Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1900-05-31

Stories Concerning Them Are AIways
Anoatlin the Southwest


Whatever may be said about tbA
romantic features OF nearly all the
lost-mne stories of camps In the
west, II 10 useless 10 try 10 demon
strnte to veteran golb-seekers thai
the Mother Gold mine; somewhere in
Arizona, or New Mexico, Is u myth
from the Aztec, says the New York
Telegraph, According TO the legend
this bed Of golden riches lies In an
almost inaccessible valley about
fiye miles In breadth, walled In by
towering mountains and perpendicu-
lar cliffs, ranging in height from
5000 TO 5000 feet, A crystal stream
penetrntes this valley, coming from
the highest mountain peaks at one
end and disappearing al the other
In cave
This cave is the only practical en-
trance TO the valley and II IL guard
ed by the descendants ofMontcSuma's
guards, Only three men are fully In
formed as TO the secret entrance.
When one OF them dics,the other two
choose third, 10 whom they conhde
the secret, The gold shining softly
in the sunlight by day and rejecting
in the light Of the moon by night,
stretches in enormous masses from
one end Of the valley TO the other
Many Mexican miners have devot-
ed the better pNrt Of their lives TO
reach the scene, and many nm Amer
lean, overcome by the oprrrcnt
sincerity Of the natives In describing
their faith in the existence Of the
Mother Gold, has expended time aut
labor In attempts TO solve the mys-
terry.
The Colorado desert In the ex-
IRENE southern part Of California
and the mountains ON the boundary
between California and Mexico have
been secured for more than thirty
years by adventurous gold-scekcrs
in quest Of the PegLeg mine. A
drunken, rolicling gold miner, John
@. Smith, who was well known all
over the southern part of the state
ms Peg Leg Smith, because Of his
wooden leg, came TO Los Angeles
one day in July Of 1s6swith his camp
outfit and his mules laden with sew
ernl sacks Of gold ore
His rock was assayed and the news
quickly spread that Peg Leg Smith
had ore that ran all the way from
S2,450 TO $4,000 n ton. He said his
mine was down across the Colorado
desert in the mountain ranges In san
Diego county, and that until he
knew whether II was situated in the
United States or Mexico he must
keep It's location strict secret to
himself, Sarly in September Peg Leg
Smith was missl z in Los Angeles
and the news came across the country
n week or two later from San Ber-
nardino that he had been there and
hastily and secretly fitted out for n
camp Of several months In the noun
tains and n mule ride across the des-
ert
He had at the last moment taken
two old mining chums with him and
set out IN the night, Several years
later the mummy.likeremams Of the
two men who accompanied the old
man were found in the Colorado des-
ert From that time to this there
have been periodical reports of the
finding Of the M that Smith told
about. A score of men have laid
down their lives in the desert among
the mountains while seeking the
enormous wealth hat suchaproper-
ty would yield, Only last May two
men started from San Diego conf
dent that an Indians description
Of the mine at the south end Of the
Colorado desert answered the details
Of the Peg Leg lodges. They died
from thirst with their mules before
they got eighty miles from home.