The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-03-16

MAeRIsFou EXPERIENCE.


Senator Tabor has had remarkable
matrimonial experience, and its sensa-
ional denouement only recently gave a
great deal of material to the public tonge.
He married in Maine when young man,
and in 1859 was seized with the Pixies
peak fever and went to Colorado in a
prairie schooner, accompanied by his
bride, who shared with him the perils
and exposure of that long and tedious
journey. They camped for time at the
present Site of Denver which was then a
bleak prairie, where ne kept a sort of
eating house and supply store. in which
Mrs. Tabor participated as chief assistant
and cashier of the establishment.
He then moved on TO Pixies peak, join
ing the innumerable caravan in search
for gold. He settled at Colorado City,
which is now town of deserted shanties
at the base of the mountain. He there
opened supply store, which his wife
kept while he joined the prospectors in
the gluches of the mountains hunting for
treasures.
When the Pixies excitement died out
Tabor took up the line of march and
went over the mountains following the
prospectors, his wife driving one team of
mules and he another. After twenty
years of drifting about from one camp to
another. enduring all sorts of hardships
even reaching the lowest ebb of poverty
and sometimes threatened with starvation
he settled down in log cabin near the
present site of Leadville, where he kept
store and clearinghouse for miners i,
his wife acting as cook, clerk and post
mistress for the camp Tabor's cabin
was famous resort in those days, and
foc fha nf hot a pa
now a part of the history of mining life
in the Rocky mountains.
Mrs. Tabor was a sort of daughter in
the regiment among the miners, being
the only woman for miles around, and
possessing the confidence and regard of
everybody. She was sort of bauk of
deposit for the rusty old fellows who did
not spend their dust as fast as they wash
ed it out. and it IS said that she often
carried many thousand dollars in gold
dust in her bosom wrapped in little buck
skin bags with the names of the owners
attached. During all this time, and up
to 1875, her husband was prosp ctor
meeting with little or no luck, while she
kept the wolf from the door selling sup
plies. keeping boarde.s and acting as
laun0ress in general fog the camp at Car
donate hill
Good luck came at last. He now
owns in Leadvllle and other portions of
Colorado more productive mining proper
ty than any other man, and from some
of his mines his income is as high as $50
600 a month. Others pay yearly as much
and it ise stimated that his annual income
from his mining property cannot be less
than $500, 0C0, and his entire fortune is
estimated as high as SO, 100000
Several months ago Senator Tabor,
having tired OF the companion of his
poverty and humble life, endeavored to
secure divorce from her in one of the
back countie of Colorado, using meth
DDS which the papers of Denver claim
were not strictly honorable Mrs. Tabor
went into court and asked for division
of the property and separate mainten-
ance. As compromise her husband
offered her $3.50, 900 and mis- residence in
Denver, providing she would consent to
the divorce. This she refused to do for
some, but finally the divorce Was granted
on terms that were much moe advantage
Gus to her, and appeared to DE satisfact-
oIy to him. This family difficulty affect
ed his candidacy for the United States
senate very seriously. occurring as il did
during the canvass before the legislature
and he was compelled to content himself
with shot term of thirty days in that
distinguished body, but secured the title
of senator and ow has honorable writ
ten before his name.