The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-24

heard about it ne seq to himself he knew
whar the mine was an he sneaks of with.
out Waldrom, He couldn't find it any more
than Waldrom could, 80 he goes to his
brother IN tells him all about it.
His brother says, Sure, I know jest
whar it is but when he cum to take him
thar he couldn't find it.
Since then a good many others have tried
to git to the spot. There's two or three as
claims they've found the vacant lot with
the three paths, the mine hole an every
thing, just as old Waldrom described it; but
the curious thing about it is that not one
of EN- could ever go back to it the second
time.
Another funny thing about it Is that they
all said that they could look from the mine
hole right out to whar old Jones used to
live-right inter his front door. II you
know the woods maybe you know whar Ike
Harvey lives now. Wal, thet's just whar old
Jones's house was.
Even then they couldn't seem to find
the mine a second time, even when they'd
try to git back to it the next day"
"The place must AVE been haunted, "
laughed the New Yorker.
Some do say a sort Of e~nchantment like
was throwed over the spot. One man cum
back an he said he'd found the mine, an
he said he wouldn't go back ~again-said
somethin' had happened to him thar. He
wouldn't never tell what it ~was-just said
sometEin' had happened to him. I don't
take no stock in entertainments an ghosts
ar SIGH like myself, an I mean to take a
look fur that mine myself some day"
"What hecpuoa If old Wal6ropp on aekad
the New Yorker.
after that, but he never got over the dis
appointment Of it. After a while, natu-
rally, when nobody could find the mine
people began to doubt the old man, but
they say that whenh he was on his deathbed
they asked him il ned sweaf that what he
told EN- was true, an he seq:
"'Yes, I swear it's all true"
In support of this tale we have at least
Black fountain, Doodletown Blight and the
names of the residents mentioned. The
names have been changed in telling the
story.
II one is inclined to search the old geo.
logical records Of this part Of the country
he will find a mass Of fascinating material
bearing on persistent reports and traditions
Of gold and silver mines throughout the
Highlands, though in no case that the writer
knows of have these reports been run down
and proved beyond doubt to be genuine.
The decomposition Of iron pyrites and the
presence Of graphite throughout the rocks
were probably factors in these so-oailed
discoveries.
While, therefore, these silver mines may
never have existed at all, no doubt such
stories as the one told by the woodchop-
per on the wild mountain top did originate
a serious belief years ago Of the ex
istenoe of a vein Of silver. The gossip OF
generations, combined with human credu-
lily and ignorance, brought the stories to
their present form.
In the above story the old mine hole
was, no doubt, an actually and
was buried long 6 under the forest de-
bris. Whether or not there was silver in it
does not altogether affect the interest Of
the tale. Indeed, such tales form an in
teresting chapter in Highlands history.
The shadows had crept around the east
ern sides of the rocks as the w~oodchopper
finished his story. The New Yorker had
given up Black Mountain as his objective