The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1879-10-10
A WONDERFUL STORY.

Enormous Mineral Wealth i'm the Sierra
Mojadas, Mexico--- Hills of Gold and q
Mountain of Silver---Untold Millions O.
Ores and Dust i'm Sight.
Following is an extract from a letter
written from Matamoras, Mexico, by
Charles S. Williams, formerly of Peo
ria, to William t. Hubbard, of Quincy
ILL.,:
You have doubtless heard accounts
OF the discoveries of gold in fabulous
quantities i'll the Sierra Mojadas. The
accounts cannot be exaggerated, since
the imagination cannot conceive of such
vast quantity of gold and silver
boarded by nature in one rugged mount.
ain range. The tallest stories would
not be fabulous in this case. I have
been there, and I know whereof / affirm
You know have been something of a
traveller; that have seen the mines OF
California, Australia and among the
Ural Mountains--for, during my wan
behring's, | correspondent with you; but
nowhere on this planet have ever seen
the same richness in mines-the same
uncounted tons of gold. The very
mountains, lofty and rugged as they
are, seem to be built of gold. Untold
millions of the yellow ores and dust are
in sight; how much there may be hid
den in the heart of the mountains only
He who created all wealth can tell.
IF L had not been there, and one had
attempted to tell only one.half of the
truth in regard to those golden mount
aims though he had been nv dearest
kinsman, or most trusted friend, /
would not have accepted his story as
truth. L shall not ask you to believe
me when I say that there are, in those
wild, almost inaccessible mountains,
great hills of gold, miles in length,
hundreds of feet in height, and hun
dreds ofs yards in width. And yet it is
the literal truth. And not far away
from the golden hills there is mount
ain of silver ore richer than any ores of
Leadville, Virginia, or any other bonan-
"a mines yet discovered. This silver
mountain throws into the shade the far
famed hill of Santa Eulalia, in Chihua-
hua, from which $200,000,0O0 in silver
has been taken. l know you will think /
tell incredible stories. l have not told
half the truth.
But why are not these mines worked
developed at once? The answer is
not difficult. They are in Mexico
and nothing is done in a hurry, except
changing the Government. In the next
place, territorial jurisdiction is claimed
by the three States of Coahuila, San
Luis Potosi, and chihuahua. The
mines are undoubtedly clearly In the
State of San Luis Potosi; but the con-
ficting claims must be settled, MS each
has military force in the neighbor-
hood, and suppress all attempts to carry
on mining operations. Then the title
is in doubt. Up till within week be-
fore my departure from San Felipe, the
nearest pueblo to the mining region, it
was supposed that the Mojadas were a
part of the public domain. But inter-
ested parties made the discovery that
the identical tract upon which the rich
est discoveries have been made was long
ago granted away, in the usual Mexican
style of iberality, to the extent of six
Spanish leagues square.
There was much excitement in San
Luis Potosi and Saltillo over the an
that the great mines were
private property, and, the strangest
part of all, the property of an American
by birth, if living, and his heirs, if
deado