The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-04-01

Mexican Miner Spins "A Yarn That
Dazzles AbOut stone That DazxIes.

Mexican Miner Spins a Yarn That
Dazxles Abou1 a stone That DaxxIes.
From the Galveston News.
The well-known Mexican miner, Maj.
Tom Watson, was in Eagle Pass yes
terday on his way to Boston. Il am
after the biggest fortune that any man
ever put into mis- pocket" said the
Major. That sounds big but / believe
the cold facts of the case, or, rather,
the one great dazzling fact warrants
the assertion. Not got it yet, but am
after it, and will get it if / can get the
necessary capital interested, as ! ex-
peet to do in Boston. / came in sight
of this fortune on the first day Of this
month, while prospecting for tin in the
Sierra Madre, and haven't slept much
since.
I'll tell you about it, but l will
not give you the exact locality for fear
that / could not then interest Boston
people. as they would be afraid that
some one else would get ahead Of them.
However, | will say that 1t is in the
head waters of the Flo Grande. In
getting to the eastern slope, this
stream had to cut through a spur Of
the Sierra. and in so doing carved out
a canyon some two miles in length
with walls on both sides having a
sheer drop of over 1000 feet All
through the canyon the channel is a
boiling, sething rapid. A fish could not
get through Ii alive. A man would not
dream of attempting it. Well, while
prospecting out there with my Mozo
Lopez we climbed up to the brink Of
the prieipice about midway the can
yon. Both Lopez and myself at once
noted glittering object at the bot
tom of the canyon near the opposite
bank of the river. My first impression
was that 1t was light reflected from a
piece of gypsum or other bright OBJ
ject, but then l noticed that the gilt
ter was from a point deep down in
the shadow far from the light Of the
sun. Indeed, during the winter. the d.
rect rays of the sun never reach the
bottom of this canyon. Lopez said
lumbre' (ire), but no flame ever
burned in the open with a light SO pure
and brilliant. We both stood gazing
like persons entranced. The appoarch
CT evening blurred everything in the
dark depths below, but this object still
glowed with its dazzling white light
considering all the probabilities ana
excluding every possibility of error. I
am convinced that it is a diamond. A
cut and polished diamond at thar
whether by the hand of prehistoric man
Of by the natural action of sands and
water in the canyon l cannot say. hut
a diamond cut and polished, big as
your head. maybe, bigger than an or
ange.
Il camped around the canyon for ten
days figuring on some way Of getting
at this Aladdin's lamp literally and
fguratively, but it was utterly impos-
sible to approach it through the bed Of
the stream or anywhere from the cliff
above. However. / did find on the
north side, the side on which the dia-
mond lays, and about 400 yards above
it, point where the mountain drops
almost perpendicularly into a valley
that is very nearly if not quite level
with the bottom of the canyon. / de-
termined to tunnel here through the
base of the mountain into the canyon,
the distance being, l estimated, about
1000 yards. OF course, to do this re-
quires capital, and that it what I am
going to Boston for. And those fell
lows up there will have to get a move
on themselves, for the rains in the
Sierra begin in July, and a rise in the
river might wash the diamond away.
II don't know much about digging
tunnels, but with modern appliances I
should think that a manhole, that is
all that is needed, could be drilled
through the mountain there for $4,000
or $4,000. But what's a $4,000 or $780,
900 or 100000 tunnel when it comes TO
getting a diamond that dazzles your
eyes full half mile away?"