BY HIMSELF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS DDD17TfiTS3H LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Chap..P-!^opyright No. ---- sheii Wan^n3 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. JIM WARDNER, OF WARDNER, IDAHO. BY HIMSELF. - / NEW YORK: The Anglo-American Publishing Co. 1900. TWO Copies rm^» Library of c©»s^r««% Olfllai &f the APR 2 - 1900 fleeter of Copyright^ 61179 Copyrighted, igoo, by The Anglo American Publishing Co, SECOND COPY, «STJLSS & RIDGE PRINTING CO. \*\ /\ r> ^\ V PRESS OF NEW YORK. fO ?■ 5C> DEDICATION. I have studied longer than a judge in a pet dog show as to whom this book should be dedicated, and amidst the vast number of associations, loves and regrets, I hereby dedicate it, first, to the sweetest mother, the truest wife, and the dearest children of which it was ever man's honor to be son, husband, and father; second, to my ever-living creditors, whose longevity is so?ne thing extraordinary, and who, if each became a purchaser of this book, would insure its circulation ; and third, to the miners of the great Northwest, with whom I have been so closely allied for many years, sharing with them hopes, anticipations and realizations. This little flower was taken front the conservatory of Ella Wheeler Wilcox and transplanted into my garden of weeds: The longer I live and the more I see Of the struggle of souls toward the heights above, The stronger this truth comes home to me : That the Universe rests on the shoulders of love ; A love so limitless, deep and broad, That men have renamed it and called it— God. —New York Journal, CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. My Earliest Speculations. - I II. The Anti-Cow-Kicking Milking Stool. 9 III. Hogs and a Trip to Arizona. - 13 IV. Mr. Snowball ; the Belcher and Lizzie Bullock Mines. ----- 18 V. Snow-Slides. ----- 26 VI. The National Candy Bank. - 29 VII. The Wild Man of Big Hole. 37 VIII. Deadwood in the Black Hills. 39 IX. The Golden Summit. - 47 X Butterine. ----- 50 XI. The Cceur d'Alene. - 52 XII. The Bunker Hill and Sullivan. 54 XIII. Wardner, Idaho. ----- 67 XIV. Strikes Made by Curious Means. 74 XV. A Grewsome Awakening. - 77 XVI. "Shorty." 78 XVII. Spokane. - - 80 XVIII. "Dutch Jake." - 83 XIX. Fairhaven, Washington. - 88 XX. My Cat Ranch. - 92 XXI. " Hotel de Bum." - 97 XXII. " Going to 'Tay All Night." - 100 XXIII. The Blue Canon Coal Mine. 102 XXIV. He Was From Eagle City, Idaho. 104 XXV. Kaslo. ---._. 106 XXVI. "Scotty." 112 XXVII. John Todd. 114 CHAPTER PAGE XXVIII. A Tribute from Fred. W. Dunn, "5 XXIX. Mr. Napier. .... - 121 XXX. Africa. - 123 XXXI. Some Personal Observations on Our South African Trade. - 126 XXXII. Rossland, B. C. 129 XXXIII. That Railroad Pass. - - 132 XXXIV. One on the Doctor. 134 XXXV. Wardner, B. C. - 135 XXXVI. The Loss of the Steamboats. - 137 XXXVII. Klondike. - - 140 XXXVIII. Good-bye. 143 Appendix. Etireka — Nome ! - 145 CHAPTER I. MY EARLIEST SPECULATIONS. IF it were possible to instruct the young men of the English-speaking world by means of object lessons from the experience of others, I believe that this autobiography would soon be recognized as one of the most valuable text books extant. In recording the in- cidents, adventures, business affairs and unique experi- ences of a life that has never known idle moments and that has, in its feverish haste for gain, invaded nearly all countries and all climes, from the northern extremi- ties of Alaska to the southern parts of Africa, I shall relate only facts and actual personal observations. All of the names of the individuals mentioned are genuine, and all dates and places are correctly given. To those unacquainted with me, who will read this book, I will introduce myself by stating that I am the " Jim Wardner" after whom the towns of Wardner in Idaho and Wardner in British Columbia are named. It is generally considered by my most intimate family friends that I am a living and incontrovertible proof that the old saw, " Blood will tell/' is not to be relied upon in estimating the effect of a parent's characteris- tics upon his children; for, while I have been one of the most persistent and tireless searchers after hidden treas- ures in all parts of the world, my good father lived fifty consecutive years in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was quite the contrary, being of a very retiring disposition. He located in Milwaukee in 1836, and died there in 1886. His was the first brick residence built in the city now so famous for its beauty and beer, and therein I was born, May 19, 1846. My dear mother is still alive, at eighty years of age, and notwithstanding that she has been confined to her bed since the first in- auguration of Grover Cleveland, her mental energies and high-strung nerves are still unimpaired. 2 Jim Wardner. As a youth I was exceedingly restless under any kind of restraint, cared little for books, loved all animals, and developed a disposition to trade and barter with my boy companions rather than to indulge in the usual games and sports of children. I was but eight years old when I one day surprised my mother by confiding to her my first great money-making scheme. I had thought over the project until I was convinced that I could make more money annually upon an original investment of seventy- five cents than she had ever dreamed of. I had figured out every detail before I presented my proposition to my mother and asked her to loan me the necessary cap- ital. I assured her I knew where I could buy a very beautiful rabbit for seventy-five cents; that the boy who owned the rabbit had told me it was a mother rabbit and that it would have eight or ten baby rabbits soon, each of which would probably be more beautiful and valuable than the one I was to purchase. I also told my mother that I had been learning all about rabbits from the boy owner, and that it would be very easy to increase my stock of animals to at least one thousand head by the end of the first twelve months, and that the figures for the next following year became so large I could not calculate them, but that at twenty-five cents each for the rabbits I would be awful rich. My mother gave me the money; I bought the rabbit ; and very soon afterward I had eight young kids to admire and take care of. I fitted up a place in our back yard and worked industriously and methodically to the end I had in view. The young rabbits thrived, and I soon found an opportunity to sell a pair for seventy-five cents. I repaid the loan to my mother, and felt that I had engaged in an interesting and profitable business, and that it was all my own. The business thrived and grew, and I continued it until I was thirteen years old, in the meantime making money enough to buy all my school books, and always having on hand much more spending money than the average boy among my asso- ciates. I soon found out that my original calculations did not materialize, and also learned that figures will lie more correctly and seductively than any other medium of untruth. But my rabbit business was a success just the same. My Earliest Speculations, 3 My boy customers were many, and among- them I re- call Charlie King as one of the best. And now General King-, the heroic soldier and gifted author, if he reads these lines, will go back in heart and mind to the sunny, happy days when he so admired my best "pink eyes," and there was no trace of anything but joy above the horizon of our youthful vision. Prof. George H. Peck- ham, now distinguished as first among educators in Wisconsin, was a good buyer of "bunnies." Among my other well-remembered boy customers were W. H. Wright, Sam. W. Tallmadge, Harry and Fred. Ludding- ton, W. H. Seaman and others ; but of all the boys who were my patrons there was one, somewhat older than the others, whom I can never forget. His name was Bill Plummer and he was the thirteenth and youngest son of a good English family that lived in the neighbor- hood. Bill had a peculiar personality. He was a quiet lad, yet had a faculty of making all the other boys in j awe of him without any apparent attempt to exercise any authority or control. I had an instinctive dread of him which was never clear to mv mind. It was a case of : " I do not like thee, Dr. Fell ; Why it is, I cannot tell ; But I do not like thee, Dr. Fell." Until I heard that as a young man he had drifted up to Virginia City, in Montana, had been elected Sheriff of the camp, and was soon afterward hung by the Vigi- lantes, who discovered that he was the chief of the road agents that infested the new mining district, as well as being the duly elected Sheriff. But I doubt if Bill Plummer could have avoided that or a worse fate, for he was number thirteen on the list. My business career of rabbit-raising had been happy \ and prosperous ; but when I was thirteen years old I gave it up to enter the drug store of I. N. Morton, in ; Milwaukee, as a clerk and student. I was no more to ! blame for beginning my career as a druggist at the , fatalistic year of my life than was Bill Plummer for be- ! mg the thirteenth son. I liked the delicate, intricate, ' and precise nature of my new duties, and as I was of an inquisitive turn I made quick progress ; so much so, in- deed, that in 1863, when the Thirty-ninth Regiment 4 Jim Wardner. Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, was ready to go to the front in the Civil War, I was appointed by Surgeon- General E. B. Wolcott to the position of hospital stew- ard. We were soon at the front, and the Thirty-ninth Wisconsin was stationed on the Hernando Pike, just out of Memphis, Tennessee. I got along pretty well for a boy of my age, rather liked the authority of my posi- tion, and had only one stormy incident during my serv- ice. The great Confederate cavalry chief, Forrest, con- cluded that his mere handful of men were more than a match in dash, daring and deviltry for the considera- ble Federal army in and about Memphis. At any rate, when our gallant Thirty-ninth heard that Forrest was coming down the pike they started like broncos before a cloudburst, and ran five miles to safety at Fort Pick- ering I had remained to get the sick and convalescent into*ambulances ; but before that work was finished I concluded that Jim Wardner's personal safety was worth much more that any record of heroism that might lead to death, and so I quietly disappeared by crawling into a big bake-oven. I was well secreted, and remained there ten of the longest hours I ever passed before ] was sure that I could reach Fort Pickering in safety and rejoin the regiment. I saved my money while in the army, and after my discharge I returned home for a brief visit, and then made up my mind that I was old enough and big enough to tackle life in New York City. I reached New York full of hope, aspirations and confidence. I put up at the Western Hotel, on Cortlandt street, and at once began looking for a position as druggist. I soon found out that all the high-class pharmacies were fully as particu- lar about how their clerks parted their hair or curled their mustaches as they were about their knowledge and experience ; and as I was not quite up to the Eastern style just then, I was finally compelled to accept a clerk- ship in a drug store located at the then famous (and in- famous) " Five Points." I was made night clerk, and quickly discovered that my principal work was the sale of morphine, opium and certain proprietary medicines. The transition from the quiet dignity of Morton's es- tablishment in Milwaukee to the surroundings of a night clerk's duties in the "Five Points/' New York, was My Earliest Speculations. 5 marked enough to satisfy any craving for incident or strange experience that a boy of my age might have had. Before I had been long in my new position I found that one of our most regular patrons was a big, jovial, tremendously profane and equally influential man of the neighborhood, named John Allen. We became so well acquainted that Mr. Allen one night said to me in his most cordial manner : " Come around to my place some afternoon, Jim, and I'll show you one of the sights of New York." He gave me his number on Water street, and the fol- lowing afternoon I strolled over to the address given. Over the door was a big sign, " Allen's Place." It was directly opposite a very famous resort of which I had heard, " Kit Burns' Rat Pit." I saw that the general environment was of an even tougher character than our own business locality, and it was with a bit of indecision that I finally opened the front door and stepped into John Allen's resort of the ultra- vile habitu6s of the dis- trict. Many, times in my life of adventure, excitement and novelty have I been suddenly startled, surprised or frightened, but never before or since have I been quite so astounded as I was the moment I entered " Allen's Place." In the center of the first portion of the front room was a round table, upon which were strewn well-bound, expensive and much-used volumes of the works of Shakespeare, Milton, Burns, Poe, Dickens and other standard authors, and in the center of the table was a huge and costly family Bible. To the left center of the room was a long bar ; standing upon the bar was a little boy, apparently about five years old, sweet, innocent and beautiful. It was as if the child had stepped out of one of the master paintings of the Madonna to check the mad revelry that was rioting at the far end of the room, where sailors and women were dancing, drinking and brawling. Before the child stood John Allen ; and the boy, with a marvelous beauty of voice, was declaim- ing bits of poetry from Burns. Mr. Allen turned and came forward to meet me. 14 Well, Jim, glad to see you ! This (lifting the child off the bar) is my little one and pet, Chester. When I feel a bit sentimental and the racket here ain't too great, 6 Jim Wardner. I stand Chester up on the bar or table and he recites my favorite verses for me. He knows a lot from each of our standard poets. 4 Now, pet/ " said Mr. Allen softly, lifting the boy upon the table, " ' recite something for Mr. Wardner/ " " Is your name Jim ? " asked Chester of me ; and then, quickly, " I like you." Somewhat self-reliant though I was, I could say noth- ing in reply. Then, with the noise and racket of com- mingled music and shuffling feet, oaths and hideous ribaldry at the farther end of the room, that sweet, fond child stood near the great Bible and repeated Portia's address to Shylock. " The quality of mercy is not strain'd " was burned into my very soul. '* It falleth like the gentle rain from heaven upon the just and the unjust " was thrust into my ear never to be forgotten; and I looked at the drunken, dancing sailors and the painted, polluted women, and for the first time, possibly, in all my life came serious thoughts : Who shall judge them ? Shall this child lead them ? With a light laugh and a curious smile of affection little Chester hugged Allen as he lifted the boy from the table, and I hurried away on the plea of being com- pelled to do extra work at the store. Soon after this episode the New York Sun wrote up Allen as " The Wickedest Man in New York." In- stantly he was famous, and for some reason had come to consider me as his closest friend. Some time pre- vious to this the Young Men's Christian Association had been making persistent and successful efforts at reclaiming the denizens of Water street. Much to my astonishment I found that Allen had suddenly become a convert. " Allen's Place " was removed from over the entrance, and in its stead was a huge sign, " Young Men's Christian Association." Here, in place of drunk- enness, robbery and the lowest vices, suddenly there were hymns, prayers and sermons. Nightly the place was thronged with the lowest types of the inhumanity of the slums. John Allen became the most effective, and, apparently, the most honest and earnest exhorter My Earliest Speculations. 