Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-01-18
Highest Of all in Ieavenng rowen-Lasest u Govt Report
RH!A!.!!! RR sxass;
ABSOLUTELY PURE
HAD GOLD BRICKS,
Ana Came Near Selling "A coupe ="
william Cameron.

william Cameron.
,roec,a, 70 the New Orleans Picayuhe''
HOUSTON, TEN, January l.-Co'o"e'
v,nam Cameron, who for years mas
been known as the lumber KING oi ie~'
was q guest Of the LAWYER yes'eruas'
colonel Cameron has for many years re-
s,ded in Waco. which has been the heau-
ouarters for his business operations. he
&C. now devoting a great deal OF time 10
h,s interest at Bowie, La, forty mlles
,ves, Of New Orleans, on the Southern "a
cinc. which has been pro)ec'eu ny
Colonel Cameron and his associates Ne
lumber king has invested more ,nln
$4,000 at that place, ana pene'SS
is great future In store ior Inv
business in which he is engaged
Colonel Cam ron was at MS nv"
home in Bowie, La, on Sunday wneh
a well-appearing man, who gave MS
name as Steve Pratt, appeareu with
letter addressed to Mr.. William Cameron
a, Waco. This letter was written by a
man named Wsow, who claimed 10 10
a former partner OF Mr.. Cameron
and referred to the bearer OF the let
ter. Steve Pratt as being MI.
Cameron's nephew. 1t went on 10 say
that Pratt had recently come into 'he
possession Of an immense mining claim
in Arizona that he was not competent
to manage, and that II he cCameroD
would come on and take charge or the
nroperty there was an immense fortune
in IL for him Mr.. Cameron had been
In the mining business before, and ne
was Interested. Pratt had some bars at
Houston taken from the mine worth
s25. 600 or $4,000. Wouldn't Mr.. Cameron
come to Houston with him and look az
them?" To this Mr.. Cameron assented,
nroylded Pratt would pay the expenses
OF the trip. Pratt readily agreed to
this. and made a liberal display OF money.
They got to Houston yesterday ana
Mr.. Cameron was Immediately taken
out where the treasure was secreted,
about five miles from Houston, out in the
woods, beyond the Houston Heights
Pratt, before going out. went to n
hardware store and provided himself
with a drill On reaching the camp in
the woods, an old Indian. or more likely
a man masquerading as such, was In
possession OF two immense gold bars that
were weighed upon the spot and found
TO weigh "A IL pounds each. Mr.. Came
ron was given the drill and told to bore
into the bars wherever he pleased. He
bored into each Of them to depth or
about a half inch on either side. ana
to ali appearances lntg were SoitN SOi'.
The dust from the boring was brought TO
the city TO be tested.
Pratt had incidentally heard that there
was a United States assayer in the city.
He was located at the Capitol, and
gave his name as Grant. He was pre-
vailed upon to test the bricks, and pro-
nounced them twenty-four carats fine.
and worth $4,000. Cameron went to NJ.
It. Jones and got $4,000 to purchase
them with. but this morning concluded
to be cautious. and when he met Pratt
told him he was on to his game. Pratt
weakened and Cameron had him ar
rested, and he is now in jail; but his
two pals escaped.
When Pratt was searched at the jail
there was found upon him three immense
specimens OF gold-bearing quartz, an
cxagonal $50 gold-piece coined by the
United States IN 1852: lot of gold dol
lars and gold half-dolars and quarter
dollars: $40 I'm currency. a miners com
pass. with the name T. NJ. Rust en-
eraved upon the case; memorandum
book. with the advertisement OF Charles
d. Heron & Co, Erie. Pa. upon it; a
lot Of blank checks on the West Side
Bank. New York. 4S5 and is7 Eighth
avenue, some newspaper clippings, etc.
Old papers for sale at the Dispatch