The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-10-16

Early in 1890 Tom Jermyn. a young
ster of %, left his home IN New Jer-
sey and sought fortune in the far
West As many before him had done,
he worked from place to place, for
getting the maxim that rolling stone
gathers no moss. and after having
tried half dozen states and terrific
ries he found himself. in the spring Of
es.91, in Los Angeles, friendless, home
1y-ss and all but penniless.
The situation was not a pleasant
one The boom Of two or three
years before had left the town quiet,
and after few weeks of searching he
came to the conclusion that his only
chance to escape starvation or the
penite ntiary was to go into the min
ing districts. and therefore thither he
went.
With varying success he found his
way from enc to another of the camps
along the Sierras, until one day he
struck new one, far up the country
toward Deaths valley, named Last
Ditch and there fell into companion
ship and finally into partnership with
a man almost twice his age by the
name of John Selden, ssQuiclx JIM,
as he was better known in all the
mining region.
The friendship was a strange one.
The boy, for he was but a boy, was
not drinker nor thief, was willing
TO do as he would be done by, and to
work. Se1den. on the contrary, was
a hard drinker, loved gaming and
cheating of any and every sort, had
killed his man, yes. men, being known
as a desperate when in liquor, and
was altogether a person to be avoided.
And "a 1aar7ad have a
mutual attraction, for their acquaint-
ance, begun by chance. ripened, as L
have said, into actual friendship. and
for nearly two years they were
partners in all business relations
and became much attached to each
other.
The fellowship was like to do Jer-
myn harm rather than to help Selden,
but such was not the case. The elder
man turned a sharp corner. became
Interested in actual mining in the
legitimate way, drunk but little and
almost never got into any row. His
old companions viewed the change
with delight, for he had always been
considered dangerous and the hope
was generally expressed that Jim 5
last love was going to reform and
make worthy man of him.
Matters were III Lnlo udDPV SldLc
when the two became possessed of a
mining claim near Dry Salt lake in
the Ell Paso district. which rapidly
developed into a valuable one, and
from which they took a considerable
quantity of gold
Day after day they worked as
neither of them had ever worked be
fore. and night after night they es-
their increasing wealth and
figured on the time. apparently near
at hand, when they should have
enough of the precious dust to return
to civilization, able to establish them
selves in some regular business They
were, in fact, making a profit of sew
eral hundred dollars per day, when,
Just as fortune had thus turned her
tickle smile upon them, Selden fell a
prey to his old enemy, began to drink
to excess. became at once sullen, ugly
and overbearing 20 all about hun,
and, as he had never done before,
turned upon his boy partner and
charged him with defrauding him In
their partnership division
Surprised and hurt, Jermyn for a
time tried to explain to his friend that
he was dealing fairly IN all things
but day by day Selden grew worse,
until one night, as they were weigh