of nerve and desirous of
retrieving his lost opportunity, he
kept on dabbling in stocks which at
one time might have placed him in
an enviable independent position, un-
til he lost all that he had saved from
the first blow and it is even said that
the $3.50, 900 which he settled upon
his wife went the way of the rest.
Now Iohn-ie Skae is in Arizona, in
place of living in luxury and superla-
tive elegance, seeking a bonanza
which he will probably never find. 1t
is only once in a life time that one
man in million is so enchantingly
smiled upon by Fortune as Johnny
Skae was two and a half years ago.
Carson Abpeal.
The Prescott Miuey says that the
workmen in the Silver Belt recently
made remarkable discovery, showing
that the mine has been worked ages
ago. The ten foot bonanza recently
uncovered, continued to widen at
every stroke Of the pick, and left an
overhanging wall on one side that ap-
peared more like loan than the ordi-
nary wall or vein matter of quartz
ledge, and SO soft that it caved in such
way as to obstruct the work. They
then went up above the cave and de-
cided to run down on the ledge in
new place, SO as to get under the cave
in order to have solid ground to work
on, and in clearing away a place to
start in, they found lying on the ore
on top of the ledge in the soft loan,
three feet from the surface, FIVE stone
hammers, such as are found IN the an
cient ruins and abandoned mines Of
the Aztecs all over the country, show
ing clearly that the Silver Belt has
been worked in prehistoric times.
A method of cooking by electricity
IS to be exhibited at the Paris exhibi-