The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-11-19
LOST DEVILS HOOP MINE
The Tragic Death of Two Gold.
Hunters.

Henry Gormley. at present boarding at
221 South Main street. has in his possession
map and travellers guide of the United
States printed in the year 1882. The relic
is doubtless worth considerable money,
not only on account of its age, but because
of the thrilling story linked to it. Yesterday
afternoon he told the following interesting
story of the find" and the tragic death of
Horace Thompson:
SIT was last May" began Mr.. Gormley,
"and l was chopping timber in Chouteau
County, Mont. 1 had started on my
third tree since dinner 1t was pine,
like all the others, and something
up and scanned it l failed to notice that it
was hollow. but(t the first stroke found
that out. But the reverberation given out
was SO dull that l judged the hollow to be
very small and of no consequence. l struck
it again, and as the ax-blade bedded itself
in the wood fat squirrel leaped out OF the
trunk through an aperture about as big as a
good-sized biscuit. "A nestp l exclaimed
beneath my breath; we'll see TO that! and
at once set to work widening the cavity,
meanwhile keeping bright eye out for
whatever might attempt to escape.
1.-THE chips few lively and the hole grew
large enough TO Introduce ones head. Sud
denly dropped my ak to the ground and
thrust my hand into the hollow. There, lying
at the bottom, on a soft bed of decaying
wood, was sheet of paper, neatly folded.
In it was the map and guide, exactly as you
see it now, and they had surely been in that
tree forty or fifty years. But the papers
were not the only articles locked in that
natural safe.
=" Leaning against the wooden wall, muz-
zle up, as though placed there by its owner,
was an old fintlock musket, such as our
grandfathers sighted at New Orleans. And
cllnging to the barrel was something whittier
than the papers. This object ratified as
grasped the gun and slid down the iron
tube until it fell over my fingers.
1t was the skeleton of right hand!
u didn't do much more work that af-
ternoon. bore my treasures off to camp
and there examined them. You see for
yourself what the travellers guide is. and
as for the muSket it did not differ materially
from thousands of other old shooting-irons.
However. flied into the barrrl, not many
inches from the muzzle, were the letters Ii. K
T., evidently the initials of the owner. Poor
fellow! His right hand had gripped that
weapon unto death. Even death was pow
erless to wrench the musket from him. He
meant to take it with him into that strange
land unknown to us and protect his spirit
with it there. At least forty and probably
fifty years that hand, gun and guide had
lain III the tree. am sure OF that, for the
ingrowing bark that covered the hole must
have taken that length of time 10 become as
l found it.
And l believe l know the unfortunate
who lost the hand. As L told of my find in
camp that night one of the boys who had
been in Montana several years gave the
following history of two mems search for
the lost Devils Hoof mine:
Few knew of the existence of this mug
get pocket, and as the early years of the
gold times passed away the people possess
ing the. secret died one by one until
patriarchal Indian was the last left. He
died, and in. dying gave the birch-bark map
OF its location. to young trapper who
watched at his death-bed. This trapper
was Horace Thompson. who had come to
the sunset land. like many others, for fame
and fortune from the East.
3" AS soon as the old red man was de-
Gently buried, Thompson took a friend into
his confidence, and together they set out to
find Devils Hoof mine. But the confidence
that Thompson gave his companion was but
partial. He steadily refused to allow the
other sight OF the map. and in other than
general terms spoke not of the mines where
abouts.
They left mankind far to the south and
westward and rode on for many days.
ihompson's friend grew SUSPICIOUS as they
neared their destination, and at length re-
solved to get the map. He feared tina.
when the gold was really found Thompson
would desert him and leave him to die in
the wilderness. so as to leave him sole owner.
They had an alteration, but Thompson
got the better OF the mutineer Fired for
revenge, the other held his peace for some
days until his chance should come. 1t came
at last.
One evening Horace announced their
journey about completed. AS there was an
extra gun and a number of other useless
articles in their packs, they decided to hide
them away for the time being, and perhaps
get them on their return trip. A hollow
tree was found and Thompson, on his hands
and knees, received the articles from his
comrade, and placed them one by one in the
hole. As he took the muSket and was set
ting it inside, the traitor raised pick in the
air and brought it down with terrific force
upon the doomed Thompson. The great
spike was driven through skull and brain
and Horace died.
Hastily gathering their belongings into
one pack, the false friend set off, after rob-
bling the kneeling dead of the biich- bark
map.
But the murderer never found Devils
Ho1f nine. He was set upon by gang Of
white and red outlaws and killed. But be-
fore dying he confessed his crime to one of
the Indians, who in turn told the story to
trader. The mine has never been discoy-
cred yet. '"-St Louis Globe-Democrat