The morning call., 1893-06-25

think, from Eastern Ohio originally, and
they we're brought up on farm where
their father had located when he landed in
TINS country from Saxony. After time
me father opened store, | think. in Can
ton, ONO. The boys were given good
education; they were taken into partner
snip, and soon as they were grown up
were given small capital and allowed
to start out for themselves They
began their banking business in Omaha
some time prior to the war. and they
opened bank here in 1862 as branch of
the Omaha house. Charley kountZ is now
the head of the Denver Bank and he is
one OF the richest men in Colorado. He
has beautiful home on Capitol Hill, and
nc has some of the most beautiful paint
lngs you will find in the West. The four
hountz brothers have always worked to-
gether, and ] am told they have shared
mere alike in all profits. Luther, the third
son, who first started the bank here. died
not long ago, but the firm continues the
same and it grows richer aud stronger
every year.
Speaking of brothers working together
makes me- think of two millionares of
Pueblo. These men are not widely known,
but they are, / am told, worth somewhere
between ten and fifty million dollars, and
they 10 all their business together. They
are known throughout the West as the
L
among the rare birds in the aviary Of West
ern millionaireS. Mahlon ID. Thatcher,
the younger Of the two, is as near hui
man automaton as man generally gets.
Ills soul is wrapped up in moneymaking,
and he is said to have no more interest
in other matters than the pr0verb bal hog
has in the holy Sabbath day. He reads
only railroad reports, the stock markets
and financial journals, and his life is made
up In eating, working and sleeping. He
writes all his own letters himself and he
knows every detail in his vast business
aud attends to most Of them personally.
He is man of few warm friendships and
o amusements. Still he is considered one of
the ablest tinanciers of the West. He
owns bank stock all over the country, and
he Is, am told, director in a dozen diff
ferent banks. John Thatcher, the elder,
is more companiOnable fellow, and,
though he is said TO be a good business
man, it is MahIon who manages the prop
erty.
These two men came to Colorado poor.
John Thatcher drove an nxteam load of
supplies from Denver to Pueblo before the
Civil War and opened store there. He
had his own way of doing business. His
goods were never placed on shelves, but
they were in a heap on the floor and about
the room and customers went in and
picked out what they wanted and asked
John the price. He always put it high
enough, but he never changed it. 1t the
customer objected the goods were simply
tossed back into the heap until some
other customer came along This went on
for some time, and then Mahlon came out
to help his brother. He brought order
out of the chaos, and under him the store
began TO make money. From merchan-
dising they drifted into banking, and the
store was turned into q hardWare-shop.
which sun belongs to the brothers. and
which makes money. They have, during
their career, been very careful as to in
vestments, avoiding mines and specula-
tons of that nature. Pueblo has grown
from a village to big city, and their
property is accommodating with startling
rapidly.
The cattle kings of the west are found
further north than Denver. There are q
great num- Der OF persons who are making
fortunes in sheep and cattle in Montana.
Wyoming and the Dakotas, and the cattle
kings of this part of the country have their
interests in the south or further north.
There are two men in Pueblo who got into
the cattle business in q curious way and
who have both made fortunes out of it.
Their names are Baxter and CressweIl
Baxter came from Indiana away
back in the ffties. He had Just
finished learning blacksmith's trade
when he got the gold fever and
came to the Rocky Mountains. He
reached here during the winter and had to
live for months on parched corn and game.
There was no flour, bacon. coffee or sugar
10 be bought. and Mr.. Baxter said not long
ago, in speaking of this winter, that he
felt that he could almost do murder to get
little flour. Cresweil had been a car
penter In the East. and he and Baxter be-
came great friends. They worked at their
trades In the mining camps during the day
and In the evening devoted themselves to
mining.
During the first year they saved about
$1,000 apiece. and with this they bought
ranch on the Arkansas River and raised
vegetables and grain by irrigation. They
got high prices for the products, and Baxter
had a blacksmi th-shop. al which he re-
paired the wagons and shnd the teams OF
the passing gold-seekers. One day man
came along with team o. oxen which were
nearly dead from exhaustion. He was dis
gusted with life and offered to trade his en-
tire outfit for mule. The trade was made,
the wagon being the consideration in the
mind of Baxter for the mule, and the oxen
were turned out on the plains to die.
To Bakers surprise they found the
best of food in the plains, and by spring
they were in fine condition. They were
driven to Denver, and were sold to the
butchers there for good round price. This
started Baxter and Cresswell in the cattle
business. and they have since made a for
tune at it.
A number of the rich men of Denver
have been engaged in politics. | saw ex-
Congressman Symes the other DAY. He
had gone back to his law practice. and he
is making more gold dollars every year at
his practice than he has hairs in his head.
SymeS has made most of his money at the
law. He has building here which brings
him in rent of about $4,000 a year. and
which is worth quarter of million.