Los Angeles herald., 1907-01-20
MICKEY Of MINES
CUTS BIG SWATH
HITS THE METROPOLIS AFTER
TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS
And Finds Lots Of His Kin-Crossed
the American Desert, but Comes
to Grief In the AluvIal
Tract
Special to The Herald.


Tough" as generous miner as ever
washed a pan, crossed the Great
American desert three times before he
struck vein in White Pine county,
Nevada. Since then he has crossed
the great American desert every time
he heard the east a-callin'" " and had
the dust wherewlth to respond. Now
he has hit New York. and so far he
Is believed to have spent S11,000.
Mickey, whose mother christencd him
Michael Keller fifty years ago in Sligo.
has no mines that he won't sell: yet
he can cut wider swath than "Scotty"
Swift ever traversed. He is also sus-
picious of reporters.
Il may have my peculyarities," says
Mickey, but / don't want 'em put in
the papers-uness it'll help any one
to wash an ounce or two"
The Keller family came to America
thirty years ago. There were four sis
ters and Mickey. He went west in 70,
prospecting. His face today shows the
hardships of that time. His hair is
white, and long gray mustache is in
contrast to the tanned face and the
puckered eyes and brows that have
frowned on the alkali and passed
nights in the open air.
When Mickey struck 1t rich he had
partner, a Scandinavian, whose eyes
were as blue as Mickey's. They
worked together and made money to-
gether. Mickey was never quite sure
of his partners name. He was "the
Swede" to Mickey, and Mickey was
the Irishman" to the Swede.
Their Differences
But there were temperamental diff
ferences between the two, which is
granted to be the reason why they
agreed so well. The Swede had good
business head. Mickey was no fool,
but he had the luck of the daredevil
that he was. When the partners
"divvied up" the Swede would go on
working up the firms business inter
ests at the mines, while Mickey took
a trip to Ely, the nearest town.
There wasn't man out there who
didn't love Mickey. He got the name
of Tough" because he was the tough
est proposition when it came to good
nature and generosity that ever had
pocketful of money. Mickey would
forgive his worst enemy, buy for ev-
erybody, and lend to those who asked
for it. 1t is said among Mickey's
friends that the only time he ever
got real mad was when some
body called him Mickey the Touch"
The wreckage of a township on that
occasion was only saved by the sheriff
explaining that the word was used in
the passive complimentary sense. Then
Mickey shook hands with "Tex" Rick
ard, Pete" Weiss and all the boys
and the incident was passed up with
the drinks.
That was in the old days, when Ely
wasn't q township of 1000 souls. Most
of "the boys" are rich men now, and
they cross the great American desert
in Pullman instead of in a train of
pack mules.
Prospered Well
Mickey and the Swede prospered
with the rest. Then Mickey's excur-
sions took him wider afield. With the
divvy of the dust, or the sale of a
share in a claim to rich eastern cap
italists, he would HE him to Eureka,
or even to Salt Lake City. His friends
say that on these occasions he spent
much money and-went back to pros
pecting.
Wherever he went with his hammer
and pick and wash pan luck seemed to
be with him. He was always striking
1t and the Swede was always on hand
to tackle the business. Today it is
estimated that Mickey is worth mil
lion in mines and when he "goes broke"
"a frequent occurrence-it is only a
temporary matter, though no less pain
full and surprising to Mickey.
About three weeks ago he sold a
share in one OF his mines to Tex
Rickard for $11, 1000. TEX" came east
and few days later Mickey started
for Salt Lake City with his $11,000
minus $500 which he is supposed to
have dropped by the way. presumably
at Ely.
When he reached Salt Lake City the
Idea hit him all at once. 1t was that
he would come to New York city. He
wondered what had become Of his four
sisters. 1t was one of those stunning
ideas that come to man who has
been so long away from home that he
has almost forgotten what it is like
to have relatives. The idea of having
sisters-maybe married ones. Holy
smoke! Think Of nephews and little
pink nieces in frills and things.
Mickey's enthusiasm was running
high over the idea, when whom should
he run into in Salt Lake City but Lewis
Fraser, himself a mining man, who
knew Mickey and Mickeys ways.
Fraser took the Irishman and the sit
uation in hand, and few days later
he penned a letter to "Tex" Richard
He knew "Tex" had gone east, and was
staying at Hotel Imperial, New York
city. Part of the letter ran thus:
$50 I thereupon takes away from
him $4,000, knowing he is not one to in
trust with the same, but he begs so
hard I gives him back $1,000 and l sends
the $4,000 to Alex Baird, Sheriff of Ely,
to keep for Mickey"
After the Idea
Meantime Mickey was pursuing the
Idea east. Two weeks ago he landed
in Cortlandt street. He is supposed to
have had $500 when he arrived there.
That sum he spent on the way up town,
which, being the great Alluvial desert,
Mickey traversed in seven days.
He was looking for his relatives most
of the way and most of the time. In
his travels he met an old man whose
name and address he had cherished on
the fly leaf OF an EVERY Man-H Doc
tor" book. The old man said:
Sure, the whole four of EMS living
and they all got families"
Mickey's idea had come to reality.
His only regret was that he hadn't any
money left to distribute among twenty
five relatives, more or less, all husky
boys and slips of girls. But as Mrs.
Dwyer. one OF the sisters, said:
He's as good as gowld and a great
deal better than the gowld he's spent"
And "a bNxttt n