Evening star., 1901-02-23
HE STRUCK Ut RICH
How Senator Kearns Laid the Foun-
dation Of His Fortune.
CONVICTION REWARDED HANDSOMELY
Found the MayfIower and Then
Secured the Silver King.
ST RIKING PERSONALITY

On Easter morning, in the year 1880,
Thomas kearns, miner, now United States
senator from Utah, made his strike and iald
the foundation for his fortune.
For years he had had the miners fever.
With run of bad luck that would have dis
heartened most men, and lasting seven
years, he kept steadily at 1t, believing that
in time he would make his strike. And he
did. The story Of his trials and tribulations
reads more like romance; but then 1t has
often been said that truth is stranger than
fiction, and his case at least furnishes one
Of the strongest proofs.
Born In Woodstock, Ontario, Of Irish
parentage, young kearns removed to this
country with his family when ten years Of
age. His father was a farmer Of moderate
circumstances, and he received his first
wages as farm hand. A few years later,
when gold was discovered In the Black
Hills young kearns moved with the flood
of prospectors westward. For several years
he engaged In the business of freighting,
and with his desert ship hauled provisions
ana miners tools into that wild region,
Wnlch was sWarming at the time with red
SKINS. IL was no easy undertaking. fraught
with lnnumerable dangers and requiring the
hardest kind of work. But this association
WIN miners proved to be the best sort of
schoollng for the man who few years later
was to startle the mining world with one of
tne biggest discoveries on record. His hon
eSty ana frankneSS won the admiration Of
all Whom he encountered, with the result
tnat young kearns was much sought for
"hen any freighting was to be done.
Gradually the great railroads of the coun-
try threw out their arms, and in few
years the ships of the desert gave way to
lhe pulflng steam engine. His occupation
gone, young kearns followed a group Of
o,,1
camp Of the Ontario mine. which is still
one or the best-paying mines in the west
endowed with the happy disposition Of
Erin sons, ne cheerfully took up the work
OF MINER and with pick and shovel engaged
with the Ontario SHIFT
stories of great wealth in mines found an
eager listener in young kearns. who had al
ready made his plans for becoming a mine
owner himself. But this was what every
miner planned, and, like the others, he
dreamed of lucky find and great wealth.
A Fever Nnught Can Check.
Ihey say the prospectors' fever is a dan
gerous malady. There is no medicine that
can cure it, and the germ has never been
discovered. To use medical term, the
prodromal symptoms. which mean those
that come first, are restiessness and de-
sire to find mine. The prognoss, or the
outcome of the fever, is as vague all
though In majority Of cases 1t ends in
Now and then the fever takes another turn
and leads on to fortune and fame This
was the ending of Thomas kearns' fever
although 1t was many, many months before
there were any favorable symptoms
Day after day he worked In the Ontario
mine, curtailing his expenses and saving
every penny possible until acquiring stake
he would quit the camp and go prospecting.
AZ night, with his miners candle he read
everything he could lay hands on reIat-
ing to geology. The stories of privation he
tells are almost incredible. Oftentimes for
days, when out in the mountains he would
be without food until hunger drove him
back to the mines, where he took up his
shovel with renewed determination that the
next time he would make his find.
Disappointment after disappointment fol-
lowed in quick succession. They did not
dampen his ardor but only stimulated his
ambition. OF course every miner has a
partner. They were one of the necessities
of that crude civilization of the west in
the early days, when man felt safer with
a "pard," who would fight with him. starve
with him, and, if needs be, die for him
Tom Kearns had one, and he picked a
man who was everything a partner should
be. 1t was an honest Scotchman by the
name of Keith and the two roughed it to-
gether for seven years, with never a cross
word, never a disagreement; living like |
brothers and sharing their last crust. To-
day both are multi-millionaires, and yet the |
old feeling of brotherly affection has never |
for a moment been lost, and It is Dave
and Tom today, as 1t was seven years |
ago. Keith is getting along in years and |
taking life easy, while Tom is not yet forty |
and a member of the United States Senate. |
He furnishes one of the best illustrations to |
the youth of this country of what pluck |
and integrity can do.
The Strike That Meant Riches.
Interesting though the life of Senator |
Kearns may be, the reading public is more |
with the actual story of his |
strike than anything else.
1t was the Mayfower that brought over |
the pilgrims and showed them a new and
beautiful country. 1t was the Mayflower
mine that opened up new life for Senator
kearns and brought him wealth.
While he was working in the Ontario
mine he prospected one day in the vicinity
Of the MayfloWer, as yet an undeveloped |
claimed by a man who had found
on the surface few pieces Of galena |
1re. Day after day young kearns pros
oected the property and after a while be-
came convinced he had found a mine that |
It would pay to develop.
He told his story to his partner. and
then the two set about to acquire the
property. First of all it was necessary to
bond it; that is, to give sufficient bond
and proceed with the development of the
the idea being to finally purchase
It. A shaft was sunk, and there is no bet
ter illustration of the character of the man
than this: He worked sixteen hours day
during the next year. Eight of these hours
he devoted to the Ontario mine for wages;
the other eight he spent In the Mayflower
for himself Deeper and deeper
went the great shaft until eighteen men
were necessary to carry on the work.
Just at this time the property got into
itigat ton, and man of less determination
would have thrown up the whole matter
AS yet however, no ore in
quantities had been found to
the belief that the mine was rich
one.
On Easter Sunday morning, after the |
drills had been at work for hours, Kearns
stopped the men and directed that the mine
De ''shot" This means that the holes drilled
were to be filled with giant powder and
touched Off There had been many such op-
erations before but they had not material
zed ore in any quantity. 1t was always
with Kearns, "Well, the next one will bring
he ore" And he was right in this instance,
for after the blast had gone off, an i'm
mense piece of lead ore weighing in the
of 200 pounds and as large as
4 mans body was found lying near the
scene Of the explosion. At last his financial
light had shone and he fervently thanked
God for his good fortune. But was it TO be
good fortune? The mine was still in liti-
,ation, and IL 1t had ever become known that
such a large body of ore had been found
he fight against him would have been
Waged with greater energy. AS 1t was he