The Kenna record. (Kenna, Roosevelt County, N.M.) 190?-1924, 1921-02-04
CHAPTER xl-contlnued.
12

acquire mOreG Money isn't everything |
In llfe."
"No, but the game Is"
"What gamer Mining" I
"The game Of life"
"But this is the game Of death"
(Which makes life all the sweeter
II can beat the game. Perhaps l can
better illustrate my point Of view with
story. Some years ago I was sent
to Arizona to examine a mining prop
erty and report upon It; II advised
its purchase, my principals were pre-
pared to buy at my valuation. Well,
when l arrived, l found a miserable
shanty close to a shaft and dump, and
In the shanty l found a weather-beat-
en- couple. The woman was probably
forty but looked fifty. The man had
never been anything but a handbook
miner-$4 a day had been the limit Of
his earnings in any one day until he
, stumbled on some float, traced 1t up,
and located the claims was there to
examine and try TO buy.
"His wife had been q miners daugh-
fer, knowing nothing but drudgerg and
poverty and continuing that existence
after marriage. For 20 years she had
been darnlng her husbands socks,
washing his clothes, and cooking his
meals. Even after they uncovered the
ledge, 1t wasn't worth any more than
the country rock to them unless they
could sell it, because the man had
neither the money nor the ability to
develop 1t himself. He even lacked
the ability to sell 1t, ! cause 1t re-
nuires real ability to unload any kind
of mine for $1,O00,0O0, and real
nerve on the part of the man who
buys. examined the mine, decided
It was cheap at $1,000.O00, and so re-
ported to my principals. They wired
me to close, and so l toOksa 6O-day
option In order to verify the title.
"Well, time passed, and one bright
day l rode up to that shanty with a
deed and certified check for $1,000
900 in my pocket; whereupOn l dis
covered the woman had had change
Of heart and bucked over the traces.
Mo, stree She would not sign tibet
there deed-and inasmuch as the claim
was community property, her sigma
u1re was vitality necessary. She asked
me so many questions, however, as to
the size of the stamp mill we would
install and how many miners would
be employed on the job, that finally l
saw the light and tried q shot In the
dark my dear Mrs. Skaggs," l said.
III you'll sign this deed and save us
all lot of litigation over this option
you and your husband have given me,
I'll do something handsome. 1 will
on my word Of honcr-I'll give you the
exclusive boarding house privilege at
this NINE"
"And what did she say, Caliph"
"She said: Give me the pen, Mr..
Webster, and please excuse my hand
writing; I'm that nervous in business
matters"
Dolores silvery laughter rlppled
Through the room. "But / don't see
the point" she protested
1--WE will come to 1t presently.
was merely explaining one persons
point OF view. You would not, Of
course. expect me to ha ;e the same
point of view as Mrs. Skaggs Of Arr
zOna."
certainly not"
"All right Listen to this In 1907,
at the height Of the boom times In
GoldAeId, New, was worth S1,0O0,O00.
On the FIRST day Of October / could
have cashed in my mining stocks for
$1,000, OOO-and had lot Of cash in
bank. too. But I'd always worked so
hard and been poor 30 long that my
wealth DIDN'T mean anything to me-
i wanted the exclusive privilege Of
more slavery, and so staked a copper
prospect, which later / discovered to
consist Of uncOunted acres OF country
rock and about s25 worth Of copper
stain. In order In save 500 did ms
own assessment work. drove a pich
into my foot, developed blood poison
n, ent to the hospital, and was nice and
helpless when the panic came alOnl
the middle Of the month. The banh
went bust, and my ready cash weni
with IT. / couldn't give my mining
stocks away. Everybody knew was
a pauper-everybody but the doctor
PIE persisted In regarding me as mil
hlOnalre and sent me bill FOR $1,000
How perfectly outrageous Why
CallDh, / would have let him sue me.
\ 81 would have. too-but didn't.
Induced him to settle for SiO0,OO(
shares Of stock In my copper prospect
TIE par value was 81 a share. and
aas going to sell block at 10 cents