Natrona County WY Archives History - Books .....Scams 1923 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wy/wyfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com May 5, 2005, 7:09 pm Book Title: History Of Natrona County, Wyoming TOM WAGNER'S FAKE MINE Central Wyoming's greatest mining swindle was perpetrated by Tom Wagner in 1897 and 1898. There have been many disappointments in mines in the state and much time and money have been lost in various enterprises, but, in nearly all cases those concerned were acting in good faith. Wagner's promotion was a premeditated and absolutely dishonest proposition. Wagner was a cowpuncher who had ridden the range around the Point of Rocks and the Pedro mountains in 1885. He left the country but returned in June, 1897, and, after being up in the Point of Rocks neighborhood a few months, came down with a wagonload of ore which he hauled to Deadwood. The ore showed a run of $1,000.50 net, and there was a gold rush precipitated immediately. Some experienced miners returned to the Point of Rocks with Wagner and forty-three claims were staked off for Wagner, and he sold claims to others for $50 or $100, which sums he said were to be used to pay for the assessment work. Wagner bought the Indian Grove ranch, and stocked it with horses and cattle and he and his miners lived there during their operations. He did not pay for the ranch or the stock, however. The Wyoming Derrick of January 13, 1898, said that "after his first forty-three claims were legally staked and the discovery and assessment work all done in compliance with the laws, he (Wagner) came to Casper after three four-horse-team loads of mining tools and camp supplies and provisions. This was six or seven weeks ago, and Mr. Wagner freely told of his wonderfully rich strike. A week or so previous to that time Professor A. W. S. Rothermel, of New York City and the Black Hills, who is associated with the F. E. & M. V. Railway company, and other mining experts, visited the Indian Grove ranch, and carried back with them some of the quartz broken from the ledge, which has caused a manifest interest in the Pedro gold discovery, upon the part of those high in financial and mining circles of surrounding and eastern and southern states. "Since the first of December a number of old-time and experienced miners, friends, and acquaintances of Mr. Wagner, have come from the Black Hills, gone to Pedro mountains, and become infatuated with the gold-bearing rock, while capitalist friends of Mr. Wagner in Deadwood, Montana, Texas, Kansas City, Omaha, Chicago, and Pennsylvania have urged upon him their claims to invest unlimited money in developing the property, and erecting stamp mills and smelters. "The entire discovery is in Carbon county, about three miles south of the Natrona county line, across the south and middle fork of Canyon creek. The principal lead is on an average of sixteen feet wide, and the quartz is said by the miners working it, to be a facsimile of the Cripple creek quartz. It is a refractory ore, yet it contains carbonates, some of which were scraped from the ore dump at the Mena mine and the dirt containing the carbonates assayed $117.50." Every time Wagner came to Casper, he was surrounded by excited citizens who were anxious to know the latest developments. Wagner, in a friendly, artless manner would tell of the latest wonders unearthed in his "El Dorado." Claims were staked off by some Casper men, who made many trips over the long, rough road back and forth from the place where their millions were lying waiting to be blasted from the rock. Tom Wagner's mines were not his only assets. His qualities were thus disclosed by the Wyoming Derrick: "One of the commendable traits of Mr. Wagner is shown in his staking off three claims of placer ground in one branch of Canyon creek for some orphan children in a distant state. It has been more than twenty years since he left home, and at that time he was asked by his mother to promise her that he would never drink intoxicating liquors. He granted the request and made a further voluntary promise that he would not return home till he had acquired a fortune. Both pledges he has kept, never touching liquor to his lips, or returning to his parental home which he longs to visit and will visit within a few months now." The bubble grew and grew and plans were made for stage coaches, post office and mail service, smelters, beautiful homes, and all the comforts to be secured by great wealth. In February, F. K. Guston of Chicago, L. W. Cummings of Fort Worth, and L. S. Sanderson, a mining man from Denver, went out to the "mines," and describing what they found, the Rawlins Republican of February 17 said: "All the parties returned at noon Tuesday completely disgusted and highly indignant at the deception that had been practiced upon them. They said that about two years ago Thomas Wagner was serving a term in the Montana penitentiary for some offense, understood to be cattle rustling. Previous to his advent into Montana, Wagner was a cowpuncher in Texas and enjoyed the acquaintance of Captain W. H. Kingsbury of San Antonio, Texas, a prominent cattleman of that section. It was stated that it was through Captain Kingsbury's influence that Wagner secured a pardon. A few months ago Captain Kingsbury received a letter from Wagner giving a glowing account of the alleged rich discoveries of gold and copper in the Ferris mountains and stating that out of consideration for Mr. Kingsbury's kindness to him, the latter had located one claim in his name. Wagner continued to write of the exceedingly bright outlook for the camp until Kingsbury was fully convinced that a great bonanza had been discovered. Messrs. Evans and Guston, auditor and treasurer, respectively, of the Seattle and