Evening star., 1897-07-31

nau .iey save 10 the cnurch, ana that
their rch mines that were worked for CEN
turies, perhaps, at last gave out and were
filled up with rubbish, i was in one of the
churches in the San Savier country once.
and lay upon the white cloth spread to re-
ceive IT nuggetsisof Virgin gold. from as
big as bean to the Size Of an egg. 1 saw
IN tnat same country one of the ancient
al the appurtenances for mining, and I
don't believe that they had lain there un-
touched a day less than century. The
trees and filled in WITH shifting sands. We,
my four partners and myself, tried to open
the place. We got into it and found tun-
nels ana shafts that stretched for miles
under the mountain, but the gold that had
made the Indians rich had all been taken
out. and the mine was valueless. The In
olans are cunning, and they do not choose
TO reveal the sources Of their wealth. They
tel all sorts of stories to put people
astray. and are quite adopts in the lost
mine history.
The Lost Stuart Mine.
Then there is the lost Stuart mine
Ihat Is In the Umcompahgre mountains
at the base of the Needles. on the Florida
river. 1t was discovered by a man named
stuart, In 1919. He had contract with the
government to carry mail from Santa Fe,
N. NJ. to San Francisco. He started Sep
temper s, 1873, to carry out his first trip.
ana lost the trail In wandering around
with mis- hfteen mules, nine packs and eight
men, he got into a regular pocket canon.
ana when out one day with Mexican
came upon mine that was immensely rich
with gold. The two of them washed out a
lot OF the gold, and kept the find secret
from the others. When they finally got in
to San Francisco, they found the gold very
valuable, and started out to retrace their
steps and hnd the mine. They failed. l
tried with Stuart to find the mine at two
dlnerent times. 1t has not been found yet.
Stuart lives In New Mexico now, and goes
out almost every year prospecting for his
Iost treasure The 'Madre d Oro mine is
another myth that will not explode, and 1
presume that when l am dead there will
still be fools who will listen to the legend
and go to look for the Mother of Gold
mine This mine is in the Arizona noun
tains, In the Apache country. 1t is said to
be so rich that you can scrape the gold off
the sides of the old mine with case knife.
l looked for it for two years. l never
found it.
The "Gun-Sight Ledge"
Il once spent nearly six months the
grub stake of rich old duffer hunting the
lest 'Gun-sight Ledge mine. The story of
that Is only another story of the want and
prlvations, the wanderings and sufferings
of the pioneers of the fifties. In 1854 some
immigrants got lost in the desert of Death
valley, and could be followed by the trail of
oxen carcasses and graves that they left
behind in their awful wanderings. One night
they camped under ledge of rock, and
one of the immigrants-there were four,
out of four hundred, left alive-found that
the sight of his gun was broken off. He
picked up a chunk of metal that had fallen
from the mountain, and fashioned a sight
cut of 1t. Eventually the two survivors,
for the other two succumbed, found their
way to Los Angeles, and an old miner see
Ing the clumsy gun sight, eagerly asked its
owner how he came by it. He told the
Ofn plyy 1a.a~, hn af.1
pure unalloyed silver of the richest possible
nature. Immediately a party was organ
lied to hunt that silver ledge. Their de-
scendants are still hunting, l presume, for
1t never was found but hundreds Of lives
have been sacrificed to the horrors of that
deadly desert.
II never hunted the Lost Cabin Nine
which was located by some miners, Allan
Hurlburt, a Mr.. Jones' and a man by the
name of Cox, who were prospecting in the
Indian country, and being hard pressed,
built taft and foated down the Big Horn
by nights to get away from the Indians,
and lost their bearings completely. They
camped at the foot Of some mountains in
the fall of 1863, and there discovered
mine of wonderful ricfness. They resolved
to work it, and having some provisions and
game being plenty, they went to work.
They built stockades to shield them from
the hostile Indians Of the country, and
spent the winter developing the claim
One day in the spring, Hurlburt, who had
left his companions but a few moments,
heard the crack of guns and returned to
find them dead and the cabin sacked. He
knew that meant death to him also, when
the redskins caught sight of him, SO he
filled his knapsack with some of the mug
gets, and buried the rest and set out for
civilization, not knowing exactly where he
would find it. He finally drifted into Fort
Laramie and told the story of his wonder
full find. A big company organized to hunt
the mine, of which Hurlburt had proof in
his golden nuggets. but the mine was
their money into the scheme nearly mob
bed him when at last the project was
abandoned. after thousands of dollars had
been sunk in the search
Again the narrator paused as though his
story was ended. Were those all the lost
mines you ever trailed?' asked The Star
reporter at last. "Oh, no!'' was the quick
response. Il have spent most of my life
looking for lost chances. There are half
dozen other ventures III that line, but they
were minor ones. l never seemed to care
to prospect on my own account To mine
on your own hook, you must either have
money enough to keep yourself or get
somebody to 'grubstake you. 'Grubstak-
ing is a very common thing.
LAS long as there are undiscovered lands
men will seek them; as long as gold finds
attract the attention of the credulous YOU
will find men ready to become arbitrators
of their own fates, and eager to test the
golden mirage. Where one wins, one hun
dred will fail and die miserably. 1t is
gigantic lottery"
''Then you think that this rush to the
Alaskan gold mines is a foolish venture?"
Il never said anything of the kind" re-
sponded old Zarah. Indignantly 1.-THE
men who are going to the gold fields of the
Yukon heroes! Heroes every one.
They do not know it; the world does not
now realize 1t. True 1t is foolhardy ven
ture for those who go. but new worlds
have been developed by just such ventures.
Men, mad with the greed of gain, rushed to
unknown fields across vast seas, over huge
mountain ranges, across boundless prairies,
through dreadful deserts, hoping always to
better their condition. If / could turn
hack the pages of time forty or fifty years.
I'd hunt a grubstaker and start for the
Klondyke region tomorrow" and the old
miner yanked up his crutches and hobbled
away.
Ravages of Americanitfs.
From Scribner's