The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-01-30
THE ESTATE OF FAIR
INCIDENTS IN CAREER THAT WAS
REMARKABLE.
Stories Recalled by the Death of the
Ex-senator From Nevaala-He He
came Il Mining King and Died a
Mil1iOnnire-A Life Devoted tt, the
Acquiring of Wealth Which
brought Him Little Solace in His
Declining Years.

The death of ex-senator James G. Fair,
the California mining king and 40 times
millionaire, on Dec. 20 last, brings back
train of memories and "reminiscences that
lead from the Calaveras lumber regions to
Virginia City and on to the United States
senate, with all the attending incidents of
a career the beginning of which was
shrouded in poverty and which ended in
the midst of affluence
The life of Senator Fair was one of hard
work and shrewd financial manipulation,
crowned with what the superstitious term
luck. AS miner his instincts seemed to
lead him unerringly to bonanzas. Like the
lone inhabitant of Carcanez woods, he
possessed certain acute senses beyond the
him to read the rocks and guess the riddle
of the blind lead and the worshiped lode
There were times when he was compelled
to wait patiently for his returns, which he
always did with the same cynical reserve
that characterized the man when fortune s
smile was brightest. In regular gradua-
tons his name mounted from Slippery
JIM to Uncle Jimmy" and on up to
Senator James G. Fair. Socially, he may
life was devoted to gaining riches
The hazy past finds him digging in plas..
ers of Long Bar, Feather river, but
nothing of his career is distinctly recalled,
says the Cincinnati Enquirer. Following a
party if Calfornians to see where their
gold came from, he gathered the harvests
Of N
a garden that himself and Talton Cald-
well had planted $4,000 in nuggets and
dust were taken. This first fortune d-
rectly or indirectly led to another-his WIN
ming and wedding the belle of Calaveras,
Theresa Rooney.
Several years after he had moved to Ne
vada his greatest of all strokes Of fortune
occurred-the development of the bonanza
on the Comstock lode His first position of
Importance there was the SUPPLEMENTARY
of the Ophir mine. In Virginia City his as
ISOLATION with John w. Mackey began
Their combined abilities made the strongest
force on that lode. In order to conduct
their negotiations in the stock market it
was necessary to affiliate with some San
Francisco speculator This led to forma-
ton OF the partnership between Mackey
Flood and ]. w. Walker, and Flood &
OBrien, of San Francisco. The first opera
ton in mining stocks by which the last
named 1lrm attracted attention was in gain
ing control Of the kentuck in 1862 But
thelr biggest deal was in 1865, when they
gained the fight against Haywood and
Charley Low and gained control of the Hale
and Norcross. In order to get five shares
necessary to insure their majority they had
20 pay $4,000. Fair then became superin-
tendent of the Hale and Norcross property
Inc Nevada miners and their San Fran
cisco partners acquired the Consolida ted
Virginia, known the Old Prospect. The
operations of Fair and Mackey in these
properties were their greatest work in the
development of mines. About 100000 was
spent while other old miners were jeering
at them. They kept on on that famous
drift from Gould and Curry through Best
and Belcher into Consolidated Virginia.
That drift 1900 feet long before the
less than five years the Consolidated Vir-
lion.
ALWAYS MYSTERIOUS.
Fair was always mysterious The men
could never tell by his manner whether he
was pleased or displeased. None could tell
whether his address meant a discharge or
promotion. The miners dreaded as much to
see him as they liked to see Mackey One
day in the lower level of the Consolidated
Virginia he smeled tobacco smoke and
smoking in the mine is strictly prohibited
Uncle Jimmy followed the scent until
he came to a drill where two men were
working. He looked at their work with an
parent interest, and then, rubbing his head
said: ME boys, you're doing good work
here. I'd like to stay minute and look at