Mohave County miner., 1916-08-19
JOE PERRIZO, FIRST
 OWNER OF EASTERN,
 BLOWS" BACK HOME

He tried, but he couldn't stay away, so Joe Perrizo has returned to Oat- man to enjoy the summer, the winter, or any old time of year that it hap pens to be, and he is happy so long as it is Oatman where he is and he is surrounded by his burros and lives in his mansion-a shackalow near the Red Cloud shaft. Asked why he liked Oatman better than Chicago, Joe said it was because he knew everybody here, and he wanted to be among his friends to whom he could talk over old times once in awhile with freedom and without restraint. He likes Chi cago, too, where he has relatives who live in great edifces that cost many thousands of dollars, but he prefers his burros, his shackalow and a few old friends, like Frank Lacey. Lou Randall and other old desert terra pins to while away the time.
 "Joe Perrizol Who is he," did you say? Well, whoever hazards such a question must be a tenderfOot indeed, or a native son, or a web-fOOter. He could not have lived long in Oatman, and it would not be good form for Nevadan to admit that he never heard of Joe Perrizo. It was he who for many years was the owner of what is now the United Eastern ground, the richest young gold mine in the world, the mine that put Oatman on the map. It was he who sold the group to Long and McIver, got a few dollars in money. took a few blocks of stock, gave them more time and extensions to float the company that they organ ized, took a few more shares of stock each time and finally called it quits with about S85,00O in cash in his clothes and 10000 shares of the great mine.
 He came back to Oatman in the early part of the present week, and never was happier in his life, for it is home, his home, the place John Howard Payne made famous for all mankind so fortunate, but like the immortal author-cOmposer himself, some are not so fortunate. But that is where old Joe has it over them, for he has a home and it is the shack allow near the Red Cloud shaft.
 "Did you come back to get some of your own cooking, or some sourdough slapjacks ?" he was asked.
 Frank Lacey was cooking until to- day he quit me-" said he. "Only yes terday he told me to order some beans. Maybe I forgot it, but he quit any way. Oh, he's an old stiff. He's no good"
 "When did you first come to Oat- mani" said the pestiferous inter- viewer.
 gro Oatman? I came here IA years ago. I was at TOnopah and all around, and came here from Prescott. I had a bunch of claims back there"-point- ing toward Goldroad-"and I held onto one next to Werden's for II years. Then I let it go. ThrOwed it up. Quit it, and expect it is worth a million.
 ''But I liked the country here. I had three claims and fraction Had them bonded several times, but the buyers would always go to Los Ange- les, and the Tom Reed people would say, Oh, we've got him apexed,' and that would end it.
 Finally Long and McIver came here and went to work in the Tom Reed. They only went to work to 'rubberneck' a little, and they stayed there only three weeks. In that time they got the dope they were after and they came and made me a proposi- tion and I took it. JimmyMcConnell was in with me on the three claims. and we got s50,00O. Others were in on the fraction and we cut that in four, but it went for s10,000, so we got s6O,OOO.
 'T kept up the assessment work on those claims and the ones at Gold road. I always believed in giving Uncle Sam the best of it. When it came to doing s100 worth of work always done S2O0 worth, or SIPS or $50 worth.
 ''I had several shafts down 50 to 65 feet along the line and had the apex and always had values. Values like all these around here on the surface g, s2.50, s5 and the like. Always got pannings. I knew the Tom Reed couldn't apex me. The present shaft of the Eastern, No. 1, started, and had it down 40 feet Long and Me Iver came in then and helped me on that"
 'Did you do all the assessment work alone?"
 "Oh, no. Never so crazy as that used to do the drilling and shoot the holes, then have old Frank here, or Ed Collier from the Ivanhoe come over and help me muck out. would have them fill the buckets and would windlass them up. I would always tell them had just little muck, did not break much, and get them over to helD rne. and there would be two days work. I used to have long steel and put in five-foot holes and never duit till I got them in. Folks used 4o saa ma coinC bv with the lone