Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-31

&N1AM - @NE A111AN " AN aAAAAN
pocketbook that after his death his heirs
did little for a year save redeem such as
were presented.
The wildness Of the father. II late in de-
veloping, spread to the sons. One Of them,
the eldest, James, died a drunkard ten
years ago and the other, Charles. whose
tragic end a few days back has raised
again the disposition Of his fathers mil
lions, was also addicted to drink. Twice
he took the gold cure and twice he suffered
relapse. He shared, too. the old mans
ungovernable' love for the sex. and. al
though not so free in his affections, was
none the less unable to relinQuish the idea
of winning a woman once he had made up
his mind to do so.
Tabor's Checkered Career.
Ten times a millionaire in 1890, Henry
Tabor, the carbonate king Of Colorado. was
reduced to beggary six years later, and was
but few removes from poverty at the time
Of his death In Denver In 1899. Tabor was
neither a miner nor a prospectOr. When
he went to Colorado from Kansas with his
FIRST wife and little boy II was for the pur-
pose Of engaging In some small business.
He located originally in the Clear Creek
placer mines, where his grocery store VEN
ture proved a failure. Thence he travelled
across the mountains with his family and
the meager remnants of his outfit to- Cali
fornia Gulch, at a time when the latter
placer field had beeh practically denuded.
Little was left in the famous gold camp of
Orc save a few old cabins, the relics of fues
and s%luices, and old Tom Bradshaw, the
deer hunter, who made silver bullets out Of
carbonate ore for fifteen years without real
izlng that he was the original discoverer Of
| the Tr0n nina which Uaa IN add so many
millions to the wealth Of Mr.. Letter of Chi
cago. Augusta, as Mrs. Tabor was famil-
iarly known to the travellers and prospectors
Of the region, did the cooking aud all-around
work for, the little log hotel they started,
and Tabor himself, with the assistance Of
his growing son, developed a small general
trade in an adjoining cabin. Here the
Tabors remained for years, leading a sort Of
idyllic existence, growing neither richer nor
poorer and having no wish to visit the
outer world.
After the accidental discovery Of the char
acter Of the carbonate ores which were so
plentiful in the neighborhood and the thrush
Of prospectors and prospect purchasers
Tabor moved down the gulch from Orc to
what was intended to be the site Of Lead
Vile. Here he erected a store OF larger
pretensions and his business rapidly in
creased. His appointment as postmaster
also helped his mercantile enterprise.
Fortune Smiles.
Soon he began to grubstake needy pros
pectors, who with the outfits furnished by
him would go back into the hills and hunt
for precious metal, which they usually
didn't find. Ts5o-'s friends said u was
bad business and predicted his ultimate
ruin, but he kept adding to his business
and, despite the items charged to profit
and loss on account of his grubstake BUSH
ness, he prospered. 1t was generally
supposed that his aid to the prospectors
was not regarded by him as an invest
ment, but as a charity which he could
AFFORD to dispense where It was most
needed; and II is certain that he saved
many men from want and hunger h this
way. Everybody knew that these Items Of
profit and loss were all loss, and as usual
everybody knew the thing which was not.
For one day In 1878 there came to the
storekeeper an Irish prospector and a
German tailor. badly smitten with the
gold fever and without means, whom Tabor
started on their search with a good outfit.
They went up on the hill and dug until
they were exceedingly weary OF digging
and attained to no gold-only a species Of
curious looking gravel. heavy In the spade
and not pretty to look at. When they
became finally convinced that no gold was
in reach at that point they abandoned the
claim and went away, the Irishman taking
with him a bag Of the gravel, saying that
as he had dug so much Of It he would
Just md out what II was that made 1t so
eternally heavy to hoist The assayer to
whom he took II told him It was silver,
almost pure. The freshman and the Ger
axwwAwn Nha ahAnE mani haalr o. a.
claim and sold out for 500. 900 apiece.
This was the Little Pittsburg mine. One
third Of 1t belonged to Tabor as his stake
for the grub. He was regarded as an ire
sponsible idiot when he refused 500, 900
for his share. There was plenty Of time,
however, for those who so regarded him to
change their eminds during the days when
the claim achieved the neat little output
Of IS 5000 a day. Tabor finally sold his
part for a million and said that as he'd
done tolerably well on his profit and loss
account he'd just keep on in the mining
business for awhile.
The Downward Path.
People said this was bulIhead luck and
Tabor was q good fellow. but didn't know
enough to go in when It rained. After he
had organized a few stock companies and
come out far ahead on all OF them public
opinion had another opportunity for q
second guess.
From that time on Tabor prosperec
amazingly. lie bought claims and sold
mines until he had Amassed millions. People
called him the luckiest man In Colorado
, and as soon as he got the title his lucl
changed. Speculation and dissipation sped
. him on the downward path. The Gilman
Of the mans moral degeneracy was show
, when he deserted his wife and forced hel
10 sue for divorce. Then came his thirty.
D day term in the United States senate, {
. record. which made him the laughing stool
I OF the nation, and his marriage in Wash.
{ ington 10 wife number two. The marriag,
was made famous by Eugene Fields poem
2 Of the $4,000 night gown. which was al,
legged TO be part OF the mine kings trous.
seau. From that time he became the butt
Of the western newspaper paragraphers. I
sore trial to him.
II IL a singular and significant circum.
stance in a world where evil deeds are no
always visibly punished that the downfall
; Of Fair and Tabor began when they de
serted the wives who had been true help
meets In the days OF their adVersity.