The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1906-04-04
LOST HIS FORTUNE.
Possessed ii In Mining Stock,
Which He Sold Too
Soon.

Tucson, Ariz., March 20.-Wilhelm
Schoenstein. a tailor at Tucson. ia a
lucky and unlucky man. He is lucky
in that he made small Investment in
mining stock and received 5000 per
cent. on his investment. lie is unlucky
In that he might have realized $4,000
per cent. on his venture if he had held
on longer.
He regrets that he lost a fortune of
S95, 600, which was ready to fall into
his pocket. He Is not ageing, however,
worrying over his i'll luck in that
respect
1T was gamble. The skies were
cloudy all the time. lput my umbrella
up too soon-kept off the golden
shower" was the way he put it.
Il rejoice that helped TO contribute
to the fortune Of Charles NJ. Schwab,
the steel magnate He needs the money.
He no longer has his steel job. He
might wake mp some morning without
the price Of breakfast
Schwab. through an agent. secured
Schoensteins stock three weeks ago. IL
was Tonopah Extension. The price
paid was 81 per share. Three weeks
later it is said, Schwab sold his stock
for sll.5O per share. Press dispatches
stated that he cleaned up tidy sum
aggregs,iug Sl5O0 900.
A little more than year ago
ScLoenstein, like hundreds of Others
crossed death Valley 10 Touopah, at
tractel by the lure of hidden gold in the
land of death" He carried with him
his scis sors and goose He expected to
fiud gold to became wealthy, but he did
not desire TO starve while on the search.
So he took along his tailoring imple.
ments and opened n shop.
"Bullfrog Is not a dressy town, and
the tailoring business was not rushing,
he remarked During much of the
year blue shirts and a pair of overall4
are the conventional garb. There was
not much for poor tailor.
Zone day last May n broken gambler
came into my shop. He was blear.eyed
and shaky after a night at the tables,
and broke. but the lust of the game was
still in his blood, and he wanted 10
play more
'Bill'-he knew me well, anyway
irst names go in Tonopah Bill, he re-
marked, here's bunch Of Tonopah Elk
tension Give me fifty bones aud it's
yours
My whole capital was go, but de-
cided to buy. / gave him the money
and bought round of drinks, which
cost - more. As we had the round
was the butt Of many jokes for being a
sucker, The gambler went immediate
ly TO the table and lost the money. |
pulled freight and went to San Fran
cisco"
In the Pacific metropolis Schoenstein
forgot Tonopah. The dash and whirl
and gayety of the big town was relief
from the sun-scorched mining camp in
the Nevada desert. Schoenstein even
forgot bis mining stock.
He left the stock behind when he
changed rooms. He later returned for
it and was informed by the landlady
that 1t had been thrown into the rub.
Dish in the cellar and might possibly
be found there. There in an ash barrel
lay the stock which three weeks ago
was worth s27,5OO.
Schoenstein put the stock in the bank.
Four weeks ago he received the offer of
e.. 800 for the stock He accepted. A
little later he learned to his sorrow that
the stock was worth $27, 500.
Tonopah, according TO Schoenstein, is
a great camp. Its population consists,
he says, Of $500 sharps and takers.
There is gold all about that coun-
try, he stated. "but there is no water.
Holdup are frequent there, and the
highwaymen demand only water. 1t is
more precious 10y far than the gold in
the ground. In the towns-in Tonopah,
Bullfrog and other camps-there is
water, but out in the desert-out where
the gold is-there is nothing but
drouth and death, and many are the
bleached bones on the sands that tell of
the last journey Of some poor pros
pector."