The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-16
OLD R A LEAD.
TIE lost NINE THAT COST GEORGE
SKINNER HIS LIVE.

1A NAN
-
Buowsiides ana Forest Fires Have CHANGED
the Face OF tho Mountain since He To-
Gated the Geld. but some Day the Fabu-
lousy Rich srino Will ne Found AEnip.
DENVER. Col, Jan. Mot long ago a party of
mining men gathered at one of the principal
hotels In Denver to discuss matters and things
OF interest to tho mining business. Some of
them had made largo fortunes in mining, and
| not q few had had actual experience In pros
pcctinR and its many hardships. Tho CONVERSE
ton naturally turned to tho early days Of min
ing in the State, and. after several incidents of
interest had been recounted, one of the party
drew from his pocket q buckskin bag. from
which he produced a large gold nugget of con.
siderable value. and in appearance unlike any
thing usually seen in that part of the State.
This nugget" said he. has a history which
to me Is extremely interesting. Its possession
cost one human life, besides years Of hardship
and anguish. The exact spot where It came
from is unknown to man. and I confidently be-
licvo many years will clapsc before it is known.
I'm the early part of the year 1860, when the
country generally In Colorado was in its print
tive form. Inhabited for the most part by.coyotes
and redskins. and before its natural attractive
ness had been married by m~oney.making con.
trivances, n lone prospector set out from Denver
to explore the then uninhabited region in
tho vicinity Of the Greenhorn and Sangre de
Christie ianges, in the south-ccntral part
of the State. some 200 miles from Denver. No
one knew who he was or where he came from
few questions were asked in those days regard
ing q mans antecedcnts. 1t was sufficient to
know he was there and one of them. At the
place where he bought his outfit, however, he
gave the name Of George w. Skinner, and said
he was Quitting for n trip to the Sangrc do
Christie country. Besides paying for what he
purchased he deposited with the proprietor of
the store a sum of money which he did not care
to take with him to the mountains, saying he
would call for 1t when he returned in the fall.
several years passed by, and nothing was
heard Of tho lone prospector. The beautiful
Wet Mountain Valley, which lies at the foot Of
the Sangre de Christie. was tho homo Of a Ger
man colony which had come from the East and
settled there. Very little prospecting was done
by these pioneers, as they found their time too
much taken UP with caring for themselves and
families. One day early in the spring Of 'GS a
middle-aged man drove up to one of tho more
pretentiouslooking rancho houses in the valley
and asked to be housed for the night. His re-
quest was promptly granted. and, after tho
evening meal. when tho fnmily were ranged
about the fireplace anxious for news from the
outside world, the stranger told them the nature
Of the business which had brought him to that
part of the country.
He came from Illinois, he said, and was In
search of a missing brother, whom he had
traced that far and was very anxious to find.
The brother had left home to come to Colorado
in the carly days Of the Western fever. since
which time nothing had been heard of him.
Becoming alarmed ut his continued absence, he
had come to Colorado in search of him., and upon
arriving at Denver had learned from a friend of
his who was in tho grocery business there that
a man by the name of skinner had bought a bill
OF goods, from him early in 1860. giving tho
SAnDrn IN t'hrlStn nnnfrv no III nbtnnftN.n
which had never been called for. He had there.
finding some trace OF him. The following morn
Ing the Germnn nccon panied Mr.. skinner
had ever heard tell OF such o man as he was in
search OF;
failure, OF his mission. procured the services of
an old hunter and guide and started into the
mountains in the hope of obtaining some in
formation. Some months were thus spent with
out finding even q trace of the man for whom
they weres searching. and as the summer season
his guide started for the valley, where they pro-
posed to winter. intending to take up the search
night just at the timber line OH the eastern slope
OF Horns Peak, near what had apparently been
ner's curiosity prompted him to make some eX.
plorations In the gathering twilight, and while
evideniiy formed the floor and roof Of the isS cabin,
he found AN old leather pocketbook., partly
T %orn o %WS Si, hn the es srs I Of t tSS dap np T In nu Ti 5f:
y o't ," " bhS Ah, Nv phl hlb
find in his pocket. intending to examine it in
lin the hight one of the snows.orms SO com.
mon to the mountains at that time of the year
came up, and when the travellers awoke in the
awaiting them. with no signs of the storm abat-
ing; Hastily getting. their camp fixtures to-
sHt1S as i rapsid Riyt as possible tSsib e"t to sh Hni h oiaeS Of fn the
German in the valley below. where they, arrived
s sas anj IN the hs s1u 5ssn of safe, FEW So asss' 0n not Until Until
thing made snug for the winter did Mr.. skinner
think OF his find, and when he finally unfoldcd
the pocketbook the secret of his long search
was revealed to him. Carefully rolled up on tho
inside Of the pocketbook was u letter written by
his brother moro than eight years before. which
Ny weary search is ended. and my efforts
the settlements. to return in the spring 10 UNI
cover and work the valuable mine which l have
discovered, Realizing the fact that l am a long
way from civilization and liable to meet with
serious mishap If not death before | roach the out
er world, am prompted to make the following
friend should misfortune ovcrtakc me. This let
tor will leave in my cabin, hoping that l will
SaS On on ae0 FMlS y na@ asG IS d In ans 'WPE. . ssk f n sGo" an ai
my home Is In the city o -,,lll;, Early, this
tains from Denver to prospect, being impelIod
to come here by the reports OF, gold finds dis:
fiSsSa To the me hars Ss sSm / endured rdi,sRa'iE IN l reaehinr G ihis
the season in ruthless search I finally discovered
what 1 believe to be one of the richest mines in
Colorado. and will carry out with me all tho
gold l can manage with my limited facilities.
To find the discovery shaft OF tho property.
which l have purposely filled up. you will stand
with your back to the west side of tho cabin.
alongside the door, walk in "A westerly direction
twenty-five PAGES to n ravine or gulch; then
turn to the lett and walk up the gulch lO5 PAGES;
then turn to. the right and walk twenty PAGES,
when you will arrive Mt the place. The lead is
a blind one. and l accidentally found 1t while
digging near tho roots of n tree that had been
blown over. should any person find this letter
inside OF one year 1t will avail him nothing. as
! have complied with the law sufficiently to
hold tho property. for that length of time. If l
do not return within that time the property can
be located by any one. The only request Ihavo
to make is that tho finder of this note notify my
brother at the above address.
"GEoRGE w. SKINNER
THE brother was now thoroughly convinced
that some harm had befallcn his brother. and
without telling any one of his discovery deter
mined TO set out in the spring and cndoavor to
solve the mystery of his disnppearance. Tho