Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1893-10-10
PEGLEG MINEAMYTH.


4 THORouoH EXPLORATION *
PLoDEs 4 FAMOUS FAKE.
A Old TraAitIon In Ca1issrssA Whssh NE
Caused The DsssA Of secrss - Frsspses-
srs h Finally Prs.ssneed - n Bass-
Iess LEA Great Yaks.
For many yean past there he's been tn
1ition that Pegieg Smith, : forty-nfne<
miner. once discovered nina u f6hn1ouo
richness on the Colombo desekt. Thie uu3na
has been described - being q so1fd nd
and has been the object Of fnnum xrab1S x
petitions and grea& loa a lite. Thu ~
the object Of the BreedIove paxty's sxpodI-
tion, which ended in the deaxh ok III IL
participants.
Pegleg. who was widely known amnux
the mining men, left : fairly god descxtp-
tion Of the landmarks and surroundings q
bis mine, but up to the present no ons No.
ever been able to ind anything to iudicn3e
there was any basis Tor his story.
A few months ago ex-she1i6 Mnxtin
ARuirrc, Edward Nellus, r. G. MeIIus and
: we'll known pruspector named Michael
Kirby organized an expedition to ssazch for
the mine, having obtained maps and d.
e>fARe1oA1D = nAco 8ssD eAA<@0 = Ee1y4uV10
certainty o. nndng the bonanza.
Ex-Deputy Sheriff NelIna. VIM hns .
rudeIy torn AWAY the veil Of romance which
has surrounded the Lost EIdoraio Tor over
% years. hes heen crank On The subjscx
since he was 10 years Of aee, Is year, 80
just 10 years back he made lis Dirt seaxeh
Tor the lost gold mine. taking the hidden
spring as his objective point. AccpFdfng
70 reliable Information, this hidden spring
was IN the locality q the mime, and u was
necessary 70 md II on account o. the lack
OF water IN the deserf. With the I'D a IN
indian, who was informed that Meilus was
hunting mountain sheep, the spring w1s
found In little oasis covering about .
quarter OF m acre Of territory. Satisfied
with this result MelIus returned to Los
Angeles with the determination Of resum-
ing his search on the first opportunity. But
funds were not plentiful, and he never had
the opportunity until Judge Anson Bfun-
son. the counsel OF the Santa Re company.
offered TO grubstake him and his cOmpan-
ions IN their hunt for the long Lost mine.
Meliuz. In company with the parties pre-
viousiy named, started out with four hcrses
and eight burros for the Colombo desert
They made for little valley known ~ tho
saiiecafos, intending to make that their
headquarters The journey was = long and
rongh one. Their prcgress was barred with
the almost impenetable jungles Of cacd
and prickiy mescal planfs, through which
the treasure hunters had to hew their way.
The season was the rainy one. and the tfav-
eiers often rode day and night through the
pouring rain without finding shelter Of any
kind
At last they reached the little valley anss
made their frDfOro nj ffxofp
march across the desert After short rest
| the burros were reladen and q start made
for the three buttes, which old PeEieg had
described as being the locality In which he
found the shining gold in heaps Taking
| warning from the fate OF the numerous
prospectors who had lost their lives In the
search, Meiius hrst saw to their water sup
ply. Eight barrels containing II gallons
| apiece were packed on the burroe, and the
journey was begun
Not knowing exactly how long it would
be before they reached the spring, the party
determined TO husband their water supply.
and for four days the unfortunate burros
| piodded along In the burning sand without
a drop OF water. From this spring. which
Is SO carefully concealed by nature that q
man may be parching with thirst within
/ 50 feet OF it and not discover its existence.
they maze their way 20 the three historical
buttes along which old Pegieg had stated
lay the gold When they were reached. the
party at once commenced their search.
Days and days were passed In ruitless
hunting There were NO signs OF gold All
OF Pegieg landmarks were found, but not
the precious metal Inc only approach 70
1t was decomposed ledge running north
west and southeast. The ledge was honey
combed Throughout, and the prospectors
dug to depth OF % feet, but when the dir
was washed not even color could be found
All that remained were small garnets, none
larger than pms head The whole coun
try for two miles around was thoroughly
examined, and at last the disguised treas
ure seekers packed up and made their way
back over the desert Speaking 70 re
porter, Mr. Mellus said:
Il want to say for the benefit of future
prospectors that there Is and can be no such
place as the Pegleg mines 1 have looked
up old Pegieg's record since my return. and
| Judging from the evidence OF his frierids
| blamed old liar. He has been the cause OF