7 among those who addressed the crowds. He was a powerful man and a powerful speaker. Shameless wom- en cried at his words of warning and beseeching, and hardened criminals became frequenters of the meetings and professed reformation. Chester was a factor in all this, and Allen used the child's talents to advantage. I saw the effect upon the general public of Allen and Chester, and one day I said to Allen : " I will put my time against a little of your money, Mr. Allen, and will guarantee to make a thousand dol- lars or two within a month." " How ? " " Come with me and see ; we must have Chester with us." " All right, Jim ; it's a pleasant day and I don't mind a walk anyway." We went to a photographer's, and inside of half an hour 1 had made arrangements to have a number of thousands of photographs of Allen and Chester ready for delivery upon a stated date. One beautiful May morning the photographs of " The Wickedest Man in New York "and the child Chester were on sale all over the city. The result was that in a few days Allen and I divided $1,500 in cash, over and above all expenses, and I possessed the largest sum of money I had ever owned up to that date. After a little Allen tried to raise the rent of his place to the Association, and its officers became suspicious that his alleged conversion was sham. But the Sun and the photographer had made him famous, and whenever he spoke people crowded to hear him. I noted all this, and surprised Allen one day by saying : " You are an older man than I am, Mr. Allen, but I have got a plan that can be carried out, and one that will make us both rich. It will beat the photograph racket all to pieces." " What is it, my boy ?" " You are now the best advertised man in the United States," I replied. " I propose that you advance money enough to pay preliminary expenses ; I will make all the arrangements for halls and advertising, and you, with Chester as a side attraction, will deliver ten lec- tures in ten of the largest cities of the State. There 8 Jim Wardner. will be a lot of money in it, and we will divide up the net receipts." Allen at once appreciated the situation, and we im- mediately made a bargain. I quit the drug store, went to Troy, engaged the opera house there, and billed the town for the first lecture of " The Wickedest Man in New York." Now Allen's besetting sin was a love of and capacity for whiskey. He and Chester came on to Troy at the appointed time. The evening of the lec- ture arrived and with it a crowd that not only packed the opera house but filled the neighboring sidewalks. A thousand dollars had been taken in at the box-office. I waited impatiently for Allen. Hours passed, but he did not appear. Then I announced that the money would be refunded at the box-office, and the great crowd passed out. Allen, drunk, was found before morning. It was his last debauch. In three days he died. I took Chester back to New York, and he was taken in charge by the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion. I have never heard of Chester from that day to this. If he is living, and this reminiscence comes to his eye, I would like much to hear from him. CHAPTER II. THE ANTI-COW-KICKING MILKING STOOL. Upon my return to New York I began at once hus- tling for a situation, for the fiasco at Troy had compelled me to part with most of the money I had made in the photograph deal. Within a few days I met an acquaint- ance who told me that a very eminent physician, a friend of his, needed an assistant, and that he would be willing to pay liberally for the services of a trustworthy young man who had had experience as a druggist. My ac- quaintance offered to give me a personal introduction and said he would recommend me as "discreet." We sauntered up Broadway a few blocks and I was ushered into the office of Dr. A. M. K., Tapeworm Specialist. In the waiting room were three or four thin-faced, blue- veined, wild-eyed women, and on our entrance there had rushed from an interior room a scared-looking lady, who seemed anxious to get home. I at once concluded that the doctor had lots of business, and that I would probably get a position. He was so busy, indeed, that we were compelled to await his pleasure for more than an hour. Finally, Dr. K. came out and greeted us, asked me a few questions, and upon learning that I was from the West, said he would try me for a week. I began my work as assistant to a tapeworm specialist the next morning. I was put in the laboratory and was given several bottles and boxes, unlabeled, save that on each was marked a number of grains or proportions. I was told that my work would consist largely in mixing and preparing prescriptions that would be given me, and that I was to put them up in accordance with weights specified upon the various boxes and bottles. I knew enough not to ask any questions, and I also knew enough to determine the character of some of the unnamed drugs. This knowledge gave me some clue to the modus operandi io Jim War drier. of the doctor, and though he seemed greatly disinclined to give information, I finally by strategy won from him his secret. Just what this was I shall not state here. Suffice it to say, that each day no less than ten patients were diagnosed as suffering from tapeworm, each was treated, and each paid — according to the doctor's ability to size her up — from twenty-five to fifty dollars ; and I believe that each patient left the office convinced that she had had a tapeworm removed. One morning the doctor told me that he could see that I had an eye to business, and that he knew a fellow who had perfected an invention, which, if the rights for any Western agricultural State could be purchased outright, would bring the possessor a fortune. He said that if I had a few hundred dollars of ready money, he thought he could get me the right for the State of Wisconsin (he knew that I was from Milwaukee) at a bedrock price. I told him I had about five hundred dollars. Without delay the kind doctor introduced me to the inventive genius, and I accompanied the latter to a loft down-town. There I was shown a combina- tion milk stool, with a sort of tripod attachment to which was hung a big milk pail. The inventor said : " Of course, you have lived in the country, and know how to milk cows ? " " No, I never milked a cow ; but I know how it is done." " Well, that's just as well, for you will comprehend at once the great value of this anti-cow-kicking milking machine. You know, my boy, that more than eighty per cent, of cows kick, and the milking of them is often not only a tiresome but a hazardous undertaking. With this machine it is impossible for a cow to kick over the milk pail. I have shipped within a month more than one thousand machines to South America. I have the rights for only one State left, and that is so far away I hardly think you will care to invest." " What State is it ?" I asked. " Wisconsin ; it's a great dairy State, but you know it's a long ways from New York." Well, the upshot was that after a good deal of bar- gaining, I actually turned over my five hundred dollars of good and lawful money of the United States and took The Anti-Cow-Kicking Milking Stool. n a complicated agreement, printed upon green paper, which made me the sole proprietor of the right to manu- facture, use and sell the " Anti-Cow-Kicking Milking Machine " in the entire State of my nativity. Now it happened that during my stay in New York I had been in correspondence with a Milwaukee young lady, with whom I was very much in love — and with whom in these many intervening years the sentiment has grown as we shared our triumphs and troubles together — and I was anxious to return to my home. It also happened that my mother-in-law that was to be had but a little while before been presented with a gentle Alderney cow by Judge Daniels, of Lockport, N. Y., who had had the animal shipped from his farm out to Milwaukee. The cow was as kind as a kitten. The great inventor of the machine which I believed was to make my fortune, had kindly superintended the construction of a specially well-finished model for my use. It was painted red, was nickel- plated in parts, and was as pretty as a new wagon. The very afternoon of my arrival I carried the machine over to my prospective mother-in-law's house and, after extolling the merits of my invention, I begged her to have it tested that evening on the Alderney. The serv- ant who did the milking was instructed to try the new combination, and started to do so ; but the moment the tripod was placed and the maid started to sit upon the stool, that gentlest of Alderneys shot out and back aright hind foot — and we were so busy carrying the maid into the house that there was no time for me to even examine the fragments of my future fortune. Soon afterward I was offered and accepted a position as traveling salesman of druggists' sundries for the firm of Kelly & Edmunds, of 176 Washington street, Boston. I had made but one trip for the concern — which was one of the largest and best houses in the East — when George L. Kinsman, of Milwaukee, who had married a young lady with considerable money in her own right, offered to make me a partner in a new pharmacy which he wanted to establish. I accepted the proposition at once. Kinsman and I then fitted up, at a cost of ten thousand dollars, the " Palace Drug Store," and we started out with the best of prospects. I was now in business and concluded that I could afford to marry — 12 Jim Wardner. the best and most permanent conclusion I have ever carried out. Everything seemed particularly favorable to success. But one day inexplicable Fate walked into the " Palace Drug Store," and in a few minutes a prom- inent citizen was poisoned and our business was ruined. It was in this way : One of our clerks was Philo , a careful, conscientious, and skillful druggist. He started to wait upon the customer, who wanted a dose of vale- rian. Upon the shelf was a bottle of Tilden's extract of veratrum viride, the maximum dose of which is five drops. Beside that bottle was Tilden's fluid extract of English valerian, a harmless narcotic, of which a usual prescription is two teaspoonfuls. Philo gave the dose out of the wrong bottle, and the customer fell in spasms on the marble floor. I quit the drug business that day. CHAPTER III. HOGS AND A TRIP TO ARIZONA. That was the turning point in my career. I con- cluded to get as far away from the scene of that acci- dent as the limits of the continent would permit, and I started for California, resolved upon a new field, new friends and whatever opportunities might be presented. I had an uncle, Mr. George O. Tiffany, living at Los Angeles, and after visiting San Francisco I concluded I would make him a visit. That was in 1871, and the "City of the Angels " was a quaint old Spanish-Mexi- can town of few pretensions and less attractions. My uncle, however, was a Los Angeles enthusiast, and he talked me into the belief that the place would soon enjoy a "boom." The result was that I bought six acres of land near the town, for which I paid two thousand dollars, and which, my uncle assured me, would raise five thousand dollars' worth of oranges each season, if properly irrigated and properly set out with orange trees. In those days in that locality the only means of obtaining water was by sinking artesian wells. After acquiring title and concluding that my real mission in life was to enjoy the "glorious climate of California " and become a fruit grower, I sank two artesian wells and both proved to be fine "flowers." I was overjoyed at my prospects ; but one morning I found that my wells ceased to flew, and investigation proved that my neighbor, who had been sinking wells also, had tapped the water vein above and had ren- dered my work useless. I at once offered my ranch for sale and succeeded in getting the purchase price back. These same six acres afterward sold, in 1888, for one hundred and sixty thousand dollars. Soon after disposing of my land, and while I was try- ing to make up my mind whether it would be best to return to " the States," or take passage for Honolulu, 14 Jim Wardner. who should I meet in Los Angeles one day but my old boy friend and rabbit buyer, Will . He said that he had just come up from San Diego and that he had a scheme which would make more money than a mint. "All I want is one thousand dollars," said Will, "to start the most profitable business on the Pacific Coast." " Well, what's the plan ?" I queried. " Hogs." " Hogs ? " " Yes, hogs ; say, Jim, I haven't any figures that will do this thing justice ; but listen : A short distance from San Diego, say about twelve miles up in the San Julian Mountains, is a vast natural park timbered with oak trees that bear acorns, which are the best hog food in the world. The tract of land is unoccupied, and I want to buy a thousand dollars' worth of hogs, herd them up there, fatten them without cost, and realize at least five hundred per cent, the first season. You were such a success in the rabbit business, Jim, that I know we can succeed in this enterprise. We can buy all the pigs we want at two dollars each, and in the fall, when fat, they will sell for ten dollars each." It certainly did look reasonable that if a man could buy five hundred pigs at two dollars each, drive them up to the mountains, where they could get, without cost, all the food they could eat, and then sell them in the fall at ten dollars each, that there was good safe money in the scheme. So I gave Will one thousand dollars, and he returned to San Diego. Soon afterward I heard from him, and everything was lovely. He had bought the pigs, succeeded in getting them into the mountains, had built a shack to live in, and was happy. About three months after I had received the letter I went down to San Diego and was soon on the trail lead- ing to our hog ranch. I found Will's shack all right, and he was sitting in the doorway when I first sighted him, apparently asleep. Upon my near approach he seemed to awaken suddenly, gave a spring to one side, grabbed a big stick, and stood prepared to strike at something. Then he recognized me. " Good Lord ! Jim, is that you ? I thought it was a hog, and was just going to smash him." Hogs and a Trip to Arizona. 