Tom Brooks was among the earliest residents in the Tomichi Mining District around 1880 (about 30 miles west of Gunnison, CO). He was enumerated there in 1880, and told the census taker that he was age 49, born in Kentucky.
Tom Brooks died when snow slid from beneath his feet, plummeting him down the mountain side and throwing him over a precipice - nearly 500 feet down all together. His fellow miners found the body and notified authorities in Tomichi. A party of men was sent to retrieve the remains, but winter conditions were such that they were unable to bring the remains back to town for proper burial.
So the party took up floor boards from a nearby cabin, built a coffin, and buried Tom Brooks on the side of Quartz Mountain, near his claim.
Just a few days before, while talking with a friend, he raised his brawny arms and said: "I am nearly fifty years old, and am good for fifty more".
Miners faced many perils. In a twinkling of an eye, miner Tom Brooks was a mangled corpse at the bottom of a precipice.
Summarized from the White Pine Cone newspaper of November 30, 1883. The paper did not mention any relatives or other biographical information.
Tom Brooks died when snow slid from beneath his feet, plummeting him down the mountain side and throwing him over a precipice - nearly 500 feet down all together. His fellow miners found the body and notified authorities in Tomichi. A party of men was sent to retrieve the remains, but winter conditions were such that they were unable to bring the remains back to town for proper burial.
So the party took up floor boards from a nearby cabin, built a coffin, and buried Tom Brooks on the side of Quartz Mountain, near his claim.
Just a few days before, while talking with a friend, he raised his brawny arms and said: "I am nearly fifty years old, and am good for fifty more".
Miners faced many perils. In a twinkling of an eye, miner Tom Brooks was a mangled corpse at the bottom of a precipice.
Summarized from the White Pine Cone newspaper of November 30, 1883. The paper did not mention any relatives or other biographical information.
Tom Brooks was among the earliest residents in the Tomichi Mining District around 1880 (about 30 miles west of Gunnison, CO). He was enumerated there in 1880, and told the census taker that he was age 49, born in Kentucky.
Tom Brooks died when snow slid from beneath his feet, plummeting him down the mountain side and throwing him over a precipice - nearly 500 feet down all together. His fellow miners found the body and notified authorities in Tomichi. A party of men was sent to retrieve the remains, but winter conditions were such that they were unable to bring the remains back to town for proper burial.
So the party took up floor boards from a nearby cabin, built a coffin, and buried Tom Brooks on the side of Quartz Mountain, near his claim.
Just a few days before, while talking with a friend, he raised his brawny arms and said: "I am nearly fifty years old, and am good for fifty more".
Miners faced many perils. In a twinkling of an eye, miner Tom Brooks was a mangled corpse at the bottom of a precipice.
Summarized from the White Pine Cone newspaper of November 30, 1883. The paper did not mention any relatives or other biographical information.
Tom Brooks died when snow slid from beneath his feet, plummeting him down the mountain side and throwing him over a precipice - nearly 500 feet down all together. His fellow miners found the body and notified authorities in Tomichi. A party of men was sent to retrieve the remains, but winter conditions were such that they were unable to bring the remains back to town for proper burial.
So the party took up floor boards from a nearby cabin, built a coffin, and buried Tom Brooks on the side of Quartz Mountain, near his claim.
Just a few days before, while talking with a friend, he raised his brawny arms and said: "I am nearly fifty years old, and am good for fifty more".
Miners faced many perils. In a twinkling of an eye, miner Tom Brooks was a mangled corpse at the bottom of a precipice.
Summarized from the White Pine Cone newspaper of November 30, 1883. The paper did not mention any relatives or other biographical information.
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