Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1886-06-03
The Romance OF Cold.

but few exceptions, as the saying goes.
''died with their boots on" OF thirty
eight booming towns in early days, the
locators of twelve were killed by the
bullet, three were buried in their
creations by cave-ins, and the rest drift
ed away with the tide of immigration,
have become lost in oblivion, or died
and were buried in paupers' graves.
George Ii. Fryer, from whom the cele-
brated Fryer HILL" of Leadville," de-
rives its name, died in Denver not long
ago from an overdose of morphine adj
ministered by his own hand. Two
years previous to his death he was
worth million or so, but he died o
pauper and almost without a friend.
Old Virginny, after whom the Con
soldated Virginia" was named, and
who sold his claim for S25, pony and
a bottle of whisky, came to his death by
an overdose of bucking mule near Day
ton, New.
Bill Bodie, the discoverer of the great
Standard mine, in Mono county, Cal,
slept away his life in a 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 beg
gar in strange land "Old Pancake"
as he was known in the mining camps,
committed suicide at Bozehan, Mon,
on Sept 9th, 1877, 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 to 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 unmark-
ed and unknown.
Near the wild spot where twelve
years before the hidden treasure of
Alder gulch was first revealed to him,
William Fairweather was laid down to
rest. Like poor "Old Pancake" the
erratic soul stranded on the Shouts of
dissipation, although each in his day
had turned key-the one silver, the
other golden-which unlocked millions
for others but nothing for themselves.
VIM. Farrell, who struck Meadow
Lake, died victim TO remorse in one of
the hospitals of San Francisco, .'haunt-
ed down by the spirits of 1000 deluded
pioneers and prospectors passing and
repassing his dying bed The locator
of the famous Homestake, in the Black
Hills, is said to have afterward turned
road agent Times going hard with
him, he attempted to stop stage load
ed and prepared for just such emer-
gencies, 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 tracts of Com
stock. After squandering a small for
tune, he shot out his brains in the streets
of San Francisco. Doughnut Bill, "Old
Eureka" Kelse Austin, Lloyd Magru-
der, "Nine-Mile Clark" George Hankin-
son, Henry Plummer and scores of
others died violent deaths in one way
or another, and reaped nothing from
the rich fields each had made in his
day. Doughnut Bill was planted in the
Lone Mountain cemetery in Utah, in
1868; lone grave under white
pine tree in a frontier mining town of
California tells where "Old Eureka
sleeps his last sleep; Kelse Austin was
killed and buried in Elcho county, New,
fifteen years ago.
Lloyd Magruder, while conducting
a number of wagons loaded with treas
ure from Virginia City TO the nearest
railroad, was murdered and robbed by
his teamsters, who were Plummer's
outlaws in disguise; George Hankinson
and Henry Plummer were hauled up by
vigilantes and strung up without the
formality and delay of trial. Plum
mer was a great rascal. In the early
days of the mining camps of Montana,
Plummer was elected sheriff of the
mining camp about Virginia City. He
was the first locator of the rich ground
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
a cringing, miserable coward on a gal
lows of his own construction.-Co Cor.
NetU York World.