The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-01-07
ANOTHER VERSION

AlleT all, IL Is not 10 ne wondered at
that Dad" Jernigan was carried away
by the eXtravagant, bewildering stories
of hidden wealth near Austin.
Men more intelligent and infinitely bet
ter able to withstand the seductive in
fluence of the reasonableness of the sto-
ries told have been caught, and from the
very earliest settlement of this country
they have spent money and time digging
for gold in the vicinity of Austin.
Aged Mexicans, within the recollec-
ton of many old citizens, have appeared
in Austin with plats and maps that were
SAID to have the metes and bounds of the
locality wherein the gold was deposited
by Mexican army on its retreat from
NacogdOches to San Antonio. Their mis-
sion would leak out and then some in
quisitive American would get from them
their stories, and often aided in search
for the hidden treasure. Many good
man in this city has believed the story
of hidden wealth about Austin, and they
have labored to find it. Man, somehow,
is endowed with many amiable contra
dictiOns. Among his other eccentricities
he dearly loves the mysterious that is sup
posed to hide glittering gold. There is,
let it be clearly understood, in the be-
stowal of affection upon hidden gold,
nothing, from an ethical standpoint, ac-
tually inquitous or woefully wicked. A
man may be guilty of the weakness. and
yet in other respects be clear-headed and
eminently honest and respectable.
To many, however, such man is a
queer, paradoxical and topsy-turvey
humorist if not positively idiotic.
Bah! the very idea of man going off
on wild goose chase after hidden treas
ure. Alas, 'alack, all the treasure of this
world is hidden. Man strives after hid
den wealth always, and where one finds it
thousands upon thousands fail. Scores
have failed. delving into the soil about
Austin for the wealth alleged to have been
buried by Mexican officers.
Have you ever met such men! The
Statesman has, and they are queer set
at times. Poor old man Andrew George
has been fair type of them during the
past year. There has been great weight
resting upon the very innermost recesses
Of his heart. There has been n strange
misery. If you accosted him his eyes
cleaned with lurking suspicion. The
Sight of a stranger, or the consulting of
two or more persons about the court
house filled him with horrible uncertain
ty. His life has been burden. OF
course, not all who have engaged in the
business of digging for the hidden treas
ure have been so profoundly weighted
down as Andrew George has been, but all
have been more or less affected with fear
that their secret would come to the knowl-
edge of others. Some of these men are
with you now. You know them.
You have met them daily, perhaps, dur
ing the past year. They are intelligent
men, standing high in the estimation of
their friends, and they have many. They
have sought the hidden treasure. With
in the past few weeks they have. under
the shadow of night dgged deep into
the earth seeking for this hidden gold.
They have spent much time and money,
and like dad" Jernigan, they have
had confidence" in the stories
Not the stories of Jim Bridgers, for
they have been ignorant of them. but the
stories handed down by tradition en-.
twined about by pleasing and picturesque
romance.
Tradition has it that large body of
Mexican troops rctreating across Texas
early in the century, were surrounded by
Apache and Comanchc Indians within
the vicinity of Austin. The MeXicans
constructed very strong stockade forts
about six miles east of town on what is
now known as Fort Prairie; and after a
seige of several weeks, they succeeded in
repulsing and driving off the Indians.
This army had an immense amount of
gold and silver belonging TO the treasury
of the state of Coahuila and Texas, and
the Mexican officers fearing another at
tack by the Indians determined to bury
this treasure, and they did, so making a
careful map of the locality. They then
destroyed their wagons and destroyed
everything that would impede their re-
treat to San Antonio. That army never
returned to Austin, but soldiers in il
'scattered abroad the story of the buried
treasure, and over and over again have
very old Mexicans visited Austin and
searched for it. One of these old men,
shortly after the war, was here some
time investigating and searching for the