White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1923-01-28

'Rf a Vi ~ Ro'E - 49, o
with him. They hitehed up 4 pair
of burros and started on the fifty
mile trip, camping at Tonopah
springs. Mrs. Butler named the camp
Tonopah and the discovery claim the
Mizpah. She named others the
Burru. Blackboard, Silver Top. Valley
Wow. Red Plume and Sand Grass,
all of which have been famous since.
Their claims duly staked and record
ed. a trip was started to begin min
ing operations. A wagon load OF
supplies was secured and eddie and
Gayhart allowed TO go along. But
Ter had made a raise of $40, which
was the only money in the party.
In the meantime wills Brougher,
who was a mining partner of Assayer
Higgs at Klondike mountain, had
gotten wind Of the rock being rich,
He asked Higgs If he had assayed 1t.
Higgs said he had thrown it away
but could find IT. which he did Il
assayed 800.
Brougher appeared at the Butler
camp and claimed an interest and
after considerable argument IL was
allowed. so that besides Butler and
Mrs. Butler. the other four held
something less than a half interest
A wagon load of ore. about a ton,
was quarried from the surface and
ii yielded about 500. Mining op-
erations were carried on for a few
weeks and Butler since has said
many times that he paid its cost and
that no one ever reimbursed him to
the amount of a farthing.
Butler Let n number of leases. all
being verbal. Probably every Ieaser
made money. Among them were
Zeb Kendall. Henry Cutting and sew
eral others. When the Mizpah group
was bonded the purchasers wanted to
cancel the leases, using as a pretext
that they we're not in writing. But
Ter protected them and said his word
was as good as a written contract.
But the first day of the following
year, which was 1902, the leases
were terminated and from the liyeli-
camp on earth Tonopah became
the deadest n in the world.
Various promoters and experts ne
gotiated with Butler 10 purchase the
group. lie bonded 1t once to Captain
DeLa.nar. through S. A. Knapp. and
TO another outfit. The latter's expert
one day said 10 Butler:
Il don't believe this ledge goes
down.
We'll. II don't &c up" Butler re-
torted.
After each bonding transaction
Butler grew somewhat peeved and
said that the next buyer would have
to pay $4,000 in cash. o. A. Turner
next showed up from Grass Valley
lie had little money. probably not
500 all told. Butler was not versed
IN banking matters and when Tur-
ner drew a sight draft on n regular
bank form Butler thought 1t was the
same as 4 check. II being nicely lith-
%ographed. The draft was dra yn on
john w. Woodside, a Philadelphia
capitalist and poet. who was a direct
or of the Fourth Street National bank
OF that city. Then Turner walled 10
Sodayille. sixty-fve miles. and wrote
a letter to Woodside, winding IN with
For Gods sake pay the draft" This
was before the day of day and night
letters but Turner rushed II out by
wire, paying $26 at commercial mes
sage rates for the letter. Woodside
answered that he would send out hts
engineer and If his report coincided
with Turner's representations he
would pay the draft. Butler received
In all $4,000 for control OF the
property, which since that time has
paid more than 5000. 600 In divi-
dends
Butler bought a ranch at Big Pima
Cal. and lived there. lie was an IN
lense partisan and a republican. One
day In Tonopah while he was there
n primary was being held. He had
been mentioned occasionally for gov
and other Offices. In order to
knock out a frameup Of a bunch OF
politicians the Tonopah sun got
Dut an extra with a scare head. Jim
for Governor" The frameun
was put out OF business and Butler
was keen to run. but II just happened
George Bartlett. a democrat, an
old Eureka friend of Butler and the
after attorney. was a candidate for
nomination for congress. Bartlett
that because Butler was SO in
Ienseiy popular he would probably
the state into the republican
meaning his own defeat for
congress. He enlisted Mrs. Butler to
ak Butler out OF 1t. They succeeded
ind their argument was good. for
suffer was not a resident OF Nevada
therefore ineligible.