The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1891-01-29
MISSED BEING A MILLIONAIRE.
A Reonsytvania Man Who Lives to Regret
. Lost Golden Opportunity.

A Pennsyivania Man who Lives to Regret
Lost Golden Opportunity.
General John A. Wiley, of Franklin,
Pa, says the News of that place, rises
up now and then In the middle of the
night and kicks himself when he thinks
how near he once came to being mill
ionaire. 1t was through no fault Of his
own that his plans miscarried, but all
on account Of a trusted party failing to
carry out instructions. 1t happened
ebout ten years ago, on trip with
friend through the Southwest, when
the mining fever was at its height
They were at Tucson, A. t., where
prospectors were as thick as Democrats
in Texas, and had talked TO some of
them who had ''the best thing in the
world" for sale. Finally man put in
an appearance who said he was positive
that he had big thing; that he had
two claims, sixty miles from there, in
which was rich deposit Of copper that
would assay seventy-flve dollars in sill
yer to the ton; that there was hog
backed mountain on the claims which
he had tapped in q straight line in four
different places and struck copper each
time.
The man's talk had the true ring, but,
like most Of the prospectors, he was
without money. He had fine gold
watch and this he put up to guarantee
the expenses of the two days journey
by wagon IN case the property was noe
what he claimed They paid his
expenses at the hotel and the next
morning started on the trip. Ar
irving there they found every thing to
be as he had represented and arranged
to buy the two claims outright for the
sum Of IS, 900, the General agreeing to
take quarter interest for himself.
They had travelling with them young
man in whom they had confidence, and
to him they intrusted the details of the
arrangement, as they wished to proceed
home and had found means OF returning
to Tucson at once. So the agreement
was drawn up, and the young man and
the prospector were to go to Tombstone,
eighty miles In an opposite direction,
where the money had been deposited
subject to the young mans check, with
positive instructions for him to pay the
money and close the deal
l. Ac OcucTdA duu ulS COlnptSliou Isl"
rived home, but three weeks having
passed by and the letter they longed for,
not having come, they telegraphed their
agent to ascertain the cause of his de-
lay in forwarding the papers. He an
swered that he had sent letter. When
it came they learned from its contents
that he had not settled the matter, hav-
ing come to the conclusion that it was
best, in his Judgment, not to purchase
the claims And this, too, from man
who had received positive instructions
to close the deal
Well. shortly afterwerd an agent Of
Flood and Mackey came along, gave the
poor prospector cool 100000 and the
retention Of a one-eighth interest for his
claims, an6 entered into an agreement
with the millionaire to work the mine
on a certain percentage. The company
was stocked for 100000. So you sec
the Generals one-fourth interest would
have stood him SO, 600, 900. The Copper
| Queen is still great mine, while 1t is
said that the agent who took the con-
tract of working the same he's pulled
out as high as 100000 IN one month for
| his percentage.