The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-02-27
GATHERINGas: GOLD.
This Industry Seems to Be Boom
ing in Colorado.
SHIPPED ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN
ORDINARY FREIGHT CARS.

OEN FEt, COL, feUv A4-Ine RECORD LUZ
the greatest single shipment of gold ore
ever sent in one train to the smeltery has
been won by W. S. stratton. 1t was the
largest single consignment of gold in it's
crude state that has evef.. been made in
this or any other country. There was q
million of gold in ordinary freight cars,
with no guard in sight to look after the
treasure, but if any bold road agent had
attempted to take a sack or two Of the
precious metal from the cars that stood
on the track with their doors wide open
he would have discovered that there were
three men in each car, each with a pair
of the dreaded sawed off shot guns that
are recognized as the most deadly weapons
at close quarters. This was the shot gun
guard hired for the purpose of protecting
the most valuable consignment of ore that
has come to this market at one time Each
man was selected for the purpose Of stand
ing to his guns, no matter what happened,
whether it was wreck or an attack from
robbers. They were fighters from the back
districts, and many of them had seen ser
vice in the Wells Fargo Company on the
robbers contended with red freebooters for
supremacy in the matter of ferocity Some
of them had been imported for the occas-
ion from the Pacific coast, where for many
years they had sat on the box of the stage
and were tried and true steel to the men
who had engaged them for their nerve and
fighting qualities A brace Of revolvers
completed their armament but there was
no ostentatious display of the fact that
41Nxy
a modest lot of fellows, who did not yearn
for the blood of their enemies.
stranger not knowing the nature of
the shipment peering through the open
doors would not have detected any signs
of life in the interior. He would have seen,
perhaps, a hundred more sacks that
might have contained potatoes. Had he
fingered at the door long enough to be-
come accustomed to the gloom, he would
have caught sight of several pairs of vigil
liant eyes keeping close watch of his every
movement A stray sunbeam from chinks
in the side of the car might have revealed
the CLINT of gun barrels leveled at the en-
trance.
NO ONE KNEW ABOUT 1T.
Not a soul suspected the truth as the
ponderous mountain engine puffed its way
toward the smeltery. Box cars are COM
mon enough in that section, and the only
subject of comment was the appearance
of the road engine in that vicinity doing
the duty that is usually discharged by the
switching crew. The runners had come in
direct from their night ride from Cripple
Creek, with orders to go through to the
smelling works and not uncouple from the
six box cars until the8 were transferred to
the keeping of the sipelter and the rail-
road had receipt for the cargo.
The ore once behind the walls of the fort
like smelling works, the owner could rest
with the certainty of'iseeing his ore con-
SDpcia wjthjOS h q
time. 9C Is
Altogether, the traint represented 1873 tons
of ore. About one-half of this was stored
in sacks for safer transmission, and the
lower grades were packed away in the bot
tom of the cars, reasonably safe from pry-
ing eyes and free from the disturbing
hands of vandals.
W. S. Stratton is quiet retiring and not
at all like the men who are supposed to be
| the founders of a gold camp He has al
| ways had weakness for mines, but, as
| most of his Investments were purchases of
mining stock limited to the amount of his
savings, he never expected any remarkable
gains. He was industrious and energetic,
| and struggled along from his birth in 1S4S,
| in JeffersOnvile, Ind, until 1872 when he
removed to Colorado. and took his first
lesson in gold gambling in the San Juan
| country.
! His ignorance of the mineral was proved
by the fact subsequently disclosed that
| tnere was not the 1alnteSt cOlOflng IN the
| ground unlOaded on him as gold mine.
The lesson cost him So, O00 representing the
| savings of 10 years. Having purchased the
! alleged mine, which was not even "salted'
to deceive him, Stratton determined to
abide by his new acquisition and he and
partner equally verdant spent an entire
| winter above the snow line, remote from
| the home of anybody, digging and blasting.
| In the spring Stratton and his assistant
came down from the clouds with less
| money and flesh and turned their heads
eastward, declaring that they would not
| again be taken in on the assertions of
| their best friends
He got about $1,000 which he invested in
| the San Juan country in the very property
| which had taken his last cent a few years
| before and which he had abandoned. So
| little was thought of the property that no
| one had the temerity to touch it, and STRAIT
| ton by some streak of bad luck again
was induced to relocate the mine under
! the name of the Black Crook A pocket
| struck and Stratton took out some
| thing like $500. This development brought
| the partners an offer of $1,000 for the mine
| which Stratton refused to accept, he
| decided that his luck had turned, and that
| he was on the highway to wealth Two
| days later the mine petered out.
NEEDLESS OF WARNINGS.
| Disguised with this experience Stratton
| went back to his saw and chisel. He was
| in Colorado Springs when the first news of
| the discovery of Cripple Creek came down
| from the hills, and he went into the camp
| with a revival of hope. He knew scarcely
more than he did on the first attempt, but
he was full of determination, and some
thing told him to go ahead and prospect on
the camp that at the time was so widely
advertised as the greatest mining swindle
of the age. Disregarding all warnings, he
entered the district, and knew so little of
the appearance of mineral that he was the
only man who staked a claim on what was
recognized" as the outskirts of the mineral
belt. So closely did he come to entering