The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1895-12-14
ROMANCE OF A LOST MINE.

IN springfield, MO-, not long ago, st.
Louis Globe-Democrat correspondent dis
covered one of these practical business men
who had spent considerable time and
money in search of the lost mines The
story which the Springfield citizen told is
as follows:
Eighteen years ago did not know that
such a place as Springfield, Mo-, had an
existence. l had no thought OF coming to
the state till | heard remarkable story
from the lips Of dying man. l was then
living in lansing Mich. l had been a
sailor in early life. and knew something of
other parts of the world. One evening /
was at railroad depot in Lansing, when II
stranger was brought on the cars badly
mangled, one Of the victims of a wreck
which had occurred short distance out OF
the city. The wounded man soon attracted
quite crowd, and l, among many Others
took an interest in the stranger. The man
told me that he had no home, and not an
! acquaintance in the city. He had been Il
sailor for many years, and had lost track
OF his kindred.
die, and we had him taken to a hospital
In order that the poor fellow might die as
easy as possible, | told him that he should
have all the attention necessary, and the
bill would be paid promptly. The physi-
clan informed the stranger that he had but
Il short time to live, and advised him TO
communicate any wishes he might desire
to leave respecting his earthly affairs. The
dying man then called me to his bedside,
and said he had a secret to tell He asked
me to send for some officer who could adj
minister an oath, so that the story might
be solemnly recorded This seemed like
strange request, but | had well-known
notary public, who is now prominent
lawyer of Lansing, called to the hospital.
and the man began his story, and made the
following statement in manner that
showed every appearance OF sincerity:
&C Il was sailor from boyhood, and have
been in many of the larger seaports OF the
world. In New Orleans few years ago
got into difficulty which caused me to
kill man. The affair was an ordinary
fight, and l could have, perhaps, been &C.
quilted in court, but on the first impulse
of the moment ! fled from the city and
took refuge in the loneliest regions of
Louisiana. | wandered up the Mississippi
River, and finally reached the swamp will
derness of Arksanas, west of Memphis.
Here seemed to be the safest hiding place
for fugitive like myself, and l found IL
home for about year with an old pioneer
hunter in that dismal region of lagoons,
canebrakes and cypress groves. The cabin
OF this settler was far from any town or
railroad, and | felt quite secure, as the
hunter and his family soon learned to like
me, and did not appear to take much inter
est in my former history.
! cone day there came to our home in
| the swamps sick stranger, whose features
and speech at once told me that he was
| Spaniard The man was on foot, and he
carried only Il small bundle of baggage.
The man could speak English fairly well,
and when he found that had known con-
siderable of the world he became very con-
tidential, and told me much about his life.
learned that he, as well as myself, had a
strong motive for seeking the seclusion of
the Arkansas swamps, and we then trusted
each other fully The Spanard had slow
fever, and grew worse from day to day. He
had no medical aid, and the malarial vapors
of the cypress swamps could hardly be
resisted by healthy constitution. Finally,
the Spaniard saw that must die there in
the lonely hunters cabin, and then heard
his last secret.
"'The sick man said that he knew OF an
old silver mine in the Ozark Mountains OF
Missouri, which the Sraniards had worked
generations ago He took from his little
bundle a roll Of what seemed to be parch-
ment. Two strange-lookidg maps, bearing
numerous signs and drawings in ink, to-
gether with explanations in Spanish, were
uHioiucu anu Interpreted 10 NE by the
stranger. The maps represented the out
side and the inside views OF the mine The
Spaniard said he would bequeath to me all
his interest in the Missouri treasure, and
then explained in detail how l could find
the hidden wealth.
go to the southwest corner Of the
public square Of Springfield, Mo- said
the man, "and then follow the directions
of the outside map three miles. There you
will find some broken country. Hunt for
a limestone rock on the surface of the
ground, marked with three turkey tracks
and an arrow. Follow the direction indi-
Gated by the arrow two hundred PAGES to q
native oak, which you will find marked
as the map shows From the tree measure
carefully one hundred and fifty PAGES as
the map directs, and you will find another
stone, on the side of small ravine marked
with three arrows, pointing different ways
Follow the arrow pointing southeast two
hundred and fifty PAGES, and look for what
seems to be the entrance to natural cave