15 " Why, Will, what's the matter ? Why do you want to smash a hog ? Where are they, anyhow ?" "The fact is, Jim, our hog-raising is a failure. I brought in here five hundred of the neatest pigs you ever saw, but I have found out that it takes at least a quarter-section of oak-timbered land to feed one hog. The result is that our pigs are scattered all through the San Julian Mountains, and most of them are so wild and starved that they are dangerous. I have had them attack me, and that is why, when you awakened me suddenly, I thought one of the hogs had got after me again.' , Then he said : " Look there, look ! " Sure enough an old razorback, with elongated snout and frothy mouth, had emerged from the underbrush and was going for acorns faster than a chicken after grass- hoppers. He closed the door of the shack, opened up a loop-hole, and not until this wild and starved scaven- ger had disappeared did I venture out. I did not care to investigate the hog ranch any far- ther, so I returned to San Diego, and thence to Los Angeles as quickly as possible, satisfied that Will had at least got even with me for the numerous potato- swelled mother rabbits I had sold him so long ago. When I returned to Los Angeles, I found the people of the town perfectly wild over reports that had come in of rich mineral discoveries in Arizona. It was my first experience of a mining stampede, and I caught the fever at once in its strongest and most malignant type. I may as well confess here that I have had it ever since, and shall carry it with me to my grave, because it is not an infatuation, it is a business, with many chances and perils ; a speculative business, combined with fresh air, ozone galore, and the companionship of the best fellows on earth. No competition in this business, no jealous- ies, plenty of room, and always hope. The new camp was called Ivanpah, and it was about two hundred and sixty miles from Los Angeles. The route then lay across the Mojave Desert, and the trail was reported to be about the straightest known pathway to certain death. Among the prospectors who had re- turned from Ivanpah for supplies and who had rich ore samples to exhibit was John D. Reed, a San Bernardino young fellow, who was known to my uncle, and who 1 6 Jim Wardner. was said by him to be "square." Reed said that if I wanted to '* outfit " with him, he was agreeable, and so we became " pardners." We bought four pack animals and two saddle broncos, the usual kit of miners' tools, blankets, guns, ammunition, food supplies, etc., and started for Ivanpah one August morning in 187 1. We fell in with a lot of fellows bound on the stampede, and things went along pretty well until just before we reached the Mojave Desert. My bronco h^d got mixed up in his riata and had " burned" his fetlock joint, so that by the time we had got fairly in the desert the sand and heat together made him so lame that I was obliged to get off and walk. I gradually fell behind the others, but the trail was plain and I did not dream of any danger. Suddenly there came up one of those sand-storms for which that sec- tion of the country is famous. In a few minutes every sign of the trail was obliterated, and my eyes, ears and throat were filled with the burning alkali dust that seemed to move along like a solid wall. I was very much frightened, for I knew to be lost on that trail without water meant death. Then it occurred to me that I had heard of persons getting lost in blizzards and that invariably they walked in circles. I determined that my safety depended largely upon my ability to keep going straight ahead. The storm had lessened somewhat in force, and while I could see no trace of a trail I could see objects like stones or boulders a few feet away. I then adopted the plan of standing still a moment, fixing my eye on an object which seemed to be straight in front of me and then walking directly to it. Then selecting another object I repeated the opera- tion. I followed up that procedure for more than three hours and never looked behind me once. By that time the storm was over, and, unexpectedly and joyfully, I struck the trail again. I was so overcome with exhaus- tion and burning thirst that I feared I would lose my mind, but I fairly pulled my limping bronco along the trail. Just as it was getting dusk the bronco began to sniff the air and to hurry along as fast as it was possi- ble for him to hobble. I knew then that we must be near the Cady oasis and spring, upon which Reed told me we were to camp that night. I toiled up over a Hogs and a Trip to Arizona. 17 sand-hill and in the dim light before me I could see, be- low, the camp. I left the bronco to follow, ran down the incline to the beautiful spring, which made Camp Cady famous, and without speaking to any one and with- out removing my clothes, I dived headlong into the cold water. The boys concluded that I had gone insane and quickly grabbed hold of me and pulled me out. The plunge bath revived me, and I was soon able to do jus- tice to the supper that Reed cooked and to rather enjoy the compliments that were paid to the " tenderfoot " who had been able to take care of himself in a genuine and furious sand-storm on the Mojave Desert. CHAPTER IV. MR. SNOWBALL ; THE BELCHER AND LIZZIE BULLOCK MINES. We arrived at Ivanpah without further mishap, and then began my career as a miner ; a career which for diversity of experience and wide range of country ex- plored, exploited and operated in, has never been equaled by another individual. My partner, Reed, I quickly discovered, was a straight- forward, practical fellow, and although only twenty-one years old, was well up in the art of prospecting and knew as much about mines and mining as any one in the camp. Soon after reaching Ivanpah we purchased the Lizzie Bullock mine — a single location upon which no work had been done but which showed surface indi- cations in the way of little knife-like seams of sulphu- rets of silver running through the limestone formation. Much to my surprise Reed knew how to assay and had with him an outfit for simple tests. He found that the sulphurets carried about six hundred ounces of silver to the ton, and, although there were nothing but knife- streaks in sight, he advised buying the claim at Clark's price, which was five hundred dollars. Reed had no money, but sewed up in my clothes were enough green- backs to buy the Lizzie Bullock. We bought the prop- erty and began work. It did not take me long to find out that by following up the little seams we would come to places where the seam widened and into little chim- neys of ore, which would be from six to twelve inches in width, with a pay chute eight to ten feet long. These were our bonanzas, and from them we took our ore sup- ply by means of a tunnel only. As soon as we had out two or more tons we packed it on mules and would start on the two hundred and sixty mile journey to Los An- geles. As there were sixty miles of desert to cross we Mr. Snowball; the Belcher and Lizzie Bullock Mines. 19 also packed water and food, and the trip was always a hard one. On one of our trips across the Mojave Desert, in Au- gust, 1872, the weather was very hot and dry and the sand and alkali were fearful. To add to our troubles our cook went crazy. He was a white-haired man, with those peculiar gray eyes so hard to explain but belong- ing always to occultists, men of limited education and new ideas. After braining his faithful dog with an axe, he was secured and firmly bound with ropes to a wagon wheel. I, also burning with a fever, lay near him. Be- ing the youngest of the party he addressed me, when alone, as follows : " I am going to die. I have been a success, yet not a success. Hear the history of my life ; listen, learn and profit by it." Then he said, very slowly : " I first went to raising mice. I was a success. I raised a world of mice, but I said, ' Oh, the end does not justify the means.' I resolved to raise elephants. Here again was I a suc- cess. Hundreds and thousands of elephants did I raise — elephants white and blue. But, the result! The markets of the world were soon supplied, and with 'ele- phants to sell/ I was poor indeed. My son, would you succeed, raise neither mice nor elephants. Size your- self up." He died, but I never forgot the lesson. Arriving at Los Angeles our product was taken by Lazard Frferes, who paid us a uniform price of seven hundred dollars a ton (silver was then worth $1.29 an ounce), giving us whatever merchandise we thought best to pack back and crediting us with any balance that might be due ; the result was that our capital at " The Freres " increased steadily. Reed and myself be- gan to be recognized as successful miners, and we were both happy and contented. It will be of interest to miners to know that the ore in our chimneys changed from black sulphurets at the surface to rich yellow chloride of silver at a little depth, then to antimonial silver, and sometimes sand carbo- nates came in ; but the silver values always remained about the same. I was now on the high road to fortune. But, of course, something had to happen. It came unexpect- edly, and disastrously. We started a pack train of 20 Jim Wardner. twenty animals and five men one morning 1 , and all that we ever recovered therefrom were the dead and muti- lated bodies of our packers. The Apaches had been troublesome farther east, but we had no fear that they would come in west of the San Francisco Mountains. But they did, and our train was the first to suffer. It was so evident to both Reed and myself that trouble had only just begun that we offered the Lizzie Bullock for sale, and the McFarlands, who owned the adjoining ' property, quickly paid us our price, five thousand dol- lars. We had five thousand dollars on deposit with Lazard Freres, so that I quit Ivanpah about five thou- sand dollars ahead of my first experience in mining and within less than a year's time. The McFarlands are now rich men. And what of the Lizzie Bullock ? For more than twenty-five years it has yielded up its treasures of silver, and in the year 1899 the Lizzie Bullock is a bonanza, even at the low price of silver. Upon arriving at Los Angeles, having five thousand dollars burning in my pocket, and with the conceit that I was a practical miner, I was ready and eager to try conclusions with any. proposition that required nerve and judgment — the nerve being an actuality and the judgment being my own conception of Jim Wardner's ability. I at once learned that San Francisco was in the throes of the greatest speculative investment in mining stocks that the world had ever known, and I decided to reach the Golden Gate as quickly as possible. Reaching San Francisco, I put up at the Occidental Hotel, at that time the principal hostelry upon the Pacific Coast. Mackay, Flood and O'Brien, merchants, doctors, lawyers, priests, rich men, poor men, yes, even beggarmen and thieves — everybody bought and sold the stocks of the Nevada bonanzas. Well, those of us who were there saw some pretty lively times and had some sudden ex- periences. I at once began to play the limit with my cash resources, and in a very few days I was more than fifty thousand dollars ahead of the game. How easy it was. I began to seriously blame myself for having wasted so much time in the Lizzie Bullock and the tiresome journeys across the Mojave Desert. I lived like a prince Mr. Snowball; the Belcher and Lizzie Bullock Mines. 21 at the Occidental, and between champagne and success my head was abnormally swollen. It's different now. It gradually became known that Jim Wardner, the successful stock manipulator, was also a practical miner, and one day a man came to me and said : " My name is Snowball and I am a stock broker. I have heard the reports of your activity in the market, and have also learned that you are a practical miner. I have use for a genuine miner who knows enough to keep his mouth shut. There is a chance to make a million." When Mr. Snowball told me his peculiar name I almost laughed in his face, for I thought it must be an assumed one and that he was " working me/' A wicked thought came into my head — I'll roll you, Mr. Snow- ball — and I said : "I will call at your office, Mr. Snowball, and there talk over your plans. I am, as you have learned, not only a practical, but a successful miner. I was a half owner in the Lizzie Bullock." I visited Mr. Snowball's office that day, found that he was a genuine broker with lots of business, and that he was one of the few dealers who believed in having some tangible fact upon which to base calculations. The result of it was that Mr. Snowball and I started that night for Virginia City, Nevada, which was the fount- ain source of all the excitement and fortune- making of the day. Upon arrival at the wonderful mining town we were met by a Mr. Daly, who was the superintend- ent, or manager, of the Segregated Belcher, one of the " boom mines." Examination of the Segregated Belcher convinced me, inexperienced as I was, that the property was absolutely valueless, and was dependent for its reputation solely upon its proximity to the genuine Belcher and the Crown Point. Returning to San Fran- cisco as quickly as possible, I went directly to Webster, Soule & Co., and ordered them to sell Segregated Belcher for me and to sell it quick. In a very short time Mr. Webster came to me and said that affairs were in such shape at Virginia City that he would be compelled to ask for large margins upon my sale of Segregated Belcher. He wanted forty-eight thousand dollars, and 2 2 Jim Wardner. I o-ave it to him and thought to myself how little these fellows knew of the real situation ; then I sauntered back to the Occidental, gave a champagne supper to four of my acquaintances and retired with supreme con- fidence that I would soon be recognized as the smartest man in 'Frisco. I got up pretty late the next morning, and after getting out on the street I noticed a good deal of hurry and excitement all about me. I wondered if the market had " gone all to pieces " as I, too, rushed toward the Stock Exchange. It was before the open- ing hour of the Exchange, but as I approached it I saw a great crowd of excited men about the curb. In a minute more I was near enough to see that one of J. R. Keene's representatives was standing on an orange wagon and shouting : " I bid seven hundred." Know- ing that no stock had approached any such figure the day before, I asked the man at my elbow : "What stock is he bidding for?" " Yellow Jacket." "Why, that closed last night at two hundred and "Yes; but the news came early this morning that a big bonanza had been struck in the lower levels of the Gould and Currie and that the whole bottom of the Comstock is undoubtedly a bed of solid silver. Where under the heavens have you come from that you haven't heard the news ?" " From my bed," I replied vaguely ; then I braced myself for the question : u Any bids for Segregated Belcher ?" " Just a few minutes ago they were offering five hun- dred dollars for it." For the first time in my life— and I may truthtully say the last time also— my nerve forsook me. We were standing at the corner of California and Montgomery streets, and I was obliged to put my hand on the cor- ner-stone of a building to prevent my falling to the pavement. Then I rallied sufficiently to get back to the hotel, to reach my room and get into bed. There I remained ten days, hardly conscious of my surround- ings That was my first and last attack of nervous prostration. When I recovered sufficiently to get out again I learned that Webster, Soule & Co. had failed ; Mr. Snowball; the Belcher and Lizzie Bullock Mines. 