The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1906-09-06
rowed 81, $780, 900, mortgaging his min.
ing claims as security.
IlRn Brown set about bn; !, ce;roe h L.

Planned the Duluth & Iron Range
railroad, now the greatest ore car
rier in the world, to carry his ore to a
deep water harbor. Rails we're laid.
and soon development had gone far
enough to show fnanciers what the
property really was worth.
Negotiations were begun with James
j. Hill and several associates for the
sale of the property, and a deal prac-
tically was closed for it's transfer at a
price which would have made Brown
and Merritt millionaires several
times over.
It was here that Brown made his
fatal mistake. He never suspected
treachery and told of the deal to a
man who was closely associated with
Rockefeller. For what followed
Brown always put the blame directly
on the shoulders of the oil magnate.
He declared, over and over, that
Rockefeller put the screws on Hill
and his associates so that they could
not get the ready money to complete
their bargain. At any rate the deal
fell through, Browns notes to Rookie
Teller became due, the mortgage was
foreclosed and the immensely valu-
able ore property fell into the hands
of the Standard Oil chief for mere
fraction of it's value.
Millions of dollars have been taken
out of the mines since that time. ore
worth millions more is in sight, and
no one can compute the value that full
development will give the property in
the future. For years fleets of steam
ers carrying thousands of tons at
load have been taking the ore away,
yet the surface is barely scratched.
The loss of the fortune almost
within his grasp proved too much for
Merritt. He was broken-hearted, and
within five weeks was carried to his
grave. Brown always maintained
that it was the oil kings trickery that
killed him.
But Brown was made of sterner
stuff, and set out bravely to seek for
tune anew. He came to the Canadian
500 and opened mining brokerage
business, where be prospered moder-
ately.
But his big heart kept him from
amassing a fortune. No friend in dis
tress ever appealed to him in vain,
and he was an easy prey for scheming
strangers. Consequently his ex-
penditures always kept pace with his
income, which at times was large, and
he never got the fortune which he de-
sired and always hoped for.
Even to the last Brown was an ad-
venturer. The lure of the life of the
prospector appealed to him more than
conservative business, and so, even
after he was attacked by the disease
which ultimately caused his death, he
put what few thousands he had into
an expedition to search for gold in
the mineral lands north of Lake Su-
perior. Sick man though he was, he
went into the hills himself and shared
hardships with the robust members of
the party. But no gold was found,
and Brown returned here broken in
health as we'll as fortune. Almost to
the last he refused assistance from
friends who would gladly have given
it, and in his last days, when he ap-
pealed to a man whose life he had
saved, he received a rebuff which he
took so much to heart that it FASTENED
his end.
In his prospecting days Brown fell
in with a man named Philborn, who
afterward struck it rich and is now
said to be member of the group of
steel millionaires. Philborn was
stricken with typhoid, and Brown
nursed him back to life when the
country doctors had given him up and
no one else was at hand to care for
him. Philborn, in his gratitude, said
AC1 NCAO1J. nAOWu3 IL yOu over WALTZ
anything in years to come, call on
me-" ~ .....
It was not until Brown was helpless
in the hospital, dependent on charity,
that he finally made an appeal to
Philborn. He wrote to the million
aire, telling him of his condition and
asking financial assistance to enable
him, as last hope of saving his life.
to consult an eminent specialist.
Philborn, it is alleged, replied, de-
claring that all his money was tied up
in investments and that he had none
to spare.
Brown is survived by his aged wife,
who is left without a cent for her de-
clining years.
DIR. Clemans at Nj. e. Church.
Presiding Elder E. c.. Clemans, D.
D., will deliver sermon in the Meth