Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-25

| There fs a trail LEADING toward Mexico
which has been worn deep intb the solid
| granite by the hoofs of animals, as II 1t had
been traversed by long pack trains for CEN
turtles. Everything goes to show that at
some period of the worlds history mining
and the smelling of oresshas heen carried
on here on no small scale. Whether the
vast treasures which Morgezunaa possessed
were drawn from some hidden bonanza In
this region or whether the Spaniards work.
ed rich mines in this vicinity are questions
that will perhaps remain1 forYyer unan-
swered. At this very mouaent In old Cali
fornian Is engaged tn gold mining within a
few miles of the Aztec ruin He-crushes the
decomposed quartz with. an arrastre, and 1t
| is said that he is making good money.
Miss Ney has collected and Investigated
everything in written history. story, song
and tradition concerning this interesting
| region. She firmly believes that the people
who inhabit this old city were perfectly
familiar with some method of mining gold
and smelling silver, and she thinks they
accumulated and possibly secreted vast
quantities of precious minerals. Some OF the
testimony that she has collected upon this
subject Is interesting.
Aunt Hannah's story.
An old negro woman who was carried off
by the Comanches in 1880 and kept in cap
tivity by them for nearly a half a century,
is still living in Burnet county, Texas.
During the greater portion of the time that
this old negress lived with the Indians they
occupied the Colorado mountains, ard one
of their principal villages was located at
the Falling Waters of the Colorado. only
short distance from the ruins that are now
being explored. Aunt Hannah, as she is
called, confirms story that mas OFTEN been
repeated She says that during the early
years of her captivity the Comanches al.
ways had plenty Of gold In the course OF
time they either lost the way to their
gold mine else they quit accommodating
gold for fear the white people would come
in Overwhelming numbers and drive them
out Of the country in order 10 discover the
source of their wealth
Aunt Hannah says that If she were not
totally blind she could go straight to the
very spot from which she often saw the
Indians gather large quantities of gold. She
insists that the deposit of precious mineral
Is not over five miles from big spring
which flows near by the old ruins. She de-
scribes the country with singular accuracy.
Miss Ney has led the old blind woman over
the ground, and the young enthusiast on
the subject Of archaeology and hidden treas
ures believes the Indians got their gold
from one of the numerous little streams
that flow into Big Sandy, where novice
can find a color with every pan of dirt.
Aunt Hannah says the Indians only visit
ed the mine for the purpose OF gathering
gold when 1t became necessary for them to
send to Mexico after a supply of ponies.
Then the whole tribe strung out along the
gulch, while the chiefs and others of his
family picked handfuls OF Nuggets from
little white seam in the rock near the edge
of the water. A silver mine on the San
Saba and lead mine on the Perdinalles were
easily found through description that this
old woman gave of the localities In which
they were located. That the gold mine has
never been found ia hardly matter of
wonder when we come to consider the fact
that there are hundreds OF gulches almost
exactly alike in the region where she says
that the precious deposit is certainly hid
den.
1t is believed that old Hannah n now
about 100 years old. She erawis about. on
her hands and knees jabberng in English
and Comanche. but she never varies in her
description of the famous lost mine. or OF
the mountains rivers and~icreeks near 1T.
She tells the story just as she Gid twenty
years ago. She sits day after pay In pow
erty and gropes in hopeless darkness with
in eight or ten miles of q locality where
she firmly believes the richest gold mine In
the world lies hidden by little toose earth.
Some very level-headed peQple besides Miss
Ney are Of Aunt Hannah's way AZ thinking,
and there are wealthy men In Texas who
would give a physician a very large sum OF
money If he would restore this Old woman's
Siph DAVIS