The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1885-06-13
THE eARrARNoLEs.
Skeletons and an Abandoned Placer That
Recall an Arizona Tradition


Ever since the days when people in
this country considered all new COM
efs, even the track layers on the rail-
road, as tenderfeet, there has been
tradition among the old inhabitants
about the Bartarnole mines. Three or
four old fellows earned living for
years by telling strangers about them,
and many drink has been obtained
by some chap who pretended to know
all about them and the fate of the men
who worked them.
1.-THE Bartarnoles," the ancient Ezra
Bowen used to say, when he could get
q crowd around the barroom stove and
there appeared to be a prospect of a
few drinks ahead. 1.-THE Bartarnoles,
quartz and placer, were the richest
mines ever found in this country. No
body used to talk about them like they
did of other diggings. The Bartarnole
ore was so mighty nigh solid gold that
we'd figure, not how much gold there d
be in ton of quartz, but how much
Took anu, TcluSSs IL w do CnoiOl'
If anybody in the crowd manifested
desire to know about the Bartarnoles,
Ezra would observe that it was long
story, and he didn't know as he could
finish it that evening, but if urged, and
if a little liquor was produced just at
the right time, he would proceed some
thing like this:
when the Apaches had this whole
bloody country in subsection, except a
few Spots which us pioneers held by
sheer valor, some strapping young
men came in here one day and showed
us some nuggets that they'd found W
between the Sierra Colorado and
Sierritas. They were after supplies
and they were that well heeled witt
gold that they didn't make any note Of
the value of it. If they saw anything
they wanted they bought it and gavt
all that anybody wanted to take fol
it. They came down here severa
times before we found out much abou
them, and then they told lis tina
they had gold mine, or lot o
gold mines that they called the Bar
tarnoles. Some time after that, Whel
they disappeared, we had great tim
remembering the name. 1t slippe'
every mans memory, and we used t.
meet night after night and figure on il
III bet there were over five hundret
names suggested, but we all shoutet
No. to every one. Finally, one nigh
after we'd been asleep awhile, wok
up, looked around on the boys, and j
came to me.
"Boys,' says I, It's the Bartar
nolesl'
'Bartarnoles she is they al
yelled, and from that day to this Nv,
been the sole custodian of the name
well, as was saying, the younl
men used to come down once in
while and report progress and lay il
supplies. They didn't raise no liars il
this country in those days, want yol
to understand, and when they told yol
what they were ADDING you could de
pend upon it the story was straight
They had found regular mint Their
were no transportation facilities, an
the young men said they were just hiv
ing the stuff, and when they got enoug
they would hire a regiment of regU
lars at fifty or q hundred dollars
head, with little extra bonus to tn
commissioned officers, to escort theI
over to the coast with it. The Injun
were powerful thick in them days, an,
three or four times the Bartarnoler
got bad scare on, but as near as W
could make out they got along a
right. One time two of the boys cam
over here and said they were going t
start for the coast in about ten days
that they'd got regiment of soldier
and lot of wagons, and that whe
they got all ready to start they woul
send messenger down here to let u
know and escort few of us out, an
that if we'd watch the mine when the
were gone we could have all we coul
get out of it during their absence
That struck us as being pretty mic
thing, and the six of us as was invite
got ready for the excursion. / CUES
we spent thirty or forty dollars apiec
laying in supplies and things, and whe
the ten days was up we were all read
and mighty anxious. At first we didn
worry much because nobody cam
down to escort us up; but after five {
six days had gone by, and nothin
had been heard from the Sierrita
there was good deal of grumblinI
and one or two of the boys began
swear that the Bartarnoles was fraut
after we'd waited two or thrt
weeks and heard nothing, we dram
up our supplies and went out in scare
of the miners. After we got out abo,
fifty miles we ran foul of a party
Apaches. and they drove us in. "
didn't get out that far again for
month, but, though we laid low for Il
boys for years, they never come.
''Now, what became of themp WEI
hunted this whole country through al
so have others. Prospectors have be-
all over the Sierritas, and hundreds
men have crossed and re-crossed Il
place where those fellers must ha'
worked, and slid out without findil
any trace of them. Some of our bo
died with the belief that the Barts
noles was fraud, but / always
sisted that there was some pretty GO
reason why they didn't keep tn,
agreement with us.
Ezra died about year ago in to
ignorance of the explanation of t
mystery, but profoundly impress
with the belief that he was in poss
sion of prodigious secret and &C
scious of his great Importance on Il