Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1895-08-16
LAPORTE, Pa, FRIDAY, AUGUST l6. 1896

siderable money in his pockets, but
had met with hard luck, and when
picked up by Gilbert he was dead
broke.
For six months the pen prospected
the gulches with but little success.
They finally pulled up stakes and
moved into Nevada County, where
they mined with good luck. EARLY in
the fall of 1853 Gilbert fell i'll of fever.
Hendricks had studied medicine, but
before completing his medical educa-
tion he had got the gold craze and
came to California. He nursed Gil.
bert as best he could, but the man
grew worse steadily. Hendricks knew
an herb that he had noticed growing
a couple of miles up the ravine that,
if stepped, would perhaps help the
sick man. One morning he left the
cabin to get some of this herb. While
away terrific thunder storm came up
and the little stream that ran through
the gulch began to rise. Knowing
how rapidly these mountain streams
rise in storm, and fearing fol
the safety of Gilbert, as the cabin
| otOOu Ou tuC Dauh VI euO OACOh,
Hendricks hurried back. The
water rose very rapidly, and,
though Hendricks ran as fast as the
nature of the ground would permit,
the flood outstripped him. When he
came within sight of the cabin it was
half under water, and the torrent
threatened every instant to carry il
away. One end of the building stood
against an immense oak tree with
spreading limbs. By climbing an.
other tree Hendricks got into the oak.
About two feet above the roof of the
cabin strong limb grew out. From
this limb Hendricks descended to the
roof, and as it was composed of brush
and dirt, he quickly stamped hole
through it. The water had risen in
the house nearly to the bottom Of the
bunk in which Gilbert lay. Hen.
bricks dropped inside, and, with the
water up to his armpits, wrapped Gil
bert in blankets, fastened rope Sc
curely around his body, threw the
other end over the limb, and hauled
him up. He was n strong man, and
as Gilbert had been greatly emaciated
by the fever, it was not hard to hau
him up to the limb and secure him a,
a safe height in fork of the tree.
Lashed to the tree, the sick man
faced the storm. The cabin, protected
by the trunk of the oak, stood fast,
but boulder, set loose by the flood,
rolled down the gulch and crashed
! 4 h. CO. Ia - %h0 h,ryV M
When the storm had exhausted its
force, the creek fell to its normal pro-
portions. and Hendricks got Gilbert
to the ground, where he made him as
comfortable as possible.
Contrary to Hendricks expecta-
tions, the sick man soon showed sigma
of mending, and in two weeks he wa
once more on his feet. Tue hol
knocked in the side of the cabin BY
the boulder had let in sand and gravel
and tho building was half full o.
wreckage when the water subsidized
Many tools, cooking utensils ant
other things were covered by the sand
and when Gilbert was we'll enough the
men began the work of digging ou'
the ir property. The peculiar appear
| ance of the dirt attracted Gilbsrt's ut.
tentiou, AMI he washed out some oI
it. 1t proved to be rich with gold,
and from the dirt in the cabin several
thousand dollars worth of dust was
taken, besides a nugget of gold quartz
that weighed more than twenty-threa
ounces. Gilbert concluded that there
must be rich spot up the gulch some.
where, and he set out prospecting for
it. In three days he uncovered the
placer that became we'll known as the
Big Pay and was sold for $l00, 900,
Gilbert and Hendricks dividing the
money equally.
With his share Gilbert went back to
San Francisco at the age of twenty.
eight, worth about $4,000. He grub
staked four men in new and unknown
mining region of Placer County, and
invested his wealth in real estate in
San Francisco. One of The men whom
he had grubstaked struck it rich in
about year, and he and Gilbert sold
out for $40, In less than month
more further developments on the
mine proved that its wealth had been
exhausted and it was valueless. II
the summer of 1855, when Gilbert was
thirty years old, Gilbert turned his
property into money and deposited in
d. o. Mills's bank 1923, ,OOO He had
decided to go back to his home il
Brooklyn with that sum and astonish
his relatives and friends with his
wonderful fortune. As he was about
to sail from Panama he met mar
from Australia who persuaded him tc
go back to Brooklyn by sailing around
the world in order to impress his
family more with his wealth and the
extent of his travels.
Gilbert got as far as Austrlia, where
he remained several months. He be
came infatuated with the gambling
games of that new country, and die
not give up playing until he was penni
less. In few years he got back t.
California, but affairs had changed 81
much and business had become sc
established that he found he had NJ
opportunity to pile up another for
tune. He went out into the mount
aims of Contra Costa County anl livet
there alone for years. Then he driftet
down to Southern California. He ha
not mentioned mines or gambling il
thirty years. Occasionally he il
visited by somebody who knew hin
in the fifties, but he never will say
word about tho old times. New Yorl