The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-10-28


withstanding its enormous expenses,
pay thirty six per cent this year. The
Victor mine, which was sold to French
parties for more than a million dol
lars, brought, as I have told you, the
original finders only $50, 600, and was
refused by Wall street brokers at
$27O, 1000. This mine pays two per
cent. month dividends on capitali-
zation of million.
Similar stories might be told as to
other mines, and all about me see the
funeral professions of those who are
mourning the "gold they did not get.
During my ride to Cripple Creek I
travelled with very intelligent doctor
named Mcdonald, who is getting fat
off the lone lung" brigade who are
marching through different parts of
Utah in search of health. He told me
how he was offered only two years ago
a one-eighth interest in the Anchoria
Leland mine for $500, but had not the
nerve to buy. This is the mine out of
which Irving Howbart and others have
made fortune. Its stock is very val
liable, and there is practically none Of
it on the market. 1t was leased little
over a year ago to T. J. Maloney, but
the lease has now expired. MaloneY
struck "pay dirt" as soon as he began
working. He found one body of ore
of 1900 pounds which yielded him
$50, 900, and he has taken out, I am
told, more than 100000 worth of
gold. Had DR.. Nc Donald invested in
the mine his, $500 would have made
him independent of drug stores and
patients for the rest of his life.
Nearly every man who gets q mine
at CRIPPLE Greek has to fight for it.
Stratton has had number OF law
suits. The Portland mine was for
long time in the courts. and nearly
every good claim is contested. One OF
the queerest stories hear is that of
the Deer Horn uine, which now be.
longs to Stratton and others. It was
located by an old carpenter named
Sterritt. Sterritt had heard of Strat.
sens success, and he knew that STRAIT
ton was carpenter, 80 he thought if
the luck was running with the csrpen-
ter trade he would drop his saw and
plane and 60 to mining. He was
about sixty years OF age, and he knew
nothing about ore or prospecting. He
simply wandered about the hills in an
aimless manner, breaking up a piece
of stone here and chipping off bit of
rock there. At last one day on Globe
Hill, back OF Cripple Creek, he saw
lying on the ground deer's horn. He
was rather superstitious fellow, and
he thought that this was an omen that
he was to dig there for gold. He at
once named his claim "The Deer
Horn," and set out the stakes which
made it his own. He had no money,
and he was compelled to do all the
work himself. He dug ten foot hole,
and then making rude ladder, he
went down with bucket and labor
iously carried the rock to the top.
After time he rugged up windlass
and thus hauled it out. After some
weeks he sent some of the rock to
Pueblo to be assayed, friend advanc-
ing him the cash to pay for the assay.
The report was that the best ore con-
tanned eighty cents worth of gold to
the ton. In reading it, however, old
Sterritt mistook the figures for aS in.
stead of eighty cents. "That isn't at
all bad" said ne, and he went on min
ing. At last, however, he came to the
end Of his grub" and he walked of
to his home, thirty miles away,
to work at his trade as carpenter for
week or'so in order to save enough
money to go on with his mine. While
he was away the owners of one Of the
stamp mills examined the mine, and
when he came back they offered him
dollar a ton for oil the rock on the SUR
face Of his claim for distance OF 100
feet in length, twenty-five feet in
width and six feet IN depth. This
Sterritt accepted, and he was soon
making from SO to So day. In the
meantime speculator jumped his
mine, and he had to fight for it in the
courts.
The other miners, however, saw the
injustice OF the jumpers claim and