Omaha daily bee., 1896-06-07

is surely WonurouS strange.
Very many years ago the Spaniards lived
en- the Colorado river and the Navajos claim
that their fore-Indians used to work as slaves
in the once famous Josephine mine and thai
their grandmothers rocked the cradles of the
Spaniards and washed gold by the banks OF
the Big water. A Spanlard wrote to a friend
In Spain that there was wealth enough in the
Josephine mine to make the Catholic world
independently rich. A smart old chief en-
listed the services of a number of tribes
and made war on the Spaniards. who were
driven from the Big water and compelled TO
give up their slaves.
One of the -stipulations of the treaty was
that the Spaniards should cover all traces of
the mine and leave 1t forever.
Some fifty years ago two Mormon boys
were sent TO live with these Indians on the
Colorado; the main object of the elders was
to have the boys learn the language and ways
of the red man that they might be used In
the work Of outstanding the tribes, in ac-
cordance, of course, with the book Of Nor
mon. For a time the children suffered
greatly, but in the course Of a few years they
became as hard and hardy as the red man.
Old Tickaboo, the Ute chief, was very kind
to the pale children in many ways; In time
Of war he hid them away in the hills and in
times Of peace he rode with them in the
Utah wales and taught their young ideas how
to shoot. The Indians we're extremely jeal-
GUS of the white boys, but as the years went
by and the boys grew TO be men they began
to be regarded as real Indians, and only the
older warriors. who remembered how ten
derby they were cared for by the chief,
looked upon them with a Jealous eye.
One of the boys, Shirtz by name, was a
special favorite of Tickaboo. who was now
a very old Indian. Many times he had told
his white friend the story Of the lost mine;
how hfu unnthar and his mOfhpr'k mother had
worked there as saves. Often Shirtz urged
the old man to show him where the mine
was buried, but the superstitious Indian said
that the ghosts of dead braves were there
and that they must not be disturbed.
Shirtz was a bearded man and there were
streaks Of silver In his soft black hair when
at last Tickaboo promised to show him the
grave OF Josephine. II was in the early
autumn. when the two men, with a trusty
Indian cook and a white friend OF Shirtz's,
set out in search Of the long lost mine, Miles
and miles OF these sandstone mountains along
the Colorado river are entirely barren Of
vegetation, and water is equally scarce.
This little band Of explorers endured many
hardships and at one time, after travelling
two whole days without water, the old chief
laid down TO die. The Indian eye Of Shirtz
found a narrow trail made by mountain sheep
going down TO drink. After following THE
trail for an hour he came TO a pool OF pure
water standing In a basin-shaped sand rock;
they are called tanks In that country and
that one Is known to the cowboys as Ticka-
boo tank. To this pool they carried the al
most helpless form Of the old chief and
nursed him back to life.
They had been In camp nearly a week
waiting for the old man to get strong
enough to resume the journey in search Of
the hidden treasure, when. one afternoon
Tickaboo climbed 10 the top OF the canon
wall and stood looking with shaded eyes to-
ward the setting sun, Then he beckOned
Shirtz, aud Shirtz went up ana stood by the