23 that every dollar of my money and $162,500 in addition had been lost upon my single sale of Segregated Belcher. I noticed, however, that the few acquaint- ances I met greeted me cordially, made no reference to my loss, and then I discovered that, owing to the tre- mendous excitement of the days I had been in bed, no one seemed to be aware that I was a pauper. In fact, a friend took me aside and told me that he had a sure thing on Huhn and Hunt, of Pioche, Nev., and advised me to buy at once. He had already left me when Mr. Snowball happened along. To my surprise Mr. Snow- ball shook hands with me and greeted me with : " Hello, Jim ; where have you been the last two weeks ?" " To the Springs," I replied, bracing up and smiling (I meant close proximity to an Occidental Hotel spring mattress). " Lucky as ever ! Say, but that was a narrow escape we had. Now, Jim, why is it you do not give me your business ? lean handle it as well as any one.'' " It's like this, Snowball ; when I deal at all I like to do something worth while, and so it is necessary for me to tie up to a concern that is strong enough to carry me temporarily in case I get in close quarters." " My dear fellow, haven't I made barrels of money lately ? I can take care of all that as well as any concern on the Exchange. Give me an order and see." " I have got a pretty sure thing on Huhn and Hunt, and if you want to buy me ten thousand shares go ahead, but be quick about it." Mr. Snowball rushed away, and in a few minutes I received notice that he had secured a portion of the shares at $3.50, but that so large an order had forced the stock up to $4.50, and that my average was an even $4, and the order was completely filled. Almost in- stantly Huhn and Hunt commenced to advance. I gave the order to sell when $6 was reached. Snowball un- loaded a little at that price ; then the market turned, and I told Snowball to close my deal. He managed to do so, and the next day paid me $3,750. I was again confident of success. Snowball became a close companion. 11 You are the luckiest man living," he would say, and I would reply : 24 Jitn Wardner. " Nerve and judgment are all a man needs in this mar- ket, Snowball." Then we began making deals together. One day the bottom fell out of the market, and Snowball and I were both broke. Soon after this as I walked along Califor- nia street one day, I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out two quarters — all the money I owned. I stopped upon the grating in the sidewalk in front of a saloon and wondered whether I had better spend one of my quarters f or a " bracer." The coin slipped from my fingers and fell through the grating. Then I said to myself : " I have dropped a coin through that grating ; others must have done the same thing , there is prob- ably a miniature mint down there." I went into the saloon, ordered a drink, paid for it with my last quar- ter, and then said to the bartender " I dropped a quarter through the grating just now into the areaway, and I want to go in there and pick it up." " Certainly ; go right down those stairs and through the door into the area " I followed directions, found my quarter, and also several other coins. Then I began to paw over the dirt and refuse and bits of paper, and in less than half an hour I had found $9.60. The bartender had been busy and, of course, thought no more of the customer who wanted to go into the areaway. I ordered another drink and remarked that it had taken me some time to find my quarter. I went out of that saloon as happy as a lark. I had nothing to do, so I strolled up to a place on Montgomery street, where a Milwaukee acquaintance named Burr had established a small factory for making fine shirts. Burr greeted me enthusiastically, and at once wanted me to buy a dozen of his best shirts at $36, remarking casually : " Of course you don't need any credit, but it will help me to have your name on my order book for thirty days." II All right, Burr, wrap them up and I will take them with me." I also had another friend in the shirtmaking business, Ben Wilkins, of Market street. I took the package under my arm, went to Wilkins* place and asked him Mr. Snowball; the Belcher and Lizzie Bullock Mines. 25 what he would give for a dozen of Burr's best make, that they did not suit me and I disliked to offend Burr by taking them back. Wilkins said he would give me $24, which I accepted. Then, with $33.60 in my pocket I concluded that I would get as far from San Francisco as that sum would carry me. I must mention here that Burr eventually got full pay for his shirts. At that time there was a good deal of talk about new mines in the vicinity of Salt Lake City, Utah. I found that I just had money enough to take me to that place, so I quietly got out of San Francisco without bid- ding any of my friends good-bye. CHAPTER V. SNOW-SLIDES. I reached Salt Lake City with just one good silver dollar in my pocket. I found that there was a pros- perous camp at Alta City, nineteen miles distant from Salt Lake, and well up in the Wasatch Mountains. I started forthwith for Alta City, and reached there that night to find that the thousand or more inhabitants of the town — men, women and children — were living com- fortably and happily forty feet beneath the hard crust of snow which formed the surface of the canon, and through which innumerable stovepipes were sticking like a lot of black posts. Here, indeed, was a novelty. I literally went " down town " in this my first visit to Alta City, for to get there I had to descend forty feet by means of snow steps cut in corkscrew fashion down a forty-foot shaft. Here were streets, cabins, stores, sa- loons and all the characteristics of a prosperous mining camp. The streets were tunnels, and the means of egress from the town, by way of the many shafts, gave plenty of air circulation. It was a warm, cozy place, and its inhabitants did not seem to think that there was anything particularly unique in the situation. I went to a boarding house, and the next morning Lem Col- bath, manager of the Flagstaff mine, gave me a job at snow shoveling, the object being to get at a lumber pile the top of which was some twenty feet beneath the sur- face. In the meantime I discovered that I was in a highly prosperous camp. The Little Emma mine joined the Flagstaff, and was becoming a great producer. Gen. Robert Schenck, who taught our English cousins the fascinations of draw poker, had promoted the Little Emma to an English syndicate to the tune of five mill- ion dollars. The mines were quite a distance up the mountains from Alta City, and the crust upon the snow in the canon was so thick and strong that horses could safely haul the ore from the dumps in rawhides right on the surface. The Little Emma shipped its product direct to Swansea, Wales, where it was worth one hun- dred dollars per ton net. Snow-Slides, 27 With other men I was put at work to dig out the lumber pile, and we had nearly completed our second day's labor when suddenly some one in the crew shouted, " She's coming ! " Every man started for a shaft to reach the town, I following without knowing just what was the matter but realizing that some sort of danger was imminent. And we were none too quick, for in less time than it takes me to write it a vast ava- lanche had come down the mountain, piling thirty feet more of snow on Alta City, making a total of about seventy feet in the lowest portions of the town. I began to think that I was in more of a hole than I had been in San Francisco. The people of Alta, however, did not seem to worry any over the situation, and the men at once began the work of raising up through the new snow from the various air-shafts. Before the next morning there was communication again between Alta City and the unburied world. A similar slide on the opposite side of the canon destroyed Eldorado and twenty men, women and children, and caught a mule train and killed ten drivers and forty mules. The killed people were nearly all Mormons. A curious thing in connection with the calamity was the fact that the body of the boss of the mule train, Frank Hart wig, was not recovered until the following July. In the meantime his widow had married Bill Borum, and when Hartwig's body was found it was given proper burial, his former wife and new husband being chief mourners. I applied to Colbath for my two days' pay, received six dollars, and started for Salt Lake City. Arriving there, I went directly to the Townsend House, then the best hotel in town, had a good sleep that night and got up in the morning determined to do business. I noticed a prosperous looking gentleman about the hotel office and soon made his casual acquaintance. His name was Goss and he was from New York. He was looking for a mine — a cheap one. It did not take me long to find prospectors who had claims to sell. One bright young fellow had a location which he had named the Miner's Pride. He wanted some money. I took a bond, or option on it, went to the hotel, and sold Mr. Goss the Miner's Pride at a profit of two thousand dollars on my bond. 28 Jim Wardner. I was ready to fly high again. Then I sent to Milwaukee for my young wife and baby boy to come to Salt Lake City. They came in the course of a few days, and upon their arrival I felt the courage of a new determination to succeed. I took some pains to become acquainted with leading Mormons, and I was soon quite chummy with Col. Little, the commander of the Nauvoo Legion, an organization perfected for the express purpose of fighting United States troops if ne- cessity and policy so dictated. Col. Little gave me a letter of introduction to " all good Mormons," and I had no difficulty in making many friends among them and in learning much about their habits, traits of character, etc. After a brief stay at the Townsend House, my wife, boy and self secured board at Bishop Spencer's resi- dence. Spencer was about sixty years old, and among his many wives were two very young persons, one not more than seventeen years old. These girls Spencer used to lock up in their rooms every night. There were quite a number of boarders in the Bishop's big house, and as several of them were young fellows of lively dis- position I came to the conclusion that the Bishop's pre- cautions were well taken. It was said that Spencer had seventy children. I became acquainted after awhile with Mr. J. C. Hollingwood, of Big Cottonwood, about twenty miles from Salt Lake City, and I bought in the Dolly Varden mine with him. In a short time we had an opportu- nity to sell the property to Eastern parties. When the sale was consummated I had a little more than four thousand dollars, and concluded that I would return to Milwaukee, settle down to some quiet business, and never again be tempted into the vortex of speculation. But it happened about the time we reached our old home the townspeople were in the throes of one of those wheat deals which William Young and Peter McGeach knew so well how to handle. The whole town was buy- ing wheat. It was California and Montgomery street over again on a small scale. My four thousand dollars lasted less than ten days. I knew then that I might possibly be considered a miner but certainly could not be classed as an agricul- turist. CHAPTER VI. THE NATIONAL CANDY BANK. Broken again, and somewhat moody, I stuck pretty close to the house for several days, and as I was carry- ing many sheets of paper with all sorts of apparently unintelligible figures and calculations my wife became alarmed under the impression that I might possibly be a "little off." As she would ask me questions in a round-about manner to see if I knew what I was doing, I, not comprehending what she was driving at, would of course answer in ways that seemed strange, and she became sure that I was loco. She had consulted our mothers, of course, as to what had best be done — no one had seen me remain in the house before for three con- secutive days — when I surprised her by saying that I was going to St. Louis and might possibly open a na- tional bank there. That settled it. Before a physician could be summoned, however, I had given my wife a hint that led her to believe that I was not quite insane after all. I had finished my calcu- lations, and went downtown, called upon Mr. B. B. Hop- kins and asked him to loan me three hundred dollars, which he did. Then I told my brother Edward and a bright young fellow named George Washington Burr that if they would go to St. Louis with me on a business trip I would give them twenty-five dollars per week and pay all expenses. Without asking any questions they ac- cepted the offer. I purchased three tickets to St. Louis and we were soon on the way. Arriving at St. Louis in the morning, we went to Laclede Hotel, corner of Locust and Sixth streets; and after breakfast I started out to find a suitable location for the business I intended to conduct. I did not have to leave the front of the hotel for that, because I saw that there was a vacant store in the hotel building and that it was just what I wanted. I 3 Wardner, Idaho, grew and prospered ; 1886 was an eventful year. The Bunker Hill and Sullivan was booming along, the concentrator was under process of construction, and I was sitting in my cabin when I was accosted by a gentleman on a good-looking mule.. Wardner, Idaho. 73 " Is your name Wardner, and are you running this big mine ? I want to go and take a look at it— want to sample it. You had better take that gunny sack along and a pick, too. How far is it up there V I told him and we started up. I picked up the gunny sack, and after he had sampled the heavy lead ore care- fully, I holding the sack and he dropping the pieces of lead ore into it, some weighing many pounds, we re- turned to my cabin. He concluded the load was too heavy to pack on behind his saddle and that he would " sample it down." I therefore grabbed the sack by the ears and emptied the contents on the ground, when lo and behold ! out dropped a stick of giant powder No. 2. We had both of us been deliberately trying to com- mit suicide all day. I Cannot exactly remember what Mr. D. C. Corbin said. He was very much affected. However, drawing from his pocket the left hind foot of a rabbit killed in the dark of the moon, he mused and grunted : " How much is D. C. Corbin indebted to that rabbit foot ? Ask him." Before he left he gave me instructions in regard to the right of way for a railroad. In a week his survey- ors were on the ground ; in a month the railroad was commenced^ and in less than four months I was ship- ping my ore by rail. Mr. Corbin has since built many miles of railroad. The whole mining country near Spokane and in British Columbia is indebted for its prosperity more to the efforts of D. C. Corbin than any other man that I know of. CHAPTER XIV. STRIKES MADE BY CURIOUS MEANS. The discovery of the Bunker Hill and Sullivan by a Spanish jackass reminds me of two other instances in which rich strikes were due to other than human agen- cies. The first occurred in Okanogan county, Idaho, September 18, 1892, and is as follows : Two prospectors, Redmond and Herrick, were out hunting and prospecting, and they had with them a bird dog named Skookum. They were working through the Salmon River Basin. When they came over a hill and looked down into a little ravine with a brook running through the bottom, they saw in a bush overhanging the brook a pheasant, at which one of the men shot. The bird fell into the water and the dog Skookum started after it. As he scrambled back with it in his mouth, his paw pulled down some soft green moss from the rock at the side of the stream. The prospectors noticed that the stone showed white under the moss. They made an examination and found it to be gold- bearing quartz. They followed the lead and located two claims. Well, I had been for some time looking for that sort of ore, and so I bonded the two claims, and with them included the black dog Skookum. Thus, you see, that again by a lucky circumstance a dog's paw did for the Red Jacket what the jackass's ears did for the Sullivan. I soon sold this mine for a healthy little sum and turned my attention to the development and exploita- tion of another mine which I got under similar curious circumstances. Frank Austin was a ranch hand working in a logging camp near Snohomish, and had a small shack located on a homestead. He supported his family by working in the camp, and hoped eventually to prove upon his land. Strikes Made by Curious Means. 