St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1910-05-07

mountains. AT LeadV1lle ne invested
in hotei-the Grand Central, it was called
and from this vantage point he kept sharp
lookout for opportunities. Also he conducted
better hotel than had ever before been found
in new mining camp. Leadvile 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 little
dust" scattered it quickly when they came
into town and woke up in the morning broke"
and discouraged They soon ascertained that
"Tom" Walsh was likely angel. Any reason
ably worthy prospector 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 and advance ready money for an in
terest in the prospective strike" How many
profitless 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
unerring judgment when it 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 a 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 He bought prospect" from
discouraged miner and found a number OF
pockets" of virgin gold on it. From one spock-
ct" alone he took 100000 He was rich now
and happy. But he had another theory about
gold mining that he was anxious to test The
carefully educated experts said that it was folly
to seek the precious metal in the tops of the
mountains near the present town of Ouray.
Walsh thought otherwise. He made personal
investigation OF some territory where prospec-
tors had reported outcroppings OF ore AS a
result Walsh quietly purchased tract in the
San Juan district. There were old abandoned
mines there-holes that had been left because
mining was difficult in those altitudes-because
frequent snowslides 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 pur.
chased. He paid no attention to their warnings,
but moved over to Ouray and started to work |
From the very first hole that he dug he struck |
ore that assayed startlingly high. Then he
started e force of men out after more property |
and another force to do additional prospecting
The result was far beyond his widest dreams
of success. One morning friendly little bird !
hoped into the tent he was occupying and |
Walsh hustled around to get some bread to
feed it. The bird stayed after that and fed
We'll call this Camp Bird" Walsh an
nounced. And from that day to this all these |
mines in the San Juan district of Colorado have |
been known as the Camp Bird group-one OF /
the richest groups OF gold mines in the world.
Wealth literally rolled in on the lucky Walsh |
He piled million upon million--how many is q |
matter of dispute. Some say that he made $780, /
100000 in that district alone, in addition to the
money he had made previously in the Black |
hills and in Leadville. Whatever the amount, |
it was sufficient for all his needs and left over
bit for spending money. From the time Of the |
first rich strike until 1902 Mr.. Walsh continued |
to take gold from the earth Then an English |
syndicate offered him $14,000000 for control /
ling interest in his properties, and, to the sur.
prise of the mining world, he sold, and the prop
erty passed out Of his hands, There was woe |
in Ouray and throughout the mining district |
when the announcement was made. For of all /
the mine owners of the west Thomas F. Walsh /
enjoyed the love and confidence of his employees /
more than any other. He worked in unheard.of |
ways. For instance, he built a modern, first |
class hotel for the accommodation of his miners
and superintendents- hotel with baths and I
clean beds and reading rooms. The food was /
good and was well cooked and well served. And |
the charge for the accommodations was no |
greater than that of the ordinary mining-camp |
boarding house, where good digestion waits |
on appetite until appetite and the food fur |
nished put dent In good digestion.