St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-05-02
THE ROMANCE OF GOLD.
Fate of the Mem Who DiscOvere
the Great American Mines.

E@eC Oh th6 H1Ou VINO WAbCOsCACs1
| the Great American Mines.
Fort Keogh (Mont.) Letter.
The superstitious belief is an old one,
that unless the discoverer of a camp meets
an untimely or bloody end his find will
never amount to anything; and this seems
borne out by facts, since nearly all the dis
coyerers OF the great gold mines in the Uni
ted States with but few exceptions, have, as
the saying goes, ''died with their boots on. "
| OF thirty eight booming towns in the early
days, the lOcators of twelve were killed by
bullet, three were buried in their creations
by cave-ins and the rest drifted away with
| the tide of immigration, have become lost
| in oblivion or died and were buried in pau
pers' graves. George II. Fryer. from whom
the celebrated Fryer Hip of Leadville.
derives its name, died at Denver not long
| ago from an overdose OF morphine admin
istered by his own hand. Two years pre-
| vious to his death he was worth million
| or so but he died pauper and almost
| without friend.
Old Virginny, after whom the "Consoli.
dated Virginia" was named, and who sold
his claim for $25, pony and bottle OF
whisky, came to his death by an overdose
from bucking mule near Dayton, New.
Bill Bode, the discOverer of the great
Standard mine in Mono county, CAL, Slept
his life away in SnOWStOrm while making
his way to the mines.
Col. Story, who gave his name to the
county in Nevada where the Comstock is
situated was killed in battle by the Pyramid
Lake Indians.
Thomas Page Comstock died beggar in
a strange land. ''Old Pancake" as he
was known in the mining camps, commit
ted suicide at BOzeman, Mont, on Sept. 81,
1870 by shooting himself. He was the
leader of the famous Big Horn expedition
that was sent out by Nevada capitalists in
search of the Lost Cabin mines. supposed
be somewhere among the Big
Horn mountains. The expedition
was failure, and Comstock, whether
| from disappointment or from some other
cause, while encamped near Bozeman.
drove pistol ball through his head and
died instantly. He was buried there and
his grave is unmarked and unknown.
Near the wild spot where twelve years
ago the hidden treasure of Alder Gulch was
first revealed to him, William Fairweather
was laid down to rest. Like poor ''Old
Pancake" this cratic soul stranded on the
shoals of dissipation, although each in his
day had turned key-the one silver, the
others but nothing for themselves. VIM.
Farrell, who ''struck" Meadow Lake, died
victim to remorse in one of the leading:
hospitals in San Francisco, haunted by
the spirits OF 1000 deluded pioneers and
prospectOrs passing and repassing his dying
bed" The locator of the famous Home
stake, in the Black Hills, is said to have
afterwards turned road agent. Times
going hard with him, he attempted to
stop stage loaded and prepared for just
such emergencies, and he was planted
alongside the road by the tender
hearted express agents whom he had
tried to rob and kill. Homer of the Homer
district followed in the suicidal tracks of
COmstock. After squandering a small for
tune he shot his brains out on the streets of
San Francisco. Doughnut Bill, ''Old
Eureka" Kelse Austin, Lloyd Magruder,
''Nine-Mile Clark" George Hankinson.
Henry Plummer, and scores of others died
violent deaths in one way or another and
reaped nothing from the rich finds each
had made in his day. Doughnut Bill
was planted in the Lone Mountain cemetery
in Utah, in 1868; lone grave under a
white pine tree in a frontier mining town
of California tells where poor ''Old Eu-
reka" sleeps his last sleep; Kelse Austin
was huleu anu ulIltu Ill ElcuO cOuuGy,
| Nevada, fifteen years ago.
Lloyd Magruder. while conducting a
number of wagons loaded with treasure
from Virginia City to the nearest railroad,
was murdered and robbed by his teamsters,
who were Plummer's outlaws in dis
guise; George HankinsOn and Henry
Plummer were hauled up by vigil
antes and strung up without the delay and
| fOrmality of a trial Plummpr waS q
great rascal. In the early days OF the min
ing camps of Montana Plulnmer was elected
sheriff Of the camp about Virginia City.
He was the first locator of the rich grouud
about Virginia City, but thought he could
make more money and quicker. too, by
| taking what was already mined than by
laboring in the gulch day after day and
getting it by hard, honest toll. But he was
tripped up at last and died cringing, mis-
cradle coward On a gallows of his own
construction.