The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-09-06

v SSUSSS@HS <>S@SSS@CC
stood around. hardly able to control
their feelings, while I cleaned up and
weighed Out a little more than $1,000
in gold The utmost joy prevailed We
| had just finished eating our supper and
the miners were gathered about the
camp fire, smoking their pipes and dis
cussing the probabilities of finding
other rich leads in the vicinity of
| Clean Shirt, when as suddenly as d
shot there was a rafting of machinery
at the mill. so steps away. 1t sounded
| just as if the engineer had lost con-
| troll of the power and the machinery
| was running away, as one might say
J The wheels were fairly kissing with
/ speed and we could hear the ponderous
stamps pounding on the empty battery.
Every man sprang to his feet, mani
| Testing the utmost annazement, for we
all knew that the engineer had raked
out his fires and blown off steam just
/ before we sat down to supper. The
engineer ran TO the mill in the great
! est alarm, and before any of US got to
the door the noise had ceased, and in
answer to the rapid series of inquiries
that were shot at the engineer, he
l
| caused the racket. l am certain there
was no steam in the boiler
! Now, we all fat that he might be mis-
! taken. and after a few moments we re-
disturbed by she rather curious affair. We
had MT been seated but a few moments
when the horses began to snort and pIA
at the ropes. Che of the teansters WHO
went 10 quiet them made US all spring to
our feet again by shouting: Great God
the mountain is oGl hrei'' We all ran 10
q, spot where nothing INSTRUCTED our view
of the lone mountain and stood speeches.
and transfi9 ed. The top of the nrJun't9icl
/ that contained the quartz lead was a
sheet of flame. Wkenew there was Moth
ing there TO burn, and yet 1T looked as If
the whole top of the mountain was en-
Veloped in fire. Some one whispered: 1t
IS a Volcano" The words were scarcely
out o fflis mouth before the machinery in
the mill once more began 10 chatter ana
rattle as If the boiler was ready TO burst
end tine throttle had been pulled wide
open The engineer sprang forward to
ward his post and all of followed at
his heels. Wnen near fEle door there was
q terrible crash, followed by the noise OF
falling beams, ard Ghen the engineer
ing: 'The devil himself is al work in
pieces"'
4 teamster had a lantern and by the
light of this it was easy 10 see that the
grS1- wheel that drove the stamps was
broken and half of it lying 40 feet away
against the. wall. The monster stamps
were lying broken in a tangle across the
battery. The engineers face was color
less. and he only said: ~ don't under
stsrd 1t. The mill is ruined. and 1t has
not been done by any human agency.
While we were standing looking at the
ruins a missile of some kind WllizZed 9vsT
our heads and struck against the side OF
. the mill. Without utter5as a word, the
. Every one was busy with nis own
thoughts. and as for myself. | began e
wish that I was somewhere else. While
walking towards camp We helrd several
missiles strike the sides of the mill. Let
us get away from here, said one of the
teamSters. ''T2la place is haun.ed-' The
mountain was still afame, and some OF
the men declared that they saw objects
moving about in the cloud of fire. Occa-
SiOnally the noise made by the missiles II
2 their apid flight through the air appeared
= TO draw nearer n us. The boss ttanSte e.
Satzea a set of harness and started to
ward one of his mules Something hlsset
, behind il, ard struck the mule in th'
| face. bursting into thousands of spark
: ling fragments. which SO frightened tn;
4 animal that 1t broke loose and ran away
= We were now all thoroughly alarmed
, 01d there was MT che who would no
have given all his earthly possessions fol
quick transportation to almost any pldc.
far away from Camp Clean Shirt ''Cirea
heavens, boysl" exclaimed one of th'
] nisr. let Us walk or run away from dal'
: accursed placer The words he'd hardly
: feIl uron ~ knees and began to cTos!
and pray. "Look at thimr' he said. potrf-
: ~ Toward the sD1t where We mad. Dilet
the skeletons | know NOT wtp1- poWet
I kept us on our feet. for, as for myself
was speeches., struggling to get MI
! breath end too walk TO raise my hands
! Tne skeletons were STANDING bolt up
right in a line across the pash that W
/ were about to take hoping to rua away
[ and they booked to be ten feet high. Tnei
= arms were raised above their white skull
rY0J1i5 ri7o hon f1r,c~e am
great eyeless sockets When we moved
they waved their hands and CRASHED thei
< teeth. Several OF chem fell upon IN
< ground and hid their faces in che sand
{ Hearing a noise Ike the gathering o
the 1Oof5 of horses | BOXED toward tn
. mountain and saw hundreds of mounts
Indians gallopins through the cloud 0
fire. Tley sometimes turned their horses
|. heads toward US and shook their lance
J. at us. Then they would gallop abou
d through the flaming cloud, great sheet
= horses. 1t was now useless 10 talk @
! running away, for there was no. a ma;
Il able to stand on his feet. | had fallen o.
n my knees and expected every moment Z
: be struck by one of the flaming missile
: that Weer raining about US L closed m
n eyes 20 shut out '5lle sight of the grinITtn
-, skeletons, and sauW TO the earth and hi
:, my face. Thss was a lcng night. We en-
dured it in perfect silence, never DARN
L to open our eyes un;sil We fe!t the YaFr
e rays of the sun. Never were a lot Of me
II made happier by the morning light. Ever
r. face had blank puzzled look and III
= man walked like Somnambulists. Til
It teaEustegs without asking gGy questions
IS at once began TO hook up tae.r teams
) and the engineer walked to the door c
d the mill aHd saZed IN silence upon IN
e wreck. the machinery was totally ruiz
e ed. The great shaft upon which she siam
= hung was twisted and broken. while ever
stamp was in two OF three pieces Eve
le the boiler was cracked and wrencfrsd frol
d II foundation. Either an eauoiquake c
the devil did that was the only c1mneC
/ of the engineer. We trudged aIElg bF
:, hind the teams. and not a word was spoil
II en- until We reached fhe overland roat
some ten miles away.
e That quartz lead is Just as rich in gol
g today as 1t was 20 years ago. There
ie a coal million IN sight You may haI
U the Clean Sh!rt mine and the ruins of Il
= mill with ell the ore ON the dump if yo
: want 1t. Almost anybody in Wadswoq'.
le or Saltwater. Ney.. can tell YOU whey
Z, it is. BRAZOS,
h In ST. Louis Globe-DemocTat.