The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-05-27
ILL-FATED DISCOVERIES.
Hard Fate of the Men Who Located Some
of the Great American Mines.

! Hard Fate of the Men Who Located Some
of the Great American Mines.
The superstitious belief is an old one,
that unless the discoverer of camp
meets an untimely or bloody end his
find will never amount to any thing;
and this seems borne out by facts,
! since all the discoveries of the great
! gold mines in the United States, with
but few exceptions, have, as the saying
goes, ''died with their boots on" OF
thirty-eight booming towns in 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 immigra-
| ton, have become lost in oblivion or
died and were buried in paupers'
graves. George H. Fryer, from whom
the celebrated Fryer HILL" of Lead
vile, derives its name, died at Denver
not long ago from an overdose of NOR
phine administered by his own hand.
Two years previous to his death he was
worth million or so, but he died a
pauper and almost without friend.
Old Virginny, after whom the Con
solidated Virginia. was named and
who sold his claim for twenty-five dol
lars, pony and a bottle of whisky.
came to his death by an overdose from
bucking mule near Dayton, New.
Bill Bodie. the discoverer of the
great Standard mine in Mono County,
Cal, slept his life away in snow
storm, while making his way to the
mines.
Colonel Story, who gave his name to
the county in Nevada where the Com
stock is situated. was killed in battle
by the Pyramid Lake Indians.
Thomas Page Comstock died beg
gar in 4 strange land. ''0ld Pancake"
rs he was known in the mining camps,
committed suicide at Bozeman, Mon,
on September q, 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 to be
somewhere among the Big Horn noun
tains. The expedition was 4 failure,
and COmStOck. whether from disap-
pOintment or from some O:her 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 before the hidden treasure of
Alder Gulch was first revealed to him.
William Fairweather was laid down to
rest. Like poor "Old Pancake" this
erratic soul stranded on the shoals 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.
William Farrell, who struck Meadow
Lake, died victim to remorse in one
of the leading hospitals of San Fran
cisco. ''haunted by the spirit of one
thousand deluded pioneers and pros
pectors passing and repassing his dying
bed" The locator of the famous
Homestake, in the Black Hills. is said
to afterward have turned road agent
Times going hard with him, he at
tempted 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 fortune
he shot his brains out on the streets of
San Francisco. DOughnut Bill, "Old
Eureka, Kelse Austin, Lloyd Magruder,
mine 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 mass each had made in his day.
Doughnut Bill WAS planted in the Lone
Mountain cemetery in Utah, in 1868; Il
lone grave under white pine tree in
frontier mining town of California tells
where poor "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 treasure
from Virginia City to the nearest rail |
road, was murdered and robbed by his |
Transfers, who were Plummer's out |
laws in disguise; George Hankinson
and Henry Plummer were hauled up
by vigilanteS and strung up without the |
delay and formality of trial. Plum
mer was great rascal. In the early |
days of the mining camps of Montana,
Plummer was elected sheriff of the
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 the
pallOWS of his own construction. |