Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-01-11
ruptly as he had first introduced him.

son was concluding his story, was chunk of quartz, weighing about ten ounces, and from appearances and re- lative weight it must have been at least one-half gold. The manuscript related to Towne's very peculiar ex- periences after the cave in the mine.
 It has now been eight months since I received my very singular commis- sion, and I have seen or heard nothing of Wilson, although making repeated inquiries for him of people coming from Arizona. No matter how great the impulse, am fully satisfied that he would not have voluntarily left this city without first securing Towns pa pers, to which he attached great inn portance, and which I have in my possession. His mysterious absence I can only account for on the supposi- tion that he was "shanghaied" aboard somo vessel, or otherwise foully dealt with. In any event I can see no harm, at this time, of making public the in- formation contained in Towne's writ ten statement, especially as it gives no definite location of the Golden Won der mine.
 It seems that at the time the cave occurred Towne was under shelving rock which projected slightly into the shaft, and with his hand pick was endeavoring to disengage some very rich gold ore from along the wall of the lead. This shelving rock protected him from being crushed and instantly killed, but left him, he thought, to a worse fate-death by sufocation or starvation. He was lying down at the time and soon found that he did not have room enough in which to arise and scarcely enough to move. Soon he detected draught of air in his self made and dismal tomb and without knowing why began striking away wig orously with his hand pick. He had been at this work for two or three hours and was pretty thoroughly ex- hausted, when he heard another crack ing, crushing and grinding sound, and with the sensations of falling, heavy shock and great pain he lost con sciousness.
 When Towne regained his senses he could not tell whether it was in an hour or in day-he was delighted to find that he had ample room in which to stand erect and move about, and was entirely disengaged from the rocks. Hope thus aroused was further inspir- ed when he heard or thought he heard the sound of human voices. Rightfully conjecturing that Wilson would go to the Indians for assistance, he con- cluded that they were then at work, and that he would ultimately be re- leased To let them know that he was still alive he raised loud "Halloa" the effect of which was startling, for from . thohsaIsd fessssSs ea;Ses hack the word ia all manner of natural, uu- natural and sepu lchral tones, convey { ing aii idea Of he iinnensity of the cavern ir1 which he had fallen. This discovery alarmed him and lest he should get lost in lhe mighty cave. he remained at tho place where he first awoke, beIieving tiIat there Feasesii Feaaisesii would reach him, Naturally he lost all track of time. At last he became satisfied that the sound of voices was not over head, but in a different di- rection, and becoming hungry and discouraged he sought to follow them. After groping about for hours, walking or crawling as was necessary, he en- tered large chamber, lighter than any of those he had passed through, and set in a profusion of crystal stalactites and stalagmites of all possible fantastic forms and weired shapes. The light came from an aperture in one of the walls and to this he mads his way. When he reached this opening he found that beyond the wall was larger and more brilliant cave and that nature had been still more lavish in its decorations, as the effect was dazzling. He noticed also that which at another time would have thrilled him with delight: the wall dividing these two chambers. was a ledge of almost pure gold, and the passage seemed to be but the work of & miner. But the matter of life and not of money was uppermost in his mind. Leaning over this ledge, which came about up to his arms, Towne peered carefully into the newly dis covered chamber of the cave, and at last his eyes rested upon the most welcome of all objects-the form of a man. He spoke. The ominous growl or grunt of bear was heard. The joy and terror which he felt, together with lack ot food and proper rest, and the shock sustained by the fall, were too much. Towne sank back, and for the time, at least, was free from all his care, anxiety and tribulations.
 After the prospeetor had sufficiently recovered from his swoon he raised himself up to the passageway and again looked into the adjoining chamber. He had not been dreaming. In a grotto on the opposite wall of the cave glittering with crystals and forming a throne more brilliant than king ever occupied, sat the man, his feet resting upon broken chunks of gold. A vague fear or dread oyercame ToYne as he more closely observed the form. The man was entirely without clothing
 save what appeared to be & pair ol sandals on his feet. The translucent color of the lime crystal took the place
 of natural flesh, while the darker color of the bones could be traced throughout the entire frame. The blue of the larger veins was clear and
 distinct, while the long hair and beard
 had the snowy whiteness of the
 stalactite. His eyes were dark, bril-
 liant and animated, and their steady
 gaze was warning to Towne not t(
 approach. At his side there slept {
 grizzly bear Long and patiently dit
 Tnwne wait; many times he slept, bu
 awoke to find the zealous guardian o
 the strange figure and the barrier t
 his own liberty present.
 At last, when he had raised his fac'
 to the aperture, the miner saw tn
 strau ge man beckon him, and hi
 heart leaped into his throat. Tn
 bear was gone. Hastily knocking, witt his hand-pick, two pieces of ore iron
 the ledge, which he put into the pock } cts of hls oyeralls, for use as weapon in case of naoessitv he climbed int