Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-08-06

thing at all about the country be-
yond.
Now, this was just what Captain
Pete and moat of us wanted and, as |
you know by this time, he wasn't tho
man to stick at much TO get his way,
He let the boy go to and fro as ha
pleased. but he kept the girl and "A
couple of women attendants that they
had sent out. TO her in the camp till
the last ounce OF the ransom had been
pald.-and paid Il was honestly, In
good bars and nuggets and dust, TINT
footed up n round two hundred pounds
weight and as gold was fetching about
$50 an ounce In those days. this was
worth over $500
This was pretty good. but II wasn't
good enough for Captain Pete. He
wanted nothing less than the mines
mat the gold came out OF. and he
meant 10 have them, and the country
beyond the mountains as well. IL he
could get IT, Sc when all the gold had
been handed over and packed up, he
gave feast, and got about two score
OF the people. Including the boy and
girl' INTO the camp, and then he got
up and told the head man that unless
he showed him the mines and let him
take ms much as lac wanted out OF them
not one OF them should leave tho camp
awe except the boy and girl, and he'd
take them back with him and make
slaves Of them. and force them 10 guido
Nun back ngain with u force of men
that should be strong enough to COM
Quer the country.
They listened 10 him IN daznd
sort % way as II they couldn't undcr-
stand II. They had never aeon any
lreachery like that before, but when
theN came TO see that we really meant
business they showed plenty OF eour.
age The hcad.man told him that
every citizen In the country was bound
py IN onth and under pain " death
never 70 show anyone outside the
mountains the way In or to reveal the
location ot the gold mines, and that
they were all ready TO die sooner than
give nj the secret for II they did give
1t ~. thoy would be killed 10y their own
matter Of that
Then Captain Pete got angry. and
MS eyes Began to burn green, We rad
firearms, and they hadn't 30 OF cuuree
they were entirely ut our mercy. one
2t them tried to slip on and run to the
mountains to give the alarm. but he
hadn't gone forty yards before ths
captain dropped him with a bullet
through The head. Then there was a
'tampcde, and whom II was over there
We're only six OF them left. including
the hcad-man and the boy and uiri
1t was a horrible thing to DO. but N
You mad ever seen men with the gold
FEVER on them as we had IL then. you'd
understand. There Is no other madness
lite that to make wlld beasts or men.
aud that's Just what 4 made us. Those
that were left atill held out aa nbal
natclN az ever, ana told the captain to
do his worat-and he aid for he tlpd
the hrad-mar and the ihroe others up
10 trees and burnt them To- death one
after the other; but they died Ike he
roes 70 The last man, and not word
would they say
''NnhNUN ulaR fp mo aUN - H..
t1ina Everything remained atlll and
ns lonely az death, so we had to con.
cludc either that the people knew moth
Ing about what was going on, or else
That they had made up their minds
that only those who had been dealing
with US should come out, In case some.
one betrayed the secret when the last
man was dead Captain Pete threatened
the boy and girl with all sorts OF hor-
rorH and tortures II they didn't show
us the way through the mountains; but
II was no good, they told him TO do
as he liked, and then held their tongues.
He tied them up and flogged them
both, one after the other, but NOT "A
word did he ret out Of them; 70 at last
he gave It up, and we started TO search
for the opening ourselves, We spent
over week at II, and lost n man
every day, for. no sure az u man went
prospecting alone he never came hnclt.
| Al lnst. when there were only fnur
white men ana six niggcrs left, we
| were forced 10 give IN; so We loaded
| mp ihe gold leaving everything else
| that We could spare behind us. and
started on back
"rhe first night the boy and girl
| stabbed themselves to death, ana there
! we were in strange country, all those
| hundreds OF miles from the coast with
out guides, week later tho nlggers
h1lted Ia a man. each OF them tai,Ing
/ "a ftNNlQh AZ tho d.
| lay hla hands on, and II we hadn't kept
! the arms strictly to ourselves / suppose
| they'd shot as down aud taken the lot.
| So we four white men pushed ON with
the mules as fast as we could, FOR il
wasn't bit OF good trying 10 chase
the niggcrs, and FOR a fortnight every.
| thing went on all right,
Then we lost one OF tho mules In a
| swamp. and two or three days after
that one OF the men aickened, and Az
we had to choose between taking him
or load OF gold. we left him mad
with fever to die In the bush. II was
just as though there was curse on the
whole thing. as | daresay now there
| was. Last OF all when we were COM
ing down the western slope Of the steep
mountain that we mad To cross, our last
man fell over preclpieo with one OF
| the mules-and that was the end Of
the expedition for the present,
THE captain and l discussed things
hnd decided that there was nothing
| for It but 60 bury the treasure we
| attn had about 10000 worth Of IL left
| In spot In the mountains that we
could easily ind. and push on with tho
| two mules we had left and the highest
| possible loads down TO the coast. and
| Then organize regular expedition to
| come back, flnd the treasure, and go on
| 20 the Gold Country, az we called II,
force our way into It and conquer II.
| like Cortez conquered Mexico.
After II bit Of seeking we found q
| place at the head Of a deep valley rum
| ming into the side OF the mountain
| This valley had a natural pyramid OF
rock at the mouth Of II, so there would
be no mistaklng II when We came back;
so we buried the treasure there, took
| the exact latitude OF the mountain.
and worked out the longitude by dead
| reckoning as well as we could. Then
| we started home. pretty wen down
| hearted, as you may guess, but none
| the less determined on that account to
! come back and ind the mines OF the
| Gold Country at any cost.
eve got back TO the coast NIL right
and went down 10 Lagos. and the first
| thing Captain Pete heard there was
| that the bank IN which he left all his
| money had gone to smash, and that
| every dollar of II was Lost; and 80
there we found ourselves with only a
few ounces Of gold IN our pockets and
no money TO 1T out the expedition with.
| gtiIl Cautain Pete wasn't beaten, and