Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1884-02-22
SUDDEN WEALTH.
Some Interesting Recollections Of the
Flush Times in Colorado
How <ew Made MiIiiomaires Cele.
brntsd Their Good Fortune.
Anrcdotr. or the kings
for Day.


AMI mover suctrs~isi IN S''raplng together as
much ~ slp AT time were suddenly masters
of sinsH or s1pHs their greatest trouble
WIS tn know what To- huv first The luxury
"f iur, hasins lnt"xicat'si them. and no won-
dcr they i-Hu.ht diamonds before dinners
Their" - an old story and At is likely a true
nn" that one clustering winter night
min"r who had jlst made big
haul was standing ON street corner
IN lsaiSIlle. when n hollow-eyed woman,
cutching "A ragged shawl about her shivering
shoulders, drift-l up and stopped irreso-
lut"lA lhcr" was famine in her eye and
desperation IN her ra.s The miner was un-
u~.si Ia ladies soci>e. AMI felt embarrassed.
but he felt also that She was in distress, and
IN th" flush of his prosperity and bigness Of
his heart he wanted Ia do something for her.
FINAL, h" said
Wait here IA minute, mssus; I'll lie right
in.k "
In short time he returned, and pressing a
bundle into her hands, hurriel away before
~h" could sianner ont her fearful thanks.
The "utcast opened the package eagerly. 1t
contained IA pair of silk stockings.
Among the people knew around the camp
was n man named Ell Braden. who divided
his time lrtween reporting on q newspaper
and prospecting, and who loved to tell what
grI aud noble and sensible things he would
do should h" happen to strike it. When for
tune lid smile on him one day, he launched
Immediately upon several enterprises not con-
tcnplnt"i IN the original prospectus Among
other vagaries he became enamored Of q
vivacious little soubrette who was playing at
the olTra house. AMI arranged a unique and
remarkable testimonial to her beGuty and
talents. At great EXPENSE he procured from
Denver some twenty or thirty hot house
bouquets. The holders Of these he had
weighted with leaden spike-point down.
ward ~ when II was thrown upon the stage
u would stick In the boards and stand erect.
His idea was to precipitate the whole number
at once when the soubrette made her appear
ance, and, 10 use his own language, ''trans-
form the stage into bower Of roses" To
this end hc had number Of friends stationed
mt different points in the audience. each bear
ing deadly bouquet.
The curtain rose, the actress trpped on,
when bang lang bangl the fower-iecked
missiles hurtlei through the air. The poor
girl, who Ind read something Of wild west
ern ways, thought it was plot to kill her,
and fesl To the cellar, from which she had to
hr subsequently dragged 10y main force, utter
ing piercing shreks. The Braden party
werr all somew hat inebriated and the more
enthusiastic fired their bouquets with such
reckless aim that ono Of them hit the leader
of the orchestra on the bald head, and he
hal To bc neld by two men while the gore
was being mopped of and explanations
made. All went great ways toward
marring what might have otherwise been q
pleasant occasion. This is fair specimen Of
the pursuits in which Braden spent very
decent fortune and succeeded In three brief
months in getting hack into scrub journalism
and prospecting again.
A contemporaneous gentleman Of fortune
was Capt. Connors well known to all resi-
dents of the camp lie has often told me the
story of his first stake" He received $40
O0O for his interest in some mineral property,
and II was paid 10 him at the bark in four
rectangular packages Of bills OF 500 each
The captain Ind kept his good fortune a So
cret from !. wife and he hurried home TO
tell her. She WAS sitting down after a hard
days work. and without word he dropped
th" armful Of greenbacks in her lap 1t was
a loyal anu touching thing to do For a mo-
ment she sat paralyzsd with astonishment,
and then. hugaing the mass up to her, she
sobbcd out:
'Oh, Tom, how dirty they arei Let me
put them In tub AMI wash them"
DO II IL you want to, dear" he replied,
with tenderness that it would be well for
other rich men Of Colorado to emulate, "but
you will never wash anything else again."
| One of these kings for day, can't recall
his name. but a subsequent trial in the GRIM
inal court OF 1Radville in 1881, created quite
n sensation, made u lucky strike that netted
him ~, 00O In cash. He at once wrote to his
wife of his good fortune, and intended to
leave for his home the following day. That
evening he was taken in tow by q couple Of
these couriers OF crime, and in less than two
hours was gambled out Of every dollar He
made n complaint to the police, and the
larger portion Of the money was recovered,
lat too late, for, hopeless and distracted, he
had locked himself in his room and committed
suicide
II was by no means the rough and illiterate
who succes.led in making the most glaring
IDIOTS Of themselves under the stimulus Of
sudden fortune, but degree Of prior culture
SEEMED to ha Q the effect of adding sort OF
weird and &c, entric variety to their freaks.
a miner name. Luke Fuller, graduate Of
Bowdon and n man Of really brilliant mind
AM wide information, one afternoon, en-
ticly unanticrat Vi by himself consummated
n ss,l. that placed in mis- hands over $4,000.
II WA, IT, be supp o'sed that three or four wears
of grinding poverty had given him an appre
citation of the value Of money, AM he had
never been known TO drink or dissipate in
any FORM To the surprise Of everybody he
went ON n monumental spree which he wound
up by taking four or five boon companions
on n sort of triumphal tour into the east
The party stranded in Chicago and the next
time saw Fuller he was in Sauls saloon de.
stroying free lunch and furtively watching
the baI tender.
Another man Of his stamp, known by a
g~@i many in this city. too. awoke one day
,o hnI himself tolerably afiiuent, and in the
midst Of an unusually fantastic celebration,
ride around was suggested The host in
sisted That for the purpose Of observation
the glas~ sides IL hearse were peculiarly
adapted and two We're hired. In these the re-
velefs csconccd themselves and played poker
on the bottom while the paralyzed populace
lopkcd a. hast.
The lucky ones formed a sort OF aristoc
rncy. aud | do not recall anything moro ex--
tr ordinary oil the burltsque stage than the
s,irc. they used Ia give. Big, hulking fel-
bN~s Wup uhif - ktoN puWiflIie from u
gnadroon, would nmb.e around the hall in
dIcss coats made in Denver, and their fingers,
unused Ia gloves, sticking out, separate from
each other. like ra,liating rays from a central
sun Of white kid. Many Of them were, in
dce1. whit.l s,I,ulchers. and would not stand
too closc analysis. even into their raiment
On one occasion. while in the midst of set
Of the II Inirie Qucen.' "a gentleman b .came
enrased at hIs - po,lte," and incautiously
T~elcd or his swallow tail to mop the waxed
floor with him. revealing thereby the mortify-
ing fact that his collar, shirt-front and cuffs
were hollow and detached shams, and merely
pinned Ia the blue flannel shirt that long asso-
citation as miner hal male him loath to
part with. a bosom friend Of this gentle
man was gaunt. raw-boned farmers boy,
who hal wanicr.i into the west and whom
sudden riches hal dragged out OF the obscu
riiy Of prospect hole stuck diamond in his
b,>orn nnl dropped down into the midst Of
the ultra aristocTatic circles He distin-
guishe himsrf at his debut. A young lady