The Washington bee., 1899-05-06
Some Instance; Where EnOr-
nous Wealth Was Dis
covered by Pure Luck,
THE RICH IILDEN MINE
Was Found Bv 4 California Sheriff
While in Pursuit. of Two
MurGererS.

ity of Discoyerers.
The stories that gold miners tel
when they are in tie mood are as thrill
ling aS a romance. Superstition enters
largely into majority of the stories
one hears about campfire. but they
are generally founded on facts. how
ever wonderful they may seem. The
pure luck that attends the finding of
enormous wealth is an eXhauStleSs
subject for discussion.
The rich Tildeu mine in Alpine
county. Cal, WAS found in a curious
way. Sheriff James W. Carter anC
two men had gone over the mountains
after two men who had murdered 3
sheep herder. The region is rs lonely
AS any among the SierraS. The time
was March, 1877. The Sheriff and his
companions We're in the saddle fOuI
days, and when they were well uL
among the mountains the trail of the
fugitive murderers became obliterated.
They got out of their saddles and made
themselves as comfortable for the
night as possible in their blankets on
the ground. The next morning the
trio set about to tiGd some tracks that
trail The Sheriff and his companions
went about searchi"g for hours almost
on their hands anI knees. While thus
engaged Sheriff Carter picked up
among the manzaniia chaparral piece
of live rock. Having been a miner he
put the chunk into his pocket, just as
he had done before times without
number. The search for the trail of
the murdererS WAS finally abandoned
and the Sheriff and his assistants
went home
A day or two later Sheriff Carter
came across the bit of live rock he had
found up among the mountains. He
got out magnifying glass and was
astOniShed to see traces of gold
everywhere in il. He started up the
mountains Immediately. and, employ
ing an experienced prospectOr, search
that lasted three months was begun for
the ledge from which the float rock
had been detached. 1t happened that
the very day that the Sheriff and his
companions set out to follow the fugi-
tive murdererS was the one ON which
the Electoral Commission in Washing
ton decided the Presidential contest
against Samuel j. Tilden-NIarch >.
1877. Sheriff Carter was an ardent
Democrat and he ramed his mine the
Tilden. 1t was a good gold producer
for dozen years, but the Sheriff never
prOfited much by the tens of thousands
of dollars it yielded. He was harasScd
by lawsuits and in one year he spent
$2J.0OO in law
The Corona gro;:p of gold mines ON
th., Df
Ariz.. was accide.. ally discovered by
an emigrant going in Il prarie schooner
with his family {. Los Angeles from
Texas. These are among the best Of
so called desert ;, mes in the United
States. G.. ID. Lane the millionaire gold
miner of San Francisco. who gave
$4,000 to- the Bry:... campaign fund in
1896. OWNS twO-th .rdS of the Corona
mines and gets monthly revenue of
$4,000 or 5000 from them. The
Texan, who was nz med George Harris,
camped one night IN the fall of 1850
on the west bar of the Colorado
River. before sta. ting TO cross the
sandy waste knOun as the Colorado
desert. He built 2 fire. and while his
wife busted herSel. with the meal he
lay on the ground GEAR the wagon and
idly looked ut the queer pinkiSh rock
formation close beSi Idle him. He thought
the rock had trace of gOlu. but was
not sure enough Of il to give the matter
much study. However. he whackpd
off a few pieces of rock and threw
them into the wagon. n friend who had
been i'm gold camps for years was call
ing at HarriS'S hOiAe i'm Los Angeles a
few weeks later. The conversation
turned TO gold ana silver mining. and
some one happeErd to- speak of the
curious rock on the Colorado River.
The specimens wete hunted up i'm the
back yard and shown the caller.
These are grea: specimens Of low
grade ore" said the caller.
The specimens were assaypd as re-
fractory ore that r. frOw $50 to $50 a
ton. George Harris had little faith
that the mines w0.ild be worth devpl-
opmeRt. and he Siadly and quickly
sold what title he had in them for a
few hundred dni RS. The property
was bought in IS ; for $4,000 and a
small fortune was spent in the devel-
opment of the refractory ledge until
it began to pay its way. When il did
the returns from the Smelters ran up
into thousands of dollars
A common topic in groups Of gold
miners is the fatality that seems to at
tach to successful! gold miners. The
more successful tie miner the more
closely does a grio. fate seem to stalk
behind him. So many cases Of violent
death among rich 5old miners may be
cited, that the sU9erstition seems to-
have more of a b9ris of fact behind id
than is common with such notions. A
volume dealing with superstitious fan
cies about death gives a long list OF
miners whose lucky discoveries were
soon followed by disaster. "Old Vir-
ginny," the original finder Of the Vir-
ginia mine Of the Comstocsx lode. was
killed by bucking mule Brodie. the
finder of the Standard mine in Cali
fornia. died in a snowstorm Story. a
celebrated California discoverer. was
killed by the Indians. Comstock. after
letting incalculable wealth slip cut Of
his hands. became almost a pauper
and shot himself while on a search af
ter the Lost Cabin in the Big Horn
range. Fairweather. the discoVerer of
Adler Gulch died Of exposure and dis
ration near the famous mines he was
~" first to ind. and Farrell, who was