The Forrest City times., 1893-12-15
A HUNTERS YARN.
The 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 their 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 said 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 religious belief that they belong to the Great White Spirit, and that if an Indian should kill one of them he would be cursed for ever. The place in which the deer live is one of the widest spots in the coun- try to-day. It is in the San Carlos h. dian reservation, and is almost inac- cessible. It's 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 ar injurious nature. He told how he saw the herd grazing on a grassy ridge that reached across the bottom of a 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 a 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 noth- ing but a thin veil of white mist He jumped on his horse and started for camp, never stopping until he reached 1t.
 His story was so remarkable that two of the other boys, Joe Franklin and Henry Roberts, wanted him to go with them to the place and make an lnvestl- gation. But the man who saw the deer had seen all he wanted.
 Franklin 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 muraerous Apaches. It took them a day and d half to get to the locality They travelled through country where death seemed to be lurking behind every stone and clump of bushes By day they passed several bleaching skel- etons and deserted huts that told the tale of some adventurous mans effort to make a home in this desolate spot
 By taking turns all through the night Franklin and Roberts both did well, and when morning came and the pbostly 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 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 lim- tied. There was no sign of water, nor did they see any place where water could come from They knew by cer- 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 c.own Franklin proposed that he climb