The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-07

SHOWED they wasn't dug by Mater ~
kinder struck me that I had rus onto
seed. and I tried ter push the bresh
away from the first cave SO 4 could git
In. but twas thick, an all could see
was that twas q toluble big room there
in the hill, with little heaps of sumthin'
scattered on the floor. I wanted plenty
OF light In there, SO I went back ter
camp after my Ratchet to cut away the
bresn. They amt no varmints on the
desert that a man need be afeared or,
but a place like that is purity likely 10
be full OF rattlers. Well, / cut away
the bresh and made 1T good an light
In there an stepped in 1t was a bigsish
sort OF room cut into the hill, an 1 seed
right away that II had been done by men.
VI floor was covered with a fine hour
dust about six inches deep, like worm
dust. You've ben in a room fore now
that has ben shut up fer years an years.,
an seed the furniture an f1oor all COW
cred with dust as light an fine as -four.
Well, that's the way twas there, only
IT must hav' took hundreds of years for
tina much dust to gether in a place like
that.
A PILE OF HUMAN BONES.
81 took a stick an begin to poke
around in the dust on the floor, an about
the first thing / struck was a pile of
bones. I thought right away that was
a old mi den. but / made two or
three more swipes with my stick an
God Almighty, sir. / turned over two or
three mems skulls an foot bones; yes,
sir, dern me. if that floor wasn't jest
Uttered with dead mems bones; dead, /
reckon, fore this country was ever heerd
of. / poked around there an / turned
over he curiestist things in the way of
tools an SIGH, that fell to pieces
when you and them. Well, sir, | got
kind of a Gravity feeling, turnin' over
them bones at every step, an was about
to leave the place when / noticed a little
heap back in the corner / hadn't touched.
/ went back an found they was some
kind of a. queer-silaped retort made or
some kind of clay. an, sir, dern me, III
in each one of 'em wasn't one of these
bricks. AS soon as hefted 'em 1
knowed they was pure gold. You bet l
hustled down to camp, got MY hayer-
sacks n packed the gold down to the
spring. l amt much at guessing at
things, but my idy Is that them fellers
got TO quarrelin' over the gold an fit
an fit tel every one of 'em was killed.
1T was a-gittin' along in the after
noon an I was dead tired, but l couldn't
walt until mornin' to make search of
the other caves. 1t was plain to me that
an old race Of people had ben a-minin'
in the canyon an / begun to look around
fer the lodges an drifts, as twas plain
that they was no quartz in the big cave.
w ell, sir, J. IOunQ EN-, IOunQ I'll III the
little caves, and, mister, as / hope some
day to go to a better country h this,
by the m of my good old mother
/ swear to you the rocks were scanned
with gold. / went back and camped, in.
tending the next mornin' to stake cut
MY claims, put up my monuments, sneak
out of the canyon an go an record EN-.
but / changed my mind before mOrnin'.
IF you was to fill that box with gold
bricks like these" said the prospector,
@sxkt - ~ nIf onCn tI
wouldn't stay another night in that
canyon Why, sir, to him of the sights
i saw there that night makes me shiver
now. I've fit white men an red men,
varmints an forest fires. but never
sence Nv ben born hav' I had a night
like that. The dead men were all around
me. I wasn't asleep an I hadn't tasted
a drop of liquor fer weeks. l had laid
down with nv head on the haversacks,
but hadn't zone to sleep when the dead
men came out of the caves an driv me
out of the canyon; that's what they did.
They danced around me a-wavin' their
arms, clackin' their jints an workin'
their bony jaws, an ever onct in a while
some of EN- would make a dive like they
was comm fer me. At the first sign of
'em the burros scuttled fer the bresh. 1
got my repeatin' rifle, set on the haver-
sacks n emptied the magazine into
them grinning devils. but they only
clacked their jintS louder an danced
harder, UGH it was awful. 1 stood it
until / felt that my brain was about to
snap, then l dubbed my rifle an started
to NOV my way up the trail, but, Lordy,
] didn't hit nothin' but air. / climbed
up the old trail purity nigh to the top
of the ridge an set on a rock with my
rifle acrost my lap all night. AS soon
as it begun ter git day l felt better an
sneaked back to the spring. Everything
was jest as I had left it-hadn't bel a
thing teched. / hunted up my burros,
packed up the gold an my kit an got
out of there as fast as the Lord would
let me. Where is the canyon? Well,
pardner, you find it If you can. Mebbe
/ might change my mind an come back
to it some day, but / wouldn't stay there
another night by myself for twenty mil
lion dollars" and with that the old man
walked over to the depot with his load
of gold, and ten minutes later took the
train for Arizona.
WORKED BY H AZTECS.
For years there have been stories
afloat around Indio and the desert about
a famous old mine that was said to have
been worked by the Aztees centuries
ago, and was rich beyond compare.
Tingman had heard the story many
times, but. with others, had classed it
with those mythical mine stories that
are prevalent in every mining district.
When the old man showed him the
ancient bricks, however. he believed his
tale. At the Lost Horse mine. up in
the Morongo mountains, Tingman and
his partner, Holland, have a three-stamp
mill and are working ore that pays $50
and upward. The day after the pros
pector left Tingman went to the Lost
Horse and told his partner the story.
The McHaney boys were there, and all
hands took the matter UP, and not less
than ten prospecting outfits were ar
ranged for and as many parties sent
into the mountains to find the "shut-in
canyon" Will Ball, a nephew of the
McHaney boys, aged about seventeen
years, and a great hunter, had brought
into the McHaney ranch a curious old
weapon shaped something like a bay
onet and covered with hieroglyphics,
which he said he had found in a cav
in a canyon while out hunting. The boy
also told of the spring of water. and SO
described the place that the McHaney
boys were sure it was the Eldorado
they sought, but when it came to going
back to the canyon the boy was at fault.
He knew about where in the hills it was,
but for the life of him he could not find
It again. The McHaney boys, nothing
daunted, started with the others son a