Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 July 1896 — LUCK IN MINING. [ARTICLE]

LUCK IN MINING.

One Miner Lost a Big Fortune, but Saved His Boy. “I could have owned half of the Enterprise mine at Rico for S2OO if a telegram from Denver had not announced the decision of the doctors to use the knife on my baby boy for hernia. I lost more than $1,000,000, but I stopped the knife, and my boy is healthy and rugged.” These were the words of a gentleman seated with a group of prospectors a few evenings ago, which led up to a number of stories relating to similar incidents. “I knew a man more fortunate than myself, however, who grasped his opportunity,” continued the speaker. “Dave Brown, of Aspen, gave a prospector $75 worth of lumber and onefourth of the Aspen mine. Brown was then a stock clerk. He is now a millionaire, banker and operator.” “It's not always management that secures a fortune,” ventured another of the group. “It was luck, pure and simple, that made Dick Swickheimer a millionaire. He knew nothing about mining, but a miner told him to sink, and lie did sink. He ran out of money several times, but others, who were interested in learning what greater depths he would encounter on Dolores Mountain, loaned various sums, and at last a lucky lottery ticket drew $4600, and this money reached the ore In the Enterprise inline.” “Yes, luck had a great deal to do with it," said the third speaker. “Several people in Durango had an opportunity a few years ago to get into the Cottnmbus mine in La Platte for a few dollars, when the man who located it owned it. I knew one Durango man who had a good chance to buy the mine for less than SSOO, the price received, who had spent twice as much in trying to find something like the Columbus.” “Chances like those are often overlooked in Durango,” said another of the group. “There was a little fellow down there from McQuiety, a couple of years ago, showing some good-looking ore from a claim, which he offered to trade a quarter of for a rifle. He went to the gun store and all over town trying to trade for a rifle, and the kind of gun he wanted was selling second-hand in stores for $5 or $6, but the little fellow couldn’t get a rifle. I saw the property last fall that he offered to trade, and saw some of the ore roasted 1n a blacksmith forge. Gold boiled out of It very freely, and I doubt If all the guns In San Juan county would buy a quarter interest in that property now."