Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1908-02-22
Pecul,ar,ties of Ola prospeotors.

y
tains, for the greater part of the time
away from the society of their fell
low man, acquire peCuliarities of char
acter and temperament, is fact well
known to those who are brought into
contact with them and particularly to
those who have had occasion to attempt
negotiations with them in regard to their
mining property. 1t is not surprising
that their solitary lives should in time
effect their minds nor is it to be won
dered at that they should show the most
striking eccentricities on the subject that
has absorbed their thoughts and ener.
gies for years. Devoting their time to
holding piece of mining ground that
in the first instance looked good TO them,
they finally become imbued with the
idea that is about the only thing in the
country worth having, and naturally
suppose that the schemes of all design
ing men are directed towards despoiling
them of their property.
Although as a rule, the old prospector
of the Black Hills are normally sane and
reasonable in their demands, when they
are approached by someone with pro-
position for the purchase oftheir ground,
still there are many examples of the &c
centric character here and the stories
of the offers they have turned down are
legion. There is one story of an old
prospector in the Southern Hills about
forty miles from Deadwood, who has
held a piece of ground-abOut forty
acres-since 1877 and though he has had
many fattering offers for his property is
no nearer consummating deal today
than he was thirty years ago. His
mania has grown to such an extent that
he imagines the entire money interests
of the world are leagued against him
and whether the offer comes from New
York, Bostor, Chicago or even London,
England, he sees the finger of the schem-
er working to rob him of his ground.
In the early days be was offered $780,
600, but he wanted million; later came
an offer of 100000, then one of the big
gest machinery companies in the world
offered to put up an immense plant for
him and take their pay out of the
ground, still later came another offer Of
100000, but all of them we're turned
down and the chances are that he will
die of old age with his ground still un-
sold and undeyeloped.
Another case happened a few miles
east of Deadwood near the Galena dis.
trict. The old man had held his ground
for many years and during boom was
offered $4,000 in cash and 900 acres of
land in Kansas. The cfler was most
tempting and his friends urged him to
grab it while there was q chance. He
was on the verge of accepting and came
to Deadwood to sign the papers, but at
the last minute his heart filled him and
be returned the next day to his cabin,
still the owner of the cherished ground
Three years ago he died in his cabin,
never having realized a cent from his
mining property.
Another has taken up FIVE claims with
a partner and expressed willingness to
sell at any price. He wanted the money
to develop other ground and would ac
cept anything that might be offered if it
were a little over what it bad cost to
sink the discovery holes. His partner
secured purchaser who came to Dead
wood and deposited $4,000 in the bank
which was to be paid when the deeds
were signed. When he was told that the
money was ready, he wanted $4,000 for
his half interest and of course. the deal
fell through.
Stories of this kind might be told by
the score and they all point to the fact
that the longer a prospector holds his
ground, the harder it is for him to sepa-
rate himself from it, As the years pass,
it grows in value in his eyes, while to
others it looks 70 more valuable than
when it was first located. If he is in
duced to enter in a deal and the price is
mentioned which he reluctantly agrees
to, before the deed is executed, he feels
that he is asking too little, that the man
who has agreed to give $4,000 will just
as readily give $4,000, and before the
time to sign has arrived, he doubles his
price. Even If the prospective purchas-
er agreed to the rise, it would be useless,
for before he could pay that, the price
would have risen again.
However, there are not many of these
eccentric old prospectors in the Black
Hills and most promoters find them easy
to deal with and willing to accept a rea-
sonable price. They know that it re-
quires more capital than they can raise
by their own personal efforts to build q
mine and they are willing to take a fair
price for the ground and let the capital
lists take the chance on making a mine
of it.-Pioneer- Times.
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Pythlans Entertaln