Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 May 1887 — SANDY BOWERS’ FORTUNE. [ARTICLE]

SANDY BOWERS’ FORTUNE.

Two Ten-Foot Claim* on the Comstock Made Him and Hl* Wife Very Hlclt. V*n>ly Bowers’ mansion at Franktown, Nev., is torn down, aays the Denver Tribune. Bandy was one of the lucky characters in Nevada in an eariy day. He owned ten feet on the Bowers <-la m on the Comstock, now known as the Imperial Consolidated, and a certain frood-lookinß girl owned another ten feet When the bonanza on the claim was struck, the ownership of a single foot made a man wealthy. Sandy was more than wealthy; he had money to throw to the dogs, and, while he did not literally throw it that way, he threw lots of it to the boys who needed it. To know Sandy Bowers was to have a sure thing on a stake. When money was coming in most plentifully, Sandy and the pretty girl to whom he had; given the ten feet on the Bowers, joined their fortunes and got married, and wont to Europe on a wedding trip. Sandy was no fool. He could well act the part of a cultured gentleman, and Mrs. Bowers could act the part of a lady. They obtained an introduction to aristocratic and royal circlos in nearly every country they visited, and they made their tour last three years. Mrs. Bowers was to Queen Victoria, and she cut quite a dash in Parisian circles. During his absence Sandy instructed his Nevada agent to build him a palace in a certain spot at Franktown. The location was -beautifully chosen. It was on the edge of a plain, close to the foot of a pine-covered mountain, out of whose sides bubbled hot and cold water springs. The palace was built of cut granite. It was a long, wide building, with a wing at each side. It contained seventy rooms, each one large and with high ceilings. The staircases were wide, and of the mos costly and beautiful wood. The bathrooms were finished in marble, and every portion of the interior of the house was as fine as it could be. The hot and cold springs back of the house carried water to the house and the beautiful lawn surrounding it, and mode lakes and fountains. In one small pond was a pretty island, on which was a bird-house made of glass. The stables were filled with blooded stock, and the conservatory with rare and costly plants. The house was furnished with the richest furniture, carpets, and curtains that money could buy, and it was a palace of luxury. Mr. and Mrs. Bowers enterta'ned splendidly, and the latchstring was always out. No tired, footsore, or deadbroke prospector ever knocked at the door in va n. Sandy ne >er forgot his old companions or his old occupat ons, and, as the boys said, “He didn’t feel a d d b : gger than he did before he wore biled sh rts.” But it d dn't last long, for one day Sandy died, leaving his widow with one little yellow-ha red girl. After h s death Mrs. Bowers became the victim of a very unscrupulous swindler, and soon became involved in debt. She rented the house for a dance-house and kindred purposes, and it rapidly went to ruin. Finally the little grl died and was buried gn the mountain side behind the house beside her father. Her death broke the spirit of Mrs. Bowers, who had by that time lost her diamonds and everything she owned, and she gave up the palace to the man who ■ held the mortgage on it. That man was one of the penniless prospectors who had been entertained at her house in the days of her prosper ty. The wliii l'gigof mining lortune brought him his luck, and he is now a solid citizen of lleno. As for Mrs. Bowers, she is an astrologer and fortune-teller in San Francisco.