Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-08-26
FOE .'UNE IN DLSER.7
RICH FIND MADE BY A LONE
PROSPECTOR.
George Simmons Discovery Of Lc1g
Abandoned Mine Made Him the
Turquoise king'-Assassin by
Discharged Foreman.

The u0i5o hi=g is dead. A caro..=.
of tArilii& 4atenture5 and hals
breadth ca. .. lie in Nhicl- il
Sn..2 q ic.ttsl- .2.He at the most un.
expected les au5 PLACES, has beeH
ended. Ike The i.yas OF SO many Others
bearing royal Il -. By an assassin's
bullet.
George Simmons. tae turG GuGise king,
vas frequent visitor Il iJsaver dur
ing the later years o. l..s lie. Mr..
Simmons Was murdere Un October
10 at Marvel Cal, an i5o:is II mining
town near,the Nevada line. " lile get
ting into wagon tu trite nome he
was shot and instantly Killed by ". H.
Miller, a foreman whom he had dis
charged a year or so age,
The discovery OF his ni3e was an
.xa.l1rl of ! is keen scent for the
UNUSUAL Riding through the Crescent
mountains III Tie Mojaye desert one
day, he noticed at a little distance d
slight elevation or mound. which
although perhaps uL&istulbed for cen
turies, had apparently been built by
human hands. A closer examination
Of the heterogeneous materials COM
posing the mound convinced him Of its
artificial character. and as it was too
large for an ordinary grave he deter.
mined to investigate further Digging
down into the center OF the mound. he
came upon stone and later complete
sets OF the rude stone tools used In
mining by unciviliZed persons. Con-
the workings of an ancient mine and
.he deposits of turquoise which after
ward brought him wealth.
For years he kept the location Of
the mine secret. working it in des-
ultory manner The property was not
patented, and lest some wandering
prospectors should run uHon il by
accident he built stockade around it
and kept a man With q Winchester OH
guard night and DAY. People who tried
to learn the location of his mine by
following him INTO the desert f0UM6
that it was dangerous business. N
instance there W2s Jim MeClUre. enc
Simmons made in Den"er. F0E~9.
70 Simmons. MeClue@ boar :
same tram with the J#Epr ot 94.iue
and followed him to &asas aa10:.s
quick eye, however caus i glimpse
Of NcGiurg as tl4e -. : act d3N.,
from the rea4s end OF - tram at tHatr
destination, and tie Denver aan Has
promptly warned that outlet would
stop him L he atjes5ftod 10 follow
Simmons to the mine
On Simmons first wits to Denver
he used to bring With , IA a large tray
cling grip filed with splendid tur-
qnoises. The stones Were pale blue in
color, while those from ne old mines
in New Mexico We're dark blue, and
at first it was hsrd 10 dad buyers for
the product Of Simmons nine
Failing to get enough money from
the sale of the turQHaise3 to pate t
the property and devoloN It. Simmons
went to London to secure capital He
put valuation of $700 coo on his mine
and foated it on that basis.
When he returned to New York.
simmons put up at t4e Waldorf
Astoria. The collection OF turqHoses
he had with him Here the taik of the
hotel. Some one got him to show
them to a party of ladies. including the
wife of the manager. Boldt. The la
ter asked him to put price on a pr
tlculafly fine stone weislino 80 karats.
Simmons said 81 600, not for moment
expecting to make a sale but Mrs
Bolt turned to her LGsband and had
him write out a check for that
amount. One of the stones in the col
lection was the largest in the world
weighing 164 carats. An agent OF q
New York dealer followed him. ofiels
ing hiln $4,000. II was SimmGGs' az
hition 10 get a 2e0-cafae stone and he
finally succeeded. Denver Tines.