Phineas F. Bresee - A Prince In Israel - Media Sabda Org

On the eve of his departure, Dr. Bresee told him that, if he found anything especially promising,
he would join him in it. Although Dr. Bresee was not wealthy, he could command some means, and
felt that, in view of his large family, it would be desirable to make some profitable investments.
They Engage In Business Enterprises Together
Within a few months, Knotts got in touch with some of the richest men in Chihuahua, and through
them secured options on several great mining properties. At the same time he entered into
arrangements with prominent capitalists in the United States to furnish the funds required for the
development of mineral properties.
Probably the richest and greatest of these was the old, historical mine at Parral. This was really
a group of mines, embracing the Prieta, Tajo, and other celebrated mineral deposits. These had
yielded immense quantities of bullion, especially silver, as can be seen by reading the data
concerning them in the Encyclopedia Brittanica. But, having been worked down to where the water
seeped into the mines to such an extent that the ore could no longer be carried out in sacks by peons,
they were abandoned, with the exception of a little work on the upper levels.
Knotts, returning to Iowa at this juncture, perfected a permanent organization, made up largely
of leading capitalists in Iowa and Illinois. The company lost no time in sending men and machinery
into Mexico, rehabilitating the mines, erecting reduction works, and commencing work on the lower
levels. The water was pumped out, the mines were cleaned and re-equipped, and everything
pertaining to them placed in first-class condition.
Dr. Bresee put what money he had into this property, and afterward, with Brother Knotts and
numerous financiers of Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana, became interested in other large mines
in different parts of Mexico. Among these were the Mapimi, an iron mountain, in Durango, and Dry
Mountain, in Chihuahua. A company was specially formed to purchase the Mapimi, which was
literally a mountain of iron, and probably the greatest deposit of iron in the world. In some places
the native iron was so pure that a horseshoe could be hammered out of it. Since then the Mapimi
property has produced millions of dollars worth of ore.
The organization was perfected at Chicago, and among those present and participating were Jay
Cooke, Judge Helfenstein, and other capitalists of national reputation. The combination brought
about by Knotts was a very strong one, but it was premature. There were no railroads in that part of
Mexico, and no demand for iron.
The men who were associated in these Knotts' enterprises were bankers, capitalists, wholesale
merchants, and manufacturers. Of this epoch in his career, Dr. Bresee says: "We would go to
Chicago, hire a large room in a hotel for our meetings, spend a week together, and have a great
time. They were fine men, not large capitalists, in the sense that the term is used now, for that was
before the day of multimillionaires. They belonged to what I regard as the finest class of men in the
country; men to whom the people entrusted their interests, and who proved themselves worthy of
such trust. There was nothing mean or little about them, and they did not scheme and maneuver to
cheat those who confided in them, out of their money. They liked to make money, but were