The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1896-01-15
STEVE PRATT'S LOST NINE.
II Huatiss . Loas-Lost Uncle He
Fouad William Cameron.
WACO BANKERS SENSATIONAL sToRY
I've Geld Bricks asd . Mounfafn Of Gold
ORsred for Sale by Poor routh,
N Indian and an Assayer.

adence man and card sharp invented III.
Go'a-bf5ck trick and during his palrny
days arnasse1 = fortune in dsludinr suck
en- and inducing them to part with their
cash IN exchange for copper and brass
bricks FURNISHED with a thin yeneerang
OF gpid. After a life Of adventure he died
psupsr and his bones rest in the potters
field IN q far Western city. He had MANY
apprentices and for years the gold-hrick
TICK was 9our1shiaE Industry The
F1cliras were as numerous as the victims
OF the green goods men and in every in
stance r7en Of means The noted Texas
Tom solo ro.E hrsct. in the city If Los
angeles SIX months agu and escaped 10
eHsoT his Hl-Ec.isz gains. In September
iast another notorious co-H55er,-e man
pslr1sc of q gold b-1ck upon English min.
ing operators II Mexico and eSca ped the
Eu7s 81 the rurzses by the SKIN Of his
teeth. He was compelled To trarn,, eighty
miles across barren waste and the
pr7cEfy cactus cut away MS shoes and
ffazzierd the bottoms Of h4s trousers ere
he had escaped THE vengeance Of his vic
tins and Authorities ty putting the Rio
'5rafias be himself and his relentless
purSve-S- Two weeks ago an Indian
equaw. with the secret Of a rutre 81
fabulous wealth locked securely 10 her
bosom, and Two white coa1e6erates
sSooJ'=a down upon Western Arkansas
and many a flDe A-karsar gentleman Of
the ciden time" swallowed the baat before
exposure cana and The THO Of swin5Isrs
were caught dad 10 rights as tie nv
ccppsrs say. Ths-e is a Texan who WAS
oflce q bigger u,al than nd Grant whom
tradition says PAID 500. o-sce upon =
time. for q brass brick with a colo cover
ing. The late John &ur-issey. who won
-fty nghis 81 ths prize ring. evolutei into
q statesman and died a gentleman, once
remarked. There IS q sucker born every
minute" This WIS fEe-ty years ago
Now there ara TWO suckers born every
minute, ana the buil confidence man con-
ttnues 70 live on The lat Of the land en-
eases lis sleek form n hrha 9ci9Th and
fine linsn a-5 bssks IN sunshine all the
day long a. the exp-ense OF gUdgsons.
william Cameron Of waco is enc OF
Texas mas oFy1laat citizens His elega-
tors are bu-stl1g with their stores OF
grains. his mills are grinding necessarily.
he Ia a banker and director r. many en-
te-pr1ses am he osrls town called
Bowie On the Southern Pacific railroad
abou; forty miles from Seu Orleans lie
Is q efocsy-luslt preserved tprr,s-i-
Gus scoich-I-lshulan o: % years, whose
proud bbast is rnat he hzs accumulated
q large fortune after he had rounded the
fortieth nniie-yposi o. us csre-.- Tire
years ago m eEfser1ecc@d Z change q
heart politically ard hs csnae ''Na'ion1i
republican" giving as . reason mat ~
was Z pro.er 9niE-- Two years ae5 the
republican Lenders De- lded % nom .f.a..s
the!r new ally for governor. 4 man with
e far'i wa nseded. ard Mr. Cameron aaI
q bz-'l--sevsral n 'e-n The old man put
aside the ;erspier. Ambition and SAID Ia
z trernu.ous voice: NAY. nay Pauline
lie fs 3 resolute. hzr'.-hsanat and sue
cessful business man. and set The gentle
rnen who live by their wits picked him
oa, u an easy mark. paid him assiduass
advances. lure. him 70 tn very mouth
o. the trap and CAN'T Within an ace Of
reducing bis hank Toll :3D 90. Since the
days q the Argorauts. the hardy - erE.
