Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1890-10-04
SENATOR JoNss.s cRvs STAKE.
A Thousand Dollars He Loaned = Mines
Brought Him Millions.

Senator Jones, of Nevada, Is ooS
of your self-made men. He commenced
life poor. But a year old when HE
parents came from Herefordshire, En-.
gland, he has made his way to the top
BY dint of hard work and the exercise
Of considerable s~hrewdness. Like
Senator Sanders, of Montana, who
made his first ten-strike out OF a claim
he staked out in a 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 a certain county
that Bret Harte made famous
Tuolumne, the ~veracious %chroniclers
assert-and during the gold excite
ment kept a small grocery store. he
did q thriving trade: prices were high
in those days in California. and after a
few years Jones had amassed n few
thousand dollars. Up the mountain q
| piece lived a solitary miner. de was
poor, had 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 Q
bonanza In that claim of mine," said
the poor miner.
Jones smiled. He had heard these
stories before. He knew how great
expectations we're frequently never
realized. Time, labor and money
were usually wasted on what looked
like something rich but that developed
into snares, so Jones merely smiled.
Its a big thing" persisted his
visitor, and he proceeded to explain
what the claim was and his reasons for
being SO sanguine. After several
hours talk the miner asked for an adj
vance of 81, 600 with which to buy tools
n food. Jones demurred. a
thousand dollars vas a big enough sum,
saved, as it had been. with much
trouble and labor. But after all 81, 600
cut no figure in comparison with the
profits Of a good mine. Jones finally
told the miner he would see what could
be done.
After nightfall and the Cinnamon
employed in the neighborhood had
taken their departure Mr.. Jones al
lowed the embers of his fire TO 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 81, 900. These little pre-
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-third 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.
Yes, there is, insisted the latter.
'if | could only strike it,"
Affairs were now becoming desperate
with the hopeful but penniless man.
One day he called on Jones and after
coughing apologetically, 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 cheerfully observed as he dug out a
side of bacon and gathered up q sack
of corn-meal for his luckless partner.
For four months nothing was heard OF
the old fellow, and Jones presumed he
had either gone away or had died at
his post up the gulch. Both suppo-
sitions were roneous The miner
; dashed into the store one day ira
dated with joy. He had really struck
his bonanza. The mine was sold for
s., 600, 600, and, faithful to his promise.
the honest miner gave Jones one-third
of it. Senator Jones's prosperity dated
from that time.-Pittsbnrg Post.