The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-03
HOTELS HAD SOME VISITORS OF
PROMINENCE AT THEIR Ia
BLES YESTERDAY.
MEN OF VARIOUS FORTUNES,
FROM GOLD AND SHEEP TO GRO
CERIEs WERE AMONG THE
SOJOURNERS.
fhe biggest Alces in the Service
Was Guest Here With His
" life.

Wife.
Seated In the rotunda at the Ryan
hotel yesterday afternoon, shortly after
lunch, was a little group of people,
which attracted the attention of the
people in the hosiery to whom their
identity was known. Gossiping about
matters of general interest sat Capt
Tom" Couch, one Of the richest men
in the whole state of Montana, the one
time manager of the Boston &. Mon
tana Mining company and a staunch
and true silver Republican, H. H Mel
son, the biggest Individual sheep
rancher In the same state; D. w. Two
by, Of the big wholesale firm of Twohy
Bros, West Superior, and Dennis Ryan,
for whom the hotel is named Capt.
Couch and Mr.. Ryan are old-time
friends, and ran across each other yes
terday for the first time in some years.
The captain Is credited with being as
independent as he is rich, and 1t is
said that owing to his change Of po-
litical heart he promptly gave UP the
position of general manager of the
Boston company, which he had held so
successfully at Butte until a year ago.
He is the pOSSeSSor Of the best
equipped horse ranch and has as mag
nif1cent a herd of blooded horses as
there is in the West, between Great
Falls and Sun River, where his family
now Is. In addition to all this he has
within year added to his ranch and
silver mining interests little Klondike
in Butte county, California, some sew
enty miles north of Sacramento. Here,
with two other prominent Westerners,
he has taken UP some prospecting
started on the banks of the Feather
river, small but dignified tributary
Of the Sacramento river, and after a
years work is satisfied that there Is
plenty of pay dirt" the gravel yield
ing UP an average of 30 cents a cubic
yard. There is being put in now, ac-
cording to the captain, dredge which
cost $4,000, which will lift the gravel
from twenty feet below the river level
by travelling ladder and set of buck
cts, and dump it into what Is called a
grizzly" after which the distributing
box will send it on its way, holding out
the gold dust by means of the sluices.
Capt. Couch Is most enthusiastic about
| the prospect, and believes he has a bo-
nanZa where two years ago 1T was not
dreamed there was particle of gold.
He left last night for New York.
Scarcely a less noteworthy member
OF the group was man who, as stated,
is the largest individual sheepgrower
in the big state which last year won
| the place at the top of wool growing
states by sending to the markets of
the world over 100000 pounds of
wool. Mr.. Nelson's system of ranches.
is situated along the line Of the Great
Northern road in Cascade, Choteau and
Valley counties. At the present time
Mr.. Nelson has from 5000 to 1000 sheep
feeding at the ST. Paul stockyards, and
made the statement in conversation
with his friends that ST. Paul and
vicinity were even now considered the
| greatest feeding point in the United
States. There has been an excellent
winter in Montana" he added, and
as a result the flockmasters are well
pleased, and believe the prospect for
good big wool clip In July are the best.
| Most of the Montana wool men will
bring many Of their sheep here for a
sixty or ninety days feeding on
Screenings before taking them to
! market. At present, as all people who
are interested, know, the wool market
| is very firm The value of the sheep
| and the ranches, themselves, has doub-
led in the last year, as a result of the
wool tariff, until the plants and live
| stock is worth possibly two thirds of
the figures in 1892: The sheep men con-
| -fdently expect that the prices which
obtained in 1892 will again prevail, and
that within a year from this date. Mr..
Nelson accompanied Capt. Couch as
far as Chicago last night.
The jobbing interests in the group
were we'll represented by Mr.. Twohy,
yuh frn t,;vN
through the West. Looking first at
Capt. Couch and then taking a sly
glance at Mr. Nelson, he remarked
that inasmuch as the mining and
sheep growing interests, both of them
big factors in the prosperity of the
Northwestern country, were thriving go
well, 1t was only natural that the job
bers were already noting the increase
in their orders and improvement in
their business generally. Mr.. Twohy
has large acquaintance between here
and the Pacific slope, and after a tour
of the territory he finds that his travel
ing representatives can fill their order
hooks when they start out next.
The cattle men, he says were jubi-
liant with the good prices they got for
their stock, while the expectations of
nc st of the mining composed were
more than realized.
The big corporations In the West
were 1Or the most part running full
time and with all hands employed, and
locking to a good year. One mining
man told him his profits for the year
amounted to 100000, and Mr.. Twohy
thought this ought to be good enough.
The Twohys manage an immense
wholesale house at West Superior, as
we'll as others at other places. He
went home yesterday.
J. w. Losey and George Bradish,
the former being the local legal repre-
sentative Of the Milwaukee road at La
Crosse, came up to st. Paul yesterday
and registered at the Ryan These gen.
tlemen will confer today with the ST.
Paul representatives of the company,
regarding matters in which the terri
tory of which La Crosse is the division
headquarters is concerned.
W. T. Summers, of the Windsor,
about whose inventive genius his ST.
Paul friends have heard something al
ready through his patent bicycle hold
er, has again hit upon something which
he believes will bring him handsome
returns, owing to the fact that it is a
| device which is as useful as it is mex
| pensfve.
It consists simply of a thick leather
heel tap, through which are pushed
from the top side a number of round
rubber points.
These taps are secured to the shoe
heel, and are said to be more effective
in preventing slipping than any before