The herald., 1894-04-11
A STRANGE FORCE N NATURE
Something Which Mystifies
Even Science Itself.
The Magnetized DeNre'Siou Near
MendacitY .diA.
aars. Fitzpatrick, Fill. d with Iron Bit
ters. Is Unable t. Ia sist the
Powerful Att1,RctR on of
tn" lace

Speaking about magnet ism, and what
strange and mysterious thing it is any
way, the Prescott Couri or, to make its
meaning more cleur, tcI Is the story OF
tha strange depression by the side of
MendacIty hill.
IL is on the eaas side of the
hill that this depres sion is TO be
io-nd, and the supe rficial observer
would take it for an Z I'D crater. But
should ne attempt to CT cas- it he would
soon discover his mis- AXE and a body
OF the most powerful magnetized iron
he ever saw at the u sme time. 1t is
circular, about 200 fs OF in diameter.
and probably of metea ric origin, while
on it's bosom are dh iposited all kinds
of Implements, furn lture, bric.a-brac
and nolidescript conta ming iron in their
make-up sufficient to be attractive. The
fyst man to fall ms Ter it's malevolent
influence was Old Abe Jones, who is
nov keeping a secou d-hand book store
in Prescott. That 'Was some 20 years
ago. He was th@ i prospecting, and
with two burros carl ying his outfit, he
started to cross WI lat he took for an
ordinary iron blowout. 1t was no
trouble to get on to it, but Abe spon
found trouble to get off. HE
lead burro ms41e his wav on
the iron about 10 feet and stopped
while the other did not get that far
when he stopped, too. Abe. who was
coming down the Of eep bank, began to
talk to them in sucln words as the burro
understands best, emphasizing them
with some pieces of granite, but to no
purpose, for, though they tried hard, as
could be plainly seen, to raise loot of
the iron, they could not. Abe was
mystifed; he rushed tor the burros
with mis- hob-naiied boots on, stepped
from the turf onto the clean iron and
the matter he stopped out of his
boots and tried to wrench them
up and throw them on the bank, but it
was no use, he could not bulge them.
He then turned his attention to the
burros, who were now lying down.
He unpacked them and then tried to
get the nearest ons ashore, as it
were, but in this, too, he was foiled
the bnrros being shod could not move
a foot. One animal in his struggles |
pulled off adj but one shoe, when |
it occurred to Abe to assist him with |
banner and small pick he had. He |
no sooner got them out of the pack
when they were drawn ont of his grasp
onto the iron, there to stay. His
predicament was now fully appreciated
by him, and long rope with horse to
pull on it seemed the only way out of il;
this he got, pulled the burros and boots
ont, but the tools and camp outfit he
was forced to leave where they we're
Since then many an unfortunate has
been constrained to contribute by vent
urirg too near. The contributors being
principally minera or prospectors and |
the contributions mostly hob-nailed |
boots or shoes, though aside from these |
there ia quite respectable collection |
dfV miscellaneous articles, among I
which were noticed plows and |
sheet-iron stoves. etovepipe, bed |
rpriugs, cooking utensils, car wheels,
cowboy hats. pack saddles, gums, cutlery
uf all kinds and new portable boiler
and engine that was left at the foot of
the Hill one evening and found here the
next morning.
But what brought the place into
prominence was the experience Mrs.
Kilpatrick of Verde had the day she was
married to Jerry. 1t will be re-
membered that they were married in
Prescott, where she had been taking
treatment for some slight ailment, the
medicine being principally iron bitters.
After the ceremony they drove out
to view this curiosity, when she
ventured too near to resist its in
huence and was drawn almost to the
center, from which to remove her it |
required three dsys' medical ministra.
ton.