The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-18

! vested the proceeds in fifty lots in one of the
| most promising suburbs. Then the fragile
bubble collapsed and the lot-owner has since
been chiefly occupied when in Kansas City in
| lodging the Tax Collector.
'Those lots have been dropping off at the
rate OF fifteen year for several seasons past"
said Mr. Kirk yesterday, "and it begins to
| look as if the Tax Collector will have clear
title unless times show radical improvement"
Mr.. Kirk says that many large Eastern houses
are at present contemplating the opening of
branch places in this city.
"San Francisco has suffered in the past few
years because of the more energetic spirit dis
played by Los Angeles" said he, 'fbut Eastern
men of means are beginning to appreciate your
advantages, and the tide of travel will soon set
this way"
The rain kept many of the members of the
Union League Club at home last night, but
still few ventured out, and these, after the
affairs Of state had been canvassed, and all
other subjects, political and non-political, had
been exhausted, turned their attention to story
telling. 'I can't vouch for the truth of the
following" said Colonel F. S. Chadbourne
when it came to his turn, "but if you had only
listened to the earnest tones of the old skipper
who related the story to Jim Boobar
and myself in the Chief Wharfinger's
Office few days ago you would have been
almost convinced. The old fellow had had a
slrOke OF gOOQ luck ana ne was ABOUT TO star
back East to visit the home of his childhood.
He had never been with more than few hun
dred dollars in his life until his streak of good
luck had come, and this was how it happened: :
L was making my way back from Central
America with load of cedar logs and barrel
staves,' said the ancient mariner. when we
were ten days outfit came on a dead calm You
| see, boys" said Chadbourne, sit was another
case OF a painted ship and painted ocean.
10 Iyhi hnt hrao y,
of air could we get Suddenly there was
| great commotion to leeward and l wondered
for few moments what was the matter. Then
when got out the glasses saw it was a fight
| between thrasher and whale. Well they
| fought and fought and gradually edged to-
ward the schooner. My boy and 1 got
| out the sweeps and tried to get away
| from the dangerous position, but it
was no good. We got nearer and nearer, and
| then l saw that the whale was getting the
| worst of it. Finally saw I'd have to take
| hand in the fight, so got up my shotgun and
when the thrasher sprang into the air shot him
dead. The whale came alongside the schooner
and lay there more dead than alive for awhile,
| then he gave me grateful look, took the
| fluke of the anchor in his mouth and started
| away. He towed the schooner out to sea and
was praying and cursing by turns as 1 didn't
know what was going to happen. 1t was all
pure gratitude on the part of the whale how
ever, for my having killed that thrasher.
After towing us about 100 miles he landed the
schooner alongside of big piece of ambergris
half as big my head. You see that whale
knew the stuff was valuable and remembering
where 1t had spat it out towed me back to find
| it,
| 'But that's not all the story, gentlemen" ex-
| claimed Chadbourne as the crowd began to
move away. "The whale, as soon as it saw the
| ambergris safe in the schooner, turned on its
back and died. The old man and his crew put
| the barrel slaves together, tried out the blub-
Der, filed the barrels with oil and finally
reached San Francisco. He sold the entire
stuff for small fortune and is now going to
| spend the rest of his days ashore"
The members of the club looked at each other
| in silence for few moments. Finally Paris
Kilburn broke the spell by saying, "Gentle-
men, let us - adjourn into the Palace Hotel
| bar-room.''
81 knew Cornelius Stage we'll, in fact, few
knew him better" said James H. Gates, the
well-known druggist, in the Occidental last
! evening. "Stagg and my brother were both
members of the Linda Mining Association,
| which came around the Horn in the bark Linda
| in 1S49. They reached San Francisco on Sep
TENDER L of that year and at once started for
| Sacramento in little steam launch which
| they brought out with them. The little vessel
was also called the Linda and used to run
| between Marysville and Sacramento.
"There were forty members in the Linda
Mining Association, but of these there are only
a few living. Mark Brumagin is now engaged
in large mining operations in Mexico, John @.
Moore is in the Carson Mint and William Ryck-
man is a member of the San Francisco Stock
| Board Not one of the forty was over % years
1 of age when we reached San Francisco. My
brother, DR.. Justin Gates, who died some years
ago, was one of the party, and he and Cornelius
Stage were great friends. The murdered man
was a good friend-one who never forgot a
favor and never refused assistance in an
| emergency