The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-11-25

Many Stories That Were Not Truo Have
Been Printed About Him and In Some
Quarters He Was Given "a Reputation
Which Did Him Great Injustice.
Just before dawn tho train stopped at
Salida to change engines and get IL helper
Tor the hill. 1t was showing oven there in
the valley, and was sure to be a rough tlay
on Poncha pass The train had been we'll
filled on leaving Denver. At Colorado
Springs it had been packed. At Pueblo
we picked up another sleeper, and an adj
ditional day coach at Salida We hit the
heavy grade in two sections, and when the
conductor came through ono of tho passcn-
gers, who knew him, asked, "Where in
thunder is all tho people goin, Troop"
"Goin to Creede, replied tho ticket tux
er without looking.
"Wcll, eff that's all, they nccdcn co."
said tho passenger playfully, fur Crecdo's
right here. He's in the smokin rum"
Now, there were many upon this train
who had never seen the founder of tho fa-
nous silver camp and some men followed
the conductor to the smoking room of the
sleeper. The door was closed and the con-
ductor pushed against it. 1t yielded heav-
lily, and he pushed again and crowded ill.,
A man was lying on the floor against tho
the sofa and revived we saw modcstly
dressed man OF middle age, medium size.
with blue eyes looking out of q sad face
He had tainted, he guessed, and then tho
conductor asked his name. "Crcede," said
tho man, and that was our first meeting
My interest in tho man began when l
met an old comradc of his who had served
with him in the Sioux wars in the sixties.
After that Creedc and became very good
friends.
He was born on n farm not far from
Fort Wayne, Ind. Crccdc put in seven
years as scout and Indian fighter and
helped with his hands to open the over
land route to the Rockies. Some of his
adventures have been recorded and many
have not been told. A most important
event In his lifo was omitted from all
these narratives an event that lost to him
oil tho glory he had gained in the Sioux
wars and put shadow on his trail. After
the war he went back to his old home in
Iowa. where he had tho misfortune to fall
desperately i'll love with his brothers
sweetheart. The brother triumphcd, and
it broke Crecde's heart. 1t was his first
and last love. Like the rejected poet. he
was mad with grief and shame He cross
ed the plains and changed his name
So it came about that in the spring of
io'o iit tiio iNfsiSttE vi uIC DTONcTS nOlcl
ut Pueblo he wrote his name" Nicholas c.
Crcedc, which till then was not his name
In a littlo while Crcedo bccaNo a we'll
known prospector. He was patient and
persevcring, and upon his trail arc many
prosperous mining camps, notably Mon
arch and Bonanza. These camps wcro
called after the first claim located, and if
the prospector had kept that up Crecdo
would have been called .'Holy Moses. 4"
Many amusing stories have been told as
to the naming of this claim, but, unfor-
tunatcly. none of them is true. The first
find at Creole, as ut Monarch, proved to
be one Of the poorest, but it helped the
prospector. 1t brought him in touch with
Nlr. Nloffet of Denver and put him in the
way to discover the Amethyst, which
brought him fame and fortune. His share
was one-third interest in the Amethyst
mine. One day, in his modest cottage mt
Pueblo, he showed me small slip of pa
per from the First National bank of Den
yer upon which was written. February
deposit, $50, 600 "
THAT was my rake off for last month, -
he said in his quiet. modest way At this
time Crcedo was not II strong man. Seven
years on tho plains and IL years in the
hills hunting for mines arc enough to wreck
even the strongest constitution. The one
companion TINT he kept through all these
Is years was little old dog whose shaggy
coat was the color of wood ashes At
Crecdc's request photographed him and
tho dog.
In June of that year. 1898, Crcedc said
he would go to California, and wcagrccd
to meet ut San Francisco. From Frisco
we went to Los Angeles, and when Crccdc
saw the pretty house Mt Col Pearl street he
wanted it Standing in the garden he
took off his hat, smiled and said, This is
my Eden, little dreaming that it would
be his Gethsemnne as well.
Just as the successful lttcratcur dis
conrages young writer's did this successful
miner discourage prospcctors
stick to your quill" he wrote to IL
friend who had asked him to buy II claim
ut Cripple Greek, "nnd you have my
friendship. Go prospecting and you lose
it," After severe and long illness this
same friend wrote gloomily, and Crcctlo
replied: Never give up the ship. Cheer
up. There is much TO live for
Months ago he wrote to his friend who
was then in Washington, n cheerful letter
and it CHANGED TO be tho last: We too, have
baby--a little girl-and do you know
that have never known of such pleasure
III all my life us the pleasure Of caring for
ills little child? I like to dress her and
undrcss her as little girls do with their
dolls "
This was the little girl whom he had
adopted. IL seems to me that that letter
alone shows that Crccdc's heart was in the
right place What n loving father he
might have bccn What happy home he
might have made if things had gone lust
little different! Very few people knew
Creole intimately. He avoided people. He
was constantly ashamed of having changed
his name. He exaggerated this BIT of fool
ishncss into II crime and broodcd over it,
and the bitter disappointment of his earlier
life staid in his heart and kept it sad