The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1890-10-24
SENATOR IonEs's GRUB STAKE.
A Thousand Dollars He Loaned Miner
brought Him Millions

Senator Jones. of Nevada, is one
of your seIf-made men. He commenced
life poor. But a year old when his
parents came from Herefordshire. En-
gland. he has made his way TO the top
BY dint of hard work and the exercise
of considerable shrewdness- Like
Senator Sanders, Of Montana. who
made his first ten-strike out of claim
he staked out in graveyard. Senator
Jones' first streak of luck was purely
accidental. as nearly all streaks of luck
are.
The story goes that when Jones was
in California he stumbled across his
pile in the following remarkable
manner: He lived in certain county
that Bret Harte made famous
TuoIunlne. the yeraeious chroniciers
assert-and during the gold excite-
ment kept small grocery store He
did a thriving trade. prices were high
in those days IN California. and after a
few wears Jones had amassed a few
thousand dollars. Up the mountain 5
piece lived a solitary miner. He WIS
poor. mad the reputation of being shift
less, but despite the report was always
/ busy.
One day he called on Jones.
Say, Jones / think I've got 3
bonanza in that claim of mine" said
the poor miner
Jones smiled. He had heard these
stories before. He knew how great
expectations were frequently never
realized. Time. labor and money
were usually wasted on what looked
! ike something rich but that developed
I into snares, SO Jones merely smiled
ITS big thing. persisted his
I rieitar and ~ r.roaaae1nd IN exrIasrs
what the claim was and his reasons for
being so sanguine. Alter several
hours talk the miner asked for an ad-
vance of 81. 900 with which TO buy tools
and food. Jones demurred- A
thousand dollars was big enough sum.
saved. as It had been, with much
trouble and labor. But after al 81. 600
cut no figure in comparison with the
/ profits OF good mine. Jones finally
told the miner he would see what could
be done.
After nisktfau and the Chinamen
employed IN the neighborhood had
taken their departure MIR. Jones al
/ lowed the embers OF his fire 10 die out
When satisfied no one was about he
scraped away the ashes. raised the
stone on which the fire was built and
weighed out the necessary gold dust to
/ make the $, 600 These little rre-
cautions were always taken in that
region, where even robbers were more
plentiful than fortunes.
The tools were bought, Jones lend
ing the money and the miner promis-
| ing him one-fhird of the profits of the
mine. For months the solitary miner
labored, but he did not strike the lead.
He grew wan and hollow-eyed. and oc-
casionally dropped in to see Jones
The latter had by this time abandoned
all hope Of ever seeing his money
! again.
\ There's no gold up there. . he would
inform the exhausted miner.
s.Yes, there is. insisted the latter,
If could only strike il. p
Affairs were now becoming desperate
with the hopeful but penniless man
One day he called on Jones ana after
coughing apologetiealIv. asked for
some meal and bacon. He knew he
would be successful eventually with his
search. but provisions were out. Jones
smiled again.
Its like throwing it in a rat hole.
he eheerfully observed as he dug out =
side of bacon and gathered up a sack
of eorn-meal for his luckless partner.
For four months nothing was heard OF
the old fellow, and Jones presumed be
had either gone away or had died st
his post up the gulch. Both suppo-
sitions were erroneous. The miner
dashed into the store one day IRA
dated with JOY. He had really struck
his bonanza. The mine was sold for
IS. .0U0. 900. and. faithful to his promise.
the honest miner gave Jones one-third
of it. Senator Jones's prosperity dated
from that tiIne-PittS6axr9 Post