Evening star., 1897-07-31

The Star reporter
concluded to be the one addressed, and
ma out what it was that some one else
had found that was SC improbable.
oh, 1 Just meant this here Lost Mine
item In The Star that was wired from San
Francisco" he replied to the question very
readily, though guess 1 was at my bad
habit of talking to myself out loud" he
added, apologetically. you see, I'm kind
OF soclabie creature naturally, and when
l used to be alone for months at a time
cut there In the country where this Lost
Mine is said to be located 1 got so lone
some for the sound of something besides
the cry of the night birds, the howl of
wolves and the wall of panthers that got
to talking to myself
"And you do not believe that the mine
has been found?"
The old fellow, whom The Star reporter
recognized as "Lost Mine Zarah," hesitated
moment, and then replied that he did
not believe it. Now. you see," he went
on ccnfidentially, the Lost Mine business
was exploited great many years before
you were born. I'm old enough to be your
grandfather, and when I was a youth of
twenty went hunting lost mines, too, but
l never found any,"
Hunting Lost Mines.
After little questioning he consented to
tell of some of his gold mining experiences
Yes" ne said, II have hunted more lost
mires than anybody now living, 1 suppose.
That is the way I got the name of Lost
Mine Zarah.' I was one of three sons, and
had good home, but like lot of these
blamed fool boys who are now getting
crazy to go to the fabulous gold fields OF
Alaska, I ran away from home to fight In
dians and hunt gold. l got plenty of both
the fighting and hunting before 1 quit, and
1 quit an old and broken man. with not
enough gold to fill my hollow teeth to show
for my wasted years" The old man smOk-
ed his curious old pipe, picked up in
abandoned Aztec mine, a little time in
silence, and then resumed his story: II re-
member very well how one of my illusions
nearly caused my death early in my career.
crossed the plains in 80 in a prairie
schooner as horse wrangler' for the boss
of a big outfit of freighters. Holy smoke!
what a breaking in that was! The boss
was brute, but he had me in his clutches,
Tor l had not penny. and dared not de-
sert out in that horrible wilderness, for it
meant certain death. After months of suf-
fering we reached Santa Fe, and then I
concluded that / wanted to go back home,
SO l started back with another outfit, and
when we struck Kansas soil there were
fabulous stories of gold finds in Indian
territory. An Indian showed me a nugget
Of solid gold that big my dou-
bled fist. and said that he could show me
where there was a mountain of it! The
saken country would read like a dime novel,
and 1t isn't worth while to take up time
relating many of them for you wouldn't
believe them. I never found the mine, but
must have got pretty close to 1t, for one
day band of the bloody redskins came
down on my camp and told me to stampede
myself off the reservation or prepare to at
tend scalp dance and way-up white mans
funeral. l didn't want to leave, not a darn
ed bit, for 1 was young and not bit of a
coward. but an old priest who had spent
his life down there told me to be wise in
time and leave.
The Cherokee Gold Mountain.
81 asked the old fellow If there was any
truth about the gold mine. or, rather the
mountain of gold, and he finally acknowl-
edged that there was. He said that he had
some nuggets of fabulous richness that
were given him by Cherokee Indians, who
told him that they knew where the noun
tain was. Only three of the tribe ever
knew at one time where the mine was
When one died the survivors took another
into their secret, and SO It was handed
down from generation to generation. The
priest said that one white man had dis
covered the secret accidentally many years
before. 1t was over hundred miles from
settlement. so. filling his pockets and
hunting pouch with nuggets he started for
civilization. He got but twenty miles or
so when he was overtaken by the Indians
discourage others from invading the In
dian country.
The Pegleg Mine.
II never believed the yarn" added the
old miner, ref1ectively. "but 1 concluded
that personally 1 had lost no mines, so
came back to Wesport Landing and joined
another party going across the country.
My next hunt was for the 'Pegleg' niue in
Arizona, down about Fort Yuma, IN the
desert. Pegleg Smith was a '49er, and he
discovered what he considered one of the
most valuable mines in the world in the
great desert. He got back to Los Angeles
with lot of the specimens, and died, but
LETT maps and charts and descriptions of
the landmarks, so that it was thought that
it would be impossible to miss the mine.
Well, I just reckon a million dollars have
been spent In trying to locate that old
mine. and 1t isn't found yet. Perhaps two
hundred or more lives have been recklessly
lost in trying to discover the rich treasure
II don't miss my guess. it is the 'Pegleg'
exists. which I doubt, 1t has kept its own
secret mighty well. / reckon you have
whirled across that alkaH desert in Pull
man many time. but all the discomfort
you experienced was luxury to what we
endured. There Is no water in the desert
and cactus and sage brush, sarpints and
venomous little lizards and scorpions are
all the living things that make 1t their
home. There are no trails, lust shifting
dunes of alkali and white sand in which
bleaching bones blaze blind trails of those
who got before us into that blisterfng
death trap, and quit losers in the game Of
gain. We lost our bearings in there and
half our party went crazy. Three died,
and we buried them under the bleached- -out
sand. Our mules laid down and died, and
the four of us who braved 1t out were
wrecks. after six months of the most hor-
rible experiences.
II wasn't satisfied. yet though. and 1
hunted some more lost mines. The spirit,
once in you never dies, l reckon II it
wasn't for this rheumatic, my blind eve
and deaf ear, l don't know but I would
have one more whack at that old mine
that has just been. rediscovered The
things them men tell are mighty circum-
stantial. and maybe, don't you know, they
have stumbled on 1t.
In the Land of the Incas.
The old miner paused and was apparent
ly thinking, but finally he began again.
Most of these superstitions about lost
mines are of Indian origin. Since the days
of the Incas. whom Coronado despoiled.
the most fabulous stories have been told
Of the rich mines that the Incas once pos
sessed and the futility Of trying to find
those mines. ! have been down in the
Jncas country. and seen some Of their queer
old churches. with their altars covered with
beaten gold. their pictures framed in gold,