The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-09-16

have boz his way into the Senate.
His successor, Mr.. Stewart is general
~ supposed to have been returned with
the aid of Mr.. Stanford. Of California,
for when Mr. Stewart was last elected
to the Senate he was comparatively a
poor man. But Mr.. Jones did not buy
his way into the Senate. Twice he
was reRifcted when he was virtually
broke MAnd he has been a credit TO
his state and to the Republican party
during his twenty-one years service.
Mr.. Jones went to California in 1S49
by the water route from Cleveland.
Probably he and his brother were the
only 43ers who chose that particular
, route 1t took nine months to make
the Journey for they travelled on
300-ton schooner. which made frequent
stops on the trip So perhaps Mr..
Jones should not be called a '49er, Tor
it was 1850 when he reached his des-
tination. He did not go to mining i'm
mediately but worked for time as
a laborer in the custom house at san
Francisco Then he and his
brother began prospecting along the
Feather, Yuba and Sanislaus rivers.
At that time placer-mining, which
yielded sure returns for small effort
was most popular all over the state;
but it began to peter OUT presently
and then the Jones boys returned to
lQuartZ mining in which chance is
greater element. This was in 1861.
During the time of his placer expert
ences, Jones had been a resident of
! Marysville, Cal, and his associates at
boarding house there were Stephen j.
Field, afterward associate Justice of the
1Supreme court, and George H. Gorham,
the well-known Republican, who was
for long time secretary of the United
States Senate In the house next the
one in which Senator Jones lived was
family named Murphy, one of whose
members was a rosy-cheeked girl. Old
Murphy used TO correct this girl with
undue harShnesS until the matter be-
came a subject of comment among the
boarders next door and one day Cor
ham demonstrated with the father and
the old man moderated his style lit
tile The Murphy girl afterward mar
ried William Sharon, one of the Com
stock owners and her daughter be-
came Lady Hasketh.
During his stay in California the sem
ator was a sheriff and he can tell of
some thrilling experiences. In fact he
does tell of them when he gets in
storytelling crowd; and he tells them
so we'll and has them to tell in such
variety that those who have listened
often say that they have never heard
the same story from him twice. Here
| is the story of the finding of a match
at an opporIune moment:
8
canyon" says the Senator, and we
found it most fatiguing, for there was
no road. Six miles of travelling in the
canyon was equal to twenty-five miles
on the Level. One of my 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
L pulled cot my pipe, intending to take
a smoke. loaded up and then reached
for match There was not one in my
pocket. My deputy was not smoker,
and he did not carry matches. [ was
almost dying for a smoke. AS I was
looking around despairingly / saw
match lying on the ground right beside
a little stream that ran through the
canyon. [ was almost frightened at
the sight of it, at that providential mo-
ment, in such an out-of-the-way place.
I picked it up, saying to myself: OF
course it won't light. It has been lying
in the wet sand such a long time and I
can't expect it to light But it did
! light, and L had my smoke I never
knew a piece Of luck to beat that It is
not the most important incident in my
life in which good fortune has stood
by me; but it is one of the strangest"
The senator saw many hair-breadth
! adventures in his career in the mining
country of California. He fought with
| the Indians and whipped them: and he
narrowly escaped death in a great
many forms. But he was too clever a
man to remain a sheriff. He soon had
an opportunity to go to Nevada to act
! as superintendent of the Crown Point
and Kentuck mines. cat that time"
said the senator, ''Mackay and Fair
| had bought for a small sum several
little mines on the Comstock which no
one thought of much value. When they
struck their world-famous bonanza.
there, had already a bonanza in the
Crown Point and 1 was a very rich
man." The Crown Point was the
southern end of the Comstock But it
was not the richest part of that fam
Gus lode John W. Mackay took out
100000 from the Comstock CONSOLE
dation; James G. Fairs profits footed
up $35.00Q000; and J. C. Flood and w
S. O'Brieh, the San Francisco partners
in the firm, received $4,000 600 and &c.
respectively for their shares. Sharon
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