Mohave County miner., 1884-05-25
LARGE STORIES.

agine to own a goodly stock of 1t
 to possess an artlcle which will pul D chase happiness and dissolution.
 did not avail Dives when he praye
 for one drop of water to cool hl
 parchcd lips, and 1t did not avail tn
 members of a recent expedition sen
 out by the Mexican Government, a
 the sequel of this little story wi
 show. There are certain wealth 7 men in St. Louis who have sent ou ) an agent empowered to accomplish certain facts and enter into nego
 tiations with the Mexican Govern ment relative to some rich placer an(
 ledge deposits which lie between tn,
 twenty ty-seventh and twenty y-nintl
 parallels of latitude in the penlnsula
 The records in the Mexican arch
 ives show that in 1796 there was l;
 poplat1on of 1000 persons who own
 ed 5000 head of cattle and some val
 uable mining properties in the area
 named. For years nothing had beer
 heard of these people or their coun-
 try, and Se1or Blanco, an eminent
 engineer and surveyor of the Mexi
 can Government. was instructed
 early during the year winch has just
 passed away to organize an expedI
 ton and report the condition. of af-
 fairs. He took with him two scien- l tific gentlemen, three assistants and seven servants, all armed and pro
 vided with such necessaries and sup plies as previous exper1ence would
 suggest. They started from San Diego and travelled down the Pacific coast in a southeasterly direction to
 San Ignacio, and thence northward along the gulf coast to the starting point. This journey 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 alD and returned without single mule. Their sur veying instruments had been broken up for tirewood, their baggage, cloth ing and arms had been abandoned on the journey, and they were naked, tootsore and broken in spirit when they reached civilization. From the agent referred to reporter learned that the party travelled 250 miles be tween Fl Rosario and San Ignacio without encouutering a single living object except an old Indian and his squaw whom they found at small | effervescing spring which they called | St. Boria, on the twenty ninth paraI- | lel of latitude. This aged couple 1 were almost unable to speak, having | lived alone for forty years, and near ly 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 refused in sort of idiot ic but firm manner. Continuing the journey from this spring the pack animals died from thirst, hunger and exhaustion, and the bags of water and provisions were transferred to such of the animals and men as could bear the burden. One by one the mules and burros dled and the pri- 7ations of the men increased. At two places they passed deserted mis sion churches built of stone. In these temples Senor Blanco reports he found vessels of gold and silver upon the altars; priestly garments, laden with dust and fall ng apart from age, suspended from wooden pegs in the vestr1es. Upon he altar were open volumes great 5omes whose characters were writ by hand. Dried and bleached bones were found, but not a bird, animal or reptile. There was not a drop of water, and no indication that rain mad fallen in years, and to this fact he party attributed the desolation which they beheld.
 They 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 heir own lives by getting ont of the A few miles from thls point shower of rain fell, and they caught the drops in an old trying pan which they still kept to cook heir provisions, A day or two later hey discovered gold ore, placer and edge, and so rich was it that they ook away as much of it as they could ,arry, but had to abandon it before