Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-08-29
EXPENSIVE w4lMs.
Some That Cost Fortunes--eits Of
Luck That Rrouaht Millions.

LUCK mat Brought Millions.
"The sultan presents his compli-
ments to the engineer In charge and
wishes him to open the bridge In
course Of erection In Constantinople
In order to let ship from the dock
yard pass through at once"
When this message was delivered
into the hands Of the contractor re-
sponsible for the construction Of the
bridge he was thunderstruck, says
London Answers. He had been
working on the bridge day and night,
and. when the orders for its opening
came from the sultan II was not
half finished.
He approached the minister of ma
rine and finance and said it was inn
possible to obey his majesty's COM
mand. as he would have to pull
everything down, and II would take
months to replace the scaffolding and
pile driving machines. ,al
ut cannot be helped" replied the
minister. IF the sultan says the
bridge must be opened IL must be
done, or We shall lose our places, II
not our heads"
So the bridge was opened. and the
ship came out Of the dockyard at
cost Of over 100000. 1t afterward
transpired that the sultan had found
his infant son crying bitterly In the
harem because he could not see the
flag hoisted on his particular ship
from the nursery windows.
To humor the child's caprice the
sultan ordered the bridge to be
opened at once and large ironclad
to be brought out Of the dockyard
bagtcheh. This no doubt pleased the
boy, but II caused enormous incon-
venience to the people Of Constanti-
nople, to say nothing of the waste
Of money which had Indirectly come
out Of their pockets.
The state of Massachusetts, lost
$3,000,000 because man living In
Boston left his window open over
night. He was silk grower, and In
the hope Of producing a new brand
Of silk he experimental with some
gypsy moths that had been sent to
him from France.
He left the moths under q glass
shade by an open window one might,
and next morning they had all dis
appeared. The shade had been over
turned and the draft blew the moths
into the street.
Eighteen months later Massachu-
setts was swarming with gypsy moths
and they ate the leaves of every
tree and bush for miles around. The
damage done in two years by the in
sect totaled $3,000.000, and the state
authorities spent another $750,000
ry'ng to exterminate the pests.
One Of the worst famines ever
known In lower Egypt was caused
by a couple Of John Bulls gunboats.
The vessels went up into the marshes
beyond Khartum. to capture slave
traders.
The slavers, who had made up
their minds not to be caught easily,
made a bold bid for freedom by cut
ting channels through the mass Of
vegetation which lined the main
stream OF the Nile.
The majority Of them escaped In
this way, but the channels they cut
In their anxiety to get away brought
ruin and famine to lower Egypt.
The current carried the masses OF
loose vegetation down the river, and
so completely blocked It that the
Nile flood failed.
Turner Of Washington. lost his for
tune and poverty stared him In the
face. Turner was lawyer, and one
day a party Of miners, we'll known
to him, who had struck lode up
in British America, near Victoria,
came into his office and asked him
to make out some papers for them.
I'VE can't pay you cash for your
services, Mr.. Turner" said one Of the
party, after their business had been
transacted, "but we will give you
some stock and call 1t square"
At first Turner refused to take the
stock, as his clients were old friends
Of his and he preferred to do the
1>.,k hAtKa
ed he took the certificates and
tucked them away in his safe.
Two years later Senator Turner was
a millionaire through these mining
shares, and the mine that brought
him the money and made the fortune
of his friends is the famous LIE Roi,
one Of the richest in the west.
Two tourists camped on the ridge
Of a mountain lake near Como, a
mining town in Colorado. While In
want Of something to pass the time
one suggested that the other should
dive into the lake and try to discover
the bottom. His friend stripped and
dived In. He came up half minute
later, saying that he had found the
bottom with his head.
After he put on his clothes he be-
gan to rub his head with his hand
kerchief.
Look at the sand" he said laugh
ing. But his friend. who had been
a gold miner, sprang up with cry
of surprise.
George" he shouted. "it's gold!
And gold 1t was. The man who had
dived into the lake had struck a
placer gold mine Of the richest KIND.
Today the little lake near Como Is
the finest placer mine In the whole
west, and perhaps the most re-
markably discovered one on record.