The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-01-17

again of the body of Hog Walins. A ter
rilble storm swept over the mountains. 1t
never occurred to any one that a volume
of water of sufficient prOtency to move
the corpse from beneath the rocks and
logs would pour through the gulch, but
something of that kind must have hap
pened. Two cowboys found a loathsome
object covered with mud lying against a
great rock on the side of canyon in the
mountains. These same cowboys had only
a few days before helped pile rocks and
logs upon the body of Hog Wallins in this
same Rulch. few hundred yards above
the place where they were now standing,
and one OF them said: Since the earth
ne cursed viii not hold him. let US see IL
fire will devour him. After covering
the hideOus object with grass and brush
they touched match to the heap and
galloped away.
1t is not known who carved the remark
able inscription the great rock which
was blackened by the flames of the fun
eral pyre. but il is supposed to have been
a cowboy we'll known in the cattle camps
of the Rio Grande by the rather poison
ous-sounding sobriquet of Vinegar
Room ---
The old cabin in which the man WaIIins
lived is still standing and the Mexicans in
the neighbOrhood declare that his ghost
can be seen prOWling about there almost
any night The whole face of the cOun-
try about the house has been dug up by
treasure hunters. who firmly believe that
the strange character left u large sum OF
gold buried somewhere near his residence
II is well known that he was very rich
man. but no one in this country ever be-
came in the least familiar with him. and
IL is not known whether he shipped his
gold to Europe or buried 1t He came to
Texas with the Sunset railroad and at
tracted attention from the beginning
from the fact that he always wore 4
great cavalry saber strapped to his belt
He was an ugly. mean. selfish, gruff man
whom every one avoided. Among the ar
ticles OF his baggage unloaded at the de-
pot were pair Of andirons-calied dog
irons in Texas-that attracted the atten-
ton of the whole country They were
six feet high and the upright pieces for
holding the wood in the fireplace were
made of solid brass. FURNISHED with gold.
The knobs at the top We're pure god.
These montrous fixtures, the like Of
which mad never before been seen in
Texas. weighed over 1000 pounds. He
brought with him from Europe a whole
arsenal of firearms. consisting of two
small brass cannon and swords guns and
pistols of almost every make. Several
wagon loads of books were hauled to his
cabin in the mountains. He lived on
very familiar terms with the MeXicans
and Indians, but it was seldom that he
engaged in conversation with an Amer
lean. He made several trips to Europe.
Mexican woman with him. This old
woman says he had large sums of gold
in his room in Liverpool and that he once
spent a whole night counting this gold
These Mexicans who lived about him
We're all terrorized by him and ne was
no sooner dead than his effects disap-
pc%Itt4 lHtN now accuse MIN OF having
committed many revolving crimes. They
firmly believe that he kept a large sum
of gold buried somewhere about his cabin
but the treasures of the Yukon would not
induce one of them TO 90 near the place
after sunset
On the day of his death a fierce norther
was sweeping over the mountains. and he
went out TO look after a band of sheep.
He found the herder trying 70 drive the
flock toward shelter. but the cold rain
and Sieet was beating in their faces and
they were unwilling. Old Wallins, after
Vainly endeavOring TO make them move,
began to curse the herder and threaten
TO shoot him. He raved and threw his
hat on the ground and stamped it. storm
ing at everything. He finally cursed God
and cursed Texas. swearing that he would
not lie dead in the soil of such an Internal
land The Mexican felt the earth tremble
and he was blinded by a flash of flame
When he looked around Hog Wallins was
lying sprawling on the rocks, while foam
was streaming from the lips yet quiverins
with rage and blasphemy.- GlObe-DemO-
crat.