The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-05-08
GLITTERING WITH GOLD.
TERsE HILLS RICHLY STORED
WITH PIE PRECIOUS METAL.

BpeCIOT.
FyoHl he San Francisco Chronicle.
Away oacr in the early thirties a party
Of hunters ulder the leadership of man
bearing the euphonious name of "Peglegn
smith were trapping on the headwaters of
the COLORADO river, They worked down
that strean to the mouth Of the ella, and
then struk out westward on the Colorado
desert toward Los Angeles. On the third
night outfrom ths river they campsd near
a little cllster OF hills. Curiosity led one Of
the partyto ascend one Of these elevations.
He foundthat it was composed OF mass Of
dark-colo-ed, broken rock, thickly spriukled
with yelbwish particles Of varying size.
Such Ting as the presence Of gold in
this state vas not then dreamed of, but
from curiosity at the peculiar appearance
of the rock several pieces of it were carried
away by the hunters. These specimens
were retaiued until after the discovery of
gold in lS4t, when accident led to their be-
ing examined by an expert in such matters,
who unhestatingly pronounced the yellsw
particles &c be pure gold. But one or two of
the old party had remained in the state, and
upon learning the true nature Of the min
eral Pegleg Smith at once organized an eIpe-
dition to eudeavOr to redisoover 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 III dis
gust, and his companions were obliged to
follow suit This ended Smiths efforts, and
although he told the story to many the
memory of the desoiate character of the
country aud the hardship of travel through
it deferred him from ever attempting again
to find the deposit.
But it appears that there were other dis.
coverers BESIDES white men. On the Warner
ranch, which is on the border OF the desert,
in San Diego county, there were many In
dams employed in the early times as
vaqueros and laborers. One day one OF
these Indians went to his employer and
asked for some money that was due him, as
he wished to take a passage to Los Angeles.
As the ranch work was pressing, and il was
evident the Indian desired only to 60 on q
spree, the request was refu3e This, how
ever, did not seem to disappoint him very
much IAN right he replied, Il know
where there is plenty of gold. can get all
l want"
He 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 returned he dis
played quantity of nuggets Of solid gold,
upon the proceeds Of which he held high
revel. He repeated his trip several times,
and efforts were made TO follow him and
learn the whereabouts Of the wonderfully
rich deposits, He was always careful, how
ever In starting out to battle those who
watched him. All that could be learned
definitely was that he took the same general
direction viii h had been followed by Peg
leg Smiths party, while the time consumed
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 situated.
On one occasion the Indian took his suuaw
with him, and, on being questioned suisse
quently, 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 a spree be left several
thousand dollars worth of mug gets in the
hands Of the stOrekeeper with whom he had
been accustomed to deal.
Still another man was so fortunate as to
find these golden hills. just before tle late
war the term of one of the regular soldiers
at Fort Yuma expired and he was dis
charged 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 volunteered to
guide him to the spot. The ex-soldier seizad
the opportunity, got an outfit together and,
without letting any one into the secret,
started Off with the Indian. They were
gone little more than week and returned
as quietly as they had departed The
soldier soon left for San Francisco,
AMI while stopping at q hotel in that
city he became engaged one day in
conversation about gold mining. He
produced a nugget worth about $780,
IN
of tremendously rich mine that be had
found down on the desert, mentioning the
three hills as landmark. In corrobora-
ton he showed O certificate of deposit for
$40 600 worth Of gold. Several of those
present offered to fl out an expedition aud
reward the soldier handsomely for guiding
them to the spot He agreed, the party
started, aud after reaching the border Of
the desert the goid-hunters disappeared
from human knowledge and were never
afterward heard from. Ma y years subse-
ouently an old wagon, surrounded by the
skeletons of several men and horses, was
found on the desert a long distance from
the Travelled road to Fort Yuma, and this
doubtless explained the fate of the party.
Another witness to the existence Of this
elusive mine is miner who crossed the
DESERT twenty years ego or more. He came
from Arizona and left Yuma on a mule en-
route to Los Angeles. He followed the
stage road fer many miles, but finally con-
ciuded that he could lessen the journey by
taking a "short cut" Some time after
leaving the road he entered the Bad Lands,
succession Of precipitous hills and can ms
that are perplexing in the extreme to any,
even to those most accustomed to desert
travel. He finally became bewildered, and,
esPylng group of three hills that were a
nttle higher than the surrounding coun-
Try, he rode to the summit Of one to get
MS bearings. While there he happened to
glance at the rock on which he was stand
ing and was asuonished beyond measure to
ma on examination that the entire hill was
mass Of broken and decomposed quartz
mingled with nuggets Of gold. He gath
cred up quantity Of the precious metal
enptled his saddle-begs aud threw away
everything that he could possibly do with
OUT. he then loaded up with all the gold
that he could carry aud struck out for what
appeared to be gap in the mountains at
some distance. Keeping this in view
ne reached Warmers Pass and finally
brought up at his destiuatiOn-Los Angeles
The trip had been bard one, how
ever, and the traveller was attacked with a
severe Mt Of illness il consequence Of his
PrlVatons, which nearly proved fatal. a
physician was called in who nursed him
through his sickness, and when GONZALES
cence set IN be preached the subject of CONS
pensation. The saddIebags had been thrown
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