The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1915-01-01
How stratton Became One Of the
Great Mi|Iionaires Of
the West.
,,u, ,,cKlEsT OF PRosPEcToRs
-, Nina Was a Joke in Colorado for
~ Years, Until He Found the
Trunk Vein and Sold
for $15,ooo,ooo.
~ pIcHARD SPiLLANE.

natter how they dodge. 1t was so
n 18th stratton. Out in Colorado ne
WV Joke for years. He wandered
ohout the hills prospecting whenever
W. had grub enough for a trip anu
when his supplies ran low, or winter
overlook him, he went to work at the
one thing for which he was lifted
cafpentering. He could use plane
~ saw as we'll as any ordinary Jour
neynlan and might have settled down
n Gunnison, Buena Vista, Ouray'
Teadvlle, or any one of a dozen
towns, and made comfortable living.
pa had the lust of gold, however, ana
No matter how bitter his experience,
ar how many times he determined 10
abandon his wanderings, each spring
brought back the fever.
Z Surely he had reason to kno" MS
limitations as a prospector. Several
dimes he went over ground which 10
him gave little or no promise. Other
men came along year or two later,
saw what he couldn't see, located
claims and developed fairly good
mines. His Ill luck was proven
hal, Those who knew the tn'nss ne
W.. >. used to say he would not know
44Eold mine if he tumbled into one.
stratton was forty,eight, gray,
hit rheumatic and altogether down
m his luck, when one July 3 he spread
his blankets on the ground and pre-
pared to sleep on the hillside six
miles from Cripple Creek. He could
see the lights of the camp in the dis
lance. They spoke to him of COM
panionship, merrymaking and some
thing better to eat than he had been
having for many days. He had hoped
to- make the creek that night, but had
stumbled and fallen, and had gone
bit lame. He didn't have pony or
burro-nothing but his pick, his
blankets, a little grub and few cook.
ing utensils. When Stratton awoke
on the morning of July 4, his leg
ached so much that he didn't think
litalla iaa visa 70 tramp to town
a few harsh things the night before
about his i'll luck and he repeated
them with interest in the morning.
After breakfast he moved around a
bit, just to take some of the stiffness
out of his leg.
Located Two Claims.
Naturally, as a prospector, he ex.
amired the ground. He didn't see
promising. There was
streak of prudence in the man. how
ever, and, knowing that some good
strikes had been made at Cripple
Greek; he thought he might as we'll
locate a claim or two right there
where he was laid up. He did So
AS patriotic American and in re-
'pect to the day, he named one of his |
claims George Washington and the
'ther independence. The next day
was better and he padded |
The camp wasraek.
had no trouble in getting q Stratton
lid a little carpentering and a little
mining. He got good pay, especially |
IS carpenter, for the little camp
Vas growing. New strikes were be-
ng made and there was an urgent |
demand for buildings. After a while |
here came lull. Stratton, who
1idn't have lazy bone in his BODY
vent back to the hill and did Just |
enough work to hold the two claims
he had located. In doing this assess.
nent work, he ran across a little vein
If silver. 1t was so very thin that it
1idn't amount to much more than a
oasis for him to have hope. He tried
o follow it, but it ran out. In an.
'ther place he encountered a vein of
,old. That, too. was very thin.
In many instances the bodies of
precious metals that are in the earth
ire fashioned after the forms of
rees. There is one main body like
he trunk. Then there are a lot of
From these branches there
ire stringers. Usually the trunk is
leep in the earth. Generally the
branches spread out over wide
stretch Of territory. In the majority
# cases, it Is one Of the stringers: or
mall veins, that a miner runs on IN
lis work near the surface. He fol.
ows this stringer, or vein, in the hone
# finding the trunk. His quest of
he trunk would be comparatively easy
tut for the fact that these trees of
re are broken in many places. These
Freaks are called faults. In con.
'ulsion Of nature, the great tree was
battered. A branch was thrown here.
. strfnger there, and maybe the trunk
tself ripped apart. Sometimes the
ault only extends for a few feet
sometimes it extends for hundreds or
maybe thousands Of feet. When a
miner runs on to stringer and is
bile to follow 1t to the branch and
uns along the branch until he finds
ne trunk, he has a bonanza. What
'tratton had come across was a
tringer from the tip Of a branch. !,
Veins Seemed to Peter Out
The carpenter worked on his mine
t odd times. The streaks of gold