Morning journal and courier., 1880-11-18
Strange Discoveries in a Colorado Cave.
 From the Silver Cliff lColoradol Prospect.l

Strange Discoveries in a Colorado Cave. IFrom the Silver Cliff lColoradol Prospect.J
 On last Sunday Monday and Tuesday 8 severe snow storm ragged in the mountains extending to the valley below. The prospec- tors in the range who were out of sight of their camp were forced to seek shelter in the cannons and under the large lodges of rock. It was impossible to follow guides to any de- signatsd point and all traces of paths were entirely obliterated.
 S. J. Harkman, F. R. Oliver and H. A. Melton were prospecting in the Sangre de Cristo range on the San Luis side, about two miles north of what is known Dead Mans Camp, Sunday afternoon, when the storm came upon them in all it's fury render ing 1t dangerous to travel Being near 6 deep cannon. they sought shelter from the wind by entering. Not far from where they stopped on the same side, they noticed an opening, and concluded to make an examina- tion Drawing near, by feeling around, they found that there was a long tunnel, though not very deep. They determined to enter, and proceeded to gather dry pine for torches. Hitter getting sufficient quantity they enter ed on hands and knees in single file. In this position they crawled ten or twelve feet, when they entered into chamber, where they could easily stand upright This cham Der enlarged for twenty feet, where they reached what seemed a second passge, when, as before, the walls closed, and it became
 
 second passage, however, was not more than ten feet in lenght when they emerged into a somewhat deeper and much larger chamber, the walls widening to such an extent that in order to tell the size of the room 1t was ne- cessary to follow them up from either side of the entrance. About ten feet to the right Mt Oliver, who was in advance, struck his foot against something that moved very easi- ly and thinking it strange lowered his light and to his horror found human skull. A fire was then kindled on the floor out of ex- tra fuel, in order to get better view of the floor and surroundings. Not far off lay four other skulls. Not satisfied with this discovery, they retraced their steps, and obtained fresh fuel, re entered, determined to know the secrets of the cave. Returning to their fire, which was still burning, they lighted new torches and continued their exploration. About twenty feet to the left and near the western wall, another skull and bones were found. There was no sign of any tool, knife or gun-nothing but the alf-decayed bones. The cave extended to the north, and, as in the previous chamber, contracted somewhat, leaving another narrow passage. This passage, unlike the other, however was much longer and by no means as narrow, it leading them into smaller chamber, the walls of which were very irregular, having large projecting rocks, resembling in some places the shelving in a store-room. On the western side of this chamber, near the north end, one or these SuelV66 6AG0uu6u cOuSlu6r- able width from the wall, about ten inches from the!foor. MT. Melton, who was exam ming this very particular spot out of idle curiosity lowering his light and stepping down looked under the ledge, and noticing what seemed to be peculiar shaped stones, concluded to draw them out, when, to his amazement, he found them heavy enough to require his entire strength to remove them. He pulled them out, however, and called his companions, who were examining the op- posite side of the room. They were not long in discovering that he had found three gold bars that have since been proved to be worth S9OO Elated over that strange and rich discovery, they remained long enough to notice that the cave extended in north er1y direction, and through another small passage. They did not, however, follow it, but secured their treasure and retraced their steps to the first chamber, where they camp ed until morning, when they shouldered teeir gold and departed for their camp, reachngfi it in safety. They refused to tell the exact locality of the cave, but declare their. inten- tion to return to it as soon as the weather moderates and make a more thorough ex- animation. We obtain our information from gentleman who has just arrived in the city, and who vouches for the gold part of the story, having seen it and handled it.