Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1915-07-08
EM|GRANT DIES
A MILLIONAIRE
MAN FROM THE OLD SOD HITS 1T
RICH IN MONTANA.
How a Frenchman Found and Lost the
Bowder from Which the Irish
mans Fortune Came.

the one who strikes 1t rich, thousands
are lost in the oblivion of poverty and
i'll fate.
Col. Thomas Cruise, who died at the
age Of 70, in this city recently, was one
Of the lucky few who leaped from pov.
erty to affluence thirty years ago. He
discovered the Drum Lummon gold
mine, north of Helena, sold 1t to an
English syndicate for $1,000, 900, retain.
ing one-sixth interest, and shared in
the profits Of s3o,OOO,OOO which the
mine has produced.
Mr.. Cruise was 20 years old when he
left County Cavan, Ireland, to seek his
fortune in the mining camps of the
West. He -oamed around various dig
gings in California, Nevada and Idaho,
blew into Virginia City, Mont, in 1865,
when Alder Gulch was at the height
of its glory, and later struck the plac-
ers around Helena, where fortune smil.
ed upon him.
Drum Lummon drew its name from
the locality in Ireland where Cruise
was born. Before it had name it had
romance redo!ent with the ill-luck
Of the original finder. lie was little
wiry Frenchman named l.. +. lIilder-
brand, who drove an express wagon to
Deadwood long after Tommy Cruise put
Drum Lummon Oh the mining map. In
the very early days Hilderbrand pros.
pected in Montana. A stumble on the
mountain side caused him to chip off
piece of a bowlder which was so rich
in gold quartz that his eyes popped in
the excitement of riches in sight. He
and his partner began to look for the
lead from which the bowlder sloughed
off.
Unfortunately, Hilderbrand and his
partner undertook to roll out of the
way the great bowlder which gave
them a clew to wealth. BY one of
those queer capers of blasted luck
which prospectors fear, the bowlder
moved too quickly and rolled over and
crushed the arm of Hilderbrand's part
ner. Being without money and need
ing medical attention, they left the
place, trudged to Helena, where the
partner was under the care of a doc
tor, and Hilderbrand went to work in
nearby places to earn money to pay
the bill.
Some ten years later Hilderbrand,
still at outs with his luck, and weary
of roaming, reached the spot where
the bowlder sent his hopes skyward.
The bowlder had the appearance of an
old acquaintance, but the surroundings
were changed to bewildering extent.
Before his eyes was a monster hoisting
plant arising rich ore from shaft
hundreds of feet in depth, while in the
gulch huge stamp mill was at work.
The bowlder occupied place of honor
in front of a building. Hildebrand
touched it, patted it affectionately and
tears filled his eyes. Presently through
the mist of his tears he read the
by Thomas Cruise"
During the period of development
when hard luck pressed Cruise to the
verge of abandonment, some one ad-
vised him to strike Sam Ashby for
couple of hundred Ashby was
money lender in Helena who knew how
to sweat the coin when put at work
on good security. Cruise put the mat
ter of loan up to Ashby. All he got,
however, was a fine line of free ad-
vice, coupled with the money lenders
assurance that he would rather throw
paper money into the furnaces of his
satanic majesty than loa nit to such
"a shiftless fellow"
Years after, when Cruse's day of
prosperity came, one of the early visi-
tors to the Thomas Cruise Savings
Bank" just started in Helena, was
Sam Ashby. The fortunes of Cruise
and Ashby had been reversed. Cruise
was flush. Ashby empty of pocket.
Cruise led his would.be customer to the
door and in the underscored language
Of the West, assured the customer that
he would rather throw his money into
the furnaces of his satanic majesty
than to loan it to such "a shiftless fell
low" as Sam Ashby.
Soon after his bank was started, at
the age of SO, Cruise decided that he
had enough capital to support wife.
MISS margaret Garter, SlSteI VI llle ldle
United States Senator Carter, became
Mrs. Cruise. The wedding, in 1886,
was the greatest social event in the
history of Montana's capital. 1t was
q celebration for all the population.
Cruise arranged for an open house
and free drinks with every saloon in
Helena. Tradition has It that the
whole male population of the town got
drunk at the bridgegrooms expense,
and it took week to sober the people
into working condition. The jam
boree was the greatest ever pulled OFF
In the treasure state; no one attempted
to rival the score.
The joys of welded life were of
short duration, however. Mrs. Cruise
died within a year, leaving a baby
daughter on which the father lavished
his affections and means.
What Count John A. Creighton was
to Omaha, Thomas Cruise was to Hell
ena. Every public enterprise, every
nr0miSinp industry draw his SuDDOrt.