The Opelousas courier., 1898-02-19
ROMANCE OF CREEDE,
+ BURRO'S STUMBLE ON A MOUNTAIN
SIDE MADE HIM A MILLIONAIRE,

$500 yo1lttti4I Si ' .
that through the stumbling footsteps
OF 4 burro Nicholas c. Creole, who re-
Gently committed suicide, was elevated
to prosperity and notoriety. He had
never aspired to anything further than
the daily fare of a mountaineer and
prospector. He seemed to have no
ambition higher than the food
for the morrow, and lived a life that
was impenetrable to even the few in
Inmates who gained an insight into his
confidence.
His strike at the site of what was
afterwavd called the camp Of Creole
was simply a case of luck. Creede was
ont on one of his daily prospecting
tours. bike all others Of his class,
he was accompanied by a burro for
facility in carrying tools and speci-
mems. The humble ~quadrupel, whose
name is synonymous for safety aud
surefootedness in climbing a hill,
missed his footing, and in the struggle
to regain his balance dug his hoofs
deep in the hillside. The effort tore
q hole in the surface. 4 huge piece
Of rock was draggedfrom its m~oorings.
and as it received the full rays of the
sun q metallic glitter caught the eye of
Creole. 1t was silver of such rich
quality that he at NEE realized that
his fortune was assured If he traced
the lode and succeeded in making q
location. This was not difficult, ow-
ing to the fact that he was without any
rivals in that district. A little work
opened up what was decidellythe rich
est body of ore that had ever been dis
covered since the great find Of carbon
ates at Lealyitle.
Creole was born in Fort Wayne,
Ind, in 1916, and was taken to what
was then the Territory of Iowa by his
parents when but four years of age.
Hostile Indians still roamed the plains
west ofthe Mississippi, and the boy was
brought up amid surroundings which
accentuated the daring aud intrepidity
which afterward characterized his life
| as a scout and frontiersman.
In 1862 the scouts were ordered to
Dakota. This was the turning point
in Creede's life. It was while on this
expedition he first saw the Rockies.
A few years after, when Creole was
mustered out of service and had gone
home to Iowa he remembered the
mountains, and, firing Of the monoto-
nous plains Of Iowa, onc more set his
face toward the setting sun, and this
time to go further than he had yet
| gone and to realize q fortune of a
| greatness he could not then have be-
lieved had he been told.
In 1886 Creole and his partner,
George L. Smith, went to the head Of
West Willow creek and began to pros
pect. The result of their work was
the Holy Moses mine, the first in the
now famous camp. Creole found the
vein alone, his partner having gone in
another direction that day. Having
| driven q stake, Creole sat down to
| think Of q name. He never protested
to be a Bible student, but he thought
| of 'tHoly Moses" and dubbed his find
| after the man who struck terror to the
Egyptians. The story Of the rich
strike spread like wildfire, and among
| others whom it interested was d. H.
| Moffat Of Denver, who is probably the
largest owner Of mines in Colorado.
He and several other gentlemen
visited the spot, and were SO much
interested in it as to take a bond and
lease on it-that is, they would lease
the property fer q certain time and Ii
they cared to buy it at the end Of that
time would pay for it at a price stipu-
lated at the time the lease was made.
A lease was made, with the bond at
! $40, 600, aud from that day the fnan-
| ,ial troubles Of n. G. Creede were
over.
So implicit was the faith of the in
vestors in the good judgment Of Creede
that he was hired as a prospector at a
salary and with the stipulation that he
would hold one-third Of the properties
discovered by him. The first place
10 attract him was Bachelor mountain,
near the Holy Moses mine, and not
far from where the town of Creede
now is. While toiling about the
mountain his little burro stumbledand
displaced @ large piece OF rock. As
Creole turned away from it the sun
caught it full and showed its glitter
ing under surface, now turned for the
first time in ages. It was rich with
indication. and at once Creede staked
the claim, which he called the Anne
thyst. and which made not only him
but a number of others rich. The
Amethyst Mining company was formed
in 1892, and out of it Creede took over
a million dollars as his share OF the
mining operations.
Creede was never free from the at
fractions Of the fair sex. After he
made his spiIe" he was the object o
numerous onsets from the army OF ad'
y~enturesses who swarm about min
ing camps, but he was never success
fully made a victim. Part OF TINS may
be due to the fact that 'Nic' has 6
protector in the person of a woman O
whose name and a~ntecedents hardly
any one is familiar-the woman ht
married. Creole was very Ill at ont
time. and the woman nursed hln
through his illness. After the str1k'
in the Amethyst Creole went down Il
Del Norte, where the oma was a
that time living, and brought her t.
the head of the Willows, where lie In
stalled her In a house made of factor.
doors and windows and Chicago lum
Der, with a real shingle roof. A NOV
Twas made to Pueblo, and not long at
ter the move another WAS made +
Lower California, where the nee dar