St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-11-01
WON BY A WOMAN'S TIP.
How 4 Noted Millionaire Made Hi.
First Great Profit in q Stock
Deal.

A gambler of the name of Baldwin
went west with his wife in the early
sixties, but fortune did not favor him,
and when he died his widow had moth
ing but a few diamonds, the relics OF
happier days, and her skill as an eN-
pert seamstress, relates a writer IN
the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The needle, however, gave her some
thing of a livelihood until at a FORTH
nate moment she met Mrs. John w.
Mackay, then at Virginia City, and
was engaged by her, living with the
Mackays during the time when the
famous Comstock lode was still a mys-
terry. The members Of the "Big Four"
used to meet in Mackay's cabin and talk
over prospects in open session quite
regardless Of the presence of their
wives. Mrs. Baldwin, however, had
learned from her husband the signif-
n of the technical mining and
stock terms, and the big strike was not
many hours old before she understood
it, for she could follow intelligently
the miners discussion of their pros.
poets.
This information she intended to
make use of, for she still had her dia.
monds, so going to San Francisco she
looked up a broker, and quite by &C.
cident happened upon James R. Keene,
then a Californian.
"Mr. Keene," she said, II want to
put an important affair into your
hands. I am a poor oma and a
widow, but my husband once had
money and from him I learned some
thing of the stock market. I have
saved some diamonds he gave me. They
are all l have and I want you to take
them, realize on them and invest it all
in Comstock."
"Why Comstock?" asked Keene, sur
prised at the unhesitating manner she
staked all in what seemed to him a
doubtful proposition. She explained,
and the shrewd fnancier listened with
a glistening eye.
"Now, Mrs. Baldwin" he said, "1Il
tell you what We'll do. You keep your
diamonds. Get a value on them and
I'll invest that amount for you and
protect it in case of fluctuations. You
watch the reports and when you see
fit let me know and I'll close it out.
You must take every cent, for your
tip is worth more than your diamonds
or any commission I would charge"
Mrs. Baldwin watched the market as
she continued her dressmaking,
dreaming of a competency that would
enable her to return to her old home
and live in comfort. Comstock rose and
rose. In fact, it became the wonder
of the day, and when Mrs. Baldwin fig
ured that she had from $10,0 900 to $15,-
600 waiting her command, fearful it
would fall, she hurried to Keene to
close out.
James R. greeted her warmly, told
his bookkeeper to cast up the account
and make out the check. Now that
the deal was over Mrs, Baldwin be-
came nervous, and as Keene turned
from her to sign the valued document
her Impotence got the best of her.
elbow much is it, Mr.. Keene?" she
asked.
With ~good-natured carelessness the
fnancier replied: "Six hundred and
forty thousand" Then he turned to
hand her the check, but Mrs. Baldwin
had to be lifted from the floor and
restored to consciousness before she
could take it.
Keene, however, received his own
winnings with less nervousness. and
his subsequent career shows that he
knew how to double on them.