Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-06-12
A LUCKY WIDOW.
How Jim keene Was Enabled to Get
Into the BenanZa-A Tip That He
Developed for Millions.

III. heent, The 1dL0 California lHlIIlOn-
aire, who last week lost ia Wall street
the last of the great fortune of $1O,-
600, 900 which he brought from San
Francisco to New York ten years ago.
Innumerable stories are told of his
rise in 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 Saratoga two years ago. DO
you see that little woman with the
India shawl who is just going to
drive" inquired an ex-senator from
| California of the writer as we sat to-
gether on the great hotel piazza one
afternoon. ''She has had a wonderful
experience. Would you like to hear
how Jim Keene helped her to a for
tune?" Relighting his cigar, the Forty
miner proceeded: 4 remember very
we'll in 1856 when Tom Crittenden
came back from New York with a
pretty little wife. He was a daring
operator then, and for while all he
undertook succeeded But times
changed. Crittenden got on the
wrong side of the market and could
not get right. Oneday he came home
ruined, and after brief illness died,
some said, of broken heart. It was
hard lines for his wife. 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 in his
better days interested themselves in
her, and their wives gave her enough
work in the shape of plain sewing to
l. L L.
I'm 1874 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 %, I believe. One afternoon
Mackey, who was the general superln-
| tendcnt of these mines (all cart of
the great 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 Won
derful lot Of 'bonanzas, or pockets,
full of almost pure gold that he in all
his experience had ever seen. He
proposed to the two gentlemen named
and Fair that they should quietly get
hold of 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 later was told
they wanted the bank of California to
carry them through. 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 a little woman in rusty
black came into the Office and, with
q timid air, asked a clerk If she could
see Mr.. Keene.
The young man addressed was
very busy just then telling story to
another clerk of how he and several
others painted the town red the night
| before. He looked over her head and
everywhere, and finally saw it was
only a shabby. looking woman. He
supposed it was someone who was
begging, and insolently answered
that Mr.. Keene was very busy then
and could see no one. She waited
moment and modestly said: "Will
you take my name into him? Just
then tall, slender man came out of
q back Office with two or three others,
and, hearing the conversation, said:
I am Mr.. Keene; did you wish to see
me? Come into my Office, madam.
She went with him. He offered her
a chair with as much courtsey as if
she had been the reigning belle Of
San Francisco and waited for her to
speak. Mr.. Keene, she said, L am
the widow of Tom Crittenden, of
whom you once knew, and [ have
been used to hearing of mining
operations all my married life. [ ana
sewing for my living now. Yester-
day [ was at the home of-naming
one of the bonanza set-and heard a
conversation which convinced me
that great operation is being en-
gineered by Flood, O'Brien, Mackey,
and Fair. They say that they have
made a wonderful discovery that will
put up the Comstoc6 certificates of
stock 800 or 400 per cent. She then
opened little box, and handing it
to Keehe, said: These diamonds ear
ornaments were my mothers present
to me the day I was married
Throughout all my distress and
poverty I have kept them. They are
worth $500. VIII you take them as
security and buy for me on margin
all of this mining stock they are good
FORE"
''Keene saw it all in a second. Here
was the clew ne had SO vainly tried to
find" You have rendered me most
important service, Mrs. Crittenden, ;
said he. Keep your diamonds. I
will buy you a line of shares in the
mining stock you mention and carry
it for you. Whenever you 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 81, 900, 600 profit if the
stock went above 200. -Four days after
the wonderful news became public.
At first the brokers thought it was
job, but the experts they sent down to
examine said that nothing Ike such a