75 He was not a miner and never thought much about mines. One night he dreamed of a region of yellow gold and bright silver. Surface views showed the precious met- als in large quantities. The dream was so vivid that all the surrounding objects were thoroughly impressed on his memory. All the next day he kept thinking about his dream. He tried to convince himself that he was not a superstitious man, but he told his wife of his dream, and she, too, was much surprised with the cir- cumstances. He had no money to go out prospecting, but one day he saw me, and called me aside and re- peated his story. I laughed as he told me, yet after as- suring myself that the fellow w r as honest, I pulled out a large roll of bills which I always carried, and gave him some, telling him if he thought he could find any- thing he might try. A month afterward I received a letter telling me a rich mine had been discovered. The peculiar part of it is that the Alpha mine was on a ledge where neither gold nor silver had ever been found before, and Austin discovered it just as it ap- peared to him in his dream. All this goes to show that luck often plays a promi- nent part in striking it rich, which, if I may be per- mitted to compare great things with small, recalls the following incident. Until this occurred I had been a firm believer in the old adage, " Honesty is the best policy." It was on the Northern Pacific Railroad, the first day out of Seattle, on one of my flights across the continent. I had spent a very pleasant evening in the smojdng compartment of the Pullman and was about retiring to my berth when, lo and behold, as I reached about the middle of the car, there lay imme- diately in front of my toes a great, big, fat pocketbook. At the same time something else met my vision. It was a pair of red stockings sticking out from under the curtains of the berth to my right; and I got the impres- sion that the owner of the red stockings was also the owner of the pocketbook. Picking up the pocketbook, I thrust it through the folds of the curtains, restoring the book, as I thought, to the owner. Now, all this was a matter of impulse, or honesty, call it which you will, but it caused me a sleepless night, partly from regret 76 Jim Wardner. for having given tip the boodle and partly from fear that the man with the red stockings was not the origi- nal owner. Well, the next day in the dining-car a gentleman with red stockings, which were plainly to be seen over the tops of his low shoes, was enjoying with friend that best of all good things, a great, big, cold bottle of Mumm's Extra Dry. Later in the day we became ac- quainted, and the fruits of our acquaintance were an- other bottle of Mumm's, and still another. Then my new-found friend became loquacious, and finally con- fidential. He told me of the " funniest experience of his life," and after having dilated fully on his good luck, here is what he said : " Say, look here ; I don't mind telling you confiden- tially that I had the d 1 time of my life last night. Just going to bed ; just got my shoes off, and if some fool didn't go and shove a pocketbook right into my hand and went away, never saying a word." " Is that so ? " said I. " Was there anything in the book?" " Well, I guess there was," said he. "An even hun- dred bucks." " Have you got the book ? " says I. "Not much," says he, "but I've got the contents." "Well," I says, "I am the fool that gave you that pocketbook, and I want fifty bucks right now." He handed them over after considerable expostulation. And the strange part of the story is that we never found the owner. The man who lost the pocketbook, in all probability, got off at Spokane. Well, I did not make any serious efforts to find him, yet if he is alive and reads this ac- count and can give his name, and if he needs it more than I do, he can have my share ; and the man with the red stockings has cheerfully agreed to follow suit. CHAPTER XV. A GREWSOME AWAKENING. To have a well-filled pocketbook thrust upon you doesn't often occur, but, speaking of odd happenings, my old friend, the Hon. Alexander McKenzie, who has filled many official positions of trust, and is universally known and respected throughout North and South Dakota, told me a good one on himself one day. At the time of this event he was the sheriff of Burleigh county, in North Dakota, and resided in Bismarck. His duties caused many a long ride over hard roads and prairies, swimming streams, and climbing steep ascents. It was on one of these chases for criminals in the vicin- ity of the Missouri River, that, tired and weary, he un- saddled his horse at mid-day to refresh himself at a stream and have a few moments' rest in the shade of a little tree. Tying his horse by the bridle rein to this tree, he lay down and dozed off to sleep. The cayuse, however, would not have it that way. Uneasy and restive, like all cayuses, he pulled and jerked backward, and this caused a swaying of the tree. Mr. McKenzie was suddenly awakened by heavy ob- jects falling upon and around him. The cayuse was still pulling, and finally the sheriff ran for safety to es- cape a perfect shower of human hands, feet and heads. The fact of the matter was that the cayuse had stood there and deliberately shaken down an old Indian graveyard. CHAPTER XVI. "shorty." After the sale of Bunker Hill and Sullivan came a discovery of gold mines in the South Fork. Mr. Ber- nard Goldsmith and I invested heavily in these proper- ties. I quote from a Spokane newspaper in the month of August, 1887 : "Through the indomitable energy and perseverance of James F. Wardner, Spokane Falls has had $250,000 invested in buildings and improve- ments within her limits. This same genius now turns from the baser metal and gives the neglected gold mines of the matchless South Fork the benefit of his energy, wisdom, and experience, and behold the result ! Can too much praise be given the hardy prospector who " Opens the vault where the gold-dust shines, And gives us the key to the silver mines ?" These properties were not a success financially. In connection with them, however, I must tell you about " Shorty. " Shorty " was a case. In the summer of 1888 he was general utility man of the Alma and Nellie Wood mines, situated about six miles from the town of Wardner, Idaho. I was at that time general manager. It hap- pened that one of the tunnels caved in and buried un- der the d6bris a poor unfortunate German, the first fatal accident that had occurred during my administration and the only accident that ever occurred in any mine with the management of which I was connected during my long years in the business. Well, " Shorty " was the one who was to superintend the funeral of the German — digging the grave, making arrangements with the undertaker, summoning the per- son who was to read the burial service, and the rest. But somehow everything went wrong with "Shorty." " Shorty r 79 There was a hitch from the start. The burial place was on the summit of a divide, and the cayuses shied and balked in the most unceremonious manner. Arriv- ing at the grave, " Shorty " was again put to worry and trouble by discovering that the hole was about six inches too short for the box. Four of the attendants with picks and shovels soon remedied that, however, and the burial proceeded. The Episcopal service was read, and the miner reading it had instructed another standing near to carry out the usual exercises. As the words " ashes to ashes and dust to dust " were slowly read, Bill P began to throw in gravel on top of the box, first with his hands and then with a shovel. At this " Shorty's " consternation and anger knew no bounds. He jumped from one person to another, asserting vehemently that the d — n fool was crazy and was breaking up the funeral. " Shorty " was bound to have it so, too, and could not be stopped until Bill Black got him by the arm and assured him it was part of the ceremony. " Shorty " is one of those big-hearted characters who never forgive an insult. The act on the part of Bill P he considered a personal insult and as one never to be forgiven or forgotten. CHAPTER XVII. SPOKANE. And How it Happened That I Became a Member of the Ancient and Honorable Order of Happy Grangers. Of course, these sales and the rapid growth of Coeur d'Alene thrust prosperity on Spokane, and its property- boomed. We all bought, and as new railroads came in with new people and plenty of money from the East, it grew from a sprightly town into a beautiful city. Scourged by fire and the terrors of the depreciation of real estate, Spokane has come out of the ashes, her values are rapidly getting back to the old prices, and the wealth of a thousand mines is being poured into her lap of luxury. Spokane is one of the most wonderful cities in the United States to-day ; wonderful in its beauty, wonder- ful for the most magnificent water-power, which divides the city in two ; wonderful for the stability of its banks, on the minds of whose officers recollections of the writer must be indelibly impressed; wonderful for the zeal of its inhabitants and their loyalty to the welfare of the town ; most wonderful that in the short space of ten years it has grown from a town of 2,000 people to a city of 30,000, and that to-day it is, as it were, the center and hub of the wheel of the greatest mining country in the United States. Tributary to this city we have Rossland, West Koote- nay, East Kootenay, Slokan, Coeur d'Alene, the Okonag- an mining district and the mines of the Pend d'Oreille. Its vast agricultural surroundings have also contributedto its success. The wheat that is ground in the city is eaten in the Orient, and the early fruits of the Snake River will find their way to Cape Nome. The magnificent products of Spokane's henneries and her creameries have Spokane. 81 already found a ready market in the Klondike, and her hay and feed products are sent to the Philippines. The va- rious mining camps spoken of demand good things and good prices, and the combination of supply and demand is a most fortunate and healthful proposition for Spokane. While traveling in the East and in the West I have no- ticed the differences in individuals, and have studied out the cause that produces the effect. For instance, in Connecticut we have one individuality, in New York another, and in Virginia and Kentucky still others. These individualities are made and formed, first, from hereditary causes, and, second, from climatic influences ; but there exists in one part of the United States a par- ticularly distinctive individuality : I am speaking of the citizens of Spokane. The old adage that " Birds of a feather flock together " proves true in every way and every day, and more than asserts itself in the city of Spokane. It would seem that no demand, up to date, on the citizens of that city, where money has been needed to promote its welfare, has proven too great. The outsider who views its commercial prosperity and network of railways that make it as good as a ter- minal, the never-ending improvements to be seen in its suburbs, and the busy stir in its streets, wonders what is the cause of it all. The cause is the never-falter- • ing, never-failing, unflinching loyalty of the Spokane citizen for the best interests of Spokane. The Spokesman-Review has wisely said that Spokane is the undisputed trade, industrial, railroad, educa- tional and social center of a rapidly developing country. From a social point of view, I will say that the man who has once resided in Spokane will never claim any other place as his residence. It is my privilege to insert in this little book these few recollections, that lead me back to many, many happy days gone by. Spokane now has hundreds of mining men who have made a legitimate success, and one looks back with pleasure to the rustling and struggling and true merit and square dealing of such men as Finch, Clark, McCauley, Williamson, Sweeney, the boss rustler; Crane, Loring, D. C. Corbin, Austin Corbin, George W. Dickinson, Barney Barinds, C. G. Griffith, Billy Alper- son, C. D. Porter, Peter Porter, George Darby, George 82 Jim Wardner. Hughes, Fred Kelly, Jack Wilmot, Senator Turner, Oliver Durant, Alec McCune, Scott McDonald, " Uncle John " Davenport, Billy Harris, and a hundred others whose success has been rightfully earned and who have the congratulations of everybody. It was in Spokane, shortly before the time of which I am now writing, that I had the pleasure of meet- ing W. J. McConnell, afterward Governor McConnell of Idaho. The Governor was at that time in Spokane on business for his lodge, The Ancient and Honorable Order of Happy Grangers, of which he is the grand patriarch of the world. McConnell installed me as general patriarch of Idaho. While we have much in our lodge of a secret nature, yet our main motto is, " Never refuse a drink nor kick a dog." I believe I am regarded as a good member of the organization, CHAPTER XVIII. DUTCH JAKE. The Most Remarkable Character in the Great Northwest — Philan- thropist, Theatrical Manager, and All- Round Sport — He Runs a Keno Layout by Electricity. Jacob Goetz, of the city of Spokane, Washington, is the most noted and unique character in the great North- west. He is a man of wealth, influence, and strange peculiarities. For more than twenty years he has been known throughout Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Wash- ington as " Dutch Jake/' He is in the prime of a life that may cease suddenly, but he will never grow old in appearance. More than fifteen years ago he went into the Coeur d' Alene country with hundreds of other stampeders and hauled all his worldly possessions from Thompson's Falls to Murray on a toboggan. Between his broad Dutch smile and his fairly good whiskey, he became popular with the miners and made money rapidly. Being the owner of rich bar-diggings at Potosi, it was his habit whenever he saw a man who was " broke " to give him an outfit and tell him to go to work at the diggings and take out enough gold to give himself a start. "Dutch Jake" remembered back in the States arosy- cheeked girl that he had been fond of, and he wrote for her to come out to the mountains and share his increas- ing wealth. She came, and in 1887, on the 17th day of January, Murray witnessed the greatest and grandest wedding of its history. Jake published a notice in the local newspaper, inviting all persons within the limits of Montana, Idaho and Washington, to come to his wed- ding. Then he had posters printed and posted up on the mountain walls and the big trees and every sightly 84 Jim Wardner. place, asking all readers to join the feast and festivities at Murray, Idaho, the last line of the invitation reading, " Nobody barred." The day of " Dutch Jake's " wedding opened with the firing of dynamite salutes in every camp and cafion where miners were at work. The only brass band in the district blew its blasts and beat its drums all day long, and wines and liquors were in exhaustless quanti- ties for every person's