The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-02-27
BY A SINGLE CAST.
How a California Millionaire Be-
came Pauper.
He staked All on n single Throw of the
Dice and Lost-A Fortune Easily Made
and ReckIessly Squanderod A
Harmless, Worthless Beggar.

A'AlehAi4 bAlIiS siDOIS AAAL oliCuNo VI cdh
Francisco may be seen, daily, the
warped and twisted figure of man
with a singular history. His clothes
are tattered and greasy, his face Is
wrinkled and distorted, and about his
shoulders his greasy, dirty, unkempt
hair falls in a shaggy mass. His feet
are always encased in fragments of
shoes, and he invariably carries in each
hand q piece of bread and cheese, at
which he nibbles as he shifts from one
saloon to another.
Mathew Mills is tho name Of this
strange creature, and, though now feed
ing from the meager hand of charity, he
was at one time, when California was
in the height of her prosperity, man
who reckoned his wealth 10 run into q
million of dollars, with splendid pros
pect of yearly increase in his income.
Then Mathew Mills rode about the
streets of San Francisco in a turnout
that cost thousands of dollars, and he
lived in a style that dazzled the quarter
of a hundred other millionaires contem-
pOraneous with him. Now lie travels
from saloon to saloon and from free lunch
TO free lunch, asking aims of whoever
comes in his way when he feels thirsty
and never ordering drink without first
asking for the dice-box. that he may see
whether he is obliged to pay for it or
not, and when he is in restful mood
he may always be found in the card
room Of some cheap saloon. throwing
the dice alone and muttering 10 himself
cXcitedly as the spots turn up. lie has
Il mania for dice-throwinR. and this pc
culiar craze has won for him the title of
Dice-bOx Mills.
Mills has no contidants nowadays. and
it is only when his thin blood il warmed
by a few libations of CbSinthc tL-t he
will converse beyond the limit Of a few
words with his companions, and then
he has but one topic, and that is his
early days in California, and the sudden
manner in which he lost his wealth
and came down TO the exceedingly low
plane upon which he has ever since
travelled.
Mills was born in New Bedford.
Mass, in 1890. lie was sailor in early
days, and at the age of eighteen wears
had made two trips around the world
with his father, Joshua Mills. who was
the captain of merchantmen sailing
from New Bedford. In 1919 Mills
caught the gold craze, and came around
the Horn. working his passage. and
landed in San Francisco with less than
twenty dollars in his pocket, and twenty
dollars in those days in San Francisco
went but very short way toward lin
ing the stomach of healthy man or
covering his back. But Mills was of a
speculative turn of mind, and he went
TO hardware dealer who had been an
acquaintance of his father in New Bed
ford, and proposed that he let him take
a cargo of hob-nails, shovels, pick-axes,
washing pans, etc, into the mining
districts and sell them on commission.
The hardware merchant fell in with tho
idea, and few days later Mills started
out for the mines with a half dozen
pack mules loaded with articles that
would be of use to miners. The vent
ure was a success. The articles sold
readily. and the margin on them was
wide. In a few months Mills had
cleared enough money TO enable him to
buy an interest in the establishment of
the man who had given him the start,
and they did business together for two
years, when Mills became restless, and,
selling out his interest to his partner,
he started for the mines with IS, 900 in
his pocket He stopped at Frazers
camp, then one of the most prosperous
mining camps, and being of a convivial
nature, he lived happy, careless exist
ence until his money was exhausted.
During Mills stay in California he had
become possessed with passion for
gambling, and whether with cards or
dice, the reckless manner in which he
played made him conspicuous figure in
the wild communities that sprang up
among the Sierra Nevadas in those early
days As a consequence of his reck-
lessness he gambled with varying fort
une, until at last the game got the
best of him, and he found himself pen
nileSs.
But he possessed lively spirit. and
with pick and pan he set out for the
''diggin's" on n prospecting tour. Good
fortune attended him, and one dav.
while bending over a spring of water
IN n remote canyon, he noticed some
gittering PARTICLES at the bottom. He
scooped up some of the sand, washed it
out, and found that he had tumbled
upon rich placer deposit He stalsed
ont his claim, worked a week and went
back to the camp with q pouch filed
with gold dust. I1
Once more the cards and dice went
against him. He found himself money
less and he returned TO his dicrine-s in
the canyon TO replenish his purse. The
astonishing amount of dust that Mills
had brought back to the camp with him
after an absence of but one week ex-
cited considerable comment among his
associates, and when he returned To his
claim he was followed by n couple of
men, hired spies of a man who repre
sen'ea syndicate of English capi-