The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1888-11-17

Derived from = ButA.
Col. Samuel A. Scott. of Kansas
City. ST. Louis. and nearly all the
thriving cities In Missouri and Kansas,
has been attracting good deal Of at
tention here during his visit. not alone
on account of his opcn-handed liberia
lily. but his breezy western style. says
New York correspondent OF the
Philadelphia Press. Col. Scott is esti-
mated 10 be worth $4,000, 900, which
he has made out Of real estate within
the last ten years. His career has cer-
tainly been a remarkable one.
To party of prominent politicians,
whom he was entertaining AT the Hoff-
man house. he told the story of how
he got his start in life. He began by
trying 10 do a real-estate business on
commission. He easily secured pro-
perry TO sell, but il was another thing
TO secure customers. The colonel was
finally down 10 his last dollar. when
he traded off lot in exchange for a
team of horses and Jersey bull. Tho
owner of the lot took the horses. and
the colonel took the bull for his conf
mission.
Now, how to dispose advantageous
ly OF the bull was matter of no little
concern To him. Fortunately he hap
pened Co mention the matter 60 Eugene
Field, now the famous humorist OF
Chicago. then managing editor OF one
of the principal daily papers In Kansas
City. just at this period Field : paper
was adding To its then mcager income
by conducting lottery. Every person
who subscribed for the paper received
lottery ticket. The articles offered
us prizes were such things as the paper
had received in return for advertising.
money at that time being scarce.
Field thought IL would be an excellent
thing To offer blooded bull rs one of
the prizes. as il would be sure to excite
interest among the farmers; SO he pro-
posed to take tho animal of Col.
SCOTS hands and give him the price
OF il in advertising. Ii was then an
unheard-of thing for rcal-estate deal
or TO advertise. but anyway the colonel
thought the experiment worth attemp-
ting, and he accepted Mr.. Fields sug-
gestion.
In exchange for the animal Col.
Scott received a column advertisement
in the newspaper every day for month.
The people considered this little short
of reckless enterprise, but anything
reckless in those days in Kansas City
took. so of cour~,'. Scott secured plen-
ty of customers. At once he became
tie most promiannt man in the bust
ness, and made money rapidly. Natur-
ally. he was SO highly clated with his
bargain that he offered To the person
who should draw the bull as prize
800 for the first calf.
The animal finally went to farmer
in Kansas, but proved TO be utterly
worthless. The farmer came back on
the newspaper and the newspaper in
turn had TO look 10 Col. Scott, who
went To the man who originally owned
the bull. AS n result the man gave
Col Scott $500 interest in the pro-
perry, which was the price at which
the bull was valued, and the Colonel
sent the farmer asewing-machine, and
the matter became satisfactory all
around.
Shortly after this the colonel left the
real-cstate business and turned his at
tention TO n new system OF sewerage.
and went To Denver in hope of making
n fortune out of IL. This proved hil-
ure, and he lost everything. and the
only thing he had left was his interest
in the Kansas City real estate, in which
transaction the bull figured SO promins
entity.
In the meantime Kansas City had
been enjoying a remarkably rapid
growth, and what was year before
suburb had become the heart Of the
city, and the increase In the value Of
property was simply astonishing. Col.
Scott found his properly surrounded
with fine buildings, and that 1t had
made him a comparatively rich man.
He sold half-intcrest for $25. 900. and
in about another year the other half
was worth nearly twice that amount.
Believing that his good fortune was
due To the bull, Col. Scott hunted up
the animal and repurchascd il. He has
the animal to-day, aud, although it
has eaten its head of u thousand times
over, Col. Scott could not be- induced
10 part with IL. He firmly believes IL
IL had not been for the animal no
would not be a millionaire.