indulgence. There were fire- works and feasting and dancing. The marriage cere- mony was performed in the midst of the biggest crowd that ever gathered at one time and place in the Coeur d'Alene Mountains. The presents were numerous and very expensive. A week before the wedding I went to Spokane Falls and carried orders from more than two hundred friends and admirers to purchase presents for the happy couple. I remember that one package of silverware weighed over 700 pounds. The variety of wedding presents was not only wonderful but astound- ing, covering every necessity of living, including the bedroom. " Dutch Jake " never failed to grubstake miners who appealed to his generosity, and one day he helped to outfit Phil O'Rourke, Con Sullivan and L. H. Kellogg. A part of the outfit was a thoroughbred jackass, which became widely known as " Kellogg's Jack " and as the real discoverer of the Bunker Hill and Sullivan mine; he threatened at one time to outrival even "Dutch Jake " himself in importance and notoriety. That was a lucky grubstake for Jake. It netted him $100,000 when the mine was sold. After receiving this money, " Dutch Jake " moved to Spokane Falls, and then, with Harry F. Baer as a part- ner, he built the first brick building in that thriving Western city and established the most curious combi- nation of theater, saloon, gambling house, dance hall and hotel — free to any and all persons who were " broke " — that has ever been brought together under one roof. The great fire swept away Goetz & Baer's place, and upon the site of the old building they erected an estab- lishment which by uniqueness, together with the eccen- tricities of "Dutch Jake" and the stability of his part- ner, Harry F. Baer, created a tremendous patronage, so JACOB GOETZ. (DUTCH JAKE.) "Dutch faker 85 great that in time they were obliged to increase their institution, until to-day, not even in the city of New York, and I doubt if in all the world, can a like institution be found. Money has been lavishly spent on the fittings, carpets and general fixtures of four immense floors. The size of the property is 100 by no feet, and the various occupations of this weird establishment are owned and controlled by the proprietors. The first floor is tiled, and in one corner, as you enter the barroom, is a fine barber shop with an entrance leading into a Turkish bath department. This Turkish bath department has also an entrance from the street. A person can get any- thing he wants in this place of business — drink, bath, meal, bed, shave, go to the theater, dance hall or gam- bling room. The house is of pressed brick, has the latest modern improvements, is steam-heated, and lighted by gas and electricity. The lighting plant is owned by the proprietors and is established in the basement, where one will also find large liquor and lunch counters. The bar on the first floor is an exceedingly beautiful affair. The fixtures are of cherry and the mirrors French plate. On this floor and to the right of the bar is the only por- trait in the building. This portrait is circular, has a diameter of three feet, and the frame is six inches in width, beautifully variegated, of gold and silver. It is a portrait of Jim Wardner, of Wardner, Idaho. Take the stairway leading to the theater, club rooms and the dance hall. The theater takes in the second and third floors, and the fourth floor is the dance hall. About one-third of the second floor is occupied by the club room. In this room every known game of chance is played. First of all, that wonderful and original game of " Dutch Jake's," keno, by electricity. The electrical work in this game is of such a character that it guaran- tees both the player and the proprietor absolute fair- ness. There is no calling out of numbers, for the balls which are drawn are placed in a groove corresponding to the number of the ball, and the decline of the little sphere operates an electric wire which causes the card bearing the number of the ball to appear upon the wall, so that the noise of the caller and possible mistakes are avoided. Here also we find the games of roulette, stud poker, 86 Jim Wardner. faro, Klondike and craps, played by an immense and motley assemblage. Under no circumstances does the concern permit minors to frequent the gambling hall, and often " Dutch Jake " will advise married men who he thinks are spending too much money at his establishment to go home and keep away from the game. He is a domestic man him- self and cannot tolerate anything that infringes upon the supreme rights of women and children. " Dutch Jake " would never be able to understand why New York men sit calmly in street cars and elevated trains and permit women to stand. Fine lunch counters are all over the house, and the goods sold are the very best. "Dutch Jake's" goods are like his character. While whiskey will not be considered by many people in the world with any degree of toleration, yet nobody doubts the purity of " Dutch Jake's " whiskey, and it is the same with his character. Few men in his line of business have so in- delibly stamped upon the minds of any community their honesty and integrity as has " Dutch Jake." There are 144 men and women working in this estab- lishment. Here you find barkeepers, barbers, carpenters, gamblers, actors, electricians, waiters, and boot-blacks. The house never closes its doors. It is a continuous per- formance the year round. " Dutch Jake " is a good pay- master, and the average pay of his 144 employees is $4 per day. A faro dealer in that country earns $10 per day. Thus, you see, the salary list is $576 per day. I almost forgot to mention one of the principal rooms in this house. It is devoted by this humanitarian to the poor and needy who stroll into his place asking for a meal and a place to lie down. In this apartment any poor man is permitted to lie down and also to receive one square meal a day free of charge. In this room I have seen in the early hours of a bitter cold and stormy morning hundreds of these poor fellows huddled to- gether, covered only with a blanket which " Dutch Jake " would always furnish them. Here the men are compelled to be neat, and if a lodger desires a bath he is escorted to the bath-room. Cleanliness is one of u Dutch Jake's " hobbies. "Dutch Jake's" partner, Harry F. Baer, has been "Dutch faker 87 associated with him many years and is the only partner Jake ever had. The fact that there has never been any disagreement between them proves that both are of the right sort — square, reliable, and generous. Their names generally head the subscriptions for public charitable objects. CHAPTER XIX. FAIRHAVEN, WASHINGTON. But to return to the subject of these memoirs : Eighteen eighty -nine was a bad year for me ; I tried wheat, oil, stocks, and spent much money prospecting ; my expenses were very high. I still had a champagne appetite, but only a lager beer income. I decided to go to Gov. Hauser and get a job buying ore for the Helena smelters. I got aboard a Northern Pacific train at Spokane, and there met Mr. Nelson Bennett, the great contractor and big-hearted millionaire. I was side-tracked to fortune. He said : " Jim, I want you. I am building up a great city — Fairhaven, Washington, will be the terminal point of three great overland railroads. I am building a rail- road that will top them all. Fairhaven is the coming metropolis of Puget Sound. I am going to New York now, and if I wire to you at Helena to come to New York, you come." At Garrison Junction we parted, he going via Butte and I going via Helena. But, after wabbling the mat- ter over in my mind for an hour, I concluded to go right through to New York, and take Helena in as a by-product, as it were, afterward. Well, I saw Mr. Bennett when he registered at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, but he didn't see me. However, in a couple of days I made myself known to him, and he said : " It's all right ; go ahead, boom her ! Here's a letter to Wilson. When will you start?" " To-night — this minute," I said; " quick as you write that letter." Back I went. I felt that everything was all right. A wave of prosperity was rolling westward, and I was on the crest. Everything came my way. I stopped on the way one day with my family in Spokane, and during the time bonded the Boston mine in the Cascades, which Fair haven y Washington. 89 I afterward sold for $25,000. I hurried on to the coast, and found Tacoma, Seattle, and Anacortes red-hot — investors flocking in from everywhere — but not a word about Fairhaven. I took the old tub Eliza Anderson and landed at Fair- haven, where I met Chas. D. Francis at the wharf. The one locomotive that belonged to the railroad, ten miles long, was switching a carload of lumber. That same carload was switched on the arrival of every boat. Francis asked me my business, and I told him I was going to look around, and might start a bank. He said he already had a permit from the United States Treas- urer to start a National Bank, but he could not see any- thing but stumps and trees for depositors and customers. He was afterward my cashier in the First National Bank of Fairhaven. I went to the headquarters of the Fairhaven Land Company, and there met my old friends, E. M. Wilson, Cogill, and Gov. George Black. I exhibited my letter and bought 135 lots, 25 per cent, down; balance, three, six, nine and twelve months. I had $10,000 in cash, and this I at once invested in options on business prop- erty right in the heart of Fairhaven, for which I paid from $100 to $250 per front foot. In one month I had organized the Fairhaven Water Works Company, the Fairhaven Electric Light Company, the Samish Lake Logging and Milling Company, the Cascade Club, First National Bank, and the Fairhaven National Bank, of which I was president. I was also president of the first three named corporations, and vice-president of the Cascade Club and the First National Bank. Modesty, you will notice, never kept me in the background. The town was incorporated ; E. M. Wilson was elected Mayor and I was elected Alderman. Here I made a record. During the year, I think I seconded four motions and moved to adjourn each time I was present. But I am getting ahead of my story. So close did I invest my money and so busy was I that I arrived in Tacoma "broke/' forgetting thac I had told my wife to meet me there, and that we would go to San Francisco together. She had been waiting for me two days. She is a great waiter. Just keep her anticipating and she is perfectly happy. She grows fat on promises and is go Jim Wardner. happy in financial adversity. I got hold of her acci- dentally and I have educated her splendidly. The click of the nightlock bothers her no longer. She does not implicitly believe what I say ; consequently she has few disappointments. I do not confide my business to her, and she is not worried and never blamed. I taught her early to go out alone ; hence she is courageous. I guess we are both of us of the same opinion on every subject, for we never gossip or debate. She was bright and intelligent when I got hold of her and was easy to educate. The time to educate them is in their youth. Well, there she was, waiting for me. " Got any money ? " says I. She says, " Nit." Both " broke," and bound for San Francisco. " Well, this is a predicament. Let me see what I can do," I said. This was at the Tacoma Hotel. You remember I told you I was side-tracked to success. Well, I was down in the office, deliberating whom to draw on, when Gen. Curry, who was sitting on the other side of the office, called to me and said, " They say you are making things howl up in Fairhaven ; a whole boat-load of buyers from Spokane went up to-night. Say, can't you put me on ? Here;" and handing me a crisp yellow bank-bill, value $500, he said, " Put this where it will do the best." As I owned the best lots in town I soothed my con- science by right then and there picking out in my mind a couple for him. I returned to the waiting wife, showed her that " sweet $500- William," and, in answer to her wondering question, said, " A bird flew in at the window with it." Most peculiar and best of women : if you did not believe it, you certainly showed no evidence of doubt. Gen. Curry had no cause to regret his investment. In San Francisco I learned that realty in Fairhaven was jumping to " beat the band," and back I went and took a new hold. I made $60,000 clean in cash in sixty days, and bought a coal prospect and named it the Blue Canon Coal Mine ; then I formed a company, of which I was president, and issued 500,000 shares of stock, and incorporated the Marble Creek Marble Com- Fairliaven, Washington. 91 pany, capital stock, $100,000, of which company I was vice-president. In connection with my Fairhaven experience, the fol- lowing letter is self-explanatory : Fairhaven, Dec. 1, 1891. Captain J. R. Matthews and Members of Wardner Hose Co. No. 2. My Dear Friends : Permit me to thank you for an elegantly framed photograph showing all the members of your splendid company. I feel that I do not deserve the compliment that you bestowed upon me when you christened the company, and this further testimonial of your regard ; and I more fully appreciate these honors when I consult the record of your meritorious conduct since your organization. You need no other testimoni- als of your gallantry and vigilance than the silent, black and charred wrecks that might have been the starters of a great conflagration. I trust that you will keep up your strength in numbers and continue to protect our imperial city. Pay no attention to adverse criticism. A volunteer fire company is and always has been the em- bodiment of all that is brave and unselfish. Hoping in the near future to be able to show my ap- preciation in a more substantial manner, I remain, boys, your friend, J. F. Wardner. CHAPTER XX. MY CAT RANCH. Then I started my cat ranch. Much has been said and much has been written about my celebrated cat ranch, located on an island about six miles from Fair- haven, Washington. So many bright writers have been there, and have seen my novel experiment and specula- tion, that I will let them tell the story themselves. I must, however, remark that, although the product did not equal my anticipation, I cannot blame Mr. Samuel Weller, of Cincinnati, who was my sole manager and purveyor to the cats. " This gentleman was a cat man, and his father was a cat man before him. ,, If he finally erred in judgment it was from excessive zeal, and I forgive him. Now, as all my visitors, like my cats, had tales, let us listen a bit : From the New York Tribune : " BLACK CATS FOR PROFIT. " A new industry is always interesting. And it is es- pecially attractive if it shows great possibilities and hints of perhaps becoming a source of national wealth. There comes at this time from the new State of Wash- ington a report of such an industry. We refer to the black-cat ranch just established at Fairhaven by the Consolidated Black Cat Company, Limited. 11 We trust that our readers will understand that the organization of this company is a fact. Mr. James F. Wardner, of Fairhaven, is president. The names of the other officers are not given in the San Francisco dis- patch which brings the intelligence, but the plan and object of the company are quite fully explained. The company has bought an island in Puget Sound, and is My Cat Ranch. 