The Van Buren press., 1893-12-16
A HUNTERS YARN.

A HUNTERS YARN.
Tho White Deer Of San Carlos
An Arizona Mystery.
The white deer of San Carlos are one
of the many wonders Of Arizona.
There are many hunters who deny
thoir existence, but there are many
others who say positively that they
have seen them. All the Indians in the
part Of the country where the deer are
aaid to live tell Of them, and many can
Be found who say they have seen them.
But the Indians don't want to see them,
because they have q religious belief
that they belong to the Great White
Spirit, and that II an Indian should kill
one of them he would be cursed for
ever. The place in which the deer live
IL one Of the widest spots in the coun-
try to-day. 1t is in the San Carlos In
dian reservation, and is almost inac-
cessible. Its exact distance from any
settlement Is not known, but the near
est place to any whisky and tobacco
Is the Mammoth gold camp.
About month ago one OF the boys
from the Rilito mine went out hunting
He was gone several days, and when he
came back was very much excited. His
horse was worn out and had evidently
been driven very hard for several hours.
The man said that he had seen the
white deer and never wanted to see
them again. He couldn't tell why he
was afraid Of them. as nothing had
happened to him of an injurious nature.
He told how he saw the herd grazing
on grassy ridge that reached across
the bottom of q beautiful valley 1t
was not at all like any other valley he
had seen In the territory, but was wa-
tered by dozen streams, and trees and
grass grew luxuriantly. The deer were
grazing calmly, and he thought he
saw chance to get one, SO he found
place to rest his rifle and took dead
aim at . big buck. The instant his
rifle cracked the entire herd vanished
like magic, leaving behind them moth
Ing but thin veil of white mist He
jumped on his horse and started for
camp. never stopping until he reached 1t
His story was 80 remarkable that two
of the other boys, Joe Franklin and
Henry Roberts, wanted him to 20 with
them to the place and make an investi-
CATION But the man who saw the deer
had seen all he wanted.
Fran kiln and Roberts got particular
directions, but did not start until the
next morning but were up very early,
and by sunrise had gone over the range
that divides the standardization from
the bowling wilderness Of wild beasts
and murderous Apaches. 1t took them
day and half to get to the locality.
They travelled through q country where
death seemed to be lurking behind
every stone and clump of bushes BY
day they passed several bleaching sAel-
etons and deserted huts that told the
tale of some adventurous mans effort
to make home In this desolate spot.
BY taking turns all through the
night Franklin and Roberts both did
well, and when morning came and the
ghostly forms stealthily gliding
through the darkness had given place
TO cactus, sand and rocks, both men
were as fresh as If they had slept in a
bed in San Francisco. When the sun
came up the horses slept while the men
were getting breakfast. A start was
soon made, and by noon the men knew
that the valley could not be far
away, although they saw no signs
of It. The country was wild and
rugged and vegetation was very linn
tied. There was no sign Of water, nor
did they see any place where water
could come from. They knew by GER
tain things they were told to look for
that they had followed the directions
closely. But where was the valley?
It could not be ahead of them, and
must be to one side, as the sand grad
ually sloped that way. Before starting
down Franklin proposed that he climb
TO the top of ridge few hundred
feet to the right and see if he could see
the tops OF the green trees 1t was a
long, hard climb, and as he ascended
be saw no sign of the refreshing green.
He felt sure that they must have made
BOne illSCdkc Ut tudt VIC othCI Audu
lied. but concluded he would go to the
top Just to see what there was. When
he reached the summit there was no
patch of grecn-nothing but desert
hills, and far off In the distance an
Apache village
He was about to 20 back when he
concluded to cross over the ridge and
see what was on the other side. Maxi
ing his way through the scrub, mes
quite and cactus. he soon came to an
open space, and there before him was
the valley he had been looking for. 1t
was carpeted with green grass, and on
the other side range of mountains rose.
the tops of which were covered with
snow that was constantly melting and
forming silver streams that tumbled
into the valley below.
To one accustomed to the glare and
dust of Arizona deserts the spot was
like glimpse of paradise, and Frank
lin rubbed his eyes to make sure he was
not dreaming. He was satisfied that
the spot had been found, SO he went
back to the top of the ridge and sig
nailed to Roberts to come up and bring
the horses-an act Roberts was not
very slow in performing. Both agreed
that the spot had been found, and the
next was to find the deer But first
they would rest awhile and get some
thing to eat 1t really was like para
disc when they had found cool, shady
l..sl &c. n al