The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-20

Experience of Man Who Has Been
Hunting Phantoms Fifty Years.
IN . ranclsCO Letter.

AprOpoS of the expedition which has just
started out again in search of the famous
Lost Stuart mine, in the Uncompangre
mountains of Utah, well-Snown character
has come TO this city, who has headed sew
eral expeditions in search OF the lost Stuart
treasure, and who knows the history of
every lost mine in the country. They call
him Lost Mine Zarah." He never did a
thing IN all his life but go in search OF rich
mines that other men had discovered and
lost track of. For fifty years he has been
following up the gold-mine phanJoms OF oe-
lirious prospectors driven from the field OF
their discovery by want OF food or lnulan
hostility. And he has never found single
nugget The history of the rich lost mines
of america reads like page from q dime
novel. Lost Mine Zarah" has hunted more
of them than any man living.
Il crossed the plains in 90 in prairie
wrangler for the boss Of a big outfit of
wranglers. Like a lot of those blank TOOLS
who are going to Alaska now, ran away
from home. l wanted fighting and hunting,
and / got it. The boss of our train was a
brute. But L dared not desert in the will
derness. 1t meant certain death. l quit
him at Santa Fe and started home. But
when / reached Kansas there came to my
ears the most fabulous tales of gold helds IN
Indian Territory.
That's when / began to chase the will-o'
the-wisp called the Cherokee gold noun
tain You've heard about 1t, An lndlan
showed me a nugget of sold ne TOOK from
it as big as his fist. A priest told me the
story was true. 1t must exist yet, II ~
ever did. It's a mountain filled with gold
and it had been continual source OF
wealth to the Cherokees for generations.
Only three Indians at time We're let INTO
the secret. When one died another would "a
take his place. A white man discovered II
once. But the Cherokees did not let aim
get out of their country alive. seaf9heu
all Indian Territory for it, but l never
found it. / suffered terrible trials, and
finally the Indians drove me out
LAS for the old Stuart mine IN Utah,
that's sure if Stuart ever gets the scent
again Stuart lives down in New Mexico
and he goes out every year prospecting
for his lost treasure, / We been there Win
It's kind of pathetic, after all; 1t all nap
pened in this way. Stuart had a contract
in 40 with the government to carry mani
from Santa Fe to San Francisco. lie
started Sept. to carry out his nrSI TRIP,
and he lost the trail! In wandering around
with his fifteen mules, nine packs ana elSnt
men, he got into pocket canon one udy
he went out to reconnoiter with Next
can and they stumbled across a NINE
rich with big nuggets. They washed OUT a
swear to keep the discovery secret. When
they reached San Francisco they found
the gold very valuable They set out to
retrace their steps. But they failed; Old
Mother Nature and the elements had con-
spired together and buried the treasure
from view. Stuart has been down around
there nearly every year since 49. lie has
sworn to find it before he dies, But no.
body ever has found a lost mine. Any
way, there is a kind of fascination about it
that warns the blood.
1.-THE biggest lost mine that I've ever dug
around for is the Pegleg mine in Arizona
1t is located somewhere around Fort Yuma
in the desert. Pegleg Smith discovered it in
AZ, and he went back to Los Angeles, fired
with enthusiasm, to organize an expedition
to work il. He pronounced it to be the
most valuable mine in the world Then he
died suddenly. But he left a lot of speci-
mems, maps. charts and descriptions of
landmarks to verify his statements.
But that Pegleg mine is tiend and
monster, wherever it is. One million doll
lars have been spent trying to locate it.
,arfi raoT
and it guards its secret well. headed an
expedition down there once. We passed
through a terrible experience. There was
no water to drink. Cactus and sage brush
was the only vegetation. Serpents, lizards
and scorpions were the only living things
in the big wilderness. The shifting dunes
of alkali and white sand covered the real
trails. The bleaching bones of other adj
venturers blaZed before us, showing us a
deathtrap. We lost our bearings, and three
out of seven of US died. The rest of us
nearly went mad. Not even the mules
Eyes, the stories of lost mines are nearly
all myths. The mine itself may exist some
where under the blue heaven, but the
wealth of it's treasure is always overesti-
mated. Why, since the days when the
Incas were in the height of their power in
Peru stories have been current of their
fabulousy rich mines. 1 explored their
churches l found affairs of beaten gold
pictures framed in gold. gold sacramento
service t1at would QaZZIe your eyes. But
the rich mines had been worked for centur-
les. They have given out; they are barren
and filled up with rubbish. l managed to
get in the mouth of one of those old holes
grown up with trees and filled with shift
ing sands. l found tunnels and shafts that
stretched for miles under the mountains
But all the gold had been taken out. The
mine was empty and valueleSs.
''Then there is the Madre d ORC mine of
Arizona, the mother of gold mine that once
drew hundreds to Apache City. 1t is said
to be so rich that you can scrape gold off
it's sides with a knife / looked for it two
There is ore famous lost mine that
have never hunted. It's the Lost Cabin
mine. It was located by three miners
prospecting in the Indian country. They
were floating down the Big Horn by night
to escape the saVages and they lost their
bearings. 1t was in the fall of SO. They
camped one day at the foot of some noun
tains and discovered a mine of great rich
ness They built stockades and spent the
whole winter developing their claim. But
the Indians found them out and two of
them were murdered. The third escaped
and drifted back to Fort Laramie, where he
was never found Thousands of dollars We're
spent and the indignant men, angered by
their disappointment, mobbed him.
'And what would the world do without
fools like myself and the Alaska mobs?
Why we would all be living on the conti-
nent of Europe to this day, and such place
as the United States of America would be
unknown. New worlds are developed only
by such ventures. Adventures, wild with
greed have crossed vast seas and huge
mountains; they have penetrated boundless
plains and inaccessible deserts They are
the ones who have carried civilization with
them. Why, that Alaska horde is band of
heroes"