93 already taking steps to secure all of the black cats in the neighborhood. Several carloads will be shipped from San Francisco next week. The cats will all be placed on the island and shelter provided for them. An island is selected in preference to the mainland, that the cats maybe kept separate from others and the pure black cat propagated. Men will be employed to take care of the cats and to feed them regularly three times a day. They will live mostly on fish caught in the surrounding waters, so the expense of keeping them will be small. We should bear in mind that cats are extremely fond of fish and invariably thrive on it. During the day the cats will wander about the island, sun themselves on the rocks or lie in the shade of the trees, as the condition of the weather may dictate. An hour before sundown the men will go out and gradually scat them into their quarters. The natural tendency of the cat is, of course, to roam about at night, and to howl in a heartrending key, and fight others of its species with great vigor. This undoubtedly improves both the voice and the fight- ing qualities of the animal, but as the Consolidated Black Cat Company is not raising its cats for either their vocal or belligerent qualities, it is thought best to inclose them at night if the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals does not interfere. In rounding up the cats at night the men will not be allowed to use bootjacks or other missiles usually employed in the treatment of these animals, and no dog will be allowed on the island. " Of course it is entirely too early for any valuable speculation as to the probable financial success of the company. After it has placed its first shipment of black cat-skins on the market, perhaps some definite conclu- sion can be arrived at in this regard. It is a new in- dustry, but that is no proof that it may not be a brilliant success. There is always a considerable demand for black cat-skins in certain parts of Missouri and Arkan- sas for medical use, a plaster made on the hide side of the skin of a black cat killed in the dark of the moon being greatly esteemed by many local practitioners, but the home supply probably fully meets the demand. A general demand must be created. In some respects the time seems to be ripe for the Consolidated Black Cat Company, Limited." 94 Jim Wardner. From the Sioux City Journal: " A company was organized with a capital stock of $200,000, and an island of about 1,000 acres in extent, located in Bellingham Bay, in the upper part of Puget Sound, was obtained to carry on the farming. Then a grand skirmish was made to get black cats. The Pacific Coast States were ransacked, and nearly every incoming train was loaded with black cats, which were immedi- ately taken to the island, or ' cat factory/ as we called it. They were in charge of a number of men, who furnished food by seine-fishing in the bay, and a certain number were killed during the year to pay current expenses. When I left, a good black cat's pelt was worth $2, and the company was making a mint of money. " Cats' fur makes up elegantly into muffs and capes, and I see they are beginning to be quite popular. The pelts that are spotted are colored black, and sold as a cheap grade. There is going to be plenty of money in the industry for Jim Wardner and his company, and I think it will only be a matter of a short time until other companies are formed and like industries established on some of the numerous islands in the Sound. It beats skunk and rattlesnake farming ten to one, and is less disagreeable and much more profi table/ ' From Col. W. J. Parkinson's speech in Rochester before the New York Fur Men's Association : "Imagine two thousand acres of land devoted en- tirely to the cultivation, or rearing, of cats ; black cats, gray cats, torn cats, and yellow cats, the ten thousand already supposed to be there being daily added to by the myriad agents Jim has constantly in the field. Imagine these two thousand acres cut up into con- venient divisions, with drying sheds and barns, meat and slaughter houses, grass and sand lots, for these feline pets to whisk about in. Every thirty days, or each month in the year, five hundred of these cats are presumed to be killed, and their hides hung up to dry, or got ready otherwise for the market. In no other place in the world is another such industry to be found; and the My Cat Ranch. 95 interesting part of the whole business is, how, when your expert fur dealers from the East send their agents out through the Northwest for skins of various kinds, you pick up bale after bale of Jim Wardner's cat- skins at different points along the coast, and when they reach you and your customers they become known as 'hood seals/ (Laughter.) " Of course, not being an expert, I know nothing about this part of the trade, but I never visit Puget Sound without going to Jim Wardner's cat ranch. You will find Jim a most genial fellow, the head of a delight- ful family, and always enthusiastic over this pet project of his life — his cat ranch. You who are in the fur trade should write to him, as it may be for your interests to do so. His address is ' Jim Wardner, Fairhaven, Wash- ington, care Wardner's cat ranch.' " From the Glasgow Herald : " There is an island in Bellingham Bay where a local statute forever enjoins all residents and casual visitors from exclaiming 'rats!' — not that any one having the least regard for the amenities of good society or the refinements of polite conversation would ever be guilty of uttering an expression so uncouth, but, perhaps, the statute is framed solely as a means of self -protection, and as a means of preventing a riotous outbreak among the colonists. " A thousand black cats, and every one of them as black as fabled Erebus ! Enough to supply all the old hags and beldames who have bestrode broomsticks and whirled dizzily around in the wild dances of ' Walpurgis Night ' or at the diabolical orgies of the ' Witches' Sab- bath,' with Satanic companions into which to transform themselves, upon occasion, from the days of the old woman at Endor to those of the prophetess of the Seattle fire. " Some dozen or more men are said to be now em- ployed in caring for these imps of darkness ; and the in- closure which confines them — the imps, not the men — is of large extent, covering nearly as much ground as a Seattle block." 96 Jim Wardner. From the Seattle Times : " BLACK CAT COMPANY SELLS ITS RANCH. "We are reliably informed by Mr. Samuel Weller, late general manager and purveyor to Wardner's black cats, that the vicious and cannibalistic experiment of putting cat into cat by means of soup resulted dis- astrously to the cats. He says that Mr. Wardner's idea of an endless chain won't work in this industry. He says that any company can make a conservative profit raising black cats on fish and selling their hides only, but to use these cats as an article of food for one an- other is avarice, and promotes cannibalism. " Good-bye, Mr. Weller ! Good-bye to you ! Good- bye to the cats forever. In good Latin, ' Scat, get out in peace ! ' " After Mr. Weller had taken up the cat man's burden and I had sloughed off the trials and tribulations of a constantly increasing cat business, I found time to pros- pect a little. It was on one of these tours into the great Cascade range of Washington that I, as recounted in the following chapter, met one of my most interesting ex- periences. CHAPTER XXI. "hotel be bum." It was & dark, cold, dreary day in November when I pulled my horse up, tired, muddy and wet, at the foot of one of the great glaciers in the Cascade district of Washington. I saw to my right a pine-bark shack, marked in letters of charcoal, " Hotel de Bum." It was composed of a roof and one side, a few pine-boughs in the background, and several old blankets. Presently, rushing down the mountain, and singing at the top of his voice, followed by his partner, came the proprietor. No man ever received a heartier welcome by a genial landlord than myself. After registering in his diary, he discoursed on the hardships of running a hotel in that country and the difficulty of getting cooks, but, as an offset, he spoke of the cheapness of rent and ice. " Supper is now ready in the dining-room," he said ; so, after furnishing my horse with a substantial meal of oats, which I carried with me, we three, in the cold rain, stood around that rock amidst the profuse excuses of the proprietor as to the repairs he intended to make in the dining-room. With the same politeness he escorted me to room one, about three feet of space next to the end of the shack. For a pillow I used my saddle,' with the remaining oats to soften up things. I had been asleep but a short time when I felt the oats slipping out from under my head. Quietly lighting my candle, I saw a huge wood-rat tugging away on the sack. Hastily seizing my boot, I made a crack at him, only to miss him and awake the proprietor. " What's the matter with No. i ? " he inquired. " Rats," I replied. 98 Jim Wardner. " You've got 'em," said he. " Now go to sleep, or I'll charge you extra for gas. See ? " Then the fun began. I never heard such a rumpus. The glaciers above us roared like artillery and cracked with mighty noises as fissure after fissure was rent, and they scrunched and grated and pushed themselves down through deep beds of gravel and slush. The heavens were red with electric illuminations going on on high, and, finally, the rain came down as never before. Little rivulets from the mountain soon filled the trenches around our " hotel," and the trickling sensation made me aware of the presence of water around me. Light- ing the candle, I found that the water was coursing right through my bed. Just then I heard from my landlord. " Well, what the h — 1 is the matter now with No. 1 ?" 41 Water," said I ; " bed full of it" " Well, you told me you wanted an outside room and a bath, and you've got it. Now, d — n you, go to sleep, and don't wake the cook." I soon got the water turned, and slept soundly until morning. I left after breakfast, but have never forgot- ten the " Hotel de Bum." Soon after this incident, I spent an evening in the camp of my old friend Jim Sheehan, now the noted politician and much-loved citizen of Seattle, and here became acquainted for the first time with a gentleman in whose company I have shared many happy hours ; but notwithstanding our friendship I cannot forbear, for the good of the book and its readers, relating what hap- pened one Christmas eve. It was like this : Gathered around a social table in Jim's frumenti sanctum were a few of us that are left. I will say here that Jim's generosity was proverbial, and on this Christ- mas eve, filled with memories of the blessed occa- sion and other good stuff, Jim had been unusually gen- erous. One of us, an old hack-driver from Philippi,had nothing to give Jim for his Christmas present except a ride in his hack. We all accepted the invitation and started to high mass at Father J 's church. Into the church we stalked all together, and Mr. Jehu, whip in hand. The celebration was proceeding with all the pomp and glory of the occasion. The worthy bishop, "Hotel de Bum." 99 gorgeously robed priests and numberless acolytes, sweet incense, and the tones of the great organ bewildered and confused the donor of our ride. We were filled with awe and admiration. 11 Be gad, Jim," said he, " this beats h— 1 ! M "That's the intintion," answered Jim with great em- phasis, and then — well, none of us waited for the bene- diction. o CHAPTER XXII. "going to 'tay all night?" From what I have thus far related of my career it may be inferred that I have ever been somewhat of a wanderer, and a domestic man only spasmodically. This was particularly true of me at this time- of my life when things were coming my way and I was kept on the jump to prevent their going in an opposite direction. I must tell you the story of " Little 'Tay All Night." It happened in Fairhaven. I had been absent from home about two months in the mines of British Colum- bia. My little three-year-old girl, who was always first to meet and greet me, and who had pressed her nose on the window pane for weeks, rushed to me with outspread arms and laughing big blue eyes. " Hello, Muggins," said I. " Hello, Dim," said she ; " going to 'tay all night ? " She is older now, and a romancer from 'way back. She seems to be sailing around in an ethereal sea of happi- ness. She is the choicest diamond in the cluster, but she will romance. The other day I said, " Come here, Old Smoothy. They tell me you fib a little." She answered, " It ain't right to fib, is it ? People won't go to Heaven that fib, will they ? " I said, " No, they won't." After hesitating a full minute, she said, with a toss of her head, " I don't care, anyway ; I'll go where you do," and away she scampered, leaving me in a dead reverie. But the kids got it on me one day. I was about to take the eight o'clock train for Chicago. They repeat- edly warned me that I would get left, and I had replied, " It's a cold day, kids, when the old man gets left." I reached the station in time to see only the stern of that train, and wended my way homeward. " Going to ' Tay All Night ? " 101 It was a beautiful warm day in August, but those ev- erlasting kids had hastily built a fire in the fireplace, and all stood with shawls and cloaks and hoods on, shivering around that fire. I said, " What in the world is the matter with you, kids ? " That's all they wanted. Back came the chorus, " You said it's a cold day when the old man gets left. It must be awful cold. Oh ! we're freezing, we're freezing ! " The adage is not a good one, as I have been left other ways in all kinds of weather. CHAPTER XXIII. THE BLUE CANON COAL MINE. As an example of the fact that I was fairly in the swim and could not avoid the prosperity that was forced upon me, I will relate a little item of the Blue Canon coal mine. This coal mine is located about eight miles from Fair- haven. One day in the fall of 1890 my attention was called to a coal prospect that had long lain idle in the vicinity mentioned. I had repeatedly told Mr. Gove that I did not want anything to do with the coal mine. It was too much like legitimate business ; yet owing to his persistent endeavors I visited the prospect. No name had been given it ; in fact, a hole in the side of the mountain with some coal in the opening of the tun- nel and none on the face of it was all there was to show. In a moment I saw the fatal error of the prospectors who had done this preliminary work. In all certainty the fact demonstrated itself . that the first vein of coal was a large one, and, while they thought it was hori- zontal or flat, everything demonstrated that it was pitch- ing at an angle of forty-five degrees, and that they had passed over the coal-bed and were breaking into the hanging wall. I asked how much this property could be bought for, and Mr. Gove said $20,000 ; "and," said he, "this will include my small commissions. ,, I examined the records, and after the title was per- fected purchased the property. I developed the mine and found a tremendous bed of coal, which grew better as it went down. In fact, to-day I think it is the best quality of coal in the State of Washington. I put steam- boats on the lake to connect with my bull teams on the land, and had much local demand for the coal. At the time of the crash, when the banks were trembling and the stocks of all my enterprises had absolutely ceased to be of any collateral value, I