The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-08-01
fpE TIE l>rEti.i.rSNrn
COLORADO.
Tie Switzerland Of hlicritaI lis iloun
iains and lis Mines.
prEnLo, CoI., July -, 1900.

feet lies the most fertile plains and
valleys, it has ever commended itself
to the sturdy laborer, the cautious
capitalist, the energetic agriculturist
who, pausing in their westward ven
turc, have not failed to profit them
selves by it's mineral, agricultural and
manufacturing resources, and who
have builded by their industrya social
and political fabric which sustain in
its pose one Of the brightest stars on
the banner Of observation-disclosures.
Senator Teller, the Republican cx-
poncnt Of Organism, recently remark
ing on the undcvclopcd mining re-
sources here, said that a number of
young men make thousands of dollars
yearly by locating claims and selling
them to capitalists. They do. But
while their system of locating and
selling is regarded by miners in gene
raj as being the moro profitable, on
account Of the usual lack of funds to
develop, and the numerous instances
in which promising claim turned out
to be worthless, many, however, hav-
ing located claim stay by it, some
times to bitter end, yet often to reap
rich reward.
Cripple Creek, which is the heart Of
the mining region, was few years ago
unknown, except to few cowboys
and some pcrcgrinating apostles Of the
pick and spade. A cowboy, chasing
along Poverty Gulch," rode his
bronco into small creek, breaking
neck for the beast on big log and
leg for himself, hence Cripple Creek. F"
"Povcrty Gulcb,' now the centre of
the city, engaged the attention Of
these miners, but they were regarded
as lunatics for prospecting where all
their predecessors had failed. Though
it looked all right, no gold had ever
been discovered. Twas at this time
chat "Old Man Stratton' came over the
horizon from somcwhcrc.Nor STRAIT
ton was carpenter by trade and
vc v old man yet, with all his years,
he determined to dispatch the dragon
.hs. guarded The golden fleece. Week
after week he dug necessarily, assisted
by the decrepit old lady, his wife but,
dig as he may, he still failed to "dig
up" for his "grub stake" and the
people at home had ceased to send him
money to squandcr in his crazy schem..
Relatives had cndcavored to dissuadc
him, but the old gentleman had the
bit in his teeth, he refused to "jump"
his claim, but swore he would perish
by it. After sinking his shaft over a
hundred feet one fourth of July he
struck richly-paying gold quartz,
and in few weeks time had extract
ed several thousands. In honor Of
Aha: day he called his uino the "En-
dependence" now the richest in Grip
pie Greek, district that turned out
twenty-five million irgold last year.
This isn't all of the gentleman
now known as Mr.. Stratton. After
forcing old earth to disgorge somo
thousands, he shut off work, and sit.
ting down commenced to coquette with
capitalists. People told him to dig
his gold, but he took no chances. He
said it was safer in the earth than it
would be in bank i; so he went to
London to negotiate, and after pocket
ing cool ten million from its sale,
turned the "Independencc" over to an
English syndicate.
1t was some time after this that
MIR. Stratton went to Denver and reg
istcred at the Frown Palace finest
hotel there. Whether his appearance
betrayed the poverty Of his earlier
days, or indicated rawness Of present
ones, or whether he merely neglected
tc tip the waiter has not been definite
ly stated; at any rate the hospitalitics
OF the house did not seem to him to
be forthcoming in manner compati-
bic with Mr.. Stratton's dignity, or
rather with his dollars. So he goes
to the lessor of the hotel, whose at
torney picks a flaw in the lease that
had been made to Mr.. Stratton's 8 host,
all of which eliminated in the pur-
chase Of the Palace for several hun
drcd thousand dollars by the Cripple
Greek crusus, who proceeded to run
it in a manner corresponding to his
aesthetic taste.
Wages in this country are regulated
by the Western Federation Of Labor
in which the mining unions predomi-
nate. Experienced miners are paid
five dollars per day; "muckers," or
those unskilled in mining, and are