Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-09-05
THE WIDOWS FORTUNE.
Where Tom crittenden'a widow Got Her
Profits.

Where Tom crittenden's widow Got Her
Profits.
The Pittsburg Commercial Gazette
tells the following Innnmerable
stories are told Of Jim Keene's rise in
1 the world and Of those he helped TO
better fortunes, and I shall try to tell
one Of these as it was told to me at Sar-
atoga two years ago. DO you see that
Little woman with the India shawl who
i is just going to driver" inquired an ex-
i senator from California of the writ
er, as We sat together on the great
1 hotel piazza one afternoon. "She
has had q wonderful experience.
Would you like to hear how Jim
Keene helped her to fortune ~
Reighting his cigar the forty miner
proceeded; IT remember very well in
/ 1855, when Tom Crittenden came back
from New York with pretty little wife.
He was daring operator then, and, for
I q while, all he undertook succeeded.
But times changed. Crittenden got on
the wrong side Of the market and could
not get right. One day he came home
ruined, and, after q brief illness, died,
some said, OF q broken heart. It was
hard lines for his wife. 81 She, had been
gently reared, and was no more fitted
/ to battle with poverty and the world
than is a turtle dove. A few friends
who had known her husband il, his bet.
ter, days, interested themselves in her
and their wives gave her enough work
in the shape of plain sewing to keep the
wolf hunger from the door.
In IS47 Flood, O'Brien, Mackey and
Fair organized. the largest scheme Of
mining speculation ever known on
the Pacific slope. The stock of
bonanza mines was then very low
about twenty-eight, I believe.
One afternoon Mackey, who was the
ganeral superintendent of the mines Gall
a part Of the Comstock system), came
in hurry to San Francisco, and went
at once to Flood and O'Brien. He said
that they had struck the most wonder
full lot Of 'bonanzas' or pockets, full Of
almost pure gold that he in all his ex-
perience had ever seen. He proposed to
the two gentlemen named and Fair that
they should quietly get hold of all this
stock that could be had before the news
of this wonderful strike was made
public. This was on Thursday. By
Saturday evening they had three fifths
of all the stock. Only two outsiders
| Sharon and Bill Ralston-were allowed
to come in, and the only reason the lat
ter was told, they wanted the bank of
California to carry them thorough.
Keene, shrewd and sharp, felt that
something was in the air, but for the
life of him he could not tell what 1t was
| One afternoon o little woman, in rusty
black came into the Office and, with
timid air, asked clerk if she could see
Mr. Keene.
1.-The young man addressed was very
busy just then telling story to another
clerk of how he and several others had
painted the town red the night before.
He looked over her head and every
where, ana finally saw it WAS only q
shabby looking woman He supposed
it was some one who was begging, and
imsolently answered that Mr.. Keene was
very busy then and could see no one.
She waited moment and modestly
i said: Will you take my name in to
him? just then tall, slender man
came out OF back Office with two Or
three others, and hearing the conversa-,
ton, said: 7 am Mr.. Keene; did you
wish to see me? Come into my office,
madam She went with him. He
offered her chair with as much
courtesy as if she had been the reigning
belle of San Francisco, and waited for
her to speak. Mr.. Keene, she said, am
the widow of Tom Crittenden of whom
you once knew, and have been used to
hearing of mining operations all my
married life. Yesterday..I was at the
house Obtaining one of the bonanza
Set and heard conversation that
convinced me that great operation is
being engineered by Flood, O'Brien,
Mackey and Fair. They say that they
have made wonderful discovery that
will put up the Con1stock certificates
of stock 800 or 400 per cent. She then
| opened a little box and banding it to
Keene said: These diamond ear orna-
ments were my mothers present to me
the day T. was married. Throughout
all my distress and poverty I have kept
them. They are worth $500. Will you
| take them. as security and buy for me
on margin all this mining stock they
are good fors 49,. Il.
| 'sKeene saw it all in second. Here
was the clew he had so vainly
tried to find. You have rendered me
q most important service, Mrs.
Crittenden,' said he Keep your
diamonds. I will buy you q line Of
| shares in the mining stock you mention,
and carry it for you. Whenever you
I want your profits come to me- and he
! bowed her out There was no time to
! lose, but by working diligently he had
| stock enough to make ST 900, 900 profit
| Il the stock went above 200. Four days
after the wonderful news became pub
| lie. At first the brokers thought it was
q job, but the experts they sent down
to examine said that nothing like such
/ q deposit had ever been known in
mining history. The stock started.
From % it jumped to 60 in one day,
| then to so, 100, 100, 1850, 200, 285.
The little woman watched the upward
rise with feelings that can only be I'M
agined. She scarcely slept; she could
not work. AT 285 she sent Mr.. Keene
q note to- sell whatever he had
bought for her. She had no idea hcw
much it was, but thought j: it might be
! perhaps 200 shares be not more
than 100. This would give her at least
| $25, 900 hitter all commiss ons were paid.
t That afternoon she. went down to his
office The smart young clerk remem-
! bered her, and was more civil this time.
| he said Mr. Keene was out just
then, but was mo entsriily expected.