sold my coal mine in this The Blue Canon Coal Mine. 103 way : I went to Helena and arranged a meeting with the following gentlemen : Mr. A. J. Seligman, president of the American National Bank ; S. T. Hauser, president of the First National Bank of Helena ; John T. Murphy, millionaire merchant ; E. M. Holter, and Martin Holter, millionaire hardware men, and Peter Larsen, millionaire contractor. I told them of the value of the coal mine and explained to them how, by the expenditure of more money, vast shipments could be made to San Francisco. I told them I would sell them this mine without one dollar in cash, in this way : They were to give me ten notes of $10,000 each, with interest at 9 per cent., payable in Portland, Oregon, and each note was to have the signatures of all the individuals mentioned. I extended to them an invitation to visit the property, which they did, and they were greatly surprised at its extent and character. Here was a bonanza of its kind that had lain still for ages. Well, they took the mine on my terms, and in the evening I called on Mr. Bernard Goldsmith, an old and estimable friend of mine, who had many times helped me in my undertakings. I then went over to the Na- tional Savings Bank. Mr. Dekum, the president, was present, and I asked him if he wished to purchase ten notes, each one having five names on it, and every name the imprint of a millionaire, reported as such in Brad- street's and Dun's Agencies. He answered : " Such paper is unusual ; I will hold a meeting of the directors and give you an answer this evening/' In the morning I got my cash and wiped out many ob- ligations and really saved the credit of two banks which were tottering. This sale was made in '91. The mine has never ceased to be a good producer, and to-day the superior quality of Blue Canon coal is known all over the world. Captain Healey, of the United States cutter Bear, corroborates the testimony of my old friend, Cap- tain Johnny O'Brien, who is now on the steamer Rosalie, as to the extraordinary qualities of Blue Canon coal. I was as well aware as any one that when I parted with that treasury of black diamonds I parted with a fortune, but necessity is an overbearing master ; compulsion is its weapon, and I was its victim, CHAPTER XXIV. HE WAS FROM EAGLE CITY, IDAHO. Speaking of being a victim and of parting with for- tunes reminds me of a man from Eagle City, Idaho, (we will call him H ), who tried to separate me from some of my hard-earned dollars by working the follow- ing little game : It was in New York, in the spring of 1891, I think, that I was accosted on the corner of Twenty-eighth street and Broadway by a handsomely, richly and fash- ionably dressed man. His tile was the latest, his collar was the highest and whitest, and his gloves too smooth for anything. He said, " Good morning, Wardner." I said, " Good morning." " Guess you don't remember me, Jim — come over to Kirk's, and have a small cold bottle of fizz." Now, there's no danger that I won't encounter for my share of a "small cold bottle." Over we went, I trying to remember that face and those " ratty " eyes. He looked back as we crossed the crowded thorough- fare. I had him ; I knew him. No one but he had I ever seen who carried the keen, popping, black, lustrous eye of the wood-rat. Once in Kirk's and seated, he said : " Jim, you don't remember me ?" " I don't think I do," I said. " You are not the man who had that savage gun fight with brave old Bill Buz- zard ? You didn't work for Childs, with a low-cut blue flannel shirt, in '8$, selling whiskey at two bits a throw, in Eagle, Idaho ? You were not one of the party that took over the ponies in the gulch, the ones belonging to Sweeney, Eckert, Hawkins and myself, leaving us with nothing to pursue on ? " "Yes, I am the man," he said. "For Heaven's sake," I said, "how this wonderful change ?" He Was from Eagle City y Idaho. 105 " Well," he said, " I struck a little luck after leaving Eagle- — drifted down to the Isthmus of Panama. Money was wonderfully plenty and easy to get. Finally 1 and my partner, Pratt, got a concession and rented an old church. Pratt went to South America, got Sarah Bern- hardt, played her for fourteen days, and cleared up $14,000 for our share." (I have since heard that my friend was the treasurer, and Pratt got nothing.) At this juncture, and while a second bottle was being discussed, another " beauty " entered the side door on Twenty- eighth street. At once he was introduced to me as a partner from Texas. He was even more fas- tidiously gowned — in fact, these two " lilies of the val- ley " reminded me of the psalm : " They toil not, neither do they spin ; but even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ,, 11 Well," I said, finally, " gentlemen, what's your little game now ?" They invited me to meet them at the Albemarle the next day. I agreed to do so. I told Gov. S. T. Hauser, and he in turn told Phil Thompson and Murat Hal- stead, and all were interested. We all took lunch to- gether at Delmonico's, and a royal good one it was. We discussed mines, etc., and I related with vigor the value of the Freddie Lee, in which I was interested. In the course of the day I gave H my card, a gaudy, gilded affair of the Fairhaven National Bank, " J. F. Wardner, President." This was all they asked. I was puzzled, although well treated. They sailed next day on the Teutonic. In due time there came a letter from H to me at Fairhaven, care of the bank, saying that he had sold the Freddie Lee conditionally to Count Pominsky for $200,000, which was more than I asked for it ; also that he had drawn on me for $1,000, pending examination of the mine, and expenses of return trip to America, and that the Count had indorsed the draft and he had cashed it. He urged me to be ready to pay the draft, as the sale was certain. Sure enough, the draft came along for collection and was returned, and I have never heard from him since. The fellow truly worked in a mysterious way his won- ders to perform. CHAPTER XXV. KASLO. My next venture shows how I like to do business, Caution and conservatism are cards I never played. "JAMES F. WARDNER HAD THE NERVE. "HIS PURCHASE OF $l7,SOO CREATED A BIG FLUTTER. " Property Has Steadily Advanced Since This Sale Was Made, and Now Is Worth Three Times as Much as on That Day, and This Without Doubt Will Have a Wonderful Effect in the Spring. " We have long since become convinced that there is only one Jim Wardner. Not only is he a man of ex- cellent judgment, but he is a world-beater for nerve in all his undertakings. While other men hesitate and wonder, he advances with a smile of perfect confidence, and is indeed a master spirit of energy and enterprise. Some months since, when real estate was very quiet, in fact, hardly a sale in a week, Wardner coolly pur- chased $17,500 worth of inside property from the Kaslo- Kootenay Land Company." So said the Kaslo Herald in January, 1892. Kaslo was then as brisk and sparkling a little mining town as one could wish. I was soon interested in mines and real estate, and had the general welfare of the town at heart. I also owned one-half of a hotel. How I got into this business is best told by R. H. Kemp in his Kaslo paper. Here it is : -FOUND A LOAFING PLACE. " To show the prodigality of the mining fraternity, the following incident is given, which recently happened in Kalso : Kaslo. 107 " John King and Jim Wardner, two well-known min- ing- princes, met on Front street. One asked the other, * Where is there a good loafing place in the town ? ' 11 * There is none,' said the other. "'Well,' said Mr. King, 'there is a hotel over there that has no liquor license ; let's go and buy it.' " ' Done,' said Wardner ; and they at once proceeded to the house in question. "Finding the proprietor, the question was asked, 1 How much do you want for this ranch ? ' " ' Five thousand dollars/ was the laconic reply. " ' We'll take it/ chorused both gentlemen. " John F. Ward, of Nelson, happening to be in town, and being an old friend of the parties, purchased an interest and proceeded to Nelson, where a license was obtained instanter. On his return, the hotel was opened and christened the Coeur d'Alene. Wine flowed like water the first evening, and, the writer believes, is still pouring in quite a healthy stream. Jim and John se- cured their loafing place, but they have plenty of com- pany." My partner, John King, is one of Nature's best. He is also a great business man. He is the author of that celebrated axiom : " Jim, it beats all how business keeps up." It happened in our own house. The receipts at the bar had reached $46. King had spent $40 himself. He and I always paid cash at the bar ; first, because I did not want King to sluice in the whole business, and second, to set a moral and financial example to our mot- ley trade. One night along came E.G. McMickin,formerly general passenger agent of the N. A. T. & T. Co., and the smoothest railroad man in the country. With him were other " just- came-to-look-the-country-over " people. Some of Cor- bin's railroad gang had been paid off, and came at once to my place. Now, it happens that I have known these a terriers " all over. Where a new railroad is, there they are, and I, too. Here is what happened : After showing McMickin the sights I dropped into my place. It was full of " terriers," and they were full of our "good stuff." The smoke was thick. Old clothes, old gum boots, and old men did not give the place a very lilacky perfume. They all knew me, and 108 Jim Wardner, disputed in slang and profanity as to where they first met me, and who had known me the longest. I was liberal with them, and enjoyed McMickin's discomfiture. He did not understand at once their endearing epithets. Finally, one big " Mick," who had been drinking until he had reached the crying mood, put his arms around my neck, and, with broken voice and tearful, streaming eyes, said, "Good-bye, Jim ; we'll plant flowers on your grave. Won't we, Dennis?" Dennis slobbered out, "We will that." I said, "Where are you going to get the flowers, Micky, in this snowy country?" He said, "Jim, ye know well, ye do, thim beautiful flowers of the mountains ; thim tender crocuses that do be follow- ing the melting snow, blooming all the time from lower to higher ; 'tis thim tender flowers we'll bring, won't we, Dennis?" McMickin and I went out into the clear, cold, healthy, ozoned atmosphere. He said nothing. I only thought, and thought this : Is this sincerity, is this truth, is this eloquence ? Yes ; for I bethought me of the noble tribute of R. H. Kemp in a Spokane paper, in 1888. It was at Nelson, B. C: " After nightfall, when the pale moon had risen and the camp-fires were brilliantly burning, there was much speculation among the groups around the fires as to what the visit of Jim Wardner portended. One party said, ' I am not rich, but I can rustle, and I would will- ingly give $1,000 if Jim Wardner would take hold in this camp.' Another spoke up and said, ' I am only a laboring man. I have no means; but I would willingly work thirty days, ten hours each day, if Jim Wardner would decide to stay here.' Such were the expressed opinions of a number. They appeared to look upon Mr. Wardner as a leader where life and energy were re- quired, and the writer thought, as he wended his way to the cabin on the river bank, where he slept : ' Jim Wardner may be a prince among his fellow men, but he is a king among the miners.' " This is beautiful and from a talented pen, but not so poetic, I think, as the pathos of " Micky Free." Speaking of R. H. Kemp, he is a glorious fellow, medium stature, built like an athlete, and complete in every particular regarding his anatomy except that he Kaslo. 109 is minus one eye. For this, Kemp has substituted one of glass; not exactly the same size and color as its pred- ecessor, but still one that serves its purpose, which is mainly to keep out the cold and prevent ear-ache. It happened that during our wanderings in the wild west Kootenays, we ran into an Indian village, and as it became very cold we ducked into the first big tepee we came to. There we found, sitting around the fire, what seemed to be all the belles of the village. His Royal Highness Kemp at once made himself as pleasant and popular as possible, and as he could talk Siwash like a native, the surroundings soon became very much like a Wednesday afternoon hen-party. Everything went well for some time, when a certain uneasiness began to be manifest among the belles. All of a sudden, from low mutterings of surprise, there arose the frightened scream of the Siwash maidens, and had a mouse run up their trousers, they could not have jumped higher or screamed louder, and out they all went, through and under the tepee. The cause of the trouble was this : There sat Kemp with his second-hand glass eye in his hand and the most curious expression gleaming from the live eye that I ever saw before or since. The fact was that, at inter- vals, he had scooped that glass eye out of its socket, to the wonder and astonishment of those guileless girls of the Kootenays, until they fled from what they supposed was a supernatural being. One of the celebrities in Kaslo was " Tough Nut Jack." He was once in a poker game in that town. There were four in the game, and one of the men had lost one eye. Jack became suspicious, and finally be- came sure that something wrong was going on, and soon located the sinner. Jack stopped the game, laid his gun deliberately on the table, and said : " I don't want to tro out any insinuations or hurt any- body's feelin's, but by if this monkey business don't stop I'll shoot that feller's other eye out." Here is what the Montreal Star writes about " Tough Nut Jack " : u It was in 1876 that Mr. Wardner first met ' Tough Nut Jack/ This was in the Black Hills. There were in the Hills many original characters, about each of no Jim Wardner. whom he can tell entrancing stories — ' Calamity Jane/ ' Bronco Nell ' (two female prospectors), ' Pancake Joe,' ' Billy Goose-Eye/ ' Eat 'Em Uptake/ ' Big-Nose Char- ley/ ' Kettle-Belly Brown/ ' Shorty Clemens/ ' Scar- Faced Charlie • and about a dozen of ' Wild Bills.' " All these played their parts. Many of them are gone to their last account. ' Tough Nut Jack ' survives. He is a unique character, an Irishman, of a roving dis- position, who had extraordinary luck in prospecting, who made money as easy as winking, but who spent it as it came to him. He had been in Utah, and it was there Mr. Wardner met him. He drifted to Colorado, and it was there he struck it rich. He struck a mine there which realized, for his share of it, over $100,000. " And it did him no good at all ; only harm. He drank it ; he gambled it ; it went like the wind. But ' Tough Nut Jack ' was a warm-hearted fellow. ' He and I were great chums/ said Mr. Wardner. 'The mine, you know, was called " Tough-Nut." That is how they called him "Tough Nut Jack." "•'We parted, and I never expected to see him again. In 1892 I was away back of the McLaren mine, about fifty miles from Rossland. Night came on. There was snow on the ground. I was cold and hungry. I thought to myself that I was in rather a bad pickle, when I dis- cerned a light in the distance, along a hillside. I went forward ; saw a little tent ; noticed a glimmering light. " ' Is there anybody within ? 9 I hollered. " 'You bet your life there is/ came back the hearty cry. " ' Who's there ? ' " ' Tough Nut Jack/ «