The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-05-27
MINI OF UNTOLD YAIUE
SENATOR CLARK,S PROPERTY IN
ARIZONA MOST VALUABLE
IN THE WORLD
AN INCOME OF 100000
What the Man who Thinks He
Should Own the Property
Has to Say Regard
ing 1t.

: An income of $12 100000 a year, which
is the interest on $2e0, co.., 900 at 6 per cent,
is brought to Senator w A Clarke, Of
Montana, by the United Verde mine the
richest i'll the world. 1t was sold to
Senator Clarke by two women for a
price that was insignificant compared
With its present value.
Near the mine is a little town called
Jerome. 1t is the only remaining indica-
ton that the great mine once belonged
TO the Jerome family. L. r. Jerome, a
poor man, would have owned the mine
but for the astuteness of Senator Clark,
writes the Prescott (Ariz.) correspondent
of the Philadelphia Times Here is what
Mr.. Jerome says about it:
My cousin William Murray, was one
of the original owners of the United
Verde mine. l would own it today but
for peculiar combination of circun-
stances.
Mr.. Murray became acquainted with
Gov. Trittle. Of Arizona, in 1879. They
purchased an interest in some mining
land near Tombstone and established
headquarters at Prescott Two ranchers
in the Verde valley picked up some cop
per float, which they gave to three pros
pectors, telling them where they had
found it. The prospectors discovered
bold cropping Of copper rock. They
staked claims and did considerable work
My cousin and Gov Trittle heard of
their operations and bought their claims
for $4,000 cash.
On the strength of the sale one of the
prospectors drank himself to DEATH
dying of delirium tremens in the Pres
colt Jail. Murray and Trittle did not
have sufficient money to develop the
property, so Murray went to New York
to raise funds to work the mine, build
roads and put up a smelter.
He first applied to my father, who an
swered that while he was a speculator
having been in Wall street more tnan
thirty years, and would gamble in
stocks, bet on horse race and even
take chance on the turn of card, he
would not take a chance on hole in
the ground. Failing to interest my
father in the project, Murray turned his
attention to my mother and my aunt
who had fortunes of their own He per-
suaded them TO invest 100000
With this money at his command
Murray returned to Prescott and the
United Verde Copper comrany was form
ed. wagon road was constructed from
Prescott to the mine a distance OF TWEEN
ty-eight miles. Wages and provisions
were much higher then than now and
by the time the road was completed AMI
tnirty-ton smelter put on the ground,
big hole had been made in the $500 000
Fortunately, very short time after
commencing operations, they uncovered
a. DEPOSIT of wonderfully rich silver ore
Just to the right of the road ard below
where the Jumbo smelter now stands.
Some of the ore was shipped to New
York city and it set people fairly wild.
A cleanup of some eighty odd
thousand dollars was made out of this
pocket and the United Verde declared
her first dividend. A little mining town
sprang into existence about half mile
down the gulch from the mine and was
named Jerome.
Things went well until Murray died.
The conduct of the mine then passed into
the nauds of Trittle, who was not a
good manager. For several years the
property did not pay and eventually the
mine was closed. In the early sos it
was offered to the Commercial Mining
company for $250,00O, but the proffer was
not accepted.
The mine had been shut down some
time when W. A. Clark, of Butte, Mont,
came to Arizona, looking for mining prop
erty, accompanied by his foreman, Mr..
Geroux. Mr.. Clark obtained lease from
Mr.. Trittle and commenced work on the
United Verde mine. Clark and GerouX
were both experienced miners. When
they began work they found they were
right on the ore chute. They covered
things over kept mum and Mr. Clark
went to New York
was in Australia at the time. Ny
mother and aunt of course, knew moth
ing about the property, only that they
had 100000 tied up in the mine. They
had begun to believe that the money was
as good as lost Mr.. Clark asked my
mother and aunt how much money they
had invested in the United Verde Copper
company, and being told he offered them
cash for their holdings They accepted
and so passed the control of the richest
mine in the world from their possession
into the possession of w. A Clark, of
Montana. making him the mining king
of the United States.
The property in the hands of Mr.. Clark