Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1891-08-28
PBaLEGs LOST MINE.


party of hunters, under the leadership
ola man bearing the euphonious name
of ''Pcgleg" Smith, were trapping on
the headwaters of the Colorado River
They worked down that stream to the
mouth Of the ella, and then struck
out westward on the Colorado desert
toward Los Angeles. On the third
night out from the river they camped
near little cluster of hills. Curiosity
] led one Of the party to ascend one of
these elevations. He found that It
was composed of a mass Of dark-color-
cd broken rock, thickly sprinkied with
yellowish particles Of varying size.
Such a thing as the presence of gold
in this State was not then dreamed of,
but, from curiosity at the peculiar ap-
! pcarance Of the rock, several pieces of
it were carried away by the hunters.
These specimens were retained until
after the discovery of gold in 1s48,
when accident led to their being ex-
amined by an expert in such matters,
who unhestatingly pronounced the
yellow particles to be pure gold.
But one or two Of the old party had
remained in the State, and, upon
learning the true nature of the miner
al, Pegleg Smith at once organized an
expedition to endeavor to rediscover
the little hill Which was so rich with
gold. On the way, however, the party
had all their stock run off by Indians,
and this so discouraged the leader that
he gave up the expedition in disgust,
and his companions were obliged to
follow suit This ended Smiths ef-
forts, and although he told the story
to many, the memory of the desolate
character Of the country and the hard
shipof travel through it deferred him
from ever attempting again to find the
deposit.
Bat it appeaIs that there were other
dlscoyerers besides white men. On
the Warner ranch, which is on the
border of the desert, in San Diego
county, there were many Indians en-
ployed in the early times as yaqueros
and laborers. One day one of these
Indians went to his employer and ask
ed for some money that was due him,
rs he wished to take passage to Los
Angeles. AS the ranch worl, pressed
and it was evident the Indian desired
only to go on spree, the request was
refused. This, however, did not dis
appoint him very much. GAN right"
he replied: 81 know where there is
plenty of gold. can get all l want"
lie then saddled up his mustang and
struck out toward the desert through
what is known as Warmers Pass. He
was gone three days, and when he re-
turned he displayed quantity Of mug
gets of solid gold, upon the proceeds of
which he held high rcyel. lie repeat
ed his tripseyeral times, and efforts
were made to follow him and learn
the whereabouts of the wonderfully
rich deposit. He was always careful,
however, in starting out to battle
those who watched hun. Al that
could be learned definitely was that
he took the samn general direction
which had been follow ed hy Peyleg
Smiths party, while the time consum-
ed by the Indian in going.and coming
was just the time required to reach
the region where these three little
golden hills were supposed to be.
On one occasion the Indian took his
sduaw with him, and, on being ques-
toned subsequently, she said that
there were three hills on the desert
that were thickly covered with gold.
She told the general direction taken,
described the water holes, and related
how abundantly the nuggets were
scattered ON the surface. When the
Indian finally died from the effects
Of spree, he left several thousand
dollars worth ofnuggets in the hands
Of the storekeeper with whom he had
dealt.
Still another man was so fortunate
as to find the golden hills. Just be-
fore the rebellion the term of one Of
the regular soldiers at Fort Yuma ex-
pired, and he was discharged from the
service. He had been on friendly
terms with some of the Indians there,
and one day one of them told him
that he knew where there was plenty
of gold out on the desert, and yolun-
teered TO guide him to the spot, The
ex-soldier seized the opportunity, got
an outfit together, and, without let
ting any one into the secret, started
of with the Indian. They were gone
"A little more than week and return
ed asquietly as they had departed,
The soldier soon left for San Fran
cisco, and while stopping at hotel In
that city he became engaged one day
in conversation about gold mining.
He produced nugget worth couple
of hunered dollars, and astonished his
hearers by telling them Of tremen-
dously rich mine that he had found