The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-22
Sailing THE cHRYsoLIrE.
Gold Mine UnIoaded For $500 Was
worth S1O.OOO.0bO.

From the Denver Times.
The true story of the sailing of the
Chrysolite mine was related TO me by
August Richie, one of the discoveries of
the Little Pttsburg. l believe il has
never been published, but it is going to
be Richie had conveyed his interest in the
Pittsburg 10 Tabor, but remained as SUI
perintendent of the property for some time
after the transfer Chicken Bin owned
an interest in an adjoining claim since
known TO fame as the Chrysolite, which
he desired to unload on Tabor. The
wealth of the Pittsburg had already be-
come known, but Chicken Bill had little
confidence that the rich ore bodies ex-
tended into his claim. He had gone down
below the levels in which it had been un-
covered in the adjoining claim without dis
covering any values, and he shrewdly cal
culated that the deeper he drove the
shaft without proving the continuity of
the Pittsburg vein, the more difficult il
would be for him to sell the properly or
secure money, to develop it, But Chicken
Bill was resourceful, and he didn't pro-
pose to permit the little circumstance of
the absence of mineral in the shaft to
defeat his scheme for making a raise
Bleeding the old man" was considered
Bilps conscience remained dormant while
he put up the job to unload his interest
in the Chrysolite upon him.
Bill had been a good friend to Richie in
his adversely, and had never asked
favor in return. Hence he felt licensed
to appeal to him in this emergency. which
he did with complete success Going over
to the overlooking ore bins of the Pitts
burg one day, he asked Richie to give him
a few ShoVelfuls of the rich ore that had
just come out of the shaft. "Of course,
responded Richie, take all you want of
tia wagon load if you like" Bill as
sured him that a few shovelfuls would
answer every purpose-and il did
Tabor wouldn't agree to purchase Bills
interest until he had made a personal
examination and sampled the ore No
objection was made TO this reasona BILE
proposition, and, the assays from his own
samples proving that the mineral was
quite as rich as the Pittsburg and sin
Sularly like it, he speedily closed the deal
and paid Bill for his interest
Tabor put a force of men to work upon
the property, and within a fortnight one
of the largest bodies of carbonate ever
discovered on Fryer Hill was uncovered.
When Chicken Bill stopped sinking. the
bottom of the shaft, which he had so skill
fully sailed with the borrowed ore from
the Pittsburg was within a few feet of
bonanza. Subsequently the property was
capitalized for 600, and its total yield
proved that the capitalization was not ex-
cessive. Nearly that amount of values
has since been taken from it, Chicken
Bill received the paltry sum of 81, 500 for
holding that would have made him
millionaire had he not preferred to trick
Tabor into buying it. Another odd phase
of the story, as related to me by Richie, is
that few days after Bill had sold his in
terest Tabor approached Richie and, in
forming him of his purchase, suggested
that he would let him in on the ground
floor and sell to him half the interest he
had bought of Chicken Bill for what it
had cost him.
OF course, Richie knew all about the
sailing of the mine and had fun knowl-
edge of the amount realized by Bill but he
assumed innocence and asked Tabor what
he would take for the half of the purchase
Tabor nanq3 the price paid for the whole
but Richie declined the proposition, say
ing he believed he had about all the min
ing property on Fryer Hill that he wanted
1t was doubtless the fact that at that time
neither Tabor nor Richie had much if
any more, confidence in good values being
discovered in the Chrysolite than had
Chicken Bill: All have since enjoyed a
large degree of fame for their knowledge
OF mineralogy and the science of mining
and all that sort Of thing, yet not one of
them dreamed he was bartering for a
song property that has had few equals
as a producer, even in this state of WON
derful bonanzas.