The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1884-02-15
A Gold Story--Probably a Lie.

goodly stock of it is to possess an arti-
Gle which will purchase happiness and
absolution. 1t did not. however. avail
Dives when he prayed for one drop Of
water to cool his parched lips, ard it
did not avail the members of a recent
expedition sent out by the Mexican
government, as the sequel of this little
story will show. There are certain
wealthy men of st. Louis who have sent
out an agent empowered to accomplish
certain facts and enter into negOti-
ations with the Mexican government
to some rich placer and ledge deposits
which lie between the 9th and Goth
parallels of latitude in the peninsula.
The records in the Mexican achieves
show that in 1896 there was "a pOpula-
ton Of 1000 persons who owned 5000
head of cattle and some valuable min
ing properties in the area named. For
many years not a word has been
heard of these people or their country.
and Senor BlancO, an eminent engineer
and surveyor of the Mexican govern
ment, was instructed early during the
year which has just passed away, to
organize an expedition and report the
condition of affairs. He took with him
two scientific gentlemen, three assis-
tants and seven servants, all armed
and provided with such necessarieS and
supplies as previous experience would
suggest. They started from San Diego
and Travelled down the Pacific coast in
a Southerly direction to San lgnaCiO,
and thence northward along the gulf
coast to the starting point. The jour
ney occupied four months, and when
the party returned they were nothing
but emaciated skeletons. They had
started out with three mules or burrOs
each (about forty in alp and returned
without a single mule. Their survey
ing instruments had been broken up
for fire wood, their baggage, clothing
and arms had been abandoned 0n the
journey. and they were naked, fOOt-sore
broken in spirit when they reached
civilization. From the agent referred
to a reporter learned that the party
travelled $50 miles between FL Rosario
and San Ignacio without encOuntering
a single living object except an old In
dian and his older squaw whom they
found at a small efferverscing spring
which they called st. Borja, on the Goth
parallel of latitude. This aged couple
were almost unable to speak. having
lived alone for forty years, and nearly
all trace of intelligence had left them.
They were much afraid of the party
and evinced a desire to run away, but
were too old and decrepit, and when
asked to accompany the expedition re-
fused in a sort of idiotic but firm man.
ner. Continuing the journey from
this spring the pack and saddle animals
died from thirst, hunger and exhaust
ion, and the bags of water were trans
ferred to such of the animals and men
as could bear the burden. One by one
the mules and burros died and the prl-
vatlons of the men increased. At two
places they passed deserted mission
churches, built of stone. In these
temples Senor Blanco reports he found
vessels of gold and silver standing
upon the affairs; priestly garments Ia
dened with dust and fallen apart from
age suspended from the wooden pegs in
the YES ,ries. Upon the altars were
open volumes great tones whose
characters were writ by hand. Dried
bleached bones were found, but not a
reptile. There was not drop of water
and no indication that rain had fallen
in years, and to this fact the party at
tributed the desolation they beheld.
Thev carried off some of these relics
and the records of one of the missions,
but were soon compelled to throw them
away in order to save their own lives
by getting out of the country. A few
miles from this point a shower of rain
fell. and they caught the drops in an
old frying pan which they still kept to
cook their provisions. A day or two
later they discovered gold ore, placer
and ledge, and so rich was it that they
took away as much of it as they could |
carry. Les miserables finally reached
home in as abject condition as possible
hungry, thirsty, naked and utterly
broken down. A few specimens of the
ore was all that was brought back, tied
in the shreds of their clothing.
These ores have been assayed by gov
ernment experts, and part of them
were shown to the writer, being i'll the
possession of the agent of the st. Louis
syndicate already alluded to. The re-
suit of the assay shows placer $4,000 to
the ounce S24O to the pound, or $4S0,0OO
to the ton. The ledge shows from $780,
600 to 100000 per ton. a perfect Ell
Dorado if the assay is correct.
And yet to reach this valuable de-
posit many lives will be lost. vast
sums expended and the inventive
faculty of engineers taxed to overcome