La Junta tribune., 1907-12-14
CALIFORNIA LEGENDS,
Weird and Thrilling Tales Of the
0lden Days.
A MINE THAT WAS HAUNTED.
The Ghost Of Tom Bowers. an Elusive,
Luminous Warning and = Race Be-
tween Life and Dsath-Ths Building
Of Lofty Mount Shasta.

Of Lofty Mount Shasta.
A haunted house In the family sends
delicious shiyers down the spinal cord
of the ancestral tree. hut even more
delightfully."- spooky Is the possession
OF haunted mine. and such boast
of early legend.
Once upon a time In the days of old
aud the days of gold a miner OF the
name of Thomas Bowers lived and
delved In the vicinity OF Pike city.
A shy. silent man was Thomas. doing
his prospecting without partner ant:
even holding aloof from tl,e jolly com
pany OF the other miners after the
days work was done And In the
same shy. silent way, that he had lived
he dicd-noseless footsteps across TIE
SNOW to the brink OF the slope where
he had been prospecting and at the
foot OF u landslide his spcechlc>s body
alone in death.
After his remains We're buried de-
Gently and In order there We're excited
whispers about strange noises at the
tuOutu VI tht o"t anu spvh. fbitt
incidentally. OF course. the mine was
abandoned.
The greed of gold. however taps I'M
patiently at closed doors. and after
some little time a thriftless miner hop
ing for Il short cut TO wealth undertook
to work the old mine again and sud
denly surprised his creditors by pay
ing his bills. But things flowed not 50
smoothly as they seemed. There was
many a slip of nerve between nugget
and pick. Every morning the miner
found that his sluice had been tamper-
ell with. that during the night the WA
ter had been turned on by unknown
hands Yet the most diliecnt search
led to no discovery. and as II last hope
Of untangiing the clammy mystery the
miner one evening inaugurated
watch. well armed with rifle.
The shadows deepened into dark
ness into an absolute blackness. Sud
denly while accommodating a pIospho-
rescent light attracted his attention.
and as he boldly advanced toward II
he discovered placard hung from
tree--a sort OF spectral transparency. 1t
seems-bearing the following words:
Notice. l, Thomas Bowers. claim this
ground for placer mining.
When the readers mind had recOv-
cred from Its earthquake Of ast0nish-
ment the miner made snatch At the
picard. 4 prfcking thrill went through
his nneers. as though they had taken
liberties with an electric battery. The
luminous writing was gone. but In his
thn An0 0ya Af the
sluice and through the roar the sharp.
clear cut tap. tap. Of pick. Again the
Hash Of warning Highland before him
stood rom Bowers.
The California miner Is no coward.
The rife was lifted. fired. With a yell
OF rage the ghost, brandishing pick
and shovel In excited arms. pursued
the trespasser.
A race between life and death In .
new sense was the one that followed
all the way to Pike City. There the
other miners. celebrating a new ind
by = dance In a saloon, were suddenly
aiarmed by terrified screams. Running
out. they found neither man nor ghost
but tossed upon the ground rifle and
q pick and a shovel with the initials
r. b. cut In the handle.
A legend OF an entirely different type
Is connected with the same period OF
california history.
Z During the rush for gold In the fifties
Aparty came west by the ella river
%te The heat was intense. The sup
Of water gave out. On the hot.
zen sands just below Yuma the
cavaIcade pitched theirtdesper-
mp. Z, sss,s.4s.sx- ,.y..s : 4
ie Silence of the early night from
he wagons came the prattllng
n n little child lifted In prayer:
iear God, give us water, and
hl he naughty again"
karceIy had the petition gone
he stars when the sound of
sater was heard, and up from
lot sands bubbled pure. life
hing.
ler Of this New river. as 1t
sd. swept north for twenty
4. one place spreading into
two miles wide. but when
3went by the northern route,
n tradition naivciy ends. no
q .ded. the New rivers spring
no more dexOlate spot can
3ed than Death valley. with
heat, its lack Of water. the
D OF its plains strewn with
{h animals and the bleached
lost prospectors. But fair
se once lay the valley. -four
1eblo ruled over by beauti-
beauty was only skin deep.
3lfIon alone ruled a cold. cruel
ia palace TO surpass the houses