From September, in the year 1883, to March 1896, I worked at the East Tennessee mines.  I worked five months as miner and then accepted a position as mine foreman and after that I was made superintendent and manager.  I filled those two positions for thirteen years.  In the year 1896, Dr. GATLIFF of Williamsburg, Kentucky came to see me to ask if I would accept a position with the Proctor Coal Company.  This mine was the largest in the Jellico coal field at that time.  It was also the largest shipper in the southern field at that time.  For three years, there had been litigation among the stockholders as to who should manage their property.  Dr. GATLIFF's party won the suit and I accepted his proposition and took charge in the year 1896 and was there until 1900.

My family was living in Knoxville at this time.  I moved to Procter, called Red Ash, Kentucky.  When I resigned, I bought a house in Jellico, Tennessee, and moved into it.  I had an old miner friend named John STONE.  We agreed to do some prospecting in the mountains around Jellico.  The first month I was idle, I received eight different calls wanting me to accept a position with them.  The calls came from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Western Virginia.

At the same time these calls were pressing me, I received a letter from John H. WHITE of New York, stating that I had been recommended to him as a coal expert.  He wanted to employ me to locate all coal lands that could be purchased in eastern Tennessee and in southeastern Kentucky, and to build mines and railroads to them and then to lease to those who would operate them.  He was a financier and an investor for several banks in New York.  He sent me credentials of his connection with those banks.  He said that I could purchase land in one hundred thousand dollar blocks at a time.  This was a big proposition that he offered me and it would be a good investment for New York banks.

I thought over this new proposition and word came to me to meet Dr. GATLIFF at the depot.  I met him and he told me he had sold out his interest in the Procter Coal Company for $90,000.00 to Judge FINLEY and he had promised him to use his influence to get me to take charge of the Procter mines again.  I made no promise to GATLIFF as to what I would do.  A few days later, Judge FINLEY called me and asked me to meet him at the hotel in Jellico.  This I did, and he wanted me to take complete charge of the mines.  He also said, "If I had known you would not go back, I would not have purchased Dr. Ancil GATLIFF's interest."  This I had been told since the purchase.  He said, "I have bought a hole in the ground."  I replied that there was sufficient coal to pay back his investment.

He pressed me to accept and I agreed to go back for two years on condition that he buy Joseph GATLIFF's stock as he and I did not agree on the manner of operating the mines.  The stock was purchased for $14,000 and I took charge again, but I continued to live in Jellico.  I had promised my wife I would not ask her to live at any more mining camps.  She wanted to live where there were active churches and schools.

In the first year, Judge FINLEY received the money he had invested, paid back to him in full.  He was greatly pleased over his gain.  He was a man of very strong will power.  Once your friend always your friend.  I operated his mine for four years.

A Dr. Sam BENNETT came to see me and offered me twice the salary I was then getting if I would develop a coal lease he had on Powers Branch near Artemus, Kentucky.  After examining the lease, it looked satisfactory.  I resigned the second time from the Proctor Company, and organized a company to operate the Powers lease.  There was no railroad connection with this lease, but an eight mile branch was being built from the L. & N. road from Artemus.  We hauled all mine equipment to the mine about five miles by truck and were ready to load coal by the time the railroad reached the mine.

The coal seam was six feet thick.  There was also an active demand for the output.  It was a good proposition, but unforeseen delays came in regard to the car supply.  This new branch of railroad of eight miles connecting with the L. & N. was being built by Pennsylvania parties.  Engineer WHITTAKER had quarreled with some of the L. & N. officials.  This caused a shortage of cars for BENNETT No. 1 mine, which I was manager of.  This new road charged 20c per ton for handling cars to Artemus.  This short supply of cars continued for about one year.  There was no law to force the L. & N. to place cars on the siding of Brush Creek road.  The remedy came when President Theodore Roosevelt appointed three commissioners to whom we could take our complaints.  This helped our complaint of not receiving our fair share of cars.  We then began to pay a good dividend.