The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-08-07
AFTER THE YA0UIS GOLD.
DREAMER FISCHER AND PARTY ARE
GOING 1MONG THE INDIANS.

~ W AANAN Y
Indians Live, but There's Gold There and
Fischer Wants TO Get Hold of Billions.
Ell PAso. Tex, Aug. 3.-The country OF tho
Yaquis, In the Sierra Madre range, more than
a hundred miles west OF here, is to be invaded.
Adolph Fischer is the invader. His army Is
made up OF one othcr carpenter. n hunter
named Smith. two professional prospectors
named Gregg and Moore. and a man whose
name is Ransome. and who will do the
cooking. They live in a small cabin on the
outskirts Of the tow and Ransome ia
practlcinR on them. They have eight burros
and some mining tools across the river
In the town OF Juarez. The burros were
bought in Mexico for $2.25 each and the min
ing tools they smuggled across the bridge after
dark. They are waiting for remittances. which
are to come from Laredo. A man down there
owes Fischer $50 and has promised to send 1t
by Aug. 10 without fail. II he forgets Il In the
excitement Of watching the single water cart
drive up and down the main street. the party
will invade anyhow. Fischer says he can Dor
row So here.
The Adolph Fischer Gold Mining and Metal
lurgical Company is the name OF the concern,
and there is no stock for sale. possibly because
nobody wants to buy any. The Adolph Fischer
Gold Mining and Metallurgical Company had
canned salmon and green peas for supper last
night. There was also a pan OF saleratus bread.
carefully constructed by Chef Ransome, but it
was saved for emergencies. Each OF these men
has abundant faith in the success OF the enter
prise and laughs at the idea that he is much
more likely to be killed than to get rich.
Like other men who have gone to the
Sierra Madres and left their bones in the hills.
they have n sure thing. They are armed with
rifles and six-shooters. and will carry plenty Of
ammunition. For meat they will depend en-
Nt-nl.. ,,-~- A. Ill., nh. II -. ts..t
flour, expecting to get maize from the farming
Indians in the valleys. The burros will be
lightly laden with the mining tools. a few med
icines. cartridges. bacon. and books. The
books belong to Fischer. He would not 60
without them. When they reach their destina-
ton it is the intention to build a little cabin
and make 1t headquarters. From this place
they will prospect. They do not expect to re-
turn to civilization before the fall Of 1880.
The Yaquis infest the mountainous part OF
northern Mexico. They are an untameable
tribe. They have been whipping Mexican SOL
diers for n hundred years. Dozens Of expedi-
tons have been sent against them. Not one
has been wholly successful. Diaz has succeed
ed in pacifyinR them so far that they are living
upon comparatively peaceful terms with their
more civilized %neighbors to the south. Active
war does not exist. but is likely to come at any
time. They will allow no whittier man to settle
on their land. Many miners. Mexican and
American. have been slain by them. They are
the sole danger to the Fischer party. but a Sc
rious one. The men with Fischer have no sort
Of certainty that they will not be slain as soon
as their cam is discovered. As the Yaquis arc
great roamerS, winter and summer, the cabin
will remain hidden for only a little while.
The mildest thing that can happen to them. in
their goods and being obliged to walk back to
n Paso. Miners nave sometimes been treated
have not been heard from or of after they have
climbed the eastern slope and plunged into any
one OF the thousand valleys. These Indians
highly civilized state-for Indians-but they
have deeply rooted preJudices against out
Themselves. Like the man who believes that
he will meyer Eet drunk SO long as he keeps on
they will continue in possession OF their hunt
ing grounds II they kin all OF the %outlanders as
fast as they come In.
large quantities in their part Of the Madres.
This has been a matter Of common knowledg,
metal only as. an ornament. Men and women
wear heavy hammered bracelets of gold on
ey e to S mould idAt Bullets sSl my " it. naE They yen i've sp ppinl
s TbPisa yo6 by hun bunting FAN and # fi9 ;bn gg;.tthnG} though sdId they =
rife among Mexieans. and now and then tie
report of some fabulous find, drifts across the
border. The land has not been thoroughly
character OF its inhabitants. No one with
money enough to organize a large party and
Three hundred well-armed and determined
men would be reasonably safe. though pos
slble com plications with the Mexican Govern
ment might arise. but any less number invad-
risk ''"0 Nv U Jun N"
In the very heart OF the mountains three
streams converge TO form the Yaqui River.
They are known as the forks of the Yaqui. Be
! twenty miles above their junction lies the point
which Fischer will endeayor TO reach. In case
Be finds gold there will be no way of getting
tne metal to civilization except on the backs Of
the burros across the eastern range by paths
n nSts sHS too 70 GS SSbt fer fTe a ssttsirpillTTTbi e It tc mI3y be 0i
these, gold hunters. once they are across the
Rio Grande. will be very lightly attached to
they think they viii Be miiiiiiionSiires. The In
valleys Of the Sierra .Madre there is no frozen
ground to be, melted. No wide-spreading ice
f TisEed' aPfffbl c ths sys' is s sTSTytbInp viii fRat not g d be
lightful.
Indeed. the pure mountain air and steady
middle temperature are as much temptations
70 Fischer as the prospect OF wealth. The last
Inventory of his ailments credited him with
hypertrophied liver. an enlarged spleen and a
serious arrangement Of the left valve OF the
him from a ! Steady diet OF hops and beer. and he nc
has treated them with beer. For many years
he has been a Theoretical miner theoretica
himself. Now, however, Fischer has descended
into the practical class, and is, prepared to risk
his. life IN demonstration. OF his theories and
beliefs. Ho would have been into the Sierra
Madres swinging q pick with the best OF them
long ago. but something has always interfered
He was sick, or broke. or his grandmother had
died. or he was employed on one OF his tempo
rary jobs, or some untOward thing, happened
For he believed. and still believes. in an, Ell Do.
Tado that when entered will make a fool Of the
MALE him a Millionaire has been five trusty
companions. some pack mules. and $40. he
could not compass them all at once. Sometimes
he has had the $50 and lacked the mules and
COMPANIONS; Sometimes he has had the mules
Fischer Is a Jack Of all trades. but his main
hold Is carpentry. He has a stoop-shouldered
figure, n pale face. upon which grows q tangled
beard, and a pair of dark luminous eyes. He
was run out OF Germanya long time ago fOl
persistent tese-mdjest6, and has much education
Of a certain kind. When not talking of mug
gets he prattles Of Kant and schopenhauer; he
and kindred sciences. and; OF course. a theory
about a mother lode" No miner ever yet
went ont into the wildS and starved 10 death