The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-09-19
JONES OF NEVADA.
The Ups and Downs in Life of Stir
ring Adventure.
One of the Bonanza Kings of the Western
Coast-Nowa Populist.

One of the Bonanza Kings of the Western
.Coast-Nowa Populist.
The hero of the recent political sensa-
tion, John P. Jones of Nevada, is the
most picturesque figure in the United
States today. There has been others who
have risen wealth and political eminence
from very small beginnings, but none of
them look back on SO varied and sensa-
tional career as that of Senator Jones.
Mr.. Perkins of California was a cabin
boy and shipped before the mast. Mr..
Brice, the muiti-milliouaire, was a
school teacher. Mr.. German was
page in the Senate. Mr.. Hansbrough was
of North Dakota was a tramp printer.
Mir. Pettigrew of South Dakota was Ia
bofer in the employ of a deputy surveyor
when he first made Dakota his home.
Mr. Martin of Kansas was clerk in a
country store. Mr.. Walsh of Georgia
was printer. But none Of these men
had such stirring adventures in early
life as Mr.. Jones, with the posi- BILE ex-
ception of Mr.. Perkins, and no one of
them has made and lost so many fortunes
as the Nevada Senator. Finally Mr..
Jones has made greater name for him.
self as close student and an original
thinker than perhaps all of these men
put together. In this he differs from
the other bonanza" Senator's Colo
RADIO has sent to the Senate some queer
specimens of miners-notably Mr.. Tabor
OF fragrant memory.
1t was said that when the report
reached Washington a few years ago that
MIR. Tabor was to succeed Mr.. Bowen in
the Senate, Mr.. Teller said that if Tabor
was elected he would resign. Then
Nevada sent Sharon and afterward Fair,
two of the heroes of the famous Com
stock mine. Fair was the second mem
Der of the famous bonaza"frm of which
John Mackay was the head. He was
fgurehead in the Senate-inoffensive, but
useless.
He was seldom seen on the floor, and
he contributed nothing to debate and in
troduced no original measures. He was
one of the men who gave to the Senate
the name of being "Millionaires' Club"
"a reputation which it is losing aradu-
ally as the new States are admitted to
the Union.
EARLY DAYS IN CALIFORNIA.
Mr.. Jones went to California in 1s49 by
the water route from Cleveland. Proba-
bly, he and his brother were the only
Fortyniners who chose that particular
route. 1t took nine months to make
the journey. They travelled ON Bottom
schooner, which made frequent stops on
the trip So, perhaps, Mr. Jones should
not be called Forty miner, for it was
1850 when he reached his destination.
He did not go to mining Immediately,
but worked for time as laborer in
the custom house at San Francisco.
Then he and his brother began prospect
ing along the Feather, Yuba and STAN
islaus rivers. At that time placer min
ing, which yielded sure returns for small
effort, was most popular all over the
State, but it began to peter out" pres
emily, and then the Jones boys turned
to quartz mining, in which chance is
greater element This was in 1867.
During the time of his placer expert !
ences Jones had been resident of Mary
vile, CAL, and his associates at a board |
ing house there were Stephen J.. Field.
afterward associate justice OF the Su-
preme Court, and Geo. G. Gorham, who
was for a long time secretary of the
United States Senate. In the house next
the one in which Senator Jones lived
was a family named Murphy, one of
whose mem hers was rosy-cheeked girl. |
Old Murphy used TO correct this girl with
undue harshness until tbs matter be-
came a subject of comment among the
boarders next door, and one day Gorham |
demonstrated with the father and the |
old man moderated his style a little. |
This Murphy girl afterward married |
William Sharon, one of the Comstock |
owners and her daughter became Lady |
Hesketh.
During his stay in California the Sena.
tor was a sheriff ana he can tell of some |
thrilling experiences. In fact, he does |
tell of them when he gets in story tell
ing crowd, and he tells them so we'll
and has them to tell in such variety that
those who have listened say they never
heard the same story from him twice.
Fl ere is his story of the finding of
match at an opportune moment:
THE SOLITARY MATCH.
3We set out one day to go up great
cahon." says the Senator" and we found
it most fatlguing, for here was no road.
Six miles of travel in the canon was
equal to twenty-five miles on the level
One of deputies was with me. At noon
we had gone about half our journey and
we stopped for rest. l was very fond
of smoking and I pulled out my pipe,
intending to take smoke. Headed up
3 and then reached Tor match, There
was not one in my pocket My deputy
was not a smoker and he did not carry
matches. | was almost dying for
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