Arizona citizen., 1877-04-21
THE QUICKSILVER FIND.
The RidicuIous Side of It. Etc.

!
 truth than poetry" in the following let
 ter, which tells not an uncommon ex
 perience in new mining regions. ", b stll are inclined to the belief that cin
 nabar has been found as stated in THE
 CITIZEN last week. This letter is SC
 cleverly written and perhaps recites IT
 substance actual experiences, that wC { give it place:
 CAMP GRANT, ARIZONA, April 9.
 EDITOR CITIZEN: In view of youl
 well known desire to obtain the
 earliest information regarding new dis coverles of all "big things affect
 ing the interests of this Territory. 1 ? think few lines from this point will
 not be unacceptable at the present mo
 ment. Ot course admit that all things especially prospecting matters-are
 uncertain, yet l am confident, from all can learn, that the most intereStIna
 and possibly the most important dis
 covery as regards not only this Terri
 tory but the world at large, has just
 been made by a party of gentlemen
 from this place. The facts as far as I
 can learn them by careful inquiry and JudIclous buttonholing-for the parties
 have been and still are very rcticent ln ! regard to the matter-are as follows:
 Fo' some time past. soldier of this post has persistently declared knowl- edge of an old shaft that had been
 many years-perhaps centuries-ago
 worked either by the Aztecs, Toitecs
 or Antediluvians, for cinnabar or quick
 silver. The shaft, he said. was acci- dentally discovered by him few years ago, while serving his country either as a soldier in, or a deserter from. some. regiment 10 which he formerly belong ed, and it was in the vicinity of old Camp Grant His story dId not gen orally receive credence, though l be- lieye one merchant. not a thousand miles from here, if he did not himself " swallow" the story, allowed the sol Gier 10 swallow twenty or thirty dollars worth of whisky on the strength of it.
 When this merchant at last complained somewhat of the amount expended without any visible equivalent, the sol dier. as many have done before him, carried his information to another. market. The parties 10 whom he next. imparted his secret, beng slrewd men of strict business habits, although cred lting the story or the soldier to several dollars worth of half and half" in | single drinks and bottles, determined, !. before they took any decIsiye steps, to. satisfy themselves, as far as possible, as to ihe truth of his story. To this end they questioned several soldiers who had formerly served at old Camp Grant . as 10 any Knowledge they had of the existence of any such shaft None of. them knew of the existence of any shaft, but several so far verified the. story as to say that frequently after heavy rains they had seen quicksilver floating down the stream on the sur face Of the water. This was conclusive proof that somewhere in the vicinity existed a rich body of the valuable metal, and when the soldier offered to sacrifice dear life Tn case of failure, by telling the parties that if he didn't. show them the shaft they nigh; throw him into il, that settled it and they to go with him. Night sessions were had, papers were drawn up and a party of five or six folded thcIr blankets like naJobs ana silently stole away" Now perhaps you may think, judging from many other such stories told of this country, that it was a hoax, that they didn't find any shaft But they did. They found a shaft coy cred with some fifteen feet of solid earth, they say. How in Heavens name the soldier knew il was there un- der all that earth, cannot tell. But the earth removed, there gaped the shaft deep and dark
 With much labor, a rude windlass was constructed, a rope was attached and the boldest spirit of the party was lowered into inc chasm. Accounts dIf- fer as to the depth Co which he de- scended; some of the party say seventy ii, e feet others two hundred and fifty, but as they had only a common picket rope attached to the winilass. l am in- clined 10 think the last estimate some what exaggerated. At the bottom of the shaft were found the remains of two mules with which IL Tas all OCT The party after spending two or three days s'aliny out claims, extensions, &c., re- turned to this place, bringing with them several rich looking specimens (of the mules) They declare them- selves well satisfied with theIr " find, and are quite sure they have a good thing. But the strangeSt of all is yet to be told. \ gentleman who was one of the party, man of mature age, large experience, and considerable scientific knowledge, and who has served with distinction as an officer of. the law at this place, told me coniden. .lallv, that after due deliberaiiou he had come to the conclusion that the