Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1903-11-21
Mistakes Capitalists Often Make.


1t isa common thing for a capitalist
who comes into mining camp to form
a false conception of things, and they ex-
pect the poor prospector to perform the
task which properly belongs and must
be assigned to the capitalist. As an il
lustration of what we mean to convey
We viii give a circumstance from our
own experience. 1t is now many years
ago in the early days of Colorado, that
in company with partner, we had dis!
covered and opened up vein of ore. 1t
was rich and gave great promise of de.
veloping into mine of great value, and
a party of capitalists came upon ground
to examine it and to purchase lift suited
them. We had sunk shaft about 80
feet deep which disclosed four foot
vein, which seemed to be regular and
permanent, and the ore would average
about $40 90 per ton gold, and was free
milling. Our price on the property was
the modest sum Of $4,000. But we had
exhausted our means and were obliged
to seek for work in the deep mines for
wages to keep the wolf from the door,
and were very anxious to make raise
by the sale of this claim. The capital
lists looked over the property, prospected
the quartz and consulted together, and
as an ultimatum this is what they said:
"This vein looks all right and pros
poets all right as far as it goes, but we
want to see more. Ifyou will sink down
another hundred feet and it looks as
good then as it does now we will pay
you 100000 for the mine." Our re-
ply was this, I'VE think we have the
making of mine here which will make
any company rich who have got the
money to buy it, develope it, put mill
on it, and work it for what is in it. But
We foresee that you gentlemen will never
own it, and when you turn your back on
1t you will have missed one Of the best
chances of your lives to make fortune"
"But why do you think that we will
never own it? they asked. We replied
simply because you require of US an i'm
possibility. We have not the means to
sink this shaft another hundred feet,
and if we did and it was as good then as
it shows now it would be worth O,OOO
and you would still expect to get it for
$l0,O0O.00."
They thought we were unreasonable
and went away, and if they ever kept
tab on that property they must have re-
gretted that they did not buy it. We
were anxious to join a placer stampede
and sold out short time afterwards for
a small sum which we soon squandered
as most all young prospectors do. But
the mine fell into good hands, and has
yielded its millions OF dollars, and was
consolidated with other claims surround.
ing, and now after 40 years it is still be.
ing worked at profit. Those capitalists
thought we were unreasonable, because
we asked them to pay $l0,0O000 for o
hole in the ground which at most had
hot cost r1s more than months work
We prospected for years in Colorado
after that, found some good mines and
sold them at fair figure and done well
but we never found another mine az
good as that.
Those capitalists did not seem to un-
derstand that such chances only come
once in life time, and that we nigh,
climb hills and dig holes in vain for
years searching for another vein like
that. The situation is just the same to-
day, and capitalists are daily coming in
to the country looking for mines, and
they want developed mines, and they
really think they are liberal when they
offer to pay good price for the work
which has been applied upon theground
They expect to buy developed mine
at the price of prospect, and they ex
pect the prospector to do what he is mol
able to do, and perform the work which
really belongs to them to do. 1t il
enough for the prospector to find a weir
which gives reasonable promise that i,
will make mine when it is developed
The prospector cannot develope mine
1t should not be expected of him. HI
can only hold it until some deserving
capitalist takes it off his hand, or else
joins with the prospector forming stocl
company and raise the money to de
velope it by the sale of stock. This is
good plan for then the burden is placed
upon many shoulders instead of one
In this way if the mine is success, thel
all get dividend, and if it is failur'
no one is badly hurt. ~.