The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1909-09-15
CROSSES GREAT DIVIDE
The DiSCOverer of Cripple Greek
Dies in Utter Poverty.
SPREE COST HIM S2SO,OOO,OOO

Bob Womack, Modern Aladdin,
Who Flooded World With Gold.
Goes Penniless ON His Last Pros
pect Into Sunsetland. Something
About the Man Who Turned a Cow
Pasture Into a Mint.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Col.-Rob-
ert M. Womack, the discoyerer Of
Cripple Creek, is dead. The range
rider who rubbed with the finger of
faith the lamp of Aladdin and food
ed the world with gold, has gone on
the last prospect tour, into the sun
set.
The man who turned COW pasture
into a mint when he sunk the first
shaft in the great gold camp and
thus sent $3.50, 100000 into the mar
kets of the world. who gave the Sc
cret of his find to others, died de-
Bob Womack was born sixty-six
years ago. He began riding the Re-
! qua Gulch range for a cattle COM
pany late in the sos. The gold fever
burned in his veins as he traversed
the ground which the owners be-
Iieved almost worthless. y
| In 1891 Womack did his first pros
pect digging. Finally the foreman
of the range sent complaints to the
Denver mortgages that Womack was
wasting his time honeycombing the
country with prospect holes into
which the cattle fell and crippled
| themselves.
Robert, believing there was gold
around Cripple Creek, remained
there. After years of fruitless
search he found traces of gold in a
piece of float rock which he picked
up while riding range with his broth
er-in-law, Theodore Lowe.
Sending Lowe on a six days ride
to Denver to have the rock assayed
| Womack went on about his work.
Lowe returned with an assayers GER
titicate that the piece of float rock
gave returns of $3.50 in gold to the
ton.
The next morning Womacl and
Lowe went to the place where Wo-
mack found the rock, in what is
known now as Poverty Gulch, just
outside the limits of the present town
of Cripple Creek.
Lowe grew tired OF the search.
Womack persisted. In January
1901, he dug prospect hole in what
is now known as the Ell Paso lode
of the Gold King property. A few
days later he struck the bonanza
lode. He could not stand prosperity.
Coming here he went on a spree and
sold his bonanza for $500.
Then, craZed with drink and sue
cess Womack jumped his broncho
and rode through the streets, brand
ishing his six-shooter and proclaim
ing his secret. The next few days
witnessed one of the biggest rushes
to the scene Of his discovery that the
West ever has known.
When Womack sobered up, two or
three days later, he returned to the
district only to find that the best
mining property had been located By
others. He staked out a claim or
two, but they proved worthless, and
5OO1A ne Was SDIupSlleQ 10 80 10 WOEk
for day wages. But he never COM
planned.
The men who made the most
money out of the Cripple Creek
mines we're James Burns of Kansas
City, V. 2. Reed and J. r. Mckinney
Of Colorado Springs and the late
Winfield S. Stratton.
He prospected thirty other claims
and every one Of them he gave away
or sold for a song before half their
richness had been revealed. His was
the craving of discovery, not of pos
session.
Winfield Scott Stratton was one OF
his companions, and wanted him to
follow him when the mysterious call
came from another part of the camp.
Womack hesitated, but Stratton went
on and discovered the independence,
which he sold for 100000
The story of the returns from as
says on Womack's claims started
rush to the district later called Grip
pie Creek from the cattle crippled
in Womack's prospect holes.
AS others fortunes increased Wo-
mack's faded.
So Bob Womack lived in poverty
until he became helpless. He al
ways believed he would tap another
vein Of gold.