Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1906-04-05
llENICO'S LOST MINES
hHclsMT BEDS OF TREASURE THAT
CANNOT NOW BE LOCATED.

CANNOT NOW BE LOCATED.
NJ. 9 Romance Which HOverx Around
the I'.,mu..s hidden Mine OF T.,iopa.
Superstition and Cunning of the
Native lnt;inns.
of the many mines which were work
| ell by tho Spaniards and which gave
thcr, such fabulous returns for their
labnr scarcely one cam lie located to-
day. Many romantic stories as to their
whereabouts have been followed up,
only to be n.ct With defeat.
| One of the richest of those mines was
probably T;t:.lsca, about which Hum
boidt has written. 1t was worked long
before the Spaliards arrived in Mex
leo. ANA the gold and silver We're made
into ornaments by the aborigincs. \
family in Guaymas has II necklace of
| flying fish purchased from II Pima
chief, who said that the metal was dug
| from Tarasea. Later the mine was ac-
quircd by the crown of Spain ana was
worked, with the exception of IL period
during the Apache war, till the French
Intervention, when the shafts were said
/ to have been concealed by the admin
/ lstrator. Don Juan Moreno, who WAS
forced to seek safety in flight. After
the restoration of peace the location of
Tarascl was looked for in vain, though
/ the mine new known as Ubarbo is sup
posed to he the same. When rediscov.
ercd wears ago l'barbo was found to
have been extensively worked and the
shafts concealed under earth and
brush. Rich pillars of ore We're found
in the drifts and the mine corresponds
in many respects with the descriptions
Of Tarlsca found in the archives of
the American consulate ut Guaymas.
The fame of rarnsca is eclipsed by
the romance which hovcrs around the
lost mine of Iaiopa. \ Mexican OF
! great wealth who was much interested
in the subject made trip to Madrid
! to search for data on the subject. He
found absolutely nothing to prove that
such mine had ever been worked by
| the crown of Spain, and there is moth
4 ing in Mexican archives to establish
the facts. Quite as trustworthy as the
4 written documents are the traditions
among the Pima Indians. They mains
j tain that Taiopa exists and IL few
4 claim to know it's whereabouts. Small
/ quantities Of very rich ore are occa-
/ sionally sold Mt the mountain mining
camps, but all attempts to follow the
1 Indians to the spot where it is found
4 or to bride them to reveal it have been
mavalling. Their wants are few, and
they believe that should they reveal
the secret they would drop dead. About
six years ago an old Pima chief fell i'll
in one of the valley pueblos and was
cured by a Mc.:cln lady SO well!
known and u. 'sr:.;.:liy respected that
her statement l.: taken without qucs-
tion. The old ln..an returned to his
4 tribe and from time to time sent his
bcncfactrcss rich bits of ore which
assayc, thousands OF dollars to the
ton.
All her efforts to get him to lead her
to the mine We're fruitless, for the
great spirit would strike him dead for
the oiTensc The following summer TIE
sonora went to the mountains and liv
ed among the Indians for three months
doctoring the sick and giving presents
of ribbons and gay calico to the wonl-
ell. SHE became convinced that the
spot whence the rich orc came way
Taiopa. FINALLY the old chief admitted
that the mine was worked when he
was Il boy and gave permission to two
women of the tribe to lead tile sonora
within II few yur(, of the mine so that
she might discover it for herself and
save him from t.c penalty OF sudden
Ell Travelled mostly at night, passing
through deep canyons and over lofty
mountains.
The fourth night some hours after
dark the Indian women led her into Il
deep canyon and paused before IL large
rock In the dim moonlight an old ar
rastrl WAS seen and across the canyon
large orc dump. The woman gath
cred bits of orc from the dump, but
was hurried away by the squaws, who
said they would be killed if they de-
laycsl beyond the time mentioned by
their chief They Travelled till the
Eoon went Gown, rested II few hours
and went OH before daylight complete
ly battling the Mexican woman as to
the route they had taken. They ar
rived Mt the pueblo at nightfall, lav-
ing taken four days to reach the mine
and but one to return, the obvious con-
cluson being that she had been led In
Il circle. Despairing of gaining more,
the woman returned to her home, but
she hopes Mt some future time to con-
tnue the search.
Two other mines which are supposed
to have been the property OF the crown
, during the Spanish occupation and of
which there are many romantic tales
are the Reina Mercedes and the Casa
Blanca. Both have been probably re-
discovered and worked under other
names. The Reina Mercedes Is sup
posed to be one of the rich Conchena
group and the Casa Blanca the Casitas
! mine Near the latter is an ancient
> mine, now worked by Mexican COM
t pany, which has open cuts on the sur
S face for more than mile and several
miles of underground workings. Near
this mine, where once Il large church
i stood, which has long since fallen into
: ruins. two copper bells have beer
found. They bear the name of Guada
lupe de Talopa, thus leading many t.
s the belief that the Tajos mine is the