The morning call., 1893-06-18
A MODERN MIDAS.
The Founder of Creede i'm
Town.
FORMERLY AN INDIAN SCOUT.
Captain Creede Struck 1t Rich and
Now Has an Income of Thou
sand Dollars a Day.

Captain n. c. Creede. the founder of
Creede, Colorado, arrived in the city last
night. He is at the Baldwin Hotel and is
accompanied by his wife. Captain Creede
is one of the most remarkable men in the
West. A few years ago he was an Indian
scout and to-day his Income is over $1,000
a day.
A CALL reporter, W ho called upon Cap
tain Creede last evening, found one of the
most modest, retiring men imaginable.
He comes to San Francisco upon trip of
business and pleasure combined He was
here once some years ago before he
amasSed his fortune.
The remarkable and romantic story of
Captain Creede's career, as modestly told
by him last night. is stranger than the
strangest fiction. In early life he worked
ON farm in Illinois and drifted west to
grow up with the country. When very
young man he became an Indian scout, and
later for seven years was lieutenant in
the United States service on the frontier
under Major Worth. During these seven
years OF service his work was largely scout
duty.
Lieutenant Creede as an Indian scout
killed more Indians tnan he has fingers
and toes. On one occasion he killed no
less than six Pawnee horsethieves as they
were escaping across the Platte River. He
hid in the long grass on the river bank.
and picked off the redskins one after an
other with his rifle.
His first mining strike was made to the
east of the Continental divide, under the
shadows of Mount Ouray. He discovered
small mine called the Bonanza In Sag
nache County, but this did not satisfy
him, for he had hopes Of some day found
q a
what he was looking for along the RIO
Grande. near Devils Gate, for there he
discovered the float, traced its source and
opened up the mlne known s Holy Moses.
This religious camp never paid expenses,
although it promised well. The mine was
sold to David Fl. Motfat. the De yer
banker. and others, who employed Cap
tain Creede TO prospect for them at 500
month and one-thrd of whatever was dis
covered. The result was the discovery of
the famous Amethyst mine, and Creede
and Moffat were millionaires in day
Thus Creede Camp sprang into existence
In September. 1891. the Denver aud Ru
Grande Railroad built an extension to
Creede Camp and the city of Creede was
founded. A newspaper called the
Chronicle was established in the gulch.
Real estate SPECTATORS arrived at the
camp and sold town lots in the windy
gulch, aud other parts of the camp were
doomed as residence sites.
In a short space of time 10000 miners
and land-boomers we're crowding the mar
low streets of Creede, and the graveyard
recently opened did a wonderful business,
for the pop of the pistol was often heard
in the gulch and tough men lived there.
One of the last men killed at Creede was
the notorious Bob Ford.
1t was city of strange, rough charac-
ters, men known as 'SoaDy Smith" "''Par-
son" Tom Uzz-l and "Skip" Stewart.
famous in the gambling dens of the Colo
rodo mining camps. The town of Creede
was only incorporated last year, ana the
city OF Creede as city of the second class
In December last.
Captain Creede's camp is undoubtedly
the richest as silver producer on the
American continent. There are to-day no
less than fifty mines IN operation, among
them the Happy Thought anG King Solo
mon. both famous among mining men
throughout the world. Captain Creede,
who is vulgarly called mick" by the
miners and the boys in his camp, said last
evening that smelters. reduction and
sampling works are yet to be built in
Creede, and that the city to-day is only in
its infancy.
Mr.. and Mrs. Creede will remain in San
Francisco for week or more and will then
60 to Monterey and Santa Barbara.