The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-08-16
A TOMBSTONE PLUNGER
PENNILEsS j. Il. DURkEE SOON HAD
AN INCOME OF 1880 A DAY.
Dropped $4,000 I'm Three Hours st
Fame by Bathing I'm Champagne.
Los Angeles Letter in San Francisco

Chronicle.
A champagne bath. with wine selling at
$50 a pint. is a luxury which but few or
binary people indulge in in these days OF
depression, but there died In the tockton
Insane Asylum. a few lays ago. a man
who actually did battle in this costly wine.
and an ordinary hotel bathtub was the
receptacle which he used for the purpose.
This man was ]. f. Durkee. whose name
was one of the best known before or since
In Arizona. He vent there I'm the later
seventies. and by a fortunate coordination
OF circumstances wholly OF his " max
ing was soon enjoying a princeIy income.
ranging from $3.50 TO 1850 a day. This
was maintained for a long period. The
receipt OF so much wealth proved too much
for his weak intellect and ne ended his
days in an insane asylum. almost forgot
ten by the people who only a few years
ago were receiving his bounty. What was
left OF Durkee was shipped TO Los Angeles
and there buried from an undertaking par
Tor, very few people knowing anything.
and apparently caring less. about the end
ing OF the man who. less than ten years
before. luxuriated in champagne baths and
was a high roller I'm that town. Durkee's
life in Arizona represented the vigor and
push of many another man who finds the
mining camp an alluring field In which to
play tag with fortune. When he struck
Tombstone i'm 1879 he did not have a dol
lar. He had been up and down among
the mining camps OF California, and was
not unused TO going hungry and expert
| encing other hardships incident TO the lot
of miners. Immediately upon his arrival
he set about securing contracts for haul
ing ore from the various mines about
Tombstone TO the railroad. which was then
just being completed, and he soon had a
goodly number of them at the stipulated
price of s. per ton. For a time he worked
wholly on a bluff. without the slightest
idea Of how he was TO perform the con-
tracts after securing them. He had no
money to buy teams or outfits. but. ac-
cording to the stories Of Tombstone peo-
pie, this did not disturb him in the least
A day or so after securing the first Of the
contracts he went to T.. Il. Gage, OF the
Grand Central mine, and without any pre-
liminary talk opened up as follows:
Mr.. Gage, i want to borrow $4,000
Gage was a wealthy man at that time.
but he was rather taken back at the re-
quest. particularly when Durkee told him
that he did not have any collateral for Sc
curity. However. after taking I'm the make
up OF the man for a moment he said that
lie NOulu let nlm nave the money anu IL
was paid over there and then. Durkee was
thus i'm a position to buy all the teams and
outfits he could secure, and he went TO Mis-
souri,. where he purchased a whole train.
load Of mules. These he shipped to Tow>c
stone, and with them he soon fitted QUE
twenty teams of sixteen mules each, and
began hauling ore in a manner that con-
WINGED people that he wound make a success
of the venture. Each team hauled thirty
tons OF ore a day. or a total Of 600 tons a
Gus mines TO the railroads each twenty
four hours and which brought in an income
of $500 a day, or S650,oo0 a year. 1t was
not n case of gradual increase in business
with Durkee. He went to work one day
without a dollar, the next he was drawing
a princely income. He saw the opportunity
and had the nerve to grasp il. Success fol-
lowed as a matter of course.
During this time he was employing sew
it ne' sIns men on 70 all oil wh1m ne was pay
being fed on the best the land could afford.
Blu Durkee, like other men who have
wealth, was unable TO keep his head.
Periodically he made excursions to Los
angeles "A and other places: where he could
debauch.
One of these visits was made TO Los
Angeles I'm the summer of 1sS6. At that time
the southern metropolis had a real estate
boom and money was. i'm consequences.
flowing very freely. Durkee was. however.
ability 10 spend money, and even those
who were making money by the thousands
stood aghast at his utter abandon.
The most extravaganza circumstance. and
one which has lived 10 this day, was the
occasion when he had just returned from
been purchasing for trotting purposes.
Ringing up the boy after going to his room
ne ordered that hair a dozen baskets OF
champagne be sent up at once. as he
wanted to take a bath. The wine was pro-
dueed without delay. and the bath. such as
a few even among the very rich have in
dulged in. was taken, and Durkee. evil
IDENTIFY very much refreshed. paid for the
LUXURY and resumed his riotous carouse.
The story OF Durkee's high gambling In
Is perhaps the most interesting
of a series of wild extravagances and or
about. He was a frequenter of the Orien-
tai saloon. kept by NJ. r. Joyce. said TO be
one OF the richest gambling places i'm the
announced that he was out for a little fun.
This meant much to the saloon men. and
he was given the right OF way along the
line.
See here said he. u want a chance TO
play a little faro. and don't want any one
TO chip in Do you understands said Dur
kee, impressively.
They understood. and he was told to
shout his orders He did Sc. The first TO
called En- TO take the dealers place at
the table and another young woman OF the
ydme enona 6e pu, 10 t or his th coa, "i snd cn,.
ing upon all hands TO liquor at his expense,
he began his play. His first bet was $1,000
OH an ace he lOSt DtIOre ne mad time to
draw his breath. but instead OF being dis
concerted he went at * with renewed vigor.
Luck was always against him. save with
an occasional small winning. and I'm three
hours after taking charge OF the table he
lost just 5000. all the money he had with
him. and he withdrew from the game
Despite all adverses of this character
Du-kee never lost his temper and seemed
utterly careless as TO the outcome. These
gambling periods were more or less fire.
quent. each time he played resulting dis
financially.
When coming TO Los Angeles he always
appeared dressed In a teamster's garb OF
biCe overails and a big hat Fine clothes
was not one OF his weaknesses. no matter
what other desires he may have had and
in In spite OF all his lavish cx-
penditures and his unlucky ventures he
a fortune of upward OF $40. 900 to hin
wife. who is now living in Los Angeles.
The friends Of this wonderfully fortunate
speak in very high terms of his
past generosity to less fortunate citizens
Of Tombstone. and state that he was a
man who, with all his faults. was much
ragnpcfpl-