Yukon Steamship company, operating extensively in Alaska and Mexico, are friends of Kingsbury. As they were going through to Seattle, he advised them to stop off here and visit the new 'El Dorado,' which out of consideration for the old gentleman, who is now in feeble health, they promised to do. Mr. Sanderson is a son-in-law of Captain Kingsbury and he intended to accompany Messrs. Guston and Evans from Denver, but missed the train and was compelled to follow the next day. Mr. Guston said that upon their arrival at the Indian Grove ranch, which Wagner claims to have bought from S. B. Parkins some time ago, they discovered that the alleged rich mines are a myth. No assessment had ever been attempted upon any of the forty-three claims located, except the one called the Mena, and that has a hole 10 or 12 feet deep, and it is alleged that the rock taken from this so-called shaft does not contain a bit more mineral than the surrounding country rock." When the party arrived, Wagner was not at home. He had been accused of dishonesty the day before by Dr. Pringle, whom he had tricked along with the rest, and he had also heard that a mining expert was on his way from Deadwood to investigate the mines. The man who had loaned him some of the money he had been using in his scheme was sending the expert before advancing any more. In the face of the imminent exposure, Wagner took his best horse, his rifle, and all the cash he had and departed. He had not paid his miners a cent of wages and they were stranded in Casper until advanced money to proceed to Deadwood. The ore that had been taken to Deadwood for an assay was genuine rich ore and the assay was honest. It had not been mined from the Wagner claims, however, but had been brought over from the Ferris mines. The rich ore lying about the Mena mine was from the same place. Wagner had practiced the old "salting" trick, but he did not even take the trouble to do it carefully. The people were ripe and ready to be picked and he found the picking good. The ore inside the shaft was worthless, and did not show even a trace of gold. Wagner left with several thousand dollars, but he did not reap the enormous sums he hoped for. However, if he had not been interrupted for a few more months, he no doubt would have made a much richer haul. THE RAINMAKING FAKE Mining fakes were not the only means of extracting the coin of the realm from the innocent and unsuspecting public thirty years ago any more than today, but there are now new modes of procedure. In those days, we had the rainmaker faker. On August 6, 1891, Frank Melbourn of Canton, Ohio, the world- renowned and original rainmaker, arrived in Casper under contract to produce numerous showers. He claimed to produce rain by means of a mechanical device which he had invented and which the public was not permitted to see. He set up his apparatus Saturday night and Sunday there was a rainfall of only a few minutes. The dust was not settled by the "downpour," but Melbourn and his friends were highly elated over his success. He announced that the following Sunday he would have it rain a-plenty, but again only a few drops fell. When asked the cause of the light rain, Melbourn said he did not desire to make it rain very hard as he wanted to see the base ball game, and a heavy rain would, of course, prevent the game. Melbourn was a great lover of all kinds of sports and said he did not want to interfere with them. He turned on the machine Friday evening and kept it running until early Saturday evening when, by the condition of the atmosphere, he saw that the operations had been successful and that rain was coming. He then turned off the machine and relied on the work already performed to bring the desired result. But the rain failed to come and Melbourn left town. From Casper he went to Cheyenne, where he set up his machine in a barn loft. Several days after the mysterious machine was in operation there was a light shower, which lasted about fifteen minutes, but an hour later the heavens were suddenly overcast with clouds and the windows of heaven were opened and the waters of the flood were upon the earth and the fountains of the great deep came forth and the parched earth was soaked. Some people in Cheyenne were still skeptical and after a week's rest Melbourn again turned on his machine and again there was a heavy fall of moisture. The next summer was an unusually dry one in Wyoming and some of the people sent for Melbourn. He took his machine to the dome of the capitol building and two days after it had been put in operation there was a heavy rain on Horse creek, a light rain in Rawlins, and a fairly good downpour near Uva, but none in Cheyenne. Melbourn claimed the credit for the rain at these points, but the people refused to pay him for his efforts and he packed up his machine and went to Kansas where the people were in great distress on account of the lack of moisture. Melbourn reaped a rich harvest there, but the farmers failed in their crops because of the failure of Melbourn's rainmaking machine to make good. After that, there was no profit in the rainmaking business and that was the last that was heard of it in Wyoming. Additional Comments: History of NATRONA COUNTY WYOMING 1888-1922 True Portrayal of the Yesterdays of a New County and a Typical Frontier Town of the Middle West. Fortunes and Misfortunes, Tragedies and Comedies, Struggles and Triumphs of the Pioneers and Illustrations BY ALFRED JAMES MOKLER Publisher of the Natrona County Tribune from June 1, 1897, to October 15, 1914 R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY CHICAGO (1923) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wy/natrona/history/1923/historyo/scams17gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wyfiles/ File size: 11.9 Kb