Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1895-04-07

3
changed my mind before mornin.
If you was to fill that box with gold
bricks like these" said the prospec-
tor, pointing to a big packing case,
Il wouldn't stay another night in that
canyon. Why, sir, to think OF the
sights l saw there that night makes
me shiver now. I've fit white men an
red men. varments an frest slres,
but never sence I've ben born haV
had a night like that. The dead men
were all around me. / wasn't asleep
an hadn't tasted drop Of liquor fer
weeks. l had laid down with my
head on the haversacks, but hadn't
gone 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 arund me a-wayin'
their arms, clackin' their jints an
workin their bony jaws, an ever onct
in a while some of 'em would make
dive like they was comm for me. AT
the first sign of 'em the burros scuttled
for the bresh. l got my repeatin' rlile
set on the haversacks and emptled the
magazines into them grinning devils;
but they only clacked their jints loud
er and danced harder. Ugh! 1t was
awful. l stood it until / felt that my
brain was about to snap, then
1 CLUBBED MY RIFLE
an started to NOW 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 TO
git day / felt better an sneaked back
into the spring. Everything was jest
as | had left it-hadn't been thing
teched. l hunted up my burros, pack
ed up the gold and my kit>an' got ouB
of there as fast as the Lord would let
me. Where is the canyon? Well,
pardner, you find it if you can. Mebbe
Imight change my mind an come back
to it some day, but / wouldn't stay
there another night by myse& for
twenty million dollars" and with that
the old man walked to the depot with
his load of gold, and ten minutes later
took the train for Arizona.
For years ther have been stories afloat
around Idaho and the desert about
famous old mine that was said to have
been worked by the AZtecs centuries
ago, and was rich beyond compare
Tingman had 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 an
cient 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 prospector 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 arranged for 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 cave
in a canyon while out hunting. The
boy also told of the spring of water,
and so described the place that the
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 on a thorough
search for the canyon. Tingman and
Holland, with their parties, were also
searching, but after five weeks hard
THE INFANCY BOYS
are stockmen, and were in the noun
tains for the purpose of finding grazing
land where there was water. One day
Jim McHaney was riding through the
hille about shutdown, hunting a spring
where he could camp, when his horse
struck an old Indian trail and followed
it. McHaney knew that there was
water near from the way the horse
acted, and gave the animal free rein.
BY and by the horse turned through a
mass of dense brush, and down into
deep canyon, at the bottom Of which
was a spring, a good big one, with
water enough for q herd Of stock Nc
Haney camped there, and in ten min
utes realized that he had found the
canyon that fifty men had been hunt
ing for four or five weeks. Morning
only convinced him. There were the
caves. the skeletons and the ledges.
The rest is soon told. jim went back
to the ranch and got his brother. The
The two made locations, and before
saying a word about their find to any
onerecorded their notices in Riverside
and San Bernardino counties. I'VE
won't sell a foot of our claims" said
one of the boys. "A million dollars
would not be a temptation. Why,
ann. YOU can't conceive of the rich
ness of the find until you have seen it.
We have all the water we ned, and the
water belongs to us. The ore we have
already crushed runs up in the thous-
ands per ton, and it is only poor ore
with what we have insight. | am not
an enthusiast, but I say to you we
have the richest claim ever discovered
in California. / don't care whether
the ledge goes down or not, theore in
sight guarantees my statementAs Bill
said when he saw the ledge, We're
millionaires.
The boys named their claims the
Desert Chief" the Desert Queen
the "Chief of the Hills" and the Dry
Lake Valley" Old mining men who
have no interest in the claims what
ever say the mines will make multi
millionaire of every man interested.
The richness of the mines can be
Judged from the results obtained from
Working few sacks of the ore,
scraped away from the site selected for
sinking a shaft. This ore was packed
ON burros over to the mill at the Lost
Horse. and yielded 1925 in gold. Work
an the mines will be started at once,