St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-04-08
sJzM COTTON AND HIS LUCK.
Strange Career of the Richest Man in
New Mexico.

strange career or the RlcncSC MAIL IN
New Mexico.
It was out at Albuquerque on the Rio
Grande, in New Mexico, a few years ago. I
had just reached the city and was sitting after
dinner in front of the hotel with friend, who
was interesting me in the local celebrities
who passed, when fine team, driven by
handsome, brown-bearded man, of about five
and thirty, went whirling past.
There goes one of the richest men in the
territory" said my friend, pointing after the
driver. "Whatever he touches seems to turn
into gold.'
"He must have ability, and, no doubt had
a good start said.
Well, as to that, you will find college
graduates driving teams out here, and men
that can hardly sign their names employing
them. This fact has somewhat shaken my
belief in education and ability, but let me tell
you a story"
Ny friend, himself a prosperous miner and
cattle raiser, Lit fresh cigar, balanced his
about as follows:
"Just twenty years ago this summer there
was boy living in Chicago, named James
Cotton. AS nobody ever used his last name
nor ever called him James, he had come to
believe that his full name was 'Jim.' He
might have forgotten all about his christian
and surname, had not his father, who was
sailor on the great lakes, where he was SUBJ
sequentiy drowned, picked it into his arm in
India ink, while he was yet very little boy
after Jim's father was drowned his
mother, a frail, gentle woman, died in the
poor house, and so at the age Of ten, and
with barely enough education to read the
papers he was forced to sell, the boy was
thrown on the world.
He had an uncle his fathers brother and
an engineer on a locomotive on the Chicago
and Alton road, who made a pretense of look
Ing after him, but as he often did not see the
nephew for three months at time you may
be sure the boy derived but little benefit from
the relationship.
If were writing a Sunday school story
instead of telling you the unvarnished truth,
I might say that Jim Cotton, although Sleep
ing in cellars with vicious associates, and
eating at street stands whenever. he had the
money, grew up model of all the proprie-
ties; but we are made by our associations.
Jim smoked when he was thirteen, had
acquired the habit of chewing when he was
fourteen, and by the time he was fifteen he
could thrash anybody of his age in Chicago,
and for the vigor and originality of his pro-
family, he was unequalled by any man or boy
in the city.
Whenever he could afford the money he
went to the gallery of some cheap theatre and
ate peanuts and pclted the shells at the bald
headed men below during the performance.
"He was always clean in the summer time,
for he delighted to put in his spare time
swimming in the lake. but in the winter, when
the water was cold or frozen, it must be con-
fessed, he allowed himself to get frightfully
dirty.
"Good people often gave him old clothes,
usually six sizes too large, so that his coat
sleeves and trousers legs were always rolled
up. Missionaries took him to meetings and
tried to impress him with the wickedness Of
his life, but as he knew nothing better, and
meant all right, he didn't believe them, and
rather scorned their condescending solicit
tude.
eff Jim Cotton had stayed in Chicago till
he was twenty-one, all the chances are he
would have been drunkard, and very skill
full thief, for he had the requisite audacity
and cunning, but chance changed the cur
rent of his life.
ga drunken engineer whom he met one day
on Clarke street, told the boy that his uncle
had been killed in New Mexico, and left q
lot of money. New Mexico is, as you know,
a very large territory, but to the boy Chicago
was larger than all the rest of the world put
together.
at was not love for the uncle, no one had
won the boys love, but the hope of getting
the money, that decided the boy to make his
way to New Mexico.
HE hung aroung the freight depot for
some days till he saw car being loaded, on
the door of which there was a sign printed
For Las Vegas In this Jim determined to
conceal himself.
ellis stock in trade consisted of ragged
suit of clothes. pocket comb, a big jack
knife with one blade, and sixty cents in cash.
With the money he bought some tobacco, q
lot of sandwiches and three bottles of beer,
one for each day, for he learned from man
at the depot that it took three days to &C to
Las Vegas, but the man did not say that this
was on a passenger car and that freight cars
often took three times as long.
''Jim Colton's provisions and beer, for he
was hid among the freight, lasted for just
three days, and the next three he suffered
for food and drink. The time was painfully
lonely and long, and, fearing he would die,
the boy began to shout one night, when the
train was stopped and he was let out.
"He was sworn at, and if he had not been
so thin and weak he might have been thrash
ed, but the engineer of the train heard his
story and offered to care for him.
est turned out that his uncle was not dead,
nor was he in that part of the country.
"The boy made his way to Santa Fe and
got employment with General Palmer, of the
Denver and Rio Grande Road. He showed
energy and industry and rose up step by
STEP studying in his spare hours.
Gin time he struck out for himself, married
the daughter of q rich man, and to-day he is
one of our best and most honored citizens.
''The handsome man who just drove by is
Colonel James Cotton. Now, was it luck or
ability, OR both, that made him? And what
if he had stayed in Chicago?"
NELSON THORPE.
The first clock in England was set up for
public use in Westminster in 1888.
The purpose of the founders of Cornell
University was to train gentlemen, not to