Daily Arizona silver belt., 1908-05-14

Potts knew it's location. So Potts mad,
 the mistake of visiting Grain Valley He made the further mistake of going
 q mile northeast alone and in the even ing. Whether the busbwhacker kissed
 his girl the last time that night. ol
 whether he loaded up with what pirate
 tales call "the yellow boys,v no one
 knows, but he was found slain in La.
 fayctte county few miles from Grain
 Valley several days later.
 Then the Grain Valley folk began to
 dig and make the district look more like
 prairie dog town than anything else,
 but nothing resulted beyond a changed
 landscape and sound sleep from health
 ful exercise.
 And when all was said and done, no one knew whether Martin Potts carried
 away the treasure and lost it to rob-
 bers or whether it still remains hidden.
 There is $5,000 somewhere under the sod near the Spring Branch road, mile southeast of Independence. The family that owns 1t has never been able to gnd it, and the only man who knew where 1t was hidden is dead. When Colonel Jennison and his Fifteenth Kansas cav airy were paying visits to Jackson eoun- ty Henry Johnson put 5000 in gold into his saddle bags and left his home, riding southeast. "Don t follow me, D he said to his sons. "I am going to bury this for safe keeping and don t want anyone to know where it is. No ,one can make me tell, but they might force one of you to talk"
 He rode away and returned. Then he went to Chicago on visit and died. Although the Johnsons and several oth- CTS hunted diligently for the money, it IS still there waiting for turn of the spade.
 Among those who had try for the Johnson thousands, and every other "two.bit" piece believed to be hidden in Jackson county and vicinity, was Tony Blou, an old-timc cobbler. Tony dreamed things. He also had divin-, ing rod Likewise, be haevisions. But either Tony, who was German, did not understand American spirits, or else they were deceiving him, so he never mc ragged to find what he longed for. The Germans dreams, rod and spook advisers told him to dig along the line of the Wayne City road. So Blou pros pccted the line nearly to the river and raised splendid bieeps, but no cash.
 During one of the raids, Dr. Waldo, cashier of bank at Independence, dropped s20,000 in gold into cistern on the old Waldo place, near the west ern limits of the town. It remained there until the raiders left, when the doctor fshcd the package out and car ried it back to the bank. It was his custom to hide the banks cash when ever it was in danger.
 Story of old.
 Benjamin Wallace, another officer of l the bank, would take half the gold and Dr. Waldo half, and they would leave the bank by different ways with the money in their pockets and fastened 1, about their bodies. At some place in the woods they would meet and bury | the money. On one of these trips they were 10 meet at a large fallen tree. Dr. Waldo arrived first, and, to conceal him. self from view, lay down under the curve of the tree. In q few minutes he heard man approaching. Was it wallaee' The footsteps neared the op- posite side of the log
 Who-o.o-o-ol
 A boot owl swoopod down from mo- where. "And, said a relative of Mir. Wallace several days ago, "no one Snows how far those two bank officers an. '
 All Independence has heard of the sbston treasure. Tradition says that s20,000 was buried about ten miles southeast of town by the head of the Abston family and the location lost. Little searching was done for this mon- y, as not even the approximate loea- ion of the hoard is known.
 Horace Shelley tells story which hows the uncertainty of the period.
 ''I was boy at the time," he said, 'ecently. "My mother had $350 in spAh bht NdnttN iO save uNlD he last extremity. So she buried it n the yard near the line of the ad- joining premises. The neighbors, of curse, knew nothing of it and started O build a fence. An Irish workman began digging the post holes and when
 few yards from the gold it was ap- parent that the next hole would be ex. Ictly over the money. Fortunately he ,noeked off worf for noon, and I took lis spade and dug hole as near as 'ossible like those he had dug. Just : s l had slipped out the money he came 'ack to work.
 "'It's fine bhoy ye are, he said, elighted at the apparent aid. Sure, e dug almost as good phost hole as
 cud meself. v
 John Braden had worse luck with 200 he buried in his yard. He hid it t night, to prevent two slaves, "Dani' nd "Liz, y from seeing him. The next iorn;ng "Dan" and "Liz" and the 200 had vanished, and Mir Braden nev- 1, r say them again. Perfect alfalfa hay 45c to 75c a bale : [ Gamble's.