Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-22
DIES ON GOLD HUNT
Prof. c. P. Holt Stricken in
Colombia Jungle.
NATIVE PEON BRINGS NEWS
Travels All Night on Foot to Reach
Cable Station.
ENGINEER FULLER NOTIFIED
Unable to Locate Family of Dead
Man, Which Are Supposed
to Be in West.

NEW YORK. July 22-Word has been
received at the Holland House of the
sudden death in the South American jun
giles of Prof Charles P. Holt of Santa
Ana. Cal. who left this city last April at
the age of seventy-five years to prospect
for gold in Colombia, the republic from
which Panama was sliced off
The cablegram was received by p f.
Fuller, chief engineer of the Mata mines
there, who arrived at the Holland House
only a few days ago, after travelling
twenty-five days from the interior of Co
lombia, where he left Prof. Holt in charge
of the camp.
The message was brief simply stating
that Prof. Holt had died suddenly at Cis-
neros, 500 miles from the mouth of the
Magdalena river. Mr.. Fuller believes that
the professor died of jungle fever, and
that his only servant, a native peon,
must have run all night through the jun
gle to bring the report to Barbosa, where
it was cabled by one of the chief engi
neer's agents to him here in New York
Prof. Holt died Monday.
Family Not Located.
Although Mr.. Fuller has been associated
with the professor for several months, he
has been una BILE to locate his family by
telegram. He believes that the profess
sor's son and daughter are somewhere
in the west.
Prof. Holt was in splendid health
when 1 bade him goodbye on the banks
of Ell Rio Mata in June said Mr.. Fuller.
'and he rode a long way with me on
muleback the trail to the narrow
gauge railroad which runs to Cisneros.
left my own native servant with him to
look after his wants, and was expecting
to rejoin him by the latter part of Au-
gust.
The information 1 received is so
meager that 1 do not know the cause of
his death. but l am inclined to believe
that he was struck down with the fever,
and that he did not have the vitality to
fight it off. On account of the climate he
will doubtless be buried at once, probably
on the side of the mountains which he
had learned to love, and q stone will
mark his resting place for time.
An Ideal Companion.
Il have no doubt that his son and
daughter will send for his body and
bring it home. l have cabled such in
structons as are possible on account Of the
distance, and l am now planning to re-
turn to the jungle very soon.
Il shall miss the professor greatly, as
he was an ideal companion and always in
good humor. He lived entirely on fruits,
nuts and vegetables. and never drank
a cup of tea or coffee in his life, nor did
he ever use any intoxicating LIQUORS
1t was the last Of March that Prof
Holt reached New York from the west
after an absence of thirty-five years. He
had been q proSpector at times for many
years and struck it rich in Nevada. At
the time of his visit here he said:
"A man is only as old as his arteries.
Mine are still in their prime. l have been
active all my life. and inaction out there
in California palled on me. So L pulled
up stakes and am going where young
man still has chance to make lucky
strike
A few days after this. accompanied by
Engineer Fuller, the professor sailed for
South America, and since that time he
has been prospecting along Ell Rio Mata.
According to Mr.. Fuller. l.e loved to tell
days work was done, and he always
nursed the men in camp when they were
taken ill with the fever.
Career of Holt.
The professor had varied career. In
1896 he prospected in Arizona. He went
with the rush to Alaska in 1900, and
while he did not make fortune there, he
said, he came back better off than when
he started. After Alaska he went to Ne
vada and was at Goldfield when there
were only half dozen t>Its there. He
was with c. D. Taylor when he located
the famous Jumbo mine and the Red Top
mine.
Later he was made secretary and
treasurer of the Jumbo and Red Top
mines. Shortly afterward Taylor sold his
controlling interest in both mines for
$1,33O,OOO, the largest amount ever paid
over the counter of the Croker Bank,
in San Francisco. This was in 1896. Then
Prof. Holt went oSanta Ana to ENJOY
a quiet life, but he got the wanderliust
again and started for new and foreign
fields.
At one time he consented to be a SUBJ
ject at course of eXperim enting in food
values for the government, carried on by
Prof. Jaffa at the University of Califor-
mia, and for seven months ne lived on
fruit and nuts