Nebraska paupers

The Nebraska Paupers by Mabel Townsley

The Nebraska Paupers

My father was a mineralogist and survayer. For several years he made his living in a tiny stamp mill on the creek run by a big water wheel. It had only two stamps. He would bring the ore from the hill in sacks, crush it out & sell it to the merchants in Rapid. All the stores have gold scales even now, although there is not much call for them in these times.

Father, with Blair & Franklin owned the [Jerror?] site, as well as the property acrosss the creek where the Custom Mill stands, Father tho, never had much faith in the property across the creek, but he always

thats that the claims on this side were good.

Father died suddenly of pneumonia, leaving his property in rather an unsettled condition. None of us knew anything about it but I remembered the names so well, from hearing him talk about it. The old [Almira?] was named after my sister, but it was afterward re-entered as Keystone No 1, 2, 3, & 4.

Blair listed the property but he left out the Keystone 4, and we never knew it.

Then when the New Year came, they jumped it. Then came the rich find

(3 & people began to whisper around. "Why that belonged to you" - Then we began to investigate. A man from Colorado came to Keystone and talked of buying the mine. My sister & I each had 10000 shares left us by our Father. I said to Blair, "Well if he wants our shares, you tell him he can have them cheap."

He give me queer look - "Well I'd like to know where you got any shares" - We asked the Terror lawyer, "Well, what about those shares of ours?" "Well, they're held for your

father's funeral expenses."

He had had $10000, and Blair had got it all. Just a short time before his death, father had $700 in the Rapid City bank. Blair had him draw it out to cash checks with, & when it was put back, it was in the Hill City Bank in Blair's name.

Next thing we knew Blair served three notices on us to get out of the house. Father had given us the lots & built the house for us, but we had not a scratch of a pen to show it.

That, Keefe had