The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-05-17
ALE OF IAB0R'S LIFE.
Day I.aborer Who Became Real Million
aire---He Also Sat in the u. S. Senate,
Ne,c York Sun.

what it was that made it SO eternally
heavy to hoist. The assayer to whom
he took it told him it was silver,
almost pure. The Irishman and Ger
man survived the shock, went back to
1.-The claim, and sold out for S100, 900
apiece. This was the Little Pitts
burg mine. One-third Of it belonged
to Tabor as his stake for the grub.
He was regarded as an irresponsible
Idiot when he refused s100, 900 for his
share. There was plenty Of time,
however, for those who so regarded
him to change their minds during the
days when the claim achieved the
neat little output Of $4,000 day.
Tabor finally sold his part Of it for a
million, and said that as he'd done
tolerably we'll on his profit and loss
accountshe'd just keep on in the min
ing business for while.
This was source of unsel6sh sor-
row to his friends, who knew that an
innocent sort Of a chap like Tabor
would get swindled right aud left if
he tried to increase his capital in gold
instead Of soakingit away. The first
person who thought Tabor would be
q good subject for a confidence game
was called Chicken Bill Lowell, ex-
mail; carrierfor the district. Chicken
Bill" had claim on Fryer hill not far
from the spot where the two prospec-
tors located the Little Pittsburg, and
he had worked for six weeks without
taking anything out in exchange for
! his labor except tones Of Improbable
soil. One day he helped himself to
some pay dirt from another and luck
Ter mans claim and dropped itin the
mud vein he was working. Then he
sent for Tabor, showing him the dust
and offered to sell out for $3.50. I'm
hesitatingly, the innocent Tabor paid
the price. Chicken Bill" went down
TO town and bought drinks for himself
for week. At the end Of that time
Ehe was looking for some one to blow
him of 80 carbolic acid cocktail, for
/ Tabor had dug FIVE feet deeper than he
had gone and had struck gold that had
not been transplanted. Before the
vein was worked out it brought in a
million dollars. That was the way the
.Chrysolite mine was discovered.
People said this was bullhead luck,
and Tabor was a good fellow, but
didn't know enough to go in when it
rained. After he had organized a few
stock companies and come out far
i ahead on all Of them public opinion
had another opportunity for a'second
! guess.
Among those who thought that Ia
hor was easy" where Foley and Will
gus, owners Of the Matchless claim,
which showed some color, but not
enocgh to convince them that it was
really much good. They convinced
Tabor, however, so successfully that
he gave them $4,000 for the prop
erty. It was reckoned to be worth
perhaps s25, 900, as claims were going
! then. As soon.as the sale was COM
! pleted the former owners went about
telling everybody how they had "fool-
ed good old Tabor The curious cir
cumstance Of a subsequent offer Of
s3, ,0OO,O0O to Tabor for the Matchless
saddened the remainder of their exist
ences with the knowledge that under
some circumstances honesty is the
best policy by huge percentage.
Then. there was the Maid Of Erin mine
which Tabor and a Maj. Dubois bought
for 500, ,0O0;..a dead loss, said Lead
vile. Two months later they sold out
to an English syndicate for ten times
that amount; the luckiest hit ever
made, as Leadville put it. But the
syndicate didn'tlike the looks Of the
claim after they had bought, and rails
ed such lamentations over the matter
that Tabor said he didn't want to
swindle anybody and he'd take the
mine back at the same price. There
upon Leadville, which hadn't learned
any better vet, wrung It's collective
hands and said that somebody ought
to look up nice quiet lunatic asylum
for poor Tabor, where he'd berestrain-
ed from dissipating his fortune in such
manner. A year or so later some
body tried to buy that same rejected
mine for s2,OOO,OO0 and was greeted
with cheerful laugh.
Thus far all had prospered with Ia
Dor to which he put his hand. People
called him the luckiest man in Col
orado, and as soon as he got the title