With the death of his father, Harry was now free to leave the farm and make his fortune. He had heard that you could strike it rich in Oklahoma, so he borrowed thousands of dollars on his livestock and headed out.
He gambled on a zinc mine.
"Dear Bess, Our forman says we have a much better mine than expected...."
IT FAILED!!
He then put $5000 into oil wells, convincing Bess to invest also.
His company ran out of money and went bust. Bess lost everything she had invested. Harry sold his stake to a more prosperous company. The new company kept on drilling and struck it rich.
If Harry had hung on just a little while longer, he would have been a millionaire.
He was 33 years old and had failed at everything he tried.
He wrote Bess complaining about his bad luck....the farm, the mine and the oil wells.
But he didn't feel sorry for himself for long. He asked if he could come over on Tuesday night.
"Remember I'm crazy about you and just forget all the rest."
