The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-11-19
THE CEMENT MINE.
A PhilLADELPHiAN'S EXPERIENCE IN
SEEKING MYTHICAL GOLD.

A Hard Tramp Through the sIerras in
Search for the Deposit That Assayed
a Thousand Ounces to the LONESOME
thing About the Lost Cabin Mine.
Jacob Metz, a lastmalSer Of this city,
is an old time California miner and was
for eleven years prospector in the
| mountains, and he tells a, curious story
about the alleged rediscovery of the
Lost Cabin mine in South Dakota. He
says:
There are two mountain myths that
have been bothering the heads of imagi-
native treasure seekers in the Rockies
since 1855. One is whites Cement
mine and the other is the Lost Cabin.
In 1855 Kit Carson, James Kinney and
half breed Blackfoot come into Fort
Randall, on the Missouri river, with a
bag full of nuggets and story of gold
deposits of incredible richness on Cabin
creek, a branch of the North fork of
the Cheyenne river just west of what is
now the Montana boundary line. AS
they were old mountain men, and Car
son having agreat reputation as guide,
everybody went crazy. No white man
was supposed to have been within 500
miles of the place, and indeed men were
being cut off by indians within five
miles of the fort.
Carson ard Kinney went on a weeks
drunk, and soon gambled away their
| gold, but showed no disposition to take
a party to the new Eldorado. Tho
United States officers at the fort dis
credited the whole thing, and dissuaded
the crowd from following it up, but
men started out and none returned. and
hundreds tried it from time to time. The
Indians no doubt knew of the existence
of gold there, and of course wanted to
keep the whites out, and they did eff
fectually for thirty years, A Thousand
lives and mountain of treasure We're
] spent in seeking the location in vain,
and it was believed by the old timers to
be a fraud from the first. Neither Car
son nor Kinney ever made the attempt
to seek it again, but both repeated their
original story from time to time. So
this is about the truth as to the Lost
Cabin bonanza.
Whites Cement mine is much more
remarkable as a narrative. White was
New Highlander, sixty years old, who
had come to California in 1912. As a
gold seeker he was known and talked
about in every mining camp on the coast
and stories related Of ri8 phenomenal
luck. He no doubt made many fortunes,
but was always poor, and tranIred about
with lean mulo and half breed Indian
boy, getting supplies where he could.
l believe he was slightly dcmeHtcl, but
all looked up to him, and he nudoubtad-
ly knew moro about the gold region than
any man living.
One day in 1868 White came to Horse
Head gulch from the Sicrras, driving
his mule and looking utterly used M
He got something to eat, and then took
out of his pack a number Of pieces OF
what looked like hard white clay gilt
tering with specks Of metal, but lie said
little and went off 10 an assayer, Ger
man named Halyat, and an honest man
Before night ii was known in camp that
Whites specimen showed 1000 ounce,
of gold to tho ton. In five minutes every
ono went crazy. Nobody slept that
night, but sat around the fires and
talked Cement" In the morning 4
party headed by Senator Sng, on,
brother called on White, who was sleep
ing in one Of the "shHcks." He wa,
told i'll few words that he must pilot
the men to his find, he should have tht
pick of the claims and help to work it
but go he must, and on his refusal wal
warned that his life would not he wortl
shucks if he 'stood off, the camp. Ther
he consented AMMAN.
Every one was wild | was off rec
81 eco for my two mules and outfit, bu
like a fool went with the rest The trai
led right into the Sierras The first ,a,
was race and one-third Of the mol
broke down. Tho Indian lcapcd ahrar
like a wolf and then White followed
his long gray hair flying i'll the wiu!
BY the end Of the second day we wer,
in the heart Of the mountain, in dcs
ert where no human being had eve
5 been before. half of the animals wor
lost, and tho men were haegard witt
fatigue and excitement. White was t4lz
that if he played false he was a doi..
t man, but lie still pointed east w
passed good indications that sEowGt
color, but in that land Of de8olation al
the gold in America would not hav
availed a man then,
On the evening of the third day Whit
said we were near to our journeys end
and by tomorrow--and then he wave,
his long arms and such a yell went ii
, from the frenzied men that partly Iaad
l the pine clad mountains shake. Ever
1 one lay down expecting % arise a mil
. lionaire. but in the morning White wa
! gone and left no trace. About oa.-hai
U of the party, after incredible suffering
J got back to life and civilization, an
yet, despite our story, 100 men starttt
back over our trail two days after.
Three years after White reappeured il
Salt Lake City with his cement speci
mems us before incredibly rich and agar
disappeared, and from that day to til
!, has never been heard of, but men sill
| wear out their lives in seeking his los
cement mine.
After eleven years labor in the mine
; got home with $500 and heap G
L knowledge that will last for the rest {
my life philn1nI+,biu pra.s