Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1906-04-13
MILLIONAIRE
GREENOUGH
Missoula Capitalist Tells About the
Days When He Was "6usted"
All the Time.
ADMIRES ROCKEFELLER.
Never Used to Have Any Luck 40 a
Prospector-tiow He Made
Fortune.

opohohS. APAh hAo
home is in Missoula, Thomas l.. Green.
ough, millionaire mineowner and rail-
way builder, spends so much time on
business here, where he keeps an Of
fee. that he is almost classed as
Spokane man.
His interest in the town has been
attested by his huge purchases of real
estate and his projects to erect big
business houses here.
In his adventurous life Mr.. Green.
ough has traversed the Rockies from
the Mexican line to the peaks of Brit
ish Columbia, and the rugged vitality
thus developed has stood him in good
stead. Although IS years old, he bears
little evidence in face or figure of
having passed the half century mark.
Il was born in Davis county, Iowa,
and my father was farmer" said
Mr.. Greenough in discussing his ca
reer the other day. Il didn't like
farming, and l broke away at II and
went to building railways. I was
husky lad, and followed bridge build
ing and stone masonry on the old NJ
X. & r.
1T wasn't hard to forge ahead, and
before l was of age l had gone into
railway contracting. and had finished
some bridge work that gave me a
good little stake. 1t was the first
money l ever got hold of outside OF
days pay. For two or three years
stayed with contracting. and then l
went into New Mexico anu Arizona to
tackle mining.
prospecting looked good to me, and
tramped over those red hot deserts
for months and months in quest of
something that would make a mine.
They were exciting days-and excit-
ing nights, too. The country was fill
ed with Apaches anxious to gather in
any stray Americanos. The renegade
reds had liking for an attack at dusk
or at daybreak, and many night af-
ter making camp, would sneak away
over the hills in the darkness to dodge
war party that was on my trail.
Nearly Dies Of Thirst.
Il never thought Id pass in my
chicks but once in my life, and that
was once down in Arizona when
/. missed water hole and went 26 hours
without drop to drink. Now, q
: hours doesn't seem long time to &C
without drink. but you try it some
I cool day when you've nothing to wor
~ you in making personal investiga
ton. When you get through you'll
be ready to drink the river dry. ant
4 you'll be in shape to understand wha
man has gone through when he!
j tramped night and day in a bakeover
I of an American midsummer, while al
the time he's wondering whether thu
heat won't drive him crazy before hi
can stumble upon a brackish waite
, hole.
1T was a rough and wild frOntie
, life in the southwest, and l got pref :,
we'll acquainted with gunplays ant
, with bad men. But an acquaintance
ship with bad men and tarantulas ant
cacti and Apaches was about all tina
l slowed away to my credit in Ari
\ IONA.
Il was busted all the time. 1t wa.
a chronic disease. A posse cOmitatu
armed with search warrant couldn'
have dug up more than six bits on m.
most of the time.
When l would get out of grub
would work little in the mines t.
get a stake to strike out for the hill
again, but never seemed to have an
luck prospecting.
II always believed in being my owl
master, and l never went prospectin
on grubstake. Since l made som
money l have grubstaked hundreds @
prospectors myself, but l never mad
bean out of any of them. Grut
stakes don't look good to me an
more.
Along back in 1873 l wandered u
to the Black Hills, where worked III
foreground for awhile. Four years la
er the Northern Pacificfi was forgin
ahead past Miles City, and the trac
was then at Rosebud, 40 miles ives
l got a tie contract. and that was tn
turn of the tide with me. After finisl
ing it went to Missoula and kept o
contracting, and since then / hav
stayed pretty close to railroad bull,
ing. Our firm, Larson. Wren & Greer
ouSh. has done a good deal of worl
1T was in the Black Hills that
first met Peter Larson, who afte
ward became my partner. He had
few mule teams and was freighting
from Bismarck. Pete was pretty we
off. even in those days.
Il have lived in Missoula since 1888
| was married three years before tina
and we have six children-Stella, wi
is "a years old; Thomas Leo, who
81; Paul, 10 year old boy, who is
> Andover; John. aged is. and Ruth ar
Edith, who are 13 and 10. Tom is e
d ing to the state university at Misso
n la, and is taking a course in mocha
ical, mining and electrical enginee
ing