The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-12
ROMANCE OF A LOST MINE.
4 SPANISH ADVENTURE FIR FOUND m
BUT DIED DISAPPOINTED.

Capt. snin1ar's Dream or wealth from . Cargo
OF Platinum Ore-IEnoranco That Left n
Buried In His Garden for Two Couturios-
His Descendants Made Happy ut Last.
1t was n lump Of platinum-a nugget as big
as n goose egg, which n herdor had found in the
foothills and brought TO tho hacionda-that
caused Don lgnacio Dlaz to tell the story Of
Capt. Salazar's venture. His auditor was Q
traveller from Now York visiting the Don's o.
tatc in the mountain slopes west of tho Orinoco.
ITS platinum, sure enough" said the Now
York man whose business requires that he bo
we'll informed az to every mineral. But I
never knew before that platinum was one Of
your Venezuelan minerals. If you can find the
vein that this came from 1t will make the value
Of your hacienda seem small by comparison"
'Oh, that was discovered and worked $50
years ago and then lost said Don Ignaeio.
rolling n cigarette. "No one has been able to
find It since the days Of Capt. Lucullo Salazar.
OF course. you never heard OF him. Would you
hke the story of his venturei It's worth the
Bearing. A light, II you please, sehor. Gre
Y iosl Now for the story. 1t was long ago, in the
lear 1850, that Capt. Salazar sailed from
Mngostura, on tho Orinoco, In tho ship Colon
dr.nn. bound for Barcelona with his cargo q
platinum ore. He did not know that 1t was plat
mum, but supposed 1t TO DO the richest Of all
yer ore. He was tired Of the New World, where
he had served the Spanish crown for a score OF
years. and now he reckoned or .Iassing tho rest
Of his days In Spain, living the life of a grandoa, I.
thanks To his silver treasure.
ARRIVED az Barcelona, it became necessary
to discharge his cargo at once. Capt. SalasaF
owned n small estate IN Santa Ma ria, q suburb
Of Barcelona, and in the rear Of the house Was
a large wine cellar. In this cellar he stored
the ore where it might DO under his eye; thon
sent for the royal assay er. who must superin-
tend the smelling and minting Of the silver and
determine the Kings 1.-THE OF it Imagine the
Captains disappointment when that official
pronounced the ore 10 be not silver. but little
silver la pldtina de Tinto-which had no
CO Numerical value in those days. but rather was
looked on with suspicion from the facility
with which it could nc used to adulternte gold.
The Captain consulted tie alchemists, and they
gave the same report. Deeply chagrined, he
earth to tho ground .evel. This done he plant.
cd "A whey ard above II, ahu he commanded that
none of his household ever should speak Of his
disastrous venture, or disturb the buried hin
eral. He never returned TO the New World,
but lived for many years In santa Maria a dis
ever revealed to any one the place where the
un.ilg.cky orc had been mined;
been be. fors2} - i,rt his ID de ,Ss ia the j. last st, q
Maria Sis fs''' They hey were were IN two sne the 2na W Hfass Z bo Se9ss
Salazar, VINO had kept the family name through
6 6sy,5S mar RSral, aer T HSgsi We're and ho her o0n peGr
thGt 10 cke out her s;anty income The widow
rented two rooms Of the house to , lodser, .
sui at barcelona. You know how II il with
young people-a young man and a young wo-
II %f iish ftr snd 1 lhSt oih aefe dark. FiHI erinsn Eve ea ees
and Aurelia Salazar fell in love with each
Sanss, ma A%4cSn siim nsi an a a wo ssssH s7en f Z Il H SeSas
that they beg FOR a living, and her mother would
home TO share what they had Knit the Ger
man was more prudent and calculating, and,
although he was as much in love as Anreiia,
pend on, and he did not dare ask the girl to
MARI him. SO they were bo,n nnhsTpy;
estate had ben sold OF, the widow still kept
the large garden in the rear Of the house. But
to sell hall OF this plot OF land to a neighbor.
To make out the deed 1t was necessary TO find
man Everssen. Who Was regarded now as almost
one OF the family, located the place where he
s I'd ,Se tw tee m ston %b shS %e1e be- eet a to di snRes!n fr Il.
At last. when they had got down three feet or
m ,S2cS d 5nsy and sss ma,,s to IL I9p b,, s the /; e; Mss b snsY
shiny, and metallic. so hard that they could get
only a small quantity OF it on the spade at one
Other ?, sSI pis"s. 's and still IT, snetheT' t5a as WheF:Ser
feet to this hard. shiny substance.
The thing was as much OF g mystery TO
curiosity. SO that night he took a quantity Of
the substance over to a friend of his, q metal.
!urgist employed in the Almadcn mines who had
come 10 Barcelona to get rid of the effects OF
the fumes u quicksilver. The friend looked al
the stuff. tested its weigh; IL, lis hand, then APP
piled a simple chemical test.
" This is platinum ore he txclain cd. Where
did il come FRONT Dug IL in a garden, 90 you
snyi Nonscnsc. II can't be. There are no
platinum deposits in Spain!'
" But il came from n CT rdcn all the same
said Herman stoutly. The widow Dolores
Salazars. And there's n lot of it. too. ! had
six holes tUG and we struck 1t IN every one
" ~" you know tla; platinum when smell:
tered is worth Sll an ounce ir Londonr said
the friend. Let me give you n piece Of advice
You sa! the garden this came from Is owned
by a widow. Marry her as soon rs you can
Herman wont home and the next day, carly
proposed not for the widows, but for Au-
relia's hand, and he married the i;!rl, a month
later. The title 10 the back garden did not pass
10 the nclghbor, but. after n short honey moon,
breadth Of the old wine cellar were uncovered
just about the time the agent Of one OF the
great platinum working houses arrived from
London. Tt" depth Of the deposit was tested,
and n bargain struck between the agent and
Herman, representing the widow.
Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
was the price paid by tho agent for what was
In the old wine cellar said Don Ignacio in con-
clusihn. The firm that he represented no
doubt made four times as much out OF the trans
action. But there was enough that came 70
the widow Dolores SalaZas to make her and her
daughter and son.in.law rich and happy. And
so old Capt. 'Mcullo S,lazar's venture brought
wealth TO his house at last"