Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 March 1877 — Slide of a Great Speculator.' [ARTICLE]

Slide of a Great Speculator.'

“I used to know Jim Keene ten years ago in Colorado,” said a gentleman in Wall street. “At that time he did not wear a white ufeter, nor, so far as I know, speculate in stocks. He was engaged in silver mining, and had a shaft sunk high up on the side of a mountain. He was noted for his nerve and love of adventure, and was held in great respect by the miners, who, as a class, admire courage. The ore, when hoisted from the shaft, was shoveled into ox-hides, and these, when placed in a chute, were shot down for nearly a mile to the base of the mountain. The grade was very steep, and the passage of three-quarters of a mile was accomplished inside of a minute. “ One day Keene wanted to take a trip to a neighboring town, and, as descent of the mountain by the path was slow and fatiguing, he took a notion to try the chute. So he braced up, enveloped himself in an ox-hide, and, calling k> the miners to let go, in a second was sliding down the steep incline with frightful velocity. “ The ox-hide, being lighter than usual, did not stop at the proper point, but shot clean out over the end of the chute, and landed Keene eeme seventy-five feet below in the creek. “He was somewhat astonished by being shot into the creek, but, shaking himself clear of the ox-hide, he struck out for the shore, and climbed the bank, without any broken bones.”— N. Y. Sun. There was a wedding at Grace Church the other night, and the?bride and groom were warmly congratulated, while many were the wishes of friends for a bright and happy future. Such an announcement would not create any surprise were it not fbr a bit of romance connected with this uniting of young hands and hearts. It is said that the bride, a beautiful lady of this city, had two ardent lovers, both of whom were equally confident that they had won the prize of her heart. One of the lovers lives in St. Louis, and, as the story goes, was to have been married to the yonng lady this evening, every arrangement hiving been made for the wedding; but the other lover came forward, on the cstige of old love, ardently pleaded his suit, and carried off the prize, at the very time the loverover in St. Louis was preparing to start for Louisville to claim his bride.» He is expected to arrive this morning, with his hopes bright and •oaring, only to learn that he has been “counted out?'— LouinilU Oomnereial.