The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-09-03
PA FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER g. 1880.

fuge in a deep cleft in the mountain one
stormy night, and there built their campfire
The ruddy glare of the flame penetrated far
into the dense gloom of the eavern-lilSe re-
treat, and actuated by an irresistible fasci-
nation that drew them onward, they supplied
themselves with burning brand and set out
to explore the mysterious region beyond the
circle of light. They at last debouched into
the hidden valley containing the colony of
death, but being unable to discern their sur
roundings at night, they passed tine hours
until daybreak at their campfire, and in the
morning made a visit to the ruined settle
ment. Strange TO say, possibly owing to the
shelter which the high mountain ranges af-
forded the valley from the fury Of the ele-
mems, the massive adobe w; rs of the ancient
settlement were still intact, and entering
them they were everywhere confronted by
the moldering remains of human bones and
skeletons, crumbling TO dust at the slightest
touch of the hand.
In a letter which Ackerman writes to one
of his Leadvile friends, and from which The
particulars of the discovery of the hidden
treasure are drawn, he says:
eve did not at first know what to make of
| the strange spectacle presented to us, in the
| habitants and the wild air of desOlation brood
ing over the scene. In every one of the prim-
/ tive structures we found unmiStakable evil
dcnce and traces of civilized society, readily
convincing us that the settlement was not
/ as we first imagined, the handiwork of an
! intelligent branch of the ancient NavajOes
| On the inner walls of one of the larger adobe
houses we found the remains of a heavy cui-
| raSS, evidently at one time the pride of bold
/ Castiian warrior. As we prosecuted our re-
! searches through the settlement we made the
/ discovery that with few exceptions each
I house bore the name of its former tenant,
/ traced in the adobe when it was soft direct
/ ly above the entrance serving the purpose of
/ door. These names were purely Spanish,
I and from my diary tTanScribe the following:
/ 'SylveStrO Rodrigo, Miguel Bandara, Sancho
I PaZara, FranciSkO Mancha, - Lopez, and
I a hundred others. In one or two places we
( found dates converting lapse of years eX-
I tending from 1880 to 1866, convincing US that
the settlement must have tiOurished for pc
TiOd of thirty-SiX years at least. At depth
/ of a foot in the ground, which seems to he
/ the layer which time covered upon the scene,
we uneaTthed Indian arrow-headS of a some
what primitive character, as well as metallic
+ substances. which again proved to us that
/ centuries back fierce war had ragged here
! between the original lords of the soil and the
Spanish invaders, and that the latter were
OVerpOwered and persisted at the hands of the
/ red warriors. 1t was all quite plain to Us and
I in the signs which nature had preserved as a
( cOnqueTOr of Mexico, had here spent short
period of his illuStTiOuS existence, to what
end and to what purpose | must leave TO the
solution of one gifted with more fertile i'm
aginatiOn than possess.
But to the point. Drawn onward by ON
discoveries to search the valley from one enc
to the other we found in one of the most oh
scure portions of the same indications OF gold
bearing quartz on a dump, where it wa
probably placed centuries back, and soon af
ter we alighted on the shaft of an ancien
mine from which it had to all appearances
been derived. The mouth Of the shaft wa
entirely closed UP with rocks and boulder
which had broken from the mountain sid
and found lodgment here and was widel.
intergrOwn with ranking weeds and shrub
berry Guessing that we had struck a bonan
"a too vOluable to expose to any contingenc!
Of chance discovery by others, withOu
. opening the mine we took possession, packe
our animals the second day after our entranc
! into the valley and returned to Del NOrt6
where we at once filed our application in tn
, local land-Office to take possession of the va
ley under the homestead laws, and addition
! ally secured our mine by patent. We hire
a gang of men and set to work developin
= our bonanza. Such it proved to the mo-
sanguinc degree and in a short time ] hop
to have amassed a fortune, which, hypeTEo ol
! cally speaking, will enable me to return [
Leadville and purchase the whole camp, il
Guiding all the best mines. The specimen
send you is from the Cid, as we call on
mine. -