Jack: Yeah. Anyway, that was interesting. My grandmother. . . was a. . . as I told you, was a taxidermist. But at some point, my grandfather was a professional taxidermist, over in Basalt. When he was up there, how long he was up there. . .
Marie: Was it Basalt, or was it Newcastle?
Jack: Oh, I mean Newcastle. Newcastle. Ah. . . I just. . . I just don't know. He may have been up there only for a short time. I don't know if he taught her the business, or if she taught him. And ah. . . Mom said when the house burned up there, that ah. . . they lost lots of skins, and. . . and mounted heads of different things.
BH: Um hum.
Jack: But apparently she must have had a pretty lucrative business, even where they were, you know. But. . . at the time there, it's understandable. The mode of transportation was the same to everybody, and the hunters liked to brag, and so, they'd get their stuff mounted. And I. . . I suppose at that time you could probably get a. . . a deer head mounted for. . . oh, you know, fifteen, twenty dollars. Unless. . . I really don't know. Of course, when you realize what it took to earn that $15 or $20, well there's a difference.
BH: You mentioned in your story that you wrote, that Ulus had gone broke twice.
Jack: That he what twice?
BH: That he went broke twice.
Jack: Oh, I don't know. . . one time, due to the cattle market. And that was. . . at the beginning of the Depression. And another time that he went broke. . . I can't remember exactly what the situation was, but it seems to me like my mom told me that he had invested in. . . heavily in mining stocks that went kaput. And ah. . . he was. . . I think forever chasing the elusive pot of gold. He was quite a prospector. At one time, he took me to one of his mines, and I never could go back to it. Ah. . . but I always wanted to see what. . . what it was. But as you know, along there in the Sangres, especially on that side, there never has been a. . . a load of ore found that was really worth developing. Even the st. . . the mines at Liberty and Crestone were. . . well, they got some stuff out of 'em, ah. . . I think the only mining venture in that whole area that ever paid off was the Vesper mining stuff up north there where they took the iron ore to Pueblo. Ah. . . up there at. . . what'd they call that? Um. . .
Marie: At Villa Grove, you mean?