Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-02-01
NO 81, 900 NIGHT SHIRTS NOW.
Tie Romantic Career of Tabor 20"
Swinging Pick at Cripple Creek

Chicago llmeS-Heralu'
The fact that Fortune is tickle god
dess" was never more aptly Illustrated
than in the career Of ex-senator II. A.
w. Tabor, of Colorado. A farmer,
stonemasOn, a small grocery keeper,
great mine owner, multl-mllllonalre
and proprietor OF great blocks OF build
ings in Denver, the pOssessot and pulld-
er of one OF the finest opera houses III
the world, Acknowledgement OF COL
oradO, United States Senator, and now
a poor man once more, delying IN the
dirt for another fortune among the
golden hills of Cripple Creek-thls, IN
paragraph, is the history OF man VINO
has received more lattery and more
criticism, more favOrs and haunts OF
fortune than fall to the lot of most men.
The other day a brief telegram from
Denver was published to the erect
that the last piece OF property owned
by ex-senator Tabor had been sold IN
der the hammer to satisfy mortgage
for $500 600, thus closing one OF the
pages in a strange. eyentiul history.
November 26, 1880, this man OIL var
led fortunes was born, and on the 10Th
of November, 1896, he found himself,
at the age Of 66. as bereit of earthly
possessions as upon the day of his birth.
Notwithstanding the fact that less than
ten years ago his fortune was rated at
over $4,000, 900. When Tabor was rich
and prosperous he was fond of recalling
the DAYS of poverty and labor through
which he had passed, and the following
facts are condensation OF his history
rs he related it to me, seated in his
private Office in the Tabor Grand Opera
House before adversely had oyertaken
him:
In 1859 Tabor came to Denver, leay-
ing a farm in Kansas and q seat IN the
Kansas Legislature. lie stayed in Den
yer through the winter, and early in
the spring of 1860. with two friends,
drove woke OF oxen attached 10
rickety wagon out of The city en- route to
California Gulch, the present site OF
Leadville RumOre Of the finding of
gold in the gulch had reached Denver
and thus early in his career Tabor be
gan his search for the yellow metal.
The oxen were experienced travellers,
having trudged all the way across the
plains from the Missouri river to the
foot Of the front range of the Rocky
Mountains the season before, but IL
must be confessed there was great
lack Of style about the turnout.
II Il a curious coincidence that IN
making this journey more than thirty
TX years ago Tabor must have passed
directly over the rich gold fields OF
CriDp!e Creek. ignorant OF their pres
ence. where to-day lie is beginning life
over again in search OF gold. The dll-
ficulties Of that journey were many Oh
ten after days toilSOme march camp
was made in sight Of the smoke from
the fires of The previous night
Filled with experience Of this kind
II look lust siy weeks TO make The jour
ney from Denver 10 California Guich,
the party arriving at their destination
in April. The snow was from three 10
five feet deep and there WASH more
than fifty men in the camp. 1t dld not
take very long, however to change
these conditions. and by the middle Oh
July there was 10000 men at work pros
pecting and washing fof gold. In re-
calling those early days in the guich,
Mr Tabor said:
The early day life of miner is not
very interesting. lie digs IN the gravel
he throws it in the sluice, he FORKS out
the boulders. he cleans up TO see how
much gold he has secured, day after
dav. week after week, month after
month. There isn't any romance IN
any kind of hard work. The romance
is always in results. The ptellmln-
aries are always prOsaic. 1t Is sum
Gent for me to say, therefore, that l
worked hard and at the end OF the sea-
son found | cleared $4,000 That isn't
much money nowadays, and very otten
since then have cleared ten times that
amount in less than half the time, but
never have felt so happy as over that
little pile Of dust dug out OF the graVel
of California Guich in the summer OF
1860. The next summer | worked my
claim. and in the two seasons made
$4,000"
After this Tabor moved to Buckskin
Joe. a booming mining camp then, a
y ilderness now, where he opened a
store Of general merchandise and was
made postmaster. There he stayed Tor
several wears. Then, when the Printer
Boy mine was discovered at California
Gulch. he moved his store over to the
old camp and was made postmaster
there. Then for nearly twenty years
Tabor logged along. meeting with mod
crate prosperity Thousands OF times,
as he saws. he walked over Fryer Hill,
and never thought it worth while 10
stick a pick into it," when within TWEEN
ty-seven feet Of the surface lay the crest
of silver deposit worth millions of dol
lars. Every season he "grub-staked'
men TO prospect for him and for them
selves. and every season was out just
that much. for they never found any
thing. For the benefit of those unIa-
miliar with mining terms 1t may be
said that to 'grub-stake' a prospector
is to furnish him food free of cost for
a share in any mine that he may dis
cover. But on the 10Th of April, 1878,
Tabor "gTub-staked' Rische and Hook.
They began to dig on Fryer Hill ana all
the old miners laughed at them. They
dug away, and at the depth OF twenty
seven feet struck silver ore that ran
200 ounces to the ton. They called
their. mine the Little Pittsburgh. This
was the foundation of Tabor's great
fortune. In less than month after the
discovery he paid Hook 100000 for his
share Of the mine and in three months
more he paid Richie S262,5O0 for his
third. thus becoming sole owner OF the
Little Pittsburgh, one of the greatest
mines were discovered at Leadyiile,
from which he received more than 81
600, 600.
Tabor was now bonanza king; he
was more than that, he was a public
spirited. open-handed citizen. lie