The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1910-04-21

IN a Hpt'l bIdDu NtntTHl II WIS CAlltu
and from this vantage point he kept sharp
lookout for opportunities. Also he conducted a
better hotel than had ever before been found
In a new mining camp LeadvIllc was wide
open. The click OF the poker chip the whirr
OF the roulette wheel, the rattle OF the dice
never ceased. Miners who accumulated a little
dust scattered II quickly when they came
into town and woke up in the morning broke"
and discouraged. They soon asccrtaned that
Tom Walsh was likely angel Any reason
ably worthy prospeCor could get credit at the
Grand Central Not only that but he could get
money Walsh would willingly grub.stake him
That Is Walsh would furnish an outfit. grub
and tools aud advance ready money for an in
terest In the prospective strike" How many
prohtless ventures he went into Is not recorded
but they were not all Of that sort. Some of his
working partners did make strikes and the
profits were enormous. Walsh appeared to have
unerrng judgment when 1t came to buying a
mine He studied mineralogy from the alphabet
up secured fund OF information about all
branches Of geology. knew more about the vari
Gus formations In the Colorado mountains and
hills than any expert In the business at that
time and was well equipped to purchase or de.
cline when property was offered. One day he
amused the mining folk by purchasing an old
mine dump" where the refuse had been thrown
He had theory that the process OF extracting
the metal had been wasteful and that there was
plenty of gold left behind. Applying scientific
methods to the smelling OF It. he managed to
clean up million dollars out of that supposedly
valueless dump. lie bought prospect" from
discouraged miner and found a number OF
pockets" Of virgin gold on IT, From one peck.
ct alone he took Sl000 900 He was rich now
ana happy But he had another theory about
gold mining that he was anxious to test The
'arefuly educated experts said that II was folly |
10 seek the precious metal In the tops OF the /
mountains near the present town OF Ouray /
walsh thought otherwise He made a personal
investigation Of some territory where prospec.
tors had reported outcroppings OF ore As a
result Walsh quietly purchased n tract in the
San Juan district There were old abandoned
mines there holes that had been left because
mining was difficult In those alttudes-because
frequent snowslldes destroyed the houses and
the machinery and filled up the shafts The
experts warned Walsh that he would lose any
money that he put into the property he had Dur.
chased. lie paid no attention to their warnings
but moved over to Ouray and started ia work
FROM the very first hole that he dug he struck
ore that assayed startlingly high Then he
started force OF men out after more property
ana another force 10 do additional prospecting
The result was far beyond his widest dreams
OF success. One morning n friendly little bird
hoped into the tent he was occupyIng and
Walsh hustled around TO get some bread 10
feed IT, The bird stayed after that and fed
Wen call this Camp Bird" Walsh an
And from that day to this all these
mines In the San Juan district OF Colorado have
'een Known as the Camp Bird group-one OF
he richest groups Of gold mines in the world
Wealth literally rolled in on the lucky Walsh
te pied million upon million--how many is a
natter OF dispute. Some say that he made SEQ.
10000 IN that district alone In addition to the
money he had made previously I'm the Black
ills and in Leadville Whatever the amount. {
was sufficient for all his needs and left over n
II for spending money. From the time OF the
rst rich strike until 1902 Mr. Walsh continued
D take gold from the earth. Then an English
indicate offered him $4,000, 900 for a control.
ne interest In his properties and TO the sur {
RS" OF the mining world. he sold and the prop.
rty passed out of his hands. There WINS woe I
! Ouray and throughout the mining district I
hen the announcement was made For of all I
lie mine owners of the west Thomas F, Walsh {
njoyed the love and confidence OF his emploves d
lore than any other. lie worked In unheard.of
ays For instance. he Duilt modern. first +
ass hotel for the accommodation of his miners b
nd superintendents-a hotel with baths and 4
can beds and reading rooms. The food was a
bod and was well cooked and well served And 6
lie charge for the accommodations was no q
reater than that OF the ordinary miningcaup
,arding house. where good digestion waits v
I appetite" until appetite and the food fup. ,
Sned I-.t dent In good dicpsfInn q