The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-12-12

y.
falling By the way, died during the
following week. and only two surviv-
orS of the party finally reached a set
uement in the San BernardinO valley
Here the gunsight which the amateur
gunsmith had carved in the desert at
tracted the attention of an old miner.
who at once pronounced it pure native
silver. and eagerly inquired where it
had been found. Dennis told how it
had come into his possession, but could
give only scanty information as to the
locality of the ledge from which il
had been taken. A careful computation
of the number Of miles probably COW
cred by the unfortunate men, together
with a reckoning of the number of days
they had wandered after leaving the
camp, enabled a general idea TO be
formed of the probable location OF the
ledge A prospecting party was at once
organized and a careful search made
for what has ever since been known as
the Gunsight ledge, but failure at
tended the EFFORT. Every year from
1854 till now some men have gone in
search of the silver gunsight. Only
a few weeks ago a party of three pros
pectors started out from the desert
town OF Barst0w, Cal, to follow what
they believed was a sure trail to the
long and dearly sought Gunsight mine
of Death valley.
The Colorado desert. in the extreme
southern part of California, and the
mountains on the boundary between
California and Mexico, have been
secured annually for more than thirty
years by adventurous gold seekers in
quest of the Peg Leg mine. No lost
mine after the Gunsight is more IA
nous than the Peg Leg. Once every
few years the mining population of
the coast is excited by the news that
the lost Peg Leg has been found again.
Even now there are parties of min
ers prospecting for some indication
that will show the location OF the rich
ledge that Peg Leg Smith found years
ago A drunken, rollicking gold min
err, John Q. Smith, who was known as
Peg Leg Smith because OF a wooden
peg that he wore in place of a leg,
came into Los Angeles one day in
July of 1868 with his camp outfit and
his mules laden with several sacks of
gold ore. The rock was assayed by
mining experts in the place, and the
news quickly spread that Pes Leg
Smith had ore than ran all the way
from $3.50 to $500 a ton. OF course
the whole country in and about what
was then the little Mexican town of
Los Angeles was soon wildly excited
at the news OF the find OF a mine
that yielded such ore. Nothing like
i
| dor county.
Pes Leg Smith was curious, taci-
/ turn kind of fellow, and it was sew
eral weeks before he could be induced
/ to say a word as to where he got his
ore and the quantity there was of such
/ rock When at last he did say some
thing about his discovered treasure he
refused to give more than a vague
idea of where his claim was situated.
I ~ IN
| across the Colorado desert, in the
mountain range in San Diego county,
and that until he knew whether this
mine was situated in the United States
/ or Mexico he must keep that part a
strict secret to himself
/ He said that he had spent five months
! in the locality of this mine, with two
half breed Pima Indians. who had
guided him there in payment for kind
ness he had rendered them in serious
( illness. He told again and again, and
/ always with rare exactness of detail,
the direction and slant of the gold
bearing lodges, and the surrounding
geological and mineral conditions and
/ characteristics. Peg Leg" said he was
confident there was as much gold ore
1 in his claim as in Mackay, Fair and
i Floods COmstock lodges in Nevada,
and every miner who questioned and
! questioned him day after day
made the same estimate from the old
prospector's statements. Probably $780,
O0e, GOO or $50, 200, 900 was in the mines.
4 Early in September Peg Leg" Smith
4 turned up missing in Los Angeles, and
the news came across the country d
week or two later from San BernardinC
that he had been there and hastily and
secretly fitted out" for a camp of sew
eral months in the mountains and q
mule ride across the desert He had
at the last moment taken two old min
ing chums with him and set out in the
night. 1t is almost impossible to track
a man across a desert of ever-shiftins
sand, so the several thousand men who
made ~ their minds and prepared
/ themselves to follow Peg Leg Smith
to his treasure find were forced &c
await the next appearance of the ole
fellow in public. From the time tha'
Peg Leg" and his companions set GU
from San Bernardino absolutely moth.
ing has ever been heard from the pros
pector. Several years later the dried
and mummy-like remains of the two
men who accompanied him and tht
skeletons of the mules and remains o.
their wagon and mining tools were
found over 100 miles out on the Colo
RADIO desert, but. not one trace of pes
Leg" 1t is impossible that he could
have escaped from that SPOT in tn,
desert in September on foot.
The reputed treasure is still awaiting
the man who will disclose it.
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