New-York tribune., 1922-01-08

IL - men who went West in the flush
days Of mining with the expectation
~ wrestling a fortune from the stubborn hills
Of Nevada and California and going back
hon,s 10 live at ease-one OF those VINO n"o
. home to which he could retern and patient
trusting wife waiting there for him. he c0u'a
work for wapes back there in his Illinois home
.own What be sought was tho Dig gamoie
In n,!ning--thc bonanza. He WAS prospec-
Ear bat somehow all the mines he staked
trrned out TO be barrancas. A prospector,
,owcver. Is ever lured from one barren hole
u another Always he has faith in his latest
srd. and he goes on year after year-patchcd.
r,rchcd and hungry-secking the pot of gold
,t the end of his rainbow. 1t is lonesome
lie and breeds secrecy.
When al his money is gone, his credit ex-
bauucd and he can find one to grubstake
him he will turn to some routine employment
snd earn fund for another prospecting trip.
Such man is apt to brood, to become mis-
.n,hropc. to envy the good fortune of others.
Eu, alwav., there is the pot Of gold at the
pu,s Of Inc rainbow One more trip, one more
trial and it is his.
Charles f. Bocs, the failure ! am writing
shs.t was a prospcctor in Nevada in the bo-
r.nza davs No digging IN deep, dark, damp
,incs al 81 day for him. lie had his ups
I'd downs. but his ups were few and when
he was down he worked for new stake.
.4jai: he found employment about express
iicss and railway stations. He was q fairly
sol clerk. and express and railway clerks
ve.c always shifting. Many, yes, many, made
.heis pile in mining stocks, others quit to 50
- the mining ccnters and few losing stock,
s,uc company money and disappeared Boles.
was too proud to pilfer. He abhorred petty
'arccny thief He had been soldier in the
Civil War and had code Of honor. Besides,
there were his wife and their little girl.
Through an error in a pay roll the name
"Boles' became Bolton" The error suited
him. lie willing to liye as Bolton until
he struck it rich in mining. Then he would
blossom out in his true colors as gentleman
CT education, and while the world was haiing
him as Bolton, the new bonanza king, he would
vanish IN cloud Of ny stery to rea?pear in the
httIe Illinois town as Boles the multi-rnillion-
are how ne would quietly gloat as he basked
IN the reflected glory Of his millions! And how
pleased would be his uncomplaining wife
Often while sitting by his camp fire In the
hf~ ~ hnr II
Oearsnce filed his mind, and taking from his
pack small bulky volume bearing tho title
holy Bible he turned to the fyleaf, whercon
Tas written in fine feminine hand:
To My Beloved Husband,
Charles E. Boles-Mary Boles
The book he carried with him everywhere, no
matter how small he had to make his pack.
There were 773,746 words in 1t, tho sweetest
OF all Of which was the ono word-Mary.
So the long, dreary, disappointing years
Dragged by. Bolton the prospector continued
70 pack his grub and pick over the rugged
mountains or across desert wastes, was always
doomed to disappointment and inevitably re-
'orned to civilization to become Bolton tho
eefk' 1t was a tantalizing existence, and
@ers was no more tantalxing sight in It than
"s heavy treasure boxes Of the express COM
ps'y chock full Of gold - gold in coin, gold
~ bullion gold In amalgam, gold in rich
'e"elry. Tossed to and from stage coach,
'Sgoh or train like dross, 1t seemed to Be
'.'ls OF little value. Yet It contained the sum
VI human happiness or of human greed.
0nafles E. Bolton saw all this with an intro
N'.Se eye. He was q silent man, but hs
''0ueo and nourished wild schemes whereby
~ ~ could obtain some Of this burden Of gold
~as was 80 carelessly hurled about by the ex-
press men.
:. .ataoually there formed In his mind spirit
~. resentment against the men who owned
~. s0'o 8 and against the powerful corpora
~ tnat had grown rich in handling and
ccsasporsins it-the wells-Fargo Express
.Mpany. The bonanza kings were not
b,.sas hoy env1ed in those days, but they were
thss,1 ths1 On account Of their methods. If the
Ind bIsn, 81, 'aat they had succeeded where he
- rsa 4. failed ever intruded he thrust it aside.
A.s 40 10, 'nousht that tho wells-Fargo people
-. ,.sseo .s fortunes in their venture and had