The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-03
Great Fortunes
Built on a Small
Investment
of Money.

and Edmund e. Randolph, Of the south
ern Pacific Railroad company The
case shows how near q man can come
to share in fortune and then lose 1t.
Edwards last summer told Randolph
that he knew where there was good
prospects near Tacna station, across
the blistering desert that surrounds
Yuma, in Arizona. Randolp grubstaked
Edwards for three months at $14 a
month. When Edwards came back
empty handed, Randolph declined to
pay another dollar on mere opinions.
Then a locomotive engineer, II. 8.
Gleason, put faith in Edwards stories
and sent him out with another grub
stake. In December Edwards found
the pay rock, and it has proved the
very richest find in Arizona since the
Haruua Hala mines were discovered in
1890. The mine Is known as the Glea-
SON, and one can hardly pick up an
Arizona or Southern California news
paper today without reading some
thing about it. Ex-United States Sena-
tor Stephen w. Dorsey has offered
5000, 900 for the property II. b. Glea-
son is no longer locomotive engineer.
He and Edwards say they will not sell
for less than 81 .OO0, 900. They have sold
ore from their mine in one week for
more than $4,000. e. e. Randolph
has a suit in the courts for third In
terest in the mine, claiming that, mas
much as he grubstaked Edwards In
that same locality in search of the
ledge that was afterwards found, he is
entitled to a third Of the property.
A few years ago there was long and
costly litigation in the United States
courts in California encouraging the
Sunset mine. A blacksmith in San Ber-
Now
had grubstaked prospector, George r.
Fillmore from June to September, 1855.
Udell claimed that Fillmore found the
vein Of silver ore in the Santa Anita
mountains in the month Of July of that
year. and he brought prospectors 70
prove that they saw Fillmore work
ing at that time in the very locality
where the Sunset mine was located.
Udell asserted that Fillmore had COW
cred up his find and come back to san
Bernardino and pretended to be dis
couraged at his failure to find ore.
Then, he alleged, when the period OF the
grubstake was passed, Fillmore went
back to the Santa Anita mountains, and
pretended to have stumbled on the ore,
so that he would not have to divide
with the grubstaker The case was
bitterly fought, but Udell won at every
point to the supreme court or the
United States. Fillmore committed
suicide in the midst Of the litigation
The mine was sold for $145,00O. Udell
got some 100000 for his grubstake OF
s35.
The wide latitude given to the in
terpretation Of the law of grubstakes
Is well shown in the case against the
estate of William Hillegas of Oakland,
Cal. William Hillegas was Dutch
man from Pennsylvania. He came to
California in the ffties. He was poor
in health and pocket and his cousins
made I'D a purse Of a few hundred dol
lars to help him to California, whera
he was to try his luck in the gold dig
gings and live out of doors in sunshine.
Hillegas went to what is now YAK
land. sauatted on land, and became
small merchant among the settlers IN
Oakland He grew to be rich land
owner and died wealthy at about 1884.
The PENNSYLVANIA cousins came on to
California. and, under the grubstake
law. claimed from the Hillegas widow
and children a share of the estate.
They alleged that they in reality gruo-
staked William Hillegas when young
man. and that while he did not actual
Nv go into the mines on the capital they
had provided him, they were entitled
to grubstakers' shares In all that ne
made with their money as start. Iney
won the case.
Some singular decisions Of the law OF
grubstakes have been made In Can
fornia and the Southwest territories
The most famous is that OF the Dig
Nicholas mine In Amador county IN
this state. George w. Field and Hen
nv Potter were working in the Golef
placer mines over across the MoJaVe
desert some ten years ago. They usea
to spend their holidays In amateur
prospecting among the foothllls OF tnat
region. They became ACQUAINTED WIN
a placer miner, Ben Wilson. S Sd
month when Field and Potter had
gone on long prospecting tour they
went to see Wilson at his shakerool'
redwood shanty in Niger canon IN
Amador county. Wilson urged ths
men to stay with him, for he had not
seen a white man in the locality Tor
weeks. Together the three miners
went searching over the nils every
day. looking for signs of precious MN MN
eraI After a two weeks stay at Viii.
sons cabin, Field and Potter pacKea
their donkeys.
we've had a good time" Wilson
afterward swore that Potter said as
he was cinching his jackass that morn
ing, land I guess We'll have TO ma d
gold mine for you r,o,s
That agreeable brother!y remark cost Fieid
and Potter several hundred thousand dollars:
The following month the two prospectors wen,
forty miles beyond Wilson's CABIN ana locateo
the Nicholas gold mine When year ar ia and
they had interested capital in their hnd ana
were taking out ore worth 5000 day from the
tunnels, Wilson came over to see them.
'fWell, now what want to know, sa,o ne
the second day after he had arrived upon the
scene of m. ming operations lis where my in
terest comes in this here Nicholas mine?"
sYour INTEREST," said Potter quzzicaliy
into
Didn't 1 grubstake you before you found
this miner"
when and howl" asked Field and Potter,
not sure that Wilson was joking.
.fWhy. when you two fellows came and lived
on my grub at my cabin and took my mule to
go over the country to prospect you never
the use Of my mule that l know of. That's
what call grubstake. Moreover fot.er
promised to pay me with mine.
1t developed that Wilson was very much IN IN
earnest Field and Potter offered to pay sew
eral hundred dollars each for the hospitality
of wilson's home but he declined the offer
and brought suit through one OF the most
famous San Francisco lawyers for third in
terest in the Nicholas mine Field and Potter
began a defense in the case but a little iat.
er, on the advice of several men eminent
in mining law, compromised with wilson oy
giving him fourth share in the mine, in
stead of the third to which he made claim
under the law Of grubstakes. The mine mas
paid, first to last, some $230,0O0 and several
wears ago it's value was estimated at $o25,OGO
Wilson died in New Orleans last summer
very rich man.
A world of romance surrounds the history
of grubstakes in the West. One hears some
most enticing stories in every gold and silver
mining region of how this or that person pc
came a millionaire from merely gruDstaKing
discouraged, poverty stricken prospectoI at
the very moment when his fortune seemed at
lowest ebb That some very large fortunes
in the West have come from small investments
in grubstakes is founded on fact. the Bonner
estate of Arizona and ST. Louis came from