St. Paul daily globe., 1895-12-15

On Gold hill, which is the great center
of attraction at Cripple Creek, are a
dozen shafts. The men who own them
are already prospective millionaires.
Some of them have actually taken
fortunes out of the ground and they
have only started to work their claims.
Others who have just money enough
to meet their living expenses are refuS-
ing offers of 100000 and treble that
sum in hard cash for their claims.
Each one is certain that his hole in the
ground is worth cool million, and he
is going to wait until he gets it, or per-
haps he intends to take the gold out
himself when the facilities are in
creased.
None of the big mines is being work.
ed for anything near what it can be,
yet is is estimated that the Cripple
Creek camp is producing over $1,000,O00
worth of gold every month.
| There are bonanza kings, of course,
Winfield Scott Stratton is the most
prominent of them all. Every new
conner at once hears about him and is
told his history. Three years ago
/ eStratton was a wandering carpenter
and prospector He worked with the
! necessary to get enoughsto "grubstake"
him in another hunt for gold. He
walked into Cripple Creek when the
boom first struck 1T and was one of
those who staid when the others left.
Once he sold the Independence mine
for $4,000, but the purchaser backed
out Stratton went back into his shaft
and finally struck rich ore. Now he
has a hole 500 feet deep and has taken
out $2,OOO,OOO in gold. There is yet
$3OO0OOO in sight.
The Portland mine is another Alad-
d:n's cave. 1t was owned by three
men, James F. Burns, James Doyle and
John Harmon. Three years ago Burns
was a discouraged plumber. Doyle was
digging irrigating bitches and Har-
railroad grading camp. Today they
are all milliona.res. Their mine pays
a regular monthly dividend of per
cent on a capitalization of $3,OOO,0O.
The ore they bring up averages $72,
but some of it assays thousands of dol
lars to the ton.
But let no one think that the mines
whose stocks are quoted at u, 1 and
cents share are all Portlands. Some
of them may be miles away from
spot and have been there for two or
three years have taken care of all the
claims which have any prospect or
"panning out big"
The men who own the independence
with Stratton have bought up 100
acres. Others have done the same. 1t
may be possible, of course, that every
hill in that section of Colorado is full
| about this. The soul of the cheerful
| promoter, however, knows no doubt.
| He would tell an Eastern man that
| Pixies peak itself was solid sylvanite
FL i al II
prove the same by a gaudy map and
! figures that could not possibly lie.
The Denver Mining exchange has
| sent out a warning to investors telling
| them to beware of worthless stocks.
1t is easy enough to dig hole In the
| ground and print a few hundred thou
| sand shares of stock. Just now it
is easy to sell that stock, too.
But the tales which visitors to Grip
pie Creek tell are not all of the Won
amazing things about the place. They
say it is a moral camp. 1t is fact,
too, although almost as hard to bel1eVe
| as that the streets are paved with gold.
comparative sense. Murders are rare
| there. Gambling houses exist in large
numbers, but they are largely patron
! lied by strangers.
In the old days they used to sing:
! It's day all day in the daytime,
| And there amt no night at Creede.
| But Cripple Creek is not Creede.
Folks sleep O. nights there-and dream
| of shares and dividends and assay
| ers' reports. Buckskin pants are not
| the style, and revolvers are not worn
outside, when worn at all. The camp
| is simply a new Western city, and
not at all like traditional gold camp.
There were about $4,000 persons there
at last report, but every train lands
hundreds of new arrivals there, and
each and every one hopes to be caught
up by the tidal wave of success and
landed high on the golden shores OF
prosperity.