The sun., 1897-12-26
SUCCESS WON In OLD AGE.
GRAY HEADS IN TIE WEST VINO
WE'RE ABLE TO Cov0UER FORTUNE.
brave STRUGGLE ana FinaI Victory ef = Former
Newark Merchant at the Ago or 0T-Re-
peated Faiiurea That DID Vet Discour-
nEe HuHh n. NiIIinu,s - other Instances.


nEe HuEh 4. williams = Other Instances.
Los ANGELES, Dec. 1.-THE man In Boston
who committed suicide the other day leaving
q farewell letter in which he said that he had
lost his fortune and at his age, so years, 1t was
absurd for any one to think Of achieving fnan-
cial success from nothing in these days Of hot
competition, ought to have heard about tho
men out In this country who have won now sue
cess after they had become gray haired grand
parents and had had all their savings Of years
swept away. There arc several mon In Califor.
mia who had passed their sixteth birthday when
financial disaster overlook them and left
them without means, and, nevertheless. were
able to re.establish themselves
Joseph Mason, who died at Coronado, CAL,
last October at the age of 20 years, was sis.
nal instance of what determined man may do
to achieve success in tho face of what ninety
nine out Of one hundred persons would consider
insurmountabe obstacles. In the summer of
1888, when he was 81 years old, he failed In
the furniture business at Newark, n. ]. He
had been Ill for months and his business had
been managed 30 badly that when the Sheriff
seized the property Mr.. Mason left with
only his dwelling and its contents. A few
weeks later his house was burned, and. tho in
surance policy having expired q few days be-
fore, he was left with less than a hundred dol
lars worth of property. His wife was helpless
invalid he was supporting several grandchil-
dren, and he had, besldes q partially invalid
daughter. None Of his near relatives had any
means to help him. Mr. Mason declined a
number of offers of charity from old time busi-
ness friends and declared that he would make
money enough for his family's support some
way. For weeks he tramped about Newark and
Jersey City seeking employment in furniture
stores. His white hair and oldfashioned
tay~ l..
young men are employed. No one wanted him.
| and he tried to get employment at bookkeep.
ing. That plan also failed One day while he
sat waiting to ask a busy merchant for some
sort of work. he read an article in New York
newspaper about the immigration that was set
ting in toward Prescott, Ariz.. since the build
ing of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad through
| that region.
He read the article over again and abandoned
his effort TO seek work in that store. Hc went
| straight home to the two little rooms his family
occupied, and said he had decided to go to Ari-
zona to try his luck. His wife was too ill to ar
que the matter and things were too desperate
| with the invalid daughter for her to offer an
| objection. When Mr.. Mason told his acquain-
tsnccs that he was going to Arizona to make
fortune he was regarded with suspicion, as if
ne, was. entering an early. stage OF insanity.
When 1t was seen later that Mr.. Mason was
|
| faith that he could find some way of making a
success in new country, he was begged to
ing. But, in spite of all arguments. Mr.. Mason
borrowed $3.50 from friend, and putting his
ter, started for Prescott, 200 miles from
home., without knowing what he would do
A good.szed volume might be filled with the
haired man In his efforts to mako another for
Gs ana n%h t. IS in Ss on
He was the only whitehsired man in Prescott
ceaseiess industry made mad him p prominent fig. a:
ure in the bustling town.. The cowboys knew
hin ss PH e sot Job ns 56ekReepss e RsEs
place, and by the most exacting economy he
his family. in Newark. He had as much en-
thusiasm for the new country as any. of the
ticulsrly we'll liked: All his holidays he spent
IN climbing over the mountains and studying
opened in that part Of Arizona. He spent his
leisure hours each night in reading I9 about as. IS
Gould nd reatins to % the M geology log Of the gold
became fond Of the old man. and not only gave
the location of unclaimed rich ore deposits. but
also made him their banker and trustee. He
colt bank some $i4 900 belonging to cowboys
and miners who could not read or write and
Ing. observing % and taking ing about mining cor con.
ditions until. when he had been in Prescott
he had an by iS
ager of partially abandoned copper mine in
| Eavapai county a year before he was 20 years
old, and he entered upon the task Of turning the
beginning Of his march, toward big financial
had never in all his long life worked as he'did
| when he was 20 years old. He was putting the
into %nd the on fs en daT
shared the miners fare and beds. studied out
the dips and swerves of the copper, ore lodges
and projected new shafts where other miners
had not dreamed there was ore and where some
OF the richest copper ore vet founu in the South.
twelve hours at stretch. 1t is wonderful that
his health endured the strain, but Mr.. Mason
load of responsibility, and it does seen, as il
| that were so On Jan. l, 1890, Mr.. Mason
his Anal report to the n
vious year and had made more than $4,000
worth Of improvements When Il The oo company mp n;
eedS tbe od 9f ssy Of
Brought them NsRf he
quarter interest in a silver mine and was made
saFacty and nc business prudence put that enter'
prise. also. on paying basis. In six months
| to his ideas. the silver mine was paying divl.
his block Of stock for $50. 900 Most men
have such a sum and to settle down to an easy
life. The old mans ambition, however, was
set on achieving a fortune ahead of anything
he had ever possessed In 1891 he removed
with his family TO Los Angeles, and, believing
| that prosperity in silver mines was at an end
for his day. he began studying the gold mining
region in Kern county, Cal. For seven or eight
| months he lived in a mining camp away up un-
der the peaks Of the sierras in Kern county.
near Cal liente No fatigue was too severe for
him, and no food too coarse. He was Intensely
proud of being tho oldest active miner; He
| was ceaselessly active in acquiring infor-
nation there as he had been In Arizona, but he
now had the satisfaction of knowing that he
had capital to work with when he got ready,
and that his family lived in comfort and case.
With Daniel w. Ewarts of Sacramento he
finally bought an undeveloped quartz gold mine
for $1,000 The mine was equipped with ma
chinery and after the first week 1t began to
| pay. month later 1t turned out gold ore
worth Si5 ton. In six months the mine paid
$4,000 over and above expenses Then a syn
| dictate bought tho mine and machinery for
$4,000. Mr.. Mason's ambition was, satis-
Rome s hSons hs ' tn. oranfs 5
groves of OFFS; San Gabriel Valley and there he
| years ago his wife died. and last wear he and