New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1882-07-12
Story Of . Silver Nine.

An old Colorado miner says: ..While
| was yet at Leadville man came up
there from Denver named Dexter-Jim
Dexter they called him-and he was
full of life aid hope and had some mon
ey. Dexter looked about for while
ind finally bought claim on Carbonate
Hill, which had at that time not been
prospected very well. Hepaid, I think,
about $15, 900 for it and set to work put
ting in machinery and sinking the shaft,
which was already down some hundred
feet or more. He worked away on the
mine, people laughing at him q good
deal, but he never once lost heart. The
mine had not shown up y single thing
IN the way of mineral, and the shaft had
been sunk by that time several hundred
feet. Dexter did not know what to do.
He had now spent nearly all the money
ne had and nothing was coming in.
One day in the early part of the year
1879 party came to him and asked him
what he would take for his mine. Dex-
ter told him, and bargain was made
between them. The price paid was,
think, $50, 600, some $1,000 more than
Dexter had spent on it altogether. He
was mighty glad to get the $50, 900, and
thought himself we'll out of bad bar
gain. He rushed out onto Carbonate
Hill and ordered the miners to drop
their tools and quit work. This was
about 8 o'clock in the afternoon. He
said: Boys, / have sold this id hole,
and don't want you to work another
minute in it for me. ! will pay you off
right now, and you can quit Well,
the miners had just finished drill and
were going to place a blast and uncover
some rocks, and they asked to be al
lowed to finish it before they quit work.
No. said Dexter, come out; ], don't
want you to work any more; there's
nothing in the ID old hole The
men reluctantly quit and departed.
Dexter got his money and was happy.
Well, the mine had been bought by q
stock company, and in short time they
began work on it. Now, young man,
what ! am going to tell you is the sol.
emn truth" said the miner. ..Those
fellows went up there to that mine and
laid fuse to the blast left by Dexter s
men and, touched it off, After the
smoke cleared away they went in to see
how much rock had been loosened, when
what do you think? There before thei,
eyes they saw the richest body of silver
ore which has ever been seen since the
world begun. At that time hundreds
Of thousands of dollars met the gaze OF
the delighted owners of the richest kind
Of ore. Well, young fellow" continued
Mr.. Knowles, t.that mine was the cele.
brated Robert E. Lee, which has made
everybody rich who has had anything to
do with it since Jimmy Dexter sold it.
Millions of dollars have been turned out
of it, and it is the greatest silver mine
in the world.'' The reporter asked the
miner how Dexter took the misfortune.
''Well," he replied. ''they say Dexter
would cry for a long time after whenev.
er he would hear the name of the mine
mentioned, but don't know how tina,
is. He got hold of other mining proper.
ty with the money received, and is now
a rich man, living in Denver in fine
style. =, He has the reputation of having
the most elegantly furnished house in
Denver, and it surely is a beautiful
place" *s; ~ oe. ~