The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1892-12-09
THE CEMENT NINE.
A PtiiLADELPFilAN's EXPERIENCE m
SEEKING MYTHICAL GOLD.

7
SEEKING MYTHICAL GOLD.
A Hard Tramp Through the sierras IN
search for the Deposit That Assayed
Thsuaand ouaces D the Ton soms-
thing about the f.ost CABIN mine.
Jacob Metz, lastmalser Of this city,
Is an old time California miner and was
for eleven years prospector in the
mountains, and he tells o curious story
about the alleged rediseoyery Of the
Lost Cabin mine in South Dakota He
says;
There are two mountain myths that
have been bothering the heads Of i1nagf-
native treasure seekers in the Rockies
since 1855, One Is Whites Cement
mine' and the other is the Lost Cabin.
In 1865 Kit Carson, james Kinney and
half breed Blaeltfoot come into Fort
Randall, ON the MISSOURI river, with
bag full of nuggets and stony Of gold
deposits Of incredible richness On Cabin
creek, branch OF the North fork Of
the Cheyenne river Just west Of what Ii
now the Montana boundary line. As
they were old mountain men, and Car
son having great reputation az a guilds.
everybody went crazy No white nian
was supposed to have been within 800
miles of the place, and indeed men were
being cut off by Indians within five
miles Of the fort.
Carson and Kinney went on a weeks
drunk, and soon gambled away their
gold, but showed no disposition TO take
a party to the new Eldorado. The
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, aud
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 ef-
fectually for thirty years. A thousand
lives and mountain of treasure were
spent in seeking the location in vain,
and it was believed by the old timers to
be 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 Englander, sixty years old, who
had come to California in 1842. As a
gold seeker he was known and talked
about in every mining camp ON the coast
and stories related Of his phenomenal
luck, He no doubt made many fortunes,
but was always poor, and tramped about
with lean mule and half breed Indian
boy, getting supplies where he could.
| believe he was slightly demented, but
all looked up to him, and he undoubted-
ly knew more about the gold region than
any man living,
One day in 1868 White came to Horse
Head gulCh from the Sierras, driving
his mule and looking utterly used up,
He got something to eat and then took
out Of his pack o number of pieces of
what looked like hard white clay gilt
tering with speCks of metal, but he said
little and went off to an assayer, Ger
man named Helyat, and an honest man.
Before night it was known In camp that |
Whites specimen showed 1000 ounces |
of gold to the ton, In five minutes every
one went crazy, Nobody slept that
night, but sat around the fires aud |
talked cement" In the morning
party headed by Senator Sharon's
brother called on White, who was sleep
ing in one Of the "shacks." He was
told in few words that he must pilot |
the men to his find, he should have the |
pick Of the claims and help to work it,
but go he must, and on his refusal was |
warned that his life would not be worth
shucks If he "stood Off the camp, Then
he consented.
Every one was wild. / was offered |
$4,000 feG my two mules and outfit, but |
like a fool went with the rest. Tho trail
led right into the Sierras. The first day
was q race and one-third Of tho men
broke down, The Indian leaped ahead
like O wolf and then White followed, |
his long gray hair flying in tho wind.
BY the end Of the second day we were
In the heart OF the mountain, in des-
ert where no human being had ever
been before. Half of the animals were
lost, and the men were haggard with
fatigue and excitement, White was told
that IL he played false he was a dead
man, but he still pointed east, We
passed good Indications that showed
color, bnt In that land 0f aosalation all
the gold In America would not have
availed q man then.
On the evening Of the third day White
said we were near to our journeys end,
and by tomorrow and then he waved
his long arms and such yell went up
from the frenziea men that partly made
the pine clad mountains shake, Every
ono lay down expecting to arise a mil
hanaire, but ia the morning White was
gone and left no trace. About one-half
of the party, after Incredible suffering,
got back to life and civilization, and
yet, despite our story, 400 men started
back over our trail two days after.
Three years after White reappeared in
Salt Lake City with his cement speci-
mems as before incredibly rich and again
and from that day 70 this
has never been heard 81, but men still
wear out their lives IN seeking bis lost
cement mine
After eleven years. lahaF ia Che mines
/ got home with $500 and heap oR
knowledge that viii last Cor the rest 81
NV iige Philadelphia Press,
4 Gapd Excuse,
Mrs, G.-I hops yau viii excuse my /
husband far not attending your broth
er's funeral,
Mrs III ~ Was La ill9