White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1923-07-22
B1BBLING BROOKS
IN THE DESERT

pah pioneer, calls to mind this sam
pie OF his generosity and the little
story going with it. In the early
days of Tonopah Jim had as a room
mate a photographer and former
printer named john T. Field The
latter was a great big. dark, good
natured fellow. who in a way was
one of those commonplace persons al!
hut indistinguishable from the mass
whom you would hardly miss if he
were to drop out of sight and YOU
would forget there was such a per-
son. This is said because he attend
ed strictly to his own business and
created little furore in his passing
through the world. In addition to
being a photographer he used TO re-
pair typewriters and later was .
spieler for a picture show.
But behind Fields ordinary pic
ture of the m multitude there
vas a romance. In his youth he had
lived in Minnesota and had a female
playmate, who from his description
must have been about on his own
order, but an angel at that. AS Field
told it they were a pair of Bohemi-
ans, just alike and neither one cut
out to pair off with anybody else in
the world. For as long back as
either could remember there was az
understanding between them that
when he made 4 stake they would get
married. have no ear of know
ing which II spoke of it first or in
what particular ann it originated
Her folks were we'll hooked up, but
poor and apparently worthless as
Field was he would not lay a hand
on a dollar of that money.
He used to tell his troubles to Jim
Forman, how if he only had Betsy out
! here he would wash his face and
brace up and be a man among men.
Jim used to listen and take an inter-
est in it that was so much greater
than vas suspected at the time that
only this near sequel will give ali
idea of it.
Finally Jim sold his 1905 shares
of Mohawk to j. II. Carstairs for
100000 cash and had his first real
money in Nevada. The night after
he received the money he went into
the DON with Field and led up to the
subject. Finally he ventured to say:
John, how much money would it
take to bring Betsy out here and get
married and get you started OFF,"
Not suspecting what was coming.
John replied slowly: About 5000"
No moro had Field said that than
Jim drew a sack of twenties out Of
his belongings and counted out $500
in gold, starting to shove the stacks
over to his roommate.
Oh, how Field went up in the air.
Accept that money, given or loaned
or whatever it was-not in the world.
Jim said it was a loan and that
creased by having his heaven-sent
mate with him.
why, II Betsy came out here and
married me and found out that / Dor
rowed the money she would quit
me-" declared John.
Don't tell her: don't let her know
it," Jim protested.
Ole WOulu HHu IL out. we WOulu
have to pay it back and Field
would not touch it with his finger
tips, though he did not have $40 to
his name and was always about that
low in cash.
A year later I took Field to Man
haitian to take some pictures for :;
special edition I was to get out. But
the panic of 1907 came that week and
l never go out the edition. Field re-
manned there, for his home always
was where night found him him, and
he seems to have gotten hold Of a
few extra dollars later on, for he sent
for Betsy. She journeyed as far as
Seattle, where she sickcned and died
So Field never saw her again. He dir
not have the money to go to her
funeral.
He was sad-hcartbroken-but
doubt if his grief then was so much
greater than it must have been last
week when the news reached him, as
it probably did, of ~big-hearted Jim
Forman's death.
1t takes a few years to make sons
stories worth the telling. l have al
ways said that / was saving the fol-
lowing one for @ book I hoped to
write about my days in Tonopah.
Rev. Francis H. Robinson was a
preacher who was sent out to new
mining camps to build churches. He
built a church in Tonopah, then one
in Goldfeld, one or two in the Bull
frog camps and one in Manhattan.
That was his specially and he had
that knack Of getting the money, but
as a pulpit orator he did not make
great pretensions.
Besides being a preacher he was a
typesticker-a lei printer-wOrk-
ing in the hand type days at the case