The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1908-02-06
HOW MADE MILLIONS s!
Brie History Of Hercules Mine
and How Made MiIlionaires


Located by Fred Harper. OF West
42l Sin.o avenue. In the summer OF
1889, the Hercules mine, located a
mile and q half north of Burke, Ida
no, paying annual dividends approx
mating 81 ,0s2 go. is owned today by
a half dozen Spokane men and women,
each rated In the financial blue book
as worth a million dollars or more,
who decade ago occupied such hum
BILE positions as driving Iilk~agon,
driving a scayenger wagon, running
restaurant, plotting locomotive
on an obscure branch line and run,
ming small barber shop In mining
town, says the Spokesman Review.
That fortunes are quickly made In
the great and growing northwest has
long been known, hut there are few
stories OF great wealth more quickly
gotten by those who were once poor
-or comparatively poor-than this
Aladdin.iike tale Of the mine which
Is yielding day after day vast guam
Titles OF the richest ore OF all the
Occur d'Aiene claims.
| The four-story, substantial Hutton
building, home OF the chamber OF
commerce, aud the towering ii STORY
Paulsen building on Riverside avenue,
the steel skeleton Of which Is already
In place, stand as monuments TO the
richness OF the strike OF Mr.. Harper
In the Occur d'Alenes and the bust
ness sagacity OF the men who sud
denly found themselves rich beyond
the dreams OF ayarice.
The stock OF the Hercules mine Is
distributed among Its owners TODAY
as follows:
The Day family, twelve thirty-sec-
onds.
August Paulsen, eight thirty-sec.
onds.
+. H. Rothrock two thirty.sec-
onds.
Dan Gardener, two thirty seconds.
l.. II. Hutton, three thirty seconds.
Sylvester Maxwell, three thirty.
seconds.
Ten years ago these miliionaires Of
today had the financial world been
interested In them at all, would have
been rated IN the blue bo' X as fol.
lows:
II. l.. Day, proprietor of a small
feed store In Wardner; his son,
Harry Day, bookkeeper In Wallace:
another son. Eugene, driver OF n
scayeneer wagon and general team
ster; daughters Eienur and Agnes,
school teachers.
August Paulsen, driver OF milk
wagon for Sylvester Maxwell, OF
Wallace, receiving therefor wages TO
the amount OF $40 a month.
G. H. Reeves, barber, AT Wallace.
then known as dad Reeves; today
an accredited millionaire, owning
one OF the finest homes on Cannon
hin.
r.. II. Rothrock, proprietor OF u
small butcher shop: today one OF the
biggest sheepmen OF eastern Wash.
ington.
Dan Gardener, grocer, able today
to write bis check for sJ0D, 900, and,
what is more 10 the point, TO have
IL cashed.
l.. W. Hutton. locomotive engineer
on the branch line 81 the Northern
Pacific railroad running between
Wallace and wardner.
Sylvester Maxwell, dairyman.
The story Of how these men rose
from obscurity 10 tinarcial impor'
lance is extremely interesting.
Grubstaked by the Days, Fred
Harper set out IN the summer OF 1884
To follow the lead OF the Father Lid,
claim located a short time before b,
Henry Lamb. A few days searcl
brought bin to the two 0rigina
claims OF the Hercules company, thu
Hercules and the fireny. MI
Harper found paying ore In evidence
enough TO satisfy him that he hao
hit on the original Father LODI
vein, and reforming TO town, he diet
on the two claims.
Today there are IS claims altogeth
err TO the Hercules workings ana 20
miners are employed on the thir
level. 100 feet underground. Will
the fourth level, zoo feet lower, wi
he opened In the spiing
But the man .bo discovered al
this vast treasure house Of lead an
silver resped practically nothing
Fred Harper became discouraged a