The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-01-18

ened to the values for $3.50 And when
she learned what she had missed she was
almost crazy from disappointment. She
had sold for SO ptifully little And
when another Spectator came along,
fevered and anxious, she sold to him for
$1,000! Womanlike, she wanted TO get
what she deemed her due-and then en-
sued complications when two rival COM
panes essayed to take the ground
g g @
In the immediate outskirts of Beau
mont there were numerous poor people,
living almost from hand to mouth; own
ing, indeed. little patches of their own,
but deeming them of no value, and earn
ing their living by digging and laboring
for others, either in town or elsewhere.
One of these, a negro, sold his patch for
S,700. He could neither read nor write
and could not believe the tremendous
fact OF his riches till the cash was ac-
tually in his hands. DaZed, ne wan
dered back and forth waving his money
in the faces of people who were them
selves too excited to notice him. GLORY,
Glory!" That was all he could say. The
blind wonder of it all was too great for
understanding.
Then there was a little Italian colony
of four or five families, whose members
all sold early and at what were low prices
compared with what most land owners
got, but which were dreams of riches to
them. And in that colony ,Lere was
feasting and rejoicing. The names of all
the saints in the Italian calendar were
devoutIy iterated over and over again.
The colony rioted in blues and reds and
greens as to raiment. and two of the men.
Pedro and SantuZZi, FASTENED back to
Italy to spread the good news of the
unspeakabe wealth of Texas, where land
that had cost but a few dollars could he
sold for as much as $500. And those re
naming hoe the fields patiently, with one
eye on the ground and the other on
Spindle Top, hoping for another windfali
= I.,,, I,
little tract-wondering somewhat at the
lOwness of price because of not under
standing how busters" have pricked
bubbles Whereabouts.
One man, named Campbell, owned a
large farm on which he found it difficult
to pay hundreds and fifties and TWEEN
ties, came to a five. He stared at it for
a moment impatiently, then pulled it
from the roll and tossed it on the side
walk What are you doing here?' he
cried.
A bookkeeper. living in Chicago. was
one of the fortunate holders of land. lie
bought a few acres adjoining the farm
of a cousin on that cousins representa-
ton that Beaumont was sure to grow
and make suburban property valuable.
The oil excitement came and the book
keeper with Chicago enterprise. sold for
$S00o.. The cousin hesitated and consid-
ered-the busters came-and he holds
his land.
A railroad master mechanic who had
his home in Beaumont, but who had been
shifted by the railroad to another sta
ton. had been buying property upon
which he could end his years in a rice
farm life. He was tired of being ordered
away from his home to one place or an
other. The oil came. and he was offered
100000 for his holdings. He refused 1t,
however and instead formed stock COM
pany.
A man oddly fortunate on a large scale
is real estate dealer who in the course
of his business had acquired title to a
number of parcels of land, all highly
mortgaged. and therefore of no real value
When the first gusher was struck he was
in the north and received urgent tele-
grams in regard to selling his holdings.
He did not reply but quietly hurried
back to Beaumont-only to find that sew
eral of the parcels were close to Spindle
Top. He is now a millionaire.
9 o. g,
Song is always an indication and evil
dence of great civic excitement, and a
sort of rhythmic monotone is chanted
very slowly by those whose feelings call
for vocal expression: