The Helena independent., 1889-06-02
CALIFORNIA; LUCKY MINERS.
Gov. waterman's Unearned success-stor,
of a Grub-sfake

Gov. Waterman's Unearned Success story
of Grub-stake.
San Francisco Examiner: Talk about
luck" said seedy victim of the stock ex-
change, looking al Gov. Waterman, 'that
man has enough for a talisman. 1 don't
refer to his freak Of beating Tarpey for
lieutenant-governOr and then drawing the
first prize in the lottery of death, but par
ticularly TO the manner in which he Sc
cured that mine for which he has just re-
fused s2,0O0,0O0 and kicked because the
other man seemed inclined to force him TO
take it. Why, he was let into that mine
as sucker-played for pigeon. Ii was
owned by some sharpers who had made a
pretty little stake out of il. but nothing
very big. They had sunk one shaft and
struck an overpowering food of water,
after taking out a lot of fair ore. Then
they put down another shaft and did rea-
SOnaDly well. At about the time they had
reached position which they thought was
within a few feet of the water they lit
upon waterman as the proper gudgeOu TO
swallow giided bait. Tney painted the
glories of the mine TO his wondering eyes
and worked him up TO the proper pitdh of
enthusiasm. He bit and paid SD, 900 for
the property. The sbarpers rhuckled.
They felt sure that he could not WORK the
mine more than month before the ledge
would BE- exhausted and before the water
would drive him out
"Well, sir, don't you know that lucky
dog worked on that level for thirteen
months, taxing out net profit of $4,000 a
month. Then the water did come iii. and
he put down a shaft which uncovered the
biggest ore body in the state. He has five
millions in sight now, with no telling how
much behind il. HOw's that for a suck
err
UVaa and ubiIa xo,,,ra ,aIl-f,, .ho,,,
luck, | might have had the same mine for
the asking" commented Charles G.. Yale.
of the Mining and Scientific Press. 81
worked on gravel claim just below il for
months and only made grub and a reputa-
ton for 'sojering.' Ii had sense enough
to know a mine from q matchbox all I'D
had TO do was 10 appropriate that Julian
bonanza But | was just as big a hoodo as
his Parcellency is a mascot
There were three of us, and, after we'd
worked away there ln the hot sun with our
blistered noses right up against fortune,
We concluded to 60 out prospecting, and
dritted over into Calico district. Myself
and companions found hill fairly brist-
ling with quartz, and we went at il con-
scientiOusly. We dug prospect cuts all
over the face of the landscape, broke our
backs, blIstered our hands, wore out our
clothes and our patience, and turned up
not color. HeartSick and sore, we turned
our faces toward our old camp and our
gravel grub stake.
when we reached camp we found some
friends domiciled in our shanties. They,
too, were going prospecting, and they, too,
were going over into Calico. We tried TO
disuade them, but they would go, and
went.
"Not long after | was awakened one
gloomy night by q tapping at my cabin
door. Get oute l shouted, thinking il was
a sQuaw. Get up, Charley, want to show
you something said an impressive, half
whispering voice. | lit a candle, opened
the door, and in walked one OF my pros
pectIug friends with a small ore sack on
his shoulder. With a heavy, tragedisn
tread he walked to the table and dumped
the ore out upon it in a heap. See therer
he whispered in an awe-struck tone, his
eyes hanging out on stems.
"Well, IL was enough to make a man )
eyes stick out, and his tongue, too. That
struck It, said my friend, and we want
you boys to come over and locate the ex-
tensions
Ibid we go? That night we located ex-
tensions fast enough, and worked, and
shaved, ya-ha,' but never a dollar did we
get out of that ledge. IL was right on the
ground that we had worked over so faith
fully and so fruitlessly on our first trip
The other boys took out about $50 900
apiece, and then sold out for as much more.
| They had simply struck chimney, and
the extensions were worthless.
''One day L said TO one of the lucky
rascals: BY the way, where in thunder
did you get your first color which led you
to this chimney
"'Oh, one of those rocks you chaps used
for stools as you sat around your old camp
fire." There's luck for you"