The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-29
GOLD MINE RoMANCES.
GOOD AND BAD LUCK OF PROS
PECTORS.
The Remarkable Misfortune of n
French Believer in Luck - The
story OF the Holy TerrOr-strat-
toms Luck at Cripple Creek.

French Believer in Luck The
story of the Holy TerrOr-Strat-
tons Luck at Cripple Creek.
From the St. Louis Globe-D Democrat.
Mining camps are replete with interest
ing stories of prospectors who have struck
it rich, and Of those who. after years Of
unsuccessful effort, ind themselves dead
broke" in their old age because luck was
against them ''WhNe everybody be-
lieves more or less in the existence Of
that something known as luck" said
Jean Decker. formerly a resident Of the
Black Hills, and one of the pioneers of
that region. the prospector who climbs
over mountains and trails along streams
winding their devious way through ter
tuous gulches. more than anybody, is a
believer that luck shapes the destinies
of all men. He will tell you frankly that
he believes in luck, and is always prepared
with what he considers irrefutable argu-
ments in support of his belief If argu-
ments fail to convince. he is ready to
relate experiences by the score. expert
ences Of his own and of others, to prove
that luck is behind all success or fail
ure, and that luck good or bad. is re
sponsible for the success or failure OF
all undertakings.
Il. F. Hilderbrand, a wiry little French
man, who drives an express wagon In
Deadwood, is a firm believer in luck. for
the greater number of the many years
that cause his curly beard and hair TO be
so literally besprinkled with silver have
been spent in the mountains of the west
II IS luck that is responsible for the fact
that he Is now driving a dray instead of
liFlhs NE OF ease and enjoying the lux
uries and comforts that the possession of
unlimited means makes possible Had
luck not been against him he would now
be Mr.. Hilderbrand, and not 'Hilderbrand'
tne drayman. II was luck that caused
him more than thirty years ago to stumb.e
against mountain side in Montana, and
II was the same luck that caused him to
emp on piece from a huge bOWlder he
found there to find that he had struck Il
rich, for the boWlder was quartz, and so
rich in gold that ii fairly made his eyes
pop and his heart beat with a rapidity
that threatened serious results to its out
er covering. He soon got over his excite
ment, and with the prospectors instinct,
began to look for the lead from which
the bowlder had sloughed off Luck was
still with him, FOR he tradad the lead and
at once began to open Il. He had part
ner, and the two worked hard, for, al
though quartz mining was then merely an
experiment in Montana, they knew the
time was coming when placer mining
would end and quartz mining would re-
ceive the attention of moneyed men
anxious for quick way of increasing their
wealth
'rhey were poor and their supply of
grub was limited, but they knew that
there were plenty of men in the terri
tory who would gladly stake them as
soon as they learned of the richness of
their find. So far all of their luck had
been of the quality described as good
but change was to come, and that soon.
| Their luck was destined to undergo a
change. In an unfortunate moment they
undertook to roll out of the way the
great bowlder which had guided them to
where fortune was awaiting them.
Whether it was this, or something else,
that had caused their good luck to
change, it is not known, but Hilderbrand
believes that the attempt to change the
location of the bowlder offended the genii
that for years had guarded the hidden
treasures of the mountain, for the bowl
der rolled over upon the arm Of his part
ner, and so badly crushed 1t that it became
useless. Being without money, they had
to leave the place, Hilderbrand going to
French Gulch to seek employment in the
placer mines there, While his partner went
TO Helena to obtain surgical assistance.
Years passed on and Hilderbrand be-
gan to think less of the find, and when
the stampede for Deadwood began he was
one of the first to join the rush. and luck
of the good kind aided him to locate
paying claim in that part OF the city
which was once known as Elizabethtown.
After the claim had been worked out he
again drifted west, and was one OF the
pioneers in Occur d'Alene Mountains. Bad
luck again became his companion, and he
drifted from one place to another, until
finally he found himself once more in
M
gazing on the bowlder of rich quartz on
which he had Toasted his eyes before. The
bowlder had the familiar appearance Of
an old friend, but its surroundings had
dered.
I'm place of the modest little tunnel he
had helped to dig over a quarter of a
century before, he found monster hoist
ing plant raising rich ore from a shaft
hundreds Of feet in depth, while in the
grlch Numbered and Ioared q monster
Stamp mill. The bowlder had been re-
moved, and it occupied place of honor in
front of a splendid building Surrounded
by an iron railing, from which dangled
signs cautioning trespassers to beware
the bowlder stood an object of Veneration
and curiosity, for it told to the world that
If was the Identical rock that had led to
the discovery of the famous Drum Lum-
mon mine, one of the richest gold-pro-
duoers in the United States.
"Hildebrand attempted to touch the
bowlder, but the burly watchman ordered
him off Finally eloquence prevailed, and
the man whose luck had been his ruin,
was permitted to place his hand on the
which marked the place from which ne
had chipped off a sample years before.
Sometimes Hilderbrand tells the story
and always winds 1t up by laying his
hands over his heart and looking far away
and saying: oh, feel so pinch here in
dicating that portion Of his anatomy COW
cred by his hands, wen l come back and
see de mill and de mine and tink of de
time wen find de bowlder and den tink
what might ave been II luck nad Deeu via
me binstead of de hole man Cruise.
The stories told of those whom fortune
favored are perhaps not so numerous, but
are equally as interesting as those con-
corning the unfortunate prospectors who,
after years of labor and privations, see
others reap the fruits of their toll.
one day during the latter part of June,
1894. William Franklin and his daugh-
ter Mrs Frank Stone, happened to stroll
I'M a g1llch in Pennington county, in the
Black Hills, and, stopping to rest a mo-
ment. Mrs Stone idly broke in two a
small piece of rock, which, in the break.
upon examination, showed some particles
OF gold. A little more digging exposed
more of the rock, which upon being
tested. proved very rich. Everybody in
the vicinity, having nothing to do visited
the spot, and for pastime were allowed
to dig out some of the rock and crush
It and pan out the gold. AS every man in
the city.was not in the best financial con-
dition, and without means for raising the
money for the proper celebration of the
approaching Fourth of July, quite an
opening was made, and the proceeds de-
voted to that purpose. From this little
incident dates the discovery of gold in the
Holy Terror mine, which, since that time,
has been causing so much excitement in
mining circles.
Another Of the lucky ones was w. S.