The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-04-30
ONE MANS LUCK.
How James Rippey Discovered n Placer
Mine and Became Wealthy.

Mine and Became Wealthy.
San Francisco dispatch says: In the
little town of Los GuiIicos. tucked away
among the mountains OF Senoma county,
Cal, is a queer character of the name
of James Rippey. who has kept a half
way house and been postmaster for the
express company at Los Guilicos for thir-
ty years. The man was one day one Of
the luckiest and wealthiest men In the
mines.
In the early sos Rlppey was knocking
about San Francisco doing odd Jobs
There was a great demand for carpenters
in the towns about that time. and, pos
sessing considerable mechanical ingenuity,
Rippey concluded TO try his hand at
house building. He got hold OF a few
carpenters tools and started out. He had
no trouble I'm securing work, and was
soon earning $40 day laying plank side
walks. He lived extremely close, and in
a few months he managed 10 lay up
several hundred dollars. One morning
Rippey read In a newspaper Of the arrival
at San Francisco Of an English ship with
a cargo OF miners tools and general hard
ware which was to be sold at auction on
the wharves. He concluded to speculate
little. and he attended the auction sale
=.
washpans, &C., were quickly bought up
by the hardware dealers and spectators
at prices that discouraged Rippey from
making a bid
Finally several hun dred pounds Of hob
nails-a short nail with a large head
were put UP The spectators didn't seem
TO want them, and the bidding was low.
Rippey thought he saw his opportunity
and he bid off three hundred pounds of
the nails at $500.
When he had paid for the nails he had
about 800 left. With this money he bought
two mules, camp outfit. and some
provisions. Packing the nails and the
other stuff on one OF the mules he started
for the mountains
The Sierras were alive with prospectors.
and 1T the end of the first week out
Rippey rode into a camp known as Good
Run. up In Placer county. Rippey Joined
the camp and offered to hobnail the
miners boots with imported nails. For
each nail he got a bit--l2 IL cents.
Money was easier to get hold of at Gold
Run than shoes. and. as the nails protect
ed the soles OF their boots from the
gravel, the miners readily fell in with
Rippey's plan. For a month he had all
the work he could do, and at the end of
that time he found that he had accumu-
lated gold dust TO the amount OF about
$1,000. He still had more than two hun
dred pounds OF nails. and. satisfied with
the scheme that he had adopted, he moved
his cobbling outfit TO another camp, where
the same prosperity attended him.
1t was eight months before Rlppey's
supply OF nails played out. AS they grew
scarce ne increased his price until, dur
ing the last month. the miners at Placer
Creek were taxed four bits (fifty cents)
for each hobnail. In eight months Rip
pey cleaned up $4,000. BY this time he
had become thoroughly imbued with the
gold fever, and. In company with p pros
pector by the name OF Henly. he set out
on prospecting tour. going over the
western edge OF Alpine county. Henly
was young Englishman. who had reach
ed the mountains with quite a sum Of
money In his pockets but he had met
with hard luck. and when picked up by
Rippey he was. TO use a common express
sion In that country. dead broke.
For six months the men prospected the
gulches with but little success They fin
ally pulled up stakes and moved into