Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-18


search for lost mine traces and evil
dences of which he discovered more
than thirty years ago Mr.. Hilty has
been resident Of Mohave county for
these past number of years. burning
giant powder in the breaking of the
richly mineralized dykes and country
rock in an endeavor to unlock some of
the treasure vaults of golden stores for
which the commonwealth and the min
eral kingdom of that country is so
justly famous But the tickle goddess
of good luck and fortune did not smile
upon him so benignantly as he wished,
hence the packing of jacktrain and
the breaking of camp for new field to
operate in. Mr.. Hilty, according to
the Arizona Republican, Is quite a well
known miner and excellent prospector,
and 1t is confidently hoped and cX
pected by his many friends and ac-
quaintanCes at the old home that he
will find that which he is seeking and
return laden with a wealth of success
and achievements. Many years ago he
and his partner punched their little
train of burros into a section of Yuma
county adjacent to the Colorado river
and went into camp, tired and we'll
worn out. Recuperating, they began
prospecting and soon turned up big
boulder of rich float, which, upon being
taken up and conveyed to San Farn-
cisco, netted them quite sum of
money each. To find the origin and
source of this big boulder of rich ore is
the incentive for the trip. The section
of country being prospected is in the
vicinity of the famous Harqua Hala
mine, and the identity of the blind lead
will not be far gone-a mile or two,
perhaps-and in this area of the wide
mineral belt and zone the shadoWy bo-
nanza can be found.
Forgotten Locations
Arizona has no more beautiful legends
and traditions than that of lost mines
There are many pretty songs ana
stories handed down from the early
pioneer settlements, but the deepest in
terest in only fathomed in the songs
and stories of lost bonanzas, the pros
pector and discoverer of which were
either killed by Indians or perished
amid the horrors of the desert leaving
the identical place of discovery for
future generations to find. The present
expedition, however, must not be con-
founded with the stories of other lost
mines in Arizona, for these cannot be
enumerated on the digits of the two
hands, but if Mr.. Hilty is successful in
his quest for lost and hidden gold, 1t
will be purely original and at first
hands.
There is no doubt as to the wonder
full and surprising richness of the big
boulder of ore which had become de-
tached from it's mother holdings and
which the two lucky prospectors so
fortunately found. But this was the
only successful discovery made by the
two men on that prospecting occasion,
and they turned their faces inland until
some future opportunity presented IT.
self for renewal of explorations. Mr..
Hilty is the only one of the two part
ners of the old day left, and after these
long years of waiting and watching
have fled he has resumed the search
alone. The subject of lost mines is
wide and full of romantic interest when
shorn of the hardships of the pros
pector, and this is only one in a large
number that is full of the glitter and
golden hue of wealth, and to sit around
the campfres and hear the old-timers
and frontiersmen relate their sensa-
tional features, their variations are so
vivid and lifelike it seems that the
yellow gold could be had by the reach
ing forth of the hand and grasping it.
The Lost Dutchman
A strange and pathetic story is that
told of the Lost Dutchman mine, which,
as the story is related, is situated
somewhere in the Bradshaw mountains,
Yavapai county. In the early sixties
Henry Youngblood came to this coun-
try to seek his fortune, leaving his wife
and children on a Missouri farm. His
health began to fail soon after his ar
rival and to make matters worse came
distressing news from home, for, to
make the journey to the gold fields he
had borrowed money from a rich
neighbor, in former days an unsuccess-
full suitor for his wife's hand. The wife
wrote that their creditor threatened to
foreclose his loan and drive her and
made Youngblood desperate. He sold
portion of his scanty belongings. ex-
changed the money for provisions and
set out alone for the mountains. He
was sick unto death, but desperation
nerved him on. He reached the noun
tains and began prospecting on un-
broken ground, but day after day dis
appointment attended his efforts. In a
short time his provisions were gone and
he now saw that only starvation or re-
treat lay before him. One weary day
sundown found him sitting on a heap
of drift at the base of a great rock. He
was sorrowful and hungry and weari-
ness and the cold winds oppressed him.
Then came a discovery such as Is sell
dom heard of outside the annals of ro-
nance. What was that he saw in the
rock upon which he was sitting? Gold?
Not quartz nor glance, but virgin ore,
The vein was as broad as his hand in
the middle and dwindled away in
waverlng lines a yard in length. He
sprang up and set to work with fever
ish energy and the strength of giant.
1t was bright moonlight night, and
he labored without pause until sun
rise. When morning came he had
mined more ore than he could carry
away with him. He saw clearly that
the vein he had discovered was true
one, and presumably extended a great
distance Within his grasp lay for
tune of millions. He made a careful
reckoning of his bearings, staked his
claim, concealed all traces of his labors
and collecting as much of the ore as
he could carry with him set out for
Prescott which place he reached In
two days He disposed of his ore and
purchased an outfit, and abundance Of
provisions and a mule, and again set
out for the claim. Within a month he
had mined enough ore to load a train.
Moreover he had traced the fissure to
its origin I'm the hills and satisfied him
self that he was the owner of one of the
richest claims in Arizona Then hem