the sgory o. the Lost Mine" IN the Sierra
Madras range has Dser told ana refcld
and the oftener II has bern trl9 the more
beautiful has = been errbe'lish~i by
froltlerHrler eci1-feeE4Is adventures
and reilickiDg deell-rls y-Care children -
nature--the Bobsrr.sns Ct me re1~SDAges
yOri2 -n@ fshglogs wealth stared IN the
t-I,sst MINI 1ould have satisfied the
-il5 avz-ics n: ths Spanish cpnqnerors
Of the NorteEu-1zF and INTO fh- ears -
Banker and I.urnber King william cam
eros the discoveries q the Lost Nt-le"
POURED the tales ~ its Colossal Err-11feiir.
Of rnoUntai.s q Eple ina woui1 p1t 20
fight ths v-8aez- dreams Of Cen Eb1ces
and his feaj9.- Buccaneers II me i&rd q
the Boers.
The story ~ a6ysu. sres from Tv-s'E
burning ssrsE ard s.s wax har.Ssr al
y5rat,er king, rsa1R Ike = -orraocse f3e
Fzvs q IN de.sn % The Pos srzaT
~ the Hotel L-sw1or whore ias icruo
wsS exrio5s5 s-1o Ite aYs,ss of ;iss aeFsa-
f1rerz turned snts Dead Sea frsif:
las rurf9sF ;Il-ring a. Bo~le. la
noticed q Yo1rE naD n tbs Tsc3aiiy -
my ofAoe. After rBrTegirg tns bELSirg
he came ~ fhs coor zfsd ~t.f=rf-3. IL
ksys r.Ie 'xissrr lD9k an Sad You A.
not ny pnels. ysu are npt William cArn-
ERIN yro SORRY MN tra-l3s tLav, To-
posed III IVY generosity rhis white, sns
treated tbs stranger co3elY-Very. lie
noticed my cocirsse ana saas- I've plenty
Of usrsney--See here ard - pUns-s ogt
roll Of gfeeuhscsk ard hsD5fui ~ gole
coin. I've plenty ~ roplsY. Dsst I'm ~
norant and tan neiihsr read nor write
I've sorseihirg god. riches enough for all
by uarIs had iTo farms 10 Arszlaa. one
containing, & frzsi ~ 800 acres and The
other 10 900 acres by uncle. VIII! an cam
eron, left ArizDna several yearg : 20. Mr.
" ingiow who OWES the town u WtnSlow
was his old business partner. Mr. Wins
low IS an old rnan--usore than 50 non. We
heard that william Czgneron lived away
4 HoEs In Texas, ~ & place called WACO
Mr. window. a. a rich mine han been
discovered On my upcle's land, decided 81
4 best for me TO hunt up uncle. lie gave
a and STARTED on my trip. / have Ep@nt
q my Hfe IN the mining camps Of the West
a and came across tcothicss old Mexican
n woman. io5 years old. VINO held the Sc
y cret Of the Lost Mine" which had been
worked By SpauIards IN the days OF Cortcz
N and afterward By jesuit priests Finally
AZ the secret Was lost. This old Mexican
e woman was the widow OF Don Garcia. d
fi Mexican imperialist who fought on the
~ stan OF Maximiliiau. and died years ago.
81 They had one son and that son, Wild
81 fellow, shocked his mother. and disgraced
M his family name by espousing an indian
~ euuaw This was twenty-five or thirty
III years ago. The Widow OF Don Garcia,
~ who had been entrusted with the exact
h,locatfon OF the Lost Mine" by her hus-
4sband on his dying bed. spurnef her son
i#and his Indian wife and drove them away
with her curse. She never relented until
Sadthe unhappy couple died. leaving as a
t1egacy "a half-breed son. The old woman
6fthen relcnted and made peace with the
jgrandson. That woman. sousia, the grand
bon and myself became great friends. ons