Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-04-14
HORACE A. W. TABOR DEAD.
A VermOnter Who Became a
Millionaire Mine Owner

And One OF the Largest Holders of Rea I
Estate In the United states but who
Lost His Extraordinarily United
states Senator.
Horace A. w. Tabor, postmaster at Den
yer, Colo, and ex-United States senator,
died at Denver Monday of appendicitis,
after an illness of three days. Mr.. Tabor
was a native of Vermont, having been born
in the town of Holland, Orleans county, on
thel Canadian border. He had only the
common school advantages of a farmers
boy. lie learned the stone cutters trade
in Massachusetts, and work as a journeyman
in Portland, Maine, going from there to
Kansas, where he was farmer. He was
an active member of the Free Soil party
and was a member of the Kansas legisla-
ture which was dispersed at the point of
the bayonet by order of President Pierce
in 1856.
Trappers from the Rocky Mountain re-
gion returning had tales to tell of marvel
GUS gold discoveries along Cherry Greek in
Colorado. Impressed with the possibility
of making a fortune, Tabor invested his
meagre capital in prairie schooner, a cou-
pie of oxen and the necessaries of life and
started for Colorado reaching Denver in
the fall of 1859.
The following spring California Gulch
afterward named Leadville, came into
prominence and Tabor, with his wife, OK
en- and prairie schooner, made for the
mountains. He dug and sluiced gravel
and his wife washed the miners clothes
When the frost and snow came in the fall
of 1860 the Tabor family fortune amounted
to perhaps $4,000. Then he opened a gem
eral store that winter. The following sum
mer he resumed mining, and the succeed
ing fall showed him a profit of S15, 000
Finally Tabor went to the camp of Buck
skin Joe some distance away and establish
ed himself as postmaster and leading mer-
chant. He remained several years and
prospered, but when the discovery of the
Printer Boy mine once more attracted at
tention to California Gulch, he returned
became postmaster and store-keeper, and
remained there for nearly twenty years
What kept him comparatively poor all this
time, but which eventually made him a
millionaire, was the speculative habit of
grub-staking miners looking for luck. Year
in and year out he fed and QUILTED from
his store men who were sure they would
discover a bonanza if they only had the
means. They did their best but came back
with no dust to divide.
1t was not until 1873 that Tabor's long
continued grub-staking met with its reward
At that time there lived in the town of
Fairplay, Park county, two shoemakers,
named August Rische and George T. Hook.
Too poor to purchase an outfit they applied
to Tabor, who staked them, with the custo.
mary agreement that he was to share with
them in their discoveries should they make
any of value. The two cobblers began dig
ryipO lofa in, Anril Tbo looal;t,,
promising. They ran out of grub, but re-
ported progress, and Tabor staked them
for more. Back went the cobblers and dug
away until the first of May when, at a
depth of twenty-six feet, they struck a vein
of enormous richness The discovery was
named the Little Pittsburg, and during the
first half of July following the hole in the
ground paid at the rate of $4,000 a week.
The first wagonload of mineral taken out
Melted 5000, and within short time the
mine was producing from rs to 100 tons of
ore a week. Eventually Hook sold out his
interest to his partner for sos, 900, and lat
er on Rische disposed of his for $262, 600
The original mine and adjoining properties
in course of time were consolidated into a
company, with 500, 900, 900 capital. From
the time of discovery to April /, 1880, or
substantially two years, the production of
property amounted to $2,897, 534.01 for
receipts of ore sold, and 81 ,246, 239 81 actual
yield. Mr.. Tabor sold out his share for
81 600, 900.
In company with Marshall Field of Chi
cago, Tabor acquired other claims that
eventually yielded millions. He bought the
Matchless mine for $4,000 When this
was developed it paid him about $4,000 a
day, and for a while the returns reached
$1,000 month. This money was freely
invested in speculative enterprises of all
kinds. He put up an opera house costing
nearly half a million dollars in Leadville,
when it had no development beyond that of
prosperous mining camp. At time when
the size of Denver did not warrant it, he
built a lot of fine residences far out in the
suburbs at a cost of a million or SO, and
later erected the Tabor Grand opera house,
which cost about as much, and at the time
was rated as the finest theatre in the coun-
try. Adjoining he put up an Office building
which cost him a million and a half. Sue
cess and an abundance of money made him
careless. He took chances in about every
thing offered, investing in mines in Utah,
Arizona, New and Old Mexico, and in
property and buildings in other cities, I'M
til finally the crash came. At the time he
w dS ulNOICSu lTOIl lTSb WIIe MS prop
erty, as scheduled in court, was So, 200, 900.
In January, 1897, the last piece of his
property was sold under the hammer to
satisfy mortgage. He then hired $12 a
month tenement in Denver for his family,
shouldered pick and went off prospecting
for another fortune with a brave heart.
He went to Boulder county, where he
opened a mine which promised well, but
had no funds to work it. Then Millionaire
Stratton loaned him SIS, 900 without secur-
ity of any kind. The money was deposited
in bank and checked out only for mining
purposes Tabor earned his food as before.
In January, 1898, he was appointed post
master of Denver by President Mckinley.
During his career he had been mayor of
Leadville, lieutenant governor and for
about month was a United States sena-
tor, completing the unexpired term of
Henry M. Teller, when he was appointed
secretary of the interior in the cabinet of
President Arthur.
Mr.. Tabor was at one time rated as the
largest land owner in the world. He had
175, 900 acres of so-called copper lands in
Texas and 1000, 900 acres of grazing lands,
l.