Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1899-07-09

When asked by tax collector for an
estimate of his wealth, the old Don re-
piled: God alone can answer that
question"
Afterward, while talking with
friend upon this subject he said:
without boasting, believe myself to
be the richest man in the world, and I
think it is not difficult to demonstrate
that fact. l have made close sur
vey Of my gold mine called the Inca's
Bride, and find little more than 5000
feet of the face of the ledge in sight.
l have run shaft into the mountain
following the ledge for 1000 feet. The
ore averages about $1,000 to the foot.
Closing my eyes to the hidden bonanzas
and the increase in the thickness of
the lode, which measures ten feet all
along the line, have got no less than
| 100000 blocks of quartz worth no less
than $1,000 apiece, so you see that l
am worth about five billions and
trifie over in millions, which is invest
ed in ranches, cattle and horses" This
| is not at all the dream of a boasting
visionary, for it is a well-known fact
| that the Incas Bride is one of the
richest and most extensive gold-bearing
| lodes in Mexico, and it is highly prob
able that the shrewd old financier is
correct in the conclusion that he has
reached as to the wealth Of the won
derful mine.
He says that if he lives to complete all
| of his plans and succeeds in transferring
the bulk of his property across the Rio
| Grande he will add at least 81, 900, 0000 900 to
| the wealth of Texas.
| He does not know his exact age but he
| remembers that his parents were Germans
| and that he was left an Orphan about the
| time that Iturb;de assembled the throne
| Of Mexico. He was old enough to carry
musket at that time, though he does not
! think he was more than Is years old. He
| does not look to be very old man, but he
is positive that he has lived more than
ninety years. He loved war, and he never
missed an opportunity during his long ca
reer to get into the thick of every revolu-
! ton that swept over the country. He had
grown somewhat tired of the ceaseless tur-
MOL about the time the French Invaded
| the country, and, being a large land and
mine owner, he began to feel the necessity
| of a strong government. This feeling led
| him to support Macmillan, and he fought
! for the unfortunate Emperor until he got
| trapped in the trenches of Queretaro.
| During the existence of the empire Don
| Juan gained a victory over a detachment
of the enemy at Sabinas, and for his con-
| spicuous gallantry in this action Maximil-
| ian created him Duke of Sabinas. He
| laughingly says that he did not play the
! duke long and that he was glad that his
| friends soon forgot that he ever owned
| the title. He had been commissioned
| general by a dozen different governments
! in Mexico, and row is gladly willing to
| forget all these marks of distinction to
States. Fortunately he had quarreled
with Santa Ana about the time that the
| old tyrant invaded Texas, and he headed
| a movement on the Rio Grande to oppose
| the ambitious schemes of the old Butcher
of the Alamo which assisted materially
| the Texans. He was elected a Senator
while Santa Ana was prisoner in Texas,
and he favored deposing Santa Ana and
granting independence to Texas. He has
hunted up his record in this matter, hoping
that II will at least be something that his
descendants viii be proud of when they
grow up in Texas.