The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-12-28
Ioss A. : wild Cany on.
A STORY OF TREACBERY AND HAEpsHiPs TOLD
BY oxH OF THE SUFFERERS.
Isau Francisco CALI

A STORY OF TREACHERY AND HAEDsHIPs TOLD
By oxR OF THE sUFrEnERs.
Isan Francisco Call
A prospector who accompanied the Har-
pending expedition to look for diamonds
In Arizona, eleven years ago. recently told
call reporter how the party OF twenty
men was lost In the mountains. IL seems
that some sharpers had "salted" some
land with diamonds. The wild-goose chase
follow Said the miner: "Our guide
called himself Jones, but that evidently
was not his real name. We had now been
out from Pueblo over week, and Jones
was asked every day when would our
tourney end. Pretty soon,' he would
saw. Just across the next range oil noun
fains will be able to show YOU where
my party was massacrcd while they were
taking out thousand dollar day TO the
man. Then he would say. don't
prove what / say sou can do what yon
choose with me- That clinched y, ana
impotence for the time being was set
aside. On we toiled. day after day, ana
still no end. We were now following the
San Juan river. We would cross ana re-
cross 1t and continue on our wearisome
way. Our provisions began failing. we
were put on half rations and still no sign
OF Jones Mountain. the Mecca OF our Jour-
uey. We fortunately came across flock
OF wild turkeys, and our rifles were soon
PLAYING on them and We secured seven or
eight. That night and the next day we
feasted. :.
eve continued on our way more dis
hcartend at the close Of every days journey.
We crossed and recrossed mountains ana
valleys. Our stock were wellnigh ex-
hausted and low mutterings among the
men could daily be heard. One night about
this time, Just after we had made camp,
the men scattered through the canon IN
search Of game. We were almost famished
for food. Soon shot was heard. Then
shout, and IN body we rushed to the
point. where we found one OF our comrades
standing over a bear that he had killed. "A
CRY OF delight went up from every one.
One night. after we had been ont month,
we found that we were almost in the iden-
tical spot where we had been some fifteen
DAYS before. We had been travelling around
in circle without any definite objective
point! Jones was called to account.
"He admitted that he had been thrown
off the trail and had lost n great deal OF
time, but said that he now knew his road,
and after we crossed the desert Just before
us and the range OF mountains. whose blue
line could just be discovered above the
horizon, we would then be, without fail,
at our Journeys end. The next morning
at daybreak we were in the saddle. and
started across the desert with our tired,
WORKOUT stock. Slowly we toiled along,
the hoofs sinking into the soft, loose sand
to the fetlock at every step. All day long
we travelled. and night found us still in
the desert. Our canteens were dry. the
stock had had no water since morning,
and we had no idea how far we had
TO travel before water could be found.
The command was scattered for ten
miles, all following an old arroyo, with
the hope of finding water. A num-
Der of the pack animals bad given out, and
as fast as they did so their packs were re-
moved and thrown down, and the poor
brutes would follow. animal like, il, our
wake. We had ceased to think OF da-
mon1s or gold. Water was what we cried
for. On we toiled, every man for himself
some frightened ut the terrible future,
others trying to put on a bold front, but
all disguised. At last one half OF the
crowd stopped about midnight, threw the
packs of the poor animals. and waited to
see what the morrow might bring forth,
for several men on strong horses were
ahead aid might find water. That night
of terrible anxiety passed, and at sunrise
the next morning the cry was raised:
Here comes man from the front' So 1t
proved. Water had been found in hole
ten miles beyond at A. NJ, and they had
sent n load Of filled canteens back. We
pulled the fellow off the saddle and drank
the nectar that he had brought us. We
pushed forward, and at noon reached the
water-hole.
"Here we rested that day, sent back for
the broken-down stock. and moved on the
next day and reached the mountains. We
entered a canyon that Jores said he knew.
We travelled slowly all day. The sides OF
the canyon grew sleeper and taller, until at
night they were perpendicular and at least
1000 feet high. There was grass and
water, though, and we hoped for the best.
The next day was a repetition OF the pre-
ceding one. We kept on, hoping to find
an outlet; but none presented. We could
not 90 back, for we had followed so
many farms OF the canyon that it
was next to impossible to find the exact
place OF entrance. We now realized that
we were lost in an unknown, wild canyon.
We would follow what seemed to be all
outlet, when. to our horror and disgust. it
would abruptly end where perpendicular
walls thousands of feet high stared us in
the face. Then we would retrace our
steps and try another with the same result
till despair settled upon all Of Us. We
were over a week in this canyon. One day
we saw some queer figures scratched on a
rock. They represented horses, men, and
birds and men pushing horses up a noun
tain. One Of the MeXlcans said that he I'M
derstood 1t to be an Indian sign
that there was place to get out
Of the canyon by pulling up the
horses with ropes. Cheered by this slight
sign, we kept on, and the walls began
to get more broken. Our hearts beat
wildly. Soon we reached another Indian
sign, and it pointed to an arm OF the can
yOn on the left. We followed it and in an
hour reached one OF the walls that could
be scaled. In moment a lariat was passed
around the rump OF an animal-iour or
five men caught hold OF the two ends,
while two pushed behind. In this way
we released ourselves from the living tomb,
where we had been for over Il week. BY
night we were all on top OF the mesa and
breathed freely once more. We saw the
remnant OF a Navajo camp and went to it,
where we found some corn, which we ate
ravenou;ly. We pushed on and at last
found succor at Fort Defiance. We after
ward learned that Jones was in the pay OF
the 'salters.'"
A Volcano I'm the Santa Cruz Valley.
Tucson tArizonal Ciiizen.l
1t has long been known that little butte
rising about the centre OF the Santa Cruz
Valley. some nine miles south of Tucson,
has crater. Immediately after the earth
quakes OF last fall In California different