, 1890-10-21
HE FOUND A FORTUNE.
A YOUNG MANS GOOD LUCK AFTER
YEARS OF MISFORTUNE.

HIs Father Loses sIo.ooo Then His Crops
for Successive Seasons. Then Various
Members Of His FamIIy-Father Dies on
n Day OF the SONS Great Luck
People may declare their disbelief in
luck as frequently as they like, but for
all that. luck is the most potent factor
in shaping the success or non-succes of
man. said a citizen Of Detroit who
had been s~ojourning in Escanaba for
several days
Il was born in n Pennsylvania village,
and came west with my parents when ]
was n lad. We located on a farm in the
lower peninsula OF Michigan. and from
that hour on bad luck seemed to dog my
father in whatever he undertook to do.
.'when he left Pennsylvania he had
$4,000. He put &. 900 of this in n bank
and invested tho other s.. 900 in a farm.
The bank broke. Then q drought am
and ruined his crop His house took
FIRE and was burned with all its n
tents, and we were left homeless on the
verge Of winter.
Father succeeded in mortgaging the
farm. and then suddenly my mother
died, and n few days later my sister fol-
lowed her into tho unknown.
CONTINUAL HARD LUCK.
The following year my father hal n
medium crop, and after he had sold it
and paid the interest on the mortgage
he had just enough left to carry us
through the winter. he had lost conf
hence in banks. so he kept his money
hidden in the house. One night we had
a visit from burglars. who took every
sent he had in the world
He WINS compelled to clap a second
mortgage on the farm. but his crop
failed and we hadn't a penny to tide us
over until the following spring.
Zone day that 1 will never forget !
started out hunting. and | had TO bor-
row a gun. for | had sold my Ia
provide us with bread Game proved
very scnrce. and my aim very poor.
II was nearly night, and | hadn't
wen n bird TO show for my long tramp
through the woods. so l struck ont for
home. Just as | leaped the fence that
let me into our farm again | saw a
squirrel scurrying up the dead trunk OF
an old tree. Popped away at the little
fellow. missed him, and her started
back with a cry Of surprise.
my bullet had hit the tree, and just
where il had struck I saw something
that shone like fire in the last rays Of the
setting sun. Running to 1t, ] whipped
out my knife and began cutting into the
hollow trunk of thu tree. Suddenly
handful after handful Of gold pieces be-
gan to run out Of tho hole upon the
brown sod at my feet.
Il began to count. The sun ran up
into hundreds-into thousands-and
fairly screamed for Joy.
WEALTH M DEATH.
No more poverty for u.s. No more
living on crustsl No more dressing in
ragsl
IL filed my pockets as full MS they
would hold. buried the balance of the
coin and tore for home.
Opening the door l ran in. Father
lay on the Observation-Disclosures with
apoplexy. He was the last near relative
| had in the world.
IL told no one of the treasure | had
found. and after the funeral of my fa-
Their | went to Detroit and placed It in
a bank. went to college at Ann Arbor
until | graduated; hen embarked in
business. and my luck has been as good
as that of my father was bad"
This story demonstrates that the Opt
mists are wrong when they utter the fool
declaration that "This world is what we
mako It," 1t is not what we make It.
by any manner of means.
In the case of the father who figures
In this romance OF real life, he certainly
his best to make his family and
comfortable, happy, successful,
but he failed-not through any fault of
his own, but failed through the infany
Of bank officials; through n drought that
destroyed his crop; through the burning
Of his home: through burglars; through
tho death Of his wife and daughter;
through other agencies over which he
had no possible control. and, to finish up
his bad luck, he was stricken dead Oh
the very day that his son found n fort
une.
On the other hand, it was simply 4
Of good luck that led the son to
the particular tree hat held the gold.
and all the circumstances OF his find
were the merest accidents Of fortune
Escanaba Mirror