Here’s a land where all are equal,
Of high and lowly birth;
A land where men make millions
Dug from the dreary earth.
Here the meek and mild-eyed burros
On mineral mountains feed,
It’s day all day in the day-time,
And there is no night in Creede.
The cliffs are solid silver,
With wondrous wealth untold;
And the beds of the running rivers
Are lined with purest gold.
While the world is filled with sorrow
And hearts must break and bleed,
It’s day all day in the day-time,
And there is no night in Creede.
CREEDE CAMP--THE NEW FIELD--INCORPORATION OF THE AMETHYST.
As manager of the Holy Moses, Captain Campbell employed Mr. Creede, in
whom he had implicit confidence, to prospect, on a salary, with the
understanding that the prospector should have one third of what was
found. Creede had a world of faith in the country, and had imparted
this confidence to the Captain.
An ordinary mortal would have been satisfied with thirty-five thousand
dollars, but Creede’s dream had not yet been realized. The prophecy
made in his last letter to his old partners had not been fulfilled.
He had now enough to keep him when old age should come upon him, and
laying his little fortune aside for a rainy day, he started out with
the intention of wasting his grub-stake, his salary and his time.
As if he would lose all trace of the Moses vein, he passed over a low
divide and began to toil up the steep, densely-wooded side of Bachelor
Mountain. How many miles this man had walked in the wilds of the
mountains, alone with Nature and Nature’s God! The frosts of fifty
winters have touched his face and there are streaks of gray in his
soft, thin hair. At his heels is the faithful dog. He, too, has seen
his share of service, and is as gray as his master.
The mountain gets its name from the Bachelor mine which was one of
the first discoveries. This claim was located by a Mr. Bennett in the
year, 1885. Mr. John Herrick, a jolly bachelor of Denver, formerly of
New York, had been pounding away in this claim for several years; but
not until the mountain had given up millions to others, did he wrest a
fortune from her rugged breast.
Slowly up the mountain-side the lone prospector worked his way. Some
float was found and traced along through the heavy forest. Now and
then the great roots of the pine trees forced some rich-looking rock
to the surface, and the prospector was tempted to stop and dig, but
the float kept cropping out. There was mineral in that mountain and he
would follow the outcropping until it disappeared.
Already the prospector began to dream day-dreams of fortune and fame.
Slowly up the mountain he toiled, finding fresh signs of wealth at
every step. Once in a while the temptation to stop was so great, that
it was almost irresistible; but still he went on. When half-way up
the long slope, the outcroppings disappeared and he turned back. His
trained eye soon led them to the proper place and before the sun went
down that day, Creede had laid the foundation for the fortune of not
less than a half dozen people.
[Illustration: MR. ALLENBY,
Foreman of the Amethyst.]
The new find was called the Amethyst, and upon this vein are located
now the Last Chance, New York Chance, the Bachelor and a number of
other valuable claims that are worth, or will be when silver is
remonetized, from one to five million dollars apiece.
In May, 1892, the Amethyst Mining Company was incorporated.
Mr. D. H. Moffat was elected president; N. C. Creede, vice-president;
Walter S. Cheesman, secretary and treasurer, and Captain L. E.
Campbell, general manager. A tramway was built to carry the ore from
the mine to the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company’s track, which
cost the Amethyst company many thousands of dollars. Splendid shaft
and ore houses were built at the mine, making almost a little city
where Creede had walked through a wilderness of pines. The Last Chance,
adjoining the Amethyst, owned by Senator E. O. Wolcott, and others,
spent a fortune in development work; but the mine has yielded millions
to its owners. To Mr. Jacob Sanders of Leadville is due the credit for
having organized the Last Chance Mining Company, one of the strongest
in the camp.
When the news of the incorporation of the Amethyst Mining Company went
out to the world, many inquiries were made by brokers for stock; but
none was ever offered for sale.
The capital stock, five million dollars, is divided as follows; Mr.
Creede owns one third, Mr. Moffat one third, Captain Campbell one
sixth, Mr. S. T. Smith and Mr. Cheesman, a twelfth each. When the
statement is made that this mine for some time paid a monthly dividend
of ninety thousand dollars, it is easy to figure the daily income of
any or all of the gentlemen interested in the property. What a striking
example for the monometallist who argues that silver can be produced
at a profit at the present prices; but it stands as a well-known fact,
that, taking the whole output of Creede camp from the date of the
discovery of the Amethyst vein to the present time, every ounce of
silver that has gone down the Rio Grande has cost the producers more
than a dollar.
Of the army of prospectors who lose themselves in the hills every
spring, nothing is ever heard, except of the very few who find a
fortune. Among the gambling dens in a mining camp, the scores of men
who lose from one to one thousand dollars every night keep their own
secret; but let one man win a hundred, and you will hear the barber
tell the city marshal that “Redy Quartz broke de bank at Banigan’s las’
night, too easy.” Mining and prospecting are only legitimate gambling,
and it is the tens of thousands of little losers that keep the game
going.
[Illustration: CREEDE’S COTTAGE AT CREEDE.]