The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-08-15
OLD SPANISH NINE.
Believed to Have Been Re-Discov-
cred in Willard County.

erS0 In MalIard County.
There is hardly a state in the west
but has its legend of lost mines.
Nearly all of the readers of The Herald
have heard OF the lost Log Cabin
mine, the Peg Leg mine and a host
OF other alleged bonanza properties
that once, according to the traditions
OF the country, were fabulously
rich in the precious metals, but which,
for some reason or other, were lost to
man, and which have since existed only
in the memory of the early pioneers or
the imagination of some wild and
woolly prospector.
Utah, not to be outdone by her sister
states, also has her lost mines, mines
reported TO be extremely rich, and yes
te1day, from a gentleman who is just
in from the south, we learn that in
terest in these long lost treasure vaults
of nature is again being revived, and
That from now on a most persistent
search viii be made to ascertain their
exact location.
FoCty-two years ago. SO the story
goes, Brigham Young sent out an ex-
ploT1ng party Of six men to look for
land IN the mountain ranges suitable
for settlement, among The number be-
ing Daniel Funk, one Of the pioneers
Of MillaTd county.
The party of scouts made a careful
examination OF Willard county, and in
the mountains about twenty miles from
where Scipio now stands they found
fresh and well known trail leading
from the canyon up into the mountain
Businesses. The discovery of the trait
was nothing surprising to these hardy
men, but excitement ran high when it
&c no1 rl,s,t Il,
by horses that had been shod, and the
scouts had good reason to wonder at
this discovery. as the Indians, then nu-
merous in that portion Of the country,
never shod their horses or ponies.
Who, then, could have made the
trail? Not white men certainly, for
there were none in the country except
ing themselves, and the Indians, they
knew, could not have made 1T.
With curiosity aroused 60 the highest
pitch they followed the well-worn path
for several miles, until at last they
came TO the bottom of a. steep hiN,
and at this point they rested, being
fearful of ascending, not knowing but
that farther on they might meet with
a force that was larger than their own;
and whether it would be friend or foe,
they did not know.
better part of valor," they began to
retrace their steps. and on the way
down the canyon they met an Indian,
and as one Of the party could converse
in the Indian language, inquiries were
made as to who had made the trail,
and for what purpose.
The Indian, who was we'll acquaint-
ed with that locality, informed the
scouting party that the trail had been
made by Spaniards, who were working
a very rich gold mine just over the
hill from where they were, and the
red-skin volunteered the further infor-
nation that few miles down the trail
there could be found the spring where
the Spanish miners crushed and wash
ed their ore.
Acting ON this knowledge the party
followed the trail down the canyon and
scribed by the Indian, and also some
pieces of quartz ore that was fairly
lousy with the yellow metal.
The scouting party, upon their re-
turn home, described what they had
found in their report to Brigham
Young, who forbade them or anyone
going there again. as trouble would
surely ensue if they Gid, and SO the
discovery rested until it began to take
the form of a legend in the minds of
the people of Utah.
Eight years ago, however, Daniel
Funk took his son, young Dan, into the
mountains, told him the story of the
Spanish mine, and pointed out the
mountain in which this long-lost bo-
nanza was located.
The elder Funk has since passed to
the great beyond. but his son, imbued
Of
ure in the deserted mine, has devoted
nearly. eight years in the endeavor to
find it. He has prospected the mount
ain thoroughly during these years, but
found nothing of value. This spring,
however, he determined to go over
nearly every foot of the ground, and
began to prospect the hill as closely as
a field could be ploughed.
One day, while crawling on his hands
and knees through the underbrush, he
found a big mound, which had every
appearance of being an old dump, and
under the leaves and debris on this
combed quartz that had every appear
ance of being gold bearing.
Elated over the discovery, and be-
lieving that he had found the old
Spanish treasure vault, he notified
friends in this city of his success, and
a week ago two of them left for that
locality.
The mound, or dump, is covered with
good sized oak trees, but animated
with the hope that below was to be
found bonanza gold mine, the lost
mine hunters began to prospect around
and soon found what appeared to be
an old shaft, and this they cleaned out
for a depth of fifty feet, while from
a . 10 ha hot of 10
hole small assures or chimney holes
continued to go downward. The shaft
appeared to be in a formation of honey
comhed quartz, but the walls or sides
Of the hole were so rugged and irreg-
ular that the Salt Lakers who had
Joined Mr.. Funk in his explorations.
became convinced that it was never
dug by man, and that it was nothing
more than the crater of an extinct vol |
cano
Still the surface of the ground was
with rich float, and as soon as
the Salt Lake men became satisfied
that the lost mine had not been found.
they began to inspect the lodges in the |
near vicinity, and found what they con-
sidered as excellent evidences of large I
and rich mineral deposits, besides some
very large deposits of iron ore. the
formation being a contact between
lime and quartz'te. After making seve-
raj locations the gentlemen started for
home. reaching this city yesterday
and as soon as their ASSAYS
are out, they can then tell, to a certain !
extent. the value of their discoveries.
Meanwhile Mr.. Funk will continue his
THERE Is GOOD MONEY
To be made IN mining stocks by careful