The Elk Mountain pilot., 1899-04-04

were engaged at this point, among
them We're Phineas Hopkins and Jo-
seph PodieuX. An immense rock
weighing Il ton crushed Hopkins
against the side of the drift. He was
instantly killed The rock struck Po-
, dieuX, breaking his ankle and injuring
him internally.
The preliminary report of the in
surance commissioner of Colorado for
the past year has been issued. 1t
shows that the fire insurance com
panies cleaned up more than 100000
during the year. The risks written
amounted to $1O1. $40. .S66S7. the pre-
miums amounting to 81, ,334, 136.04. The
losses paid amounted to S551, ,96264,
though the damage incurred was S642,-
S9S.2T. The expenses amounted to
1890, 495.04 and the state tax to $751;
0S4.4S. This left about $3.50, ,593.SS for
the companies to place to the profit
column. The life insurance companies
had in force December 81. 1897, $50.
150,50S.75 on 23, 764 lives; 9,103 policieD
being written during the year for $11,-
sol, ,025.13 of insurance.
The land department of the Union
Pacific road has just completed one of
| the largest deals of recent years, by
| which it sells 2S,O0O acres of land east
| of Fort Steele, Wyoming, to Cosgrove
Brothers, sheepmen. The purchasers
of this land also leased from the rail-
road company 1850 acres of land in
the same vicinity. Il. C. Miller, also
n sheep man, has purchased 5000
acres north of Fort Steele and leased
10000 acres in the same vicinity. Ne
| gotiationS are also pending with n
number of other large sheep raisers
| for the sale of other large tracts in
this part of Wyoming. If the sales
are completed 1t will result in practic-
ally turning this section of the state
over to the sheep men.
| Thomas II. McSweeney, section fore
man on the Santa Fe Pacific, died at
the railway hospital at Albuquerque
as the result of three bullet wounds
received at Winslow during an alter
cation with discharged employe. His
| slayer is in custody and well guarded,
as there was some talk of n lynching.
| Trouble Is in prospect over the di-
vision of the range in the Platte valley
| between sheep owners and cattlemen.
\ special meeting of the Wool Grow
| ers' Association was held recently to
take action in reference TO the declared
| intention of the cattlemen to extend
| the area of the cattle range beyond
the limits established by n former
agreement. The result of the meeting
has been kept secret.
Governor Thomas has announced his
| appointments for Teller county. Sher-
| iff-Town Marshall Stewart, Victor
| Democrat; clerk and recorder-James
| w. Gaughan, Altman. Populist county
| judge-W. L. Seeds, Cripple Creek,
Democrat; treasurer-Frank Creamer,
Cripple Creek, Populist; assessor-Ed-
ward Bell, Cripple Creek Democrat;
| superintendent of schools-Mrs. NJ. j.
Hangs. Cripple Creek, Democrat; cor
oner-P. +. Dunn, Victor. Democrat;
county commissioners. W. Pfeiffer,
Altman. Democrat: C. l.. Harrington,
| Woodland Park, Democrat: A. Il. Bur
| ton, Cripple Creek, Silver Republican.
The Governor appointed the county
commissioners first and allowed the
| three members to name the other otfi-
| cials, at the same time that he an
nounced their appointment himself.
| This was done that there might be no
mistake as to the legality of the ap-
| pointments. The new officers will take
office Immediately. and the machinery
of the new county viii be set in mo
| ton.
The Union Pacific railroad has in
| preparation n circular letter of invita-
| ton which is unique in the history of
railroading. Its purpose is to promote
crease the interest of students of geol-
ogy. paleontology and mineralogy in
| Wyoming and her extraordinary fields
of gigantic fossil remains. The com
pany will extend to upwards of 300
colleges and universities of the United
| States invitations to send an expert
geologist or paleontOlogist, with a
| corps of assistants, to Wyoming this
| summer. The invitations will offer in
the interest of science free transporta-
| tion from Chicago on the east and San
| Francisco on the west to Laramie,
! Wyoming, and return for all members
| of such parties. the transportation be-
ing good during the summer months.
| There is no doubt whatever that the
| invitation will be largely accepted and
| that more extended knowledge of the
wonderful fossil beds of this state will
be the result. and that many museums
| will be greatly enriched by the cOllec
| tions made. Botanists, entomologists
and ornithologists will find in the high
plateaus and semi-arid plains regions
of this state an exceedingly rich field
| for work.
Two thousand acres or school land,
lying in the valley of Bear river at
| Maybel, were sold the other day by
| Register Chipley of the Colorado State
Land Board. The price is $3.50 per
acre, payable 10 per cent. down and bal
| ance in eighteen annual installments
with interest at 6 per cent. The pur-
chasers of the land have formed n
colony. Mr.. Humphrey Jones of Craig
is at the head of the organization. The
individual holdings vary from 16 to 40
acres to each family, and there are
thirty families. They come from Den
yer, Chaffee county, Greeley and other
parts of Colorado, and a few from
Kansas About twenty families are al
ready located at MayDeil making about
fifty households in the community to
Tho IlnNnnnnt is Of tho