Arizona silver belt., 1901-04-18
NEGRO BEN'S SECRET.
An Early 0sy Tale nf the Wickenburg Mining
 District

From the Arizona Republican
 Mir. A. F. Gunther who has charge
 of the Keystone Gold X Copper com
 pany's properties in the Wickenburg
 district, came down on yesterday morn
 iug's train and Is stopping at the Com.
 mercial hotel. Being from the vicin
 ity of the new discovery on the Hat.
 field Upton property, he was, of course
 eagerly questioned regarding it and
 asked II there were any late develop
 ments. He had nothing to say except
 that he verified all previous reports.
 The property has enough gold in sight
 to make the present owners rich,
 as the term is generally used, and
 there IS every indication present to
 warrant the helief that the prospect
 will develop into one of the big mines
 of the world.
 AsSayer Porterie happened along
 about the time this htlle interview
 took place, and hearing enough of the
 conversation 10 determine its nature,
 he related htlle incident that may be
 known to many, but IS, nevertheless.
 worth repeating Tor the benefit of
 those who have not heard it:
 The story Is related by Mir. PorterIe Is one told to hun hy A. II. Peoples,
 who died bere n lew years ago, anu who was we'll known Gy all the old tuners in this vicinity as one of the men who made mIuIng famous Tn thIs country Tn tue early days. Mir. Peoples came here way back before most folks began keeping a record of time, along with Jack Swllling, Mir, Brad shaw, after whom the Bradshaw noun taIus were named, Mir. Weaver, after whom the Weaver district was named. and colored man called Negro Ben.
 This party and others who were here at the time were among the foremost To explore the Rich Hill and Weaver districts, and later to make headqnar ters at WIckenburg, after that camp was settled Mr. Peoples told Mir. Porterie that Negro Ben, shortly after his advent into the country, made remarkable discovery that he refused | to talk about or regarding which he 1 refused to take anyone into his con. idsnce. He saId that the darkey 1 would stay around Wlckenburg for a few days or weeks until he got broke, then some night he would suddenly . disappear. anu, after an absence of two . or three days or possibly week, he . would return Tn the night with hIs burro heavily weighted down with gold l ore. He would spend the next lew days grIndiDg up and washing out his ore aud tue proceeds would net him money enough to pay his htte debts and get on big drunk. After his money was exhausted he would repeat csreer was ended.
 He was often watched. in the hope that the location of hIs rich mineral deposit could be found, but he was always too sly to give himself away. He invariably left the camp going west toward the Harqua Halas, aRd returned from the same direction. When tue big excitement following the discovery of gold in tte Harqus Halas irst broke ont, MT. Peoples was prone to believe that Negro Ben's mine was located somewhere In that region. The only thing that kept him from thinking so. was the fact that Ben would frequent ly make trips so short that he would hardly baye time to go so far. One day when he was gone more than the ssual length Ot time his acgnaintances began to fear he had some mishdp. so d searching party was organized and his body was ionnd about four miles west of Wickenburg. There were un mistakable signs that he had been killed by the Apaches, who in those days roamed all through the noun tains to the north. His burro, all that was left of 1t, was not far away, aud the flesh of the animal was sliced of with big knives and probably eaten. The carcass of the animal showed con- that 1t had been muiilsted by { human hands and not by coyotes. The theory was maintained, and there has been nothiDg to contrpvert 1t, that Ben ; was the first negro the Apnches had ever seen and that they had killed him more through superstition than auy- thing else.
 It is now believed by the old timers that Negro Ben's rich find was either { at, or in the vicinity of, ihe present | big strike, north of Wlckenhurg. and $ that Ben. after going few miles we ; turned his steps northwnrd to that . locality. There are lots of rich placer iiggings, or were, unless they have been worked ont, in thnt immediate neighhorhood, and il is not improbable that Ben had rich placer find or golden ledge in that vicinity.