The San Francisco call., 1898-05-29
FOR, OVER. SEVENTEEN YEARS 4 PIONEER. MINER HH0 BEEN SECRETLY WORKING 4 PTY- ING LEHD IN TUNNELS UN- DER THE INGLESIDE END OF TUE CITY.

good joke and were inclined to do It- tie chaff1ng.
 Of course those who held to the idea that both Shoots and his partner had made money out of the mine by digging gold and selling 1t had different opin- ions as to how the precious metal was obtained. No one entertained for even a moment the idea that the gold was extracted by any of the well known and tried processes. All were of the opinion that it was a secret held by the two men.
 The belief entertained by most of Shoots old neighbors and friends was that some sort of chemical process was made use of. These held to the theory that the two men, being old miners, had discovered how to select small pieces of rock that contained a high percentage of gold. They then work ed" these by their secret method and either extracted the gold entirely or else reduced it to such small bulk that it could be taken to refinery without attracting the attention that a wagon load of ore would.
 This is not without the bounds of possibility In fact, it is highly proba- ble and fully in accord with the state ment of old man Shoots: There is lots of gold there, but you have to know how to find it."
 Did he know how to find it, and will anybody else ever know how to find it, are questions the neighbors are eagerly asking.
 One of the oldest residents of the vi- cinity, who has known of Shoots ever since he came to live out near IngIe- side, is fully convinced that the two men took comfortable sums of gold out of their mine. But" said this man, they didn't get the gold in the usual way. It's my opinion that they found the gold in a certain kind of rock and in small nuggets. In this way they could take out quite good sized piles and nobody ever be the wiser.
 My reason for believing this" con- tinued the man after a pause, 'fs be- cause I have known of similar cases. l used to mine myself, a good many years ago. This was when I was dig ging along the Sacramento. A young fellow came into our camp and went to work in an old shaft and tool- out con- siderable metal. Nobody could ever tell how he did it. Dozens of us went into his mine and looked around, and even prospected there little when he was away, but couldn't find any gold. Nobody ever could but him and he al- ways. found plenty"
 Shoots and his partner were not a bit interested in the affairs of the world. They had a wholesome fear that in some way they would lose their mine, and few days ago this was taken ad- vantage of by a car conductor. Seeing Demott in the read, he called to him and said that the United States was at war with Spain. Demott- was horror stricken and asked for particulars.
 Why" said the conductor, the Spanish fleet is just off the Farallones and Is going to lombard this part of the country They will blow up your mine sure"
 Instantly Demott's face paled and he ran off through the woods like fright ened deer to tell his partner. In con- nection with this it is interesting to note that Shoots was taken to the County Hospital a few days later. One of the first questions he asked after being put In bed was whether the Uni ted States was at war with Spain. He said he had heard so, but could hardly believe it.
 After learning the exact location of the mine I climbed the hill, expecting to interview Demott. I found the cabin where the men lived, a cOzy enough little place. It was deserted. A couple of dogs, tied up, parked at me at first and then whined piteously. Several chickens came running from the trees and a brood of young ones chirped loudly as if they were hungry.
 I walked about in hopes of finding shafts and saw the tunnels disappear ing in the darkness I examined the ..ore' on the dump. But nowhere could I find a trace of anybody having been there for several days.
 Going back to the cabin, I examined the lock of the door and found a spider had spun his web over it.
 Near the Ingleside track questioned the neighbors as to when they had last seen Demott No one had seen him since the day that Shoots was taken to the County Hospital. He had come back that evening, but had not been seen since. Inquiry at two of his old haunts brought no more information
 But the mine, with it's machinery, timbers, etc, is all there.
 Can any one find gold there In good paying quantities as Shoots has done for the past seventeen years? Shoots says there Is plenty there, but that you've got to know how to find it."