The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-01
LONG sOLGHT IN VAIN.
A Wili-o'-the Wisp Pursued by
a Nephew of the Late
Senator Stanford.
INDIANS HOLD THE SECRET.
Silver In Almost Pure Form Found
Near Gold Harbor Forty
Years Ago.

VICTORIA, B. c., Aug. 30.-Franklin
Mitchell. nephew of the late Senator
Stanford, is expected to arrive on the next
trip of the steamer Boscow1tZ from the
north. where he has been engaged for some
time past in a search for the lost Lukey
ledge, a vein of almost pure silver, foot
thick, which was discovered forty years
ago by. Silas Lukey of Denyer. Jack Ma
craze, who was Mitchells working partner
in the enterprise, returned several days
ago, but will disclose little. 1t is learned
however, that the two prospected upward
of 400 miles of coast, acting on information
received from Indians, and having innu-
merable hardships and privations to con-
tend with. Captain John Irving, general
manager of the Canadian Pacific NaYiga-
ton Company, is a third partner in the
enterprise, but his part Is merely TO sup
ply the capital and await results.
Cameron and Donaldson, two veteran
prospectors, were the last to take the field
in search of the Queen Charlotte will
the-wisp, but after spending several thou
sand dollars they returned home dis
heartened last October. They are con-
WINGED that the Indians know of the ledge,
and think it quite probable Mitchell has
thus located the long-talked-of treasure.
The finding of this phantom lode OF
Queen Charlotte is in many respects a
stranger story than that of the famous
'Lost Gunsight" of Arizona. 1t was only
few months after Captain Gold had set
the mining community here ablaze with
the stories of his islands yellow wealth
that some seventy excited prospectors
chartered schooner and visited Gold
Harbor and the country round about.
They spent considerable time prospecting
the rough and barren coast, with but small
success, then returned to Victoria and dis
banded.
During their exploration of the island
one of the party, SiIas Lukey, a tender
foot" with no knowledge of minerals, came
across a twelye-inch ledge in bis wander
ings and knocked off few specimens al
most mechanically. When he showed the
rock to his companions they laughed at
him and told him it was plumbago.
Lukey took the sample back to Portland
with him and out of curiosity had it as
sayed. The assayer informed him, much
to his establishment, that it ran upward of
80 per cent in silver. Firmly convinced
that his friends had planned joke at his
expense he refused to pay for the assay
and departed in high indignation.
From Oregon Lukey drifted to Colorado
and one day came across some miners
there working narrow little ribbon of ex-
actly the same kind of ore.
He had, strangely enough, preserved
some of his samples, and a comparison
with the mineral upon which the men were
working showed it to be the same, except
that it was of higher grade. He then had
another assay made, and all his doubts
were set at rest. Eight or nine years ago,
having saved for years in order to do so, he
returned to Queen Charlotte in search of
the lost ledge. For three months he
searched, but was unable to locate it. Just
as he was about to leave the island he be-
came acquainted with an Indian who said
that he knew the spot and would guide
him to it when spring came. When win
ter was over the Indian was dead, and be-
fore July Lukey had followed him to the
grave. Grief at his loss had caused his
premature end.