Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-02


Two pro~pectors had three claims in a
new Camp in British Columbia but they
had no; the $50 to pay for having them
recorded. They told their story to Col.
Topping. author of The Yellowstone
Park" and the colonel advanced the neces-
sary amount. In time the prospectors re-
turned 81 of he loan and gave the colonel
one of the claims for the balance. but more
for his kindness to them. for they reckoned
ii bully good prospect. Because they con-
sidered it the best claim in the camp they
called it lie Roi. Subsequently the colonel
sold this KING that had cost him $50
for $4,000
The new owners of lie Roi stocked the
claim and for the following two or three
years when a man owed a debt that he was
unwilling to pay he paid it in lie Ro stock.
If he felt like backing a doubtful horse
he put up a handful of mining stock to
punish the winner There is in the history
of this interesting mine story of a man
swapping lot of LIE Roi stock for a burro-
The former owner of the donkey took the
stock and the man it came from into court,
declaring that the paper was worthless and
that he had been buncoed- As late as 1894
Il man who ran restaurant offered 10000
shares of lie Roi stock for four barrels of
Canadian whisky. but the whisky man
would nos trade that way.
In the meantime, however, men were
working in the mine and now they began
to ship ore. It was worth ST a ton and the
stock became valuable. Scattered over the
northwest were JgltED shares that were
worth Saoo.H~. Nearly all the men who
had put money into the enterprise were
Yankees mining men from Spokane, just
over the border. These men began now 20
pick up the stray shares that could be
found. and in little while eiSht-tenths of
the shares were held by men living south
of the line. AT Northport, in Washington,
they built one Of The finest smelters in the
mort hwest. hauled their ore over there and
sme'ted ii. The ore was rich in gold ana
copper They put in .att-hOrSe-poWer
hosting engine and Il t;'-lril air compress
or. the largest in Canada. taking all the
money for these improvements out OF the
mine The thing success. and news
Of it ran down to Chicago. y party Of men
with money started for the new gold fields.
but as they were buying tickets three men
rushed in and took tickets for Seattle.
These were mining men. and those who had
bought only to British Columbia cashed in.
asked for transportation To the coast and
followed the crowd to the Klondike.
In that way lie Roi for the moment was
forgotten
The lieutenant governor of the northwest
territories. who had been a journalist and
had a nose for ne VS.. heard of the
camp. All the while men We're rushing to
the Klondikc. for it Is the nature of man
secure under his vine.
The governor visited the new camp. A
man named Ross Thompson had Staked
out town ut the foot of lie Roi dump and
called it RoSSland. The governor put men
To work. quietly. in the mine and then went
back TO his plank palace at Regina capital
OF the northwest territories-to a capital
that looked for the world like a Kansas
frontier town that had just ceased to be
the county seat. Here for months he wait
ed, watching the imperial Limited cross
the prairie. receiving delegations of half
breeds and occasional report from one
Of the common miners In lie Roi, If a CAPT
talist came seeking a soft place to invest
the governor pointed to the weSt-bound
limited and whispered in the strangers
ear. To all letters of inquiry coming from
ottawa or England letters from men who
wanted 10 be told where 10 dig for gold
he answered. ''klundike."
BY and by the governor went to Ross
land again The mine. Of which he owned
not Il single share Of stock. still pro-
ducing. when he left Rossland he knew
all about thu lower workings, the value
and extent Of the ore body
by this time nearly all the lie Roi shares
We're held by Spokane people. The gov
"ruor. having arranged with wealthy
English syndicate. was in position to buy
the mine, but the owners did not seem
anxious tn sell. Eventually. however. when
h. was able to offer them average rf
sI5n for shares that had cost the holders
but from IL Ia "a CeutS share. about half
81 them were Wiling 70 sell, TN. balance
We're not Now the governor cared nothing
for this balance 81 long as he could sc
cure a mai-rity-a controlling interes in
the minc-for the English would have. ii in
other way. \ few Thousand scattering
shares he had already picked up and now
from the faction who were willing TO sell,
he secured an option on 2i2.OoD shares,
which. together with the odd shares al
ready secured. would put his friends in
control Of the property.
As news Of the proposed sale got cut the
gorge that was yawning between the two
factions grew wider.
Finally, when the day arrived fcr the
transfer to be made, the faction opposed