The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-10
SOME LOST FORTUNES.
TALES WHICH MAY ONE DAY MAKE
SOME MAN RICH.

cumuIatiOns of Gold and silver
Run Back Several Contradiction
Diego ASmendi and His Immense
Silver Nuggets Found in Arizona
Almost 200 Years AEO-ERorts to
Locate the Burial Places of Treas
ures.
From the Philadelphia Press.
Here are some hitherto unpublished
clews to buried treasure which may lead
you to wealth ani influence if you follow
them industriously
They are brought back fresh from the
desert regions Of the far Southwest by
Ethnologist Hod2. Of the Bureau Of Eth
nology. who this week returned from a
two months tour. for purposes of study,
in the entire Pueblo region in which ajone.
travelling entirely overland, he covered 65o
miles
While in the Southwest I heard many
enticing clews to buried treasure. open TO
any one vino can ind the hidden key"
the ethnologist SAID. but none Of these
offer such temptations as the story Of the
Boslas del Plata Mines.
THE truth Of this is borne out by docu-
mentary evidence 10 be found in certain
old records of the ancient Mexican tGs-
tom house, in operation a century and
half ago
Somewhere between the years 1876 and
174l, when Arizona was in Spanish terri
tory, Don Diego Asmendi, wandering
Mexican miner, reached a settlement of
the Paparo Indians, situated almost upon
the present boundary between Arizona
and Sonora, Mexico. The Papagoes who
still cover this area, called their settle
ment Arizona
Don Diego Asmendi by some chance
came across hidden deposit of silver and
astonished the Mexicans by returning
with what was probably the largest viz
gin lump of the precious white metal be-
fore or since found in the world. 1t con-
tanned no less than 200 pounds OF pure
silver.
"Asmendi, returning through Mexico,
bore with him another virgin lump of 275
pounds, while the aggregate weight of sew
eral other nuggets were 4,023 pounds.
According to the Spanish policy of ex-
orbitant revenue assessment, these ire
mendous nuggets were unreasonably taxed
by the Mexican custom house officer of
those early times, when Don Diego's find
became known.
"A dispute between the officer and the
finder of the silver arose, and the matter
was appealed 10 the Viceroy of Mexico,
who decided that the controversy involv-
ing as it did the largest silver nugget in
the world, was beyond his responsibility,
and that il would have to be referred to
the King of Spain himself.
King stole the Nugget.
"The King, taking the Viceroy's hint,
promptly ruled that nugget weighing p
700 pounds mus be regarded as a curiOs-
ity, and that all natural curiosities of great
value found in the colonies must by cour-
tesy be regarded as the property of the
crown.
"Asmendi was naturally heart broken at
this loss of his priceless nugget II is
said that ne left Mexico in disgust with
out revealing the precise locality of the
wonderful mine
1T was, however, known beyond doubt
that the Jumps of silver were found in or
near the Papago settlement of ATizonac
which grew 70 be known as 'Bolas del
Plata, which, in Spanish, means balls
of silver
''The old name 'Arizonac' thereupon be-
came widely applied to this region, and,
as very few people know when the pres
ent territory of Arizona was carved 6ut
of Mexico its name was directly derived
from this same Papago village. near which
the abandoned mine of Asmendi still re-
mains undeveloped.
sent to Mexico and coined in the mint there
for the Spanish King. whose argument
that it should be preserved as curiosity
was, of course, inspired by sinister mo-
tives
Soon after the misadventure of Don
Diego the place became abandoned end
lost sight of, and the ardor of some un-
skillful miners who attempted to recover
the deserted wealth became cooled The
nuggets were found on or near the sur
face and encouragement doubtless over
came the followers of Asmendi because
they failed to pick up more surface depos-
its. In those days they had no facilities
for deep mining.
Indeed, / should like to have the time
to go to this region and dig on my own
account. 1t is not unlikely that some
more 2700-pound Jumps of virgin silver. or
even larger ones are idly reposing be-
meath the soil where the Mexican made
his rich find.
California Gold Lost
1.-THE people who have inhabited the re-
glon for the past century and a half are
the last in the world to improve such a
mine if assured of its resources. The
Papago still have their little settlement
on the spot, and in their language ii is
still known as Arizonac These red men
are not such as would resist any atetmpt
TO mine the region to-day. Arzonac lies
just about on the boundary me, perhaps
a trihe over toward the Sonora side. To
reach it the journey must be almost
, wholly inland from, the Southern Pacific
Railway.
Il also learned from an old and repu-
table authority who lives in the South
west the story of great wealth of lost
gold known to have remained buried
since a generation ago, somewhere be-
tween what are now two small stations,
NcCarthy's' and Grant fifteen miles
apart. on the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad.
in Wester Central Ne Mexico. The
story runs as follows:
When the California gold craze was at
its hight many Mexicans were tempted
to try their luck in the new Ell Dorado.
one of their expeditions. which had met
with tremendous success, was returning
home with a large burro-train weighed
down with god, and was following a trail
| leading past the spot mentioned. when
they heard that a great band of Navajos
were about to raid them.
1.-The burros were Immediately stripped
NJ Oh -