Mexico weekly ledger., 1876-09-28
COTTRILL'S CLAIM.

"Cottrill was the first to stake it out
There had come out together a party
from the States, and Cottrill, being first
on the ground, had his choice of a loca-
ton. Then the boys closed around,
staked out their 'claims,' and went in.
"COttrill's was the first find He
had struck into a good yield from the
very first; it spanned out noblyi . g
"The rest of the boys began to grum-
BILE at the end of the first few weeks,
viewing the persistency with which luck
followed his steps, IS compared with
their own limited returns. Cottrill was
a w~hole-souled, good fellow, right
down on the square, and the favorite
of the whole camp, before fortune made
such a run on the other deposits in ia
vor of his. Then envy crept in; there
were surly words and sullen looks; and
Cottrill somehow felt himself losing in
fuence.
"Things went on in this way for about
two months. Cottrill had made a hand
some pile; the rest of the boys found
small comfort in weighing out their
scanty 'washings.'
"One morning, near the end of the
two months-only n guilty soul will
probably ever know how it came about
Cottrill was found lying murdered at the
bottom of his claim. "a.
ga sudden h%orrorfell upon the camp;
the men looked searchingly into each
others faces. Who was the murderer?
"That the deed had been committed
by some one outside the camp, there
were circumstances which precluded
tho nnCsIhI1ifu of 81 cfTCyN;oiOn, rn,,o1lr,
impossible was it to detect a trace
which might be followed up to the cast
ing of a doubt upon any one of his fell
low-miners. All had been alike envious
and dissatisfied, and no one dared cast
accusation upon the other. Cottrill's
"dust' had disappeared, but there were
none in camp appearing richer there
for.
"The old routine went on, except
that 2Cottrill's claim lay idle. There
was enough of blood-guiltiness in every
soul to poison the desire of possession,
especially since the act might serve to
lead and direct that suspicion which
10 ran ainless riot. Some one of
their number was undoubtedly guilty;
they could only silently question,
some by one the old company sold
out or abandoned their proftless claims /;
Cottrill's was left un~tenanted.
"That year, however, an old miner
from Colorado took it up. He happen
ed to strike a big lead, and turned out
a golden harvest in a few months time.
Then he came down with mountain
fever, and was suddenly called to spass
in his checks The night before he
went UNDER he got up in his delirium,
eluding the vigilance of the watcher,
and hid away all his dust-and that so
effectually, that neither search nor &C.
,cident ever afterward revealed it. y
"For a time thereafter Cottrill's
claim again remained untenanted, when
it was picked up by a greenhorn just
out from the 'land of steady habits"
He worked it the first month, and, high
ly elated by his future prospect, judy
ing from the past, set out one morning
for the city, to deposit his dust in a
miners bank. That night his beast
came galloping back into camp, rider
less and with blood-stained saddle.
Subsequent search proved that he had
had been waylaid, murdered and
"After that, at different times, half
q dozen others took up the claim. They
Ill made it pan OUT but somehow bad