Bisbee daily review., 1909-04-11
MINES THAT ARE LOST AND
 FOUND AGAIN
Some Queer Stories of Rich Finds and Experiences of Prospectors Who Discovered
 And Lost Them ,s

II TUCSON, April 10.--(Special Cor respondence) The stories of all lost ] mines and lost prospectors in Arf zona during the past thirty years 1 would fll volumes. While many. no doubt, are the works of jokers or story writers yet not a few of those so-called lost mines have been dis covered and the many rich and mar. gelous gold strikes being made TO gently would indicate that more ars now being uncovered. From Sinaloa to Alaska is one great contmuou gold belt and at various periods in ou history has poured hundreds of mi Hons of dollars into the nav of con merce, and while the prospector an his burro, his never-failing compan- ion of the hills, are laughed at and ridiculed by the tourist and tender foot, yet these sturdy old companions, in tribulation and triumph, have done more to enrich the world than all the trust magnates in the world. It is to the indominitable energy Of
 
 search for metal in mountain and desert, that the world owes the pres ent marvellous gold output. He may not be an ornament at the table of society. he cannot nor will not en- gage in the idle follies and pestimes of the high-collared dude, but he has contributed more to the enrichment, the development and upbuilding of { the world than all the dandified so- ciety pets in existence. He is in a class by himself. When the padres Invaded Arizona way back in the dim ages, when the Apaches held un- disputed possession of Arizona and New Mexico, these venturesome men } of the church found that the pros peetor, the man with the pan and the pick from the unsettled sections of old Mexico. had preceded their ar rival and were on the ground searcl ing for precious metal
 So it was in Peru, California, Al stralia, Africa and other bulliop-pr ducing countries. Revolutions hap come and gone, Indian warfare an desolation spread and devastated the land, but the prospector could not be dislodged. He and his burro, they had come to stay, and finally tho Apaches were subdued. Peace and thrift marked the pathway of pros- perity, and the man with the burro became more numerous and persist ent. Thus it has gone on till every hill and mountain side between Colo rado and Alaska is peopled with thes busy useful individuals.
 In connection with these lost mines and mysterious prospectors, our att tention was called to a peculiar and significant circumstance in Yuma last Monday. All old Arizonans have read or have been told of the two Frenchmen who mysteriously disap- peared from the town of Yuma some thirty-six years ago. The two men were prospectors and were operating somewhere between the Colorado river and the mountains northwest of Yuma. One day these two men ap- peared on the streets of Yuma each with large bag filled with marvel ousiy rich gold rock. The sack con tained something in the neighborhood
 of SSOO0 in actual gold. The men were retfcent as to the locality fror- whence II came, but promised to r . turn and show some friends to tn place few months later; so aftc securing a stock of provisions for us,
 in further developing their mines they left for their new Eldorado. Ina is the last ever heard of the two pros pectors. Men by the hundred have searched the surrounding mountains for the so-called Frenchmen's mines, also for the men, but neither has been heard of.
 But some weeks since Doc Carter, one of the best known prospectors in Arizona, well and favorably known in Yuma as well as Tucson, arrived in Yuma from an extensive prospecting trip, and brought evidence, it is thought, of the two long last French men. Mir. Carter, while prospecting in the California desert some hun dred miles from Yuma close to the mountain base, discovered the skele- ton of two men. The skeletons were close together and in perfect form and close by he picked up a silver watch of the Waltham make in seem ingly perfect order. The hand bones were large showing that the discov- cred men were of large stature. The watch is now in evidence at the Yuma drug store. An expert watch maker, upon examining the case and movements, informed your correspoD- dent that the silver case showed clearly that it had been exposed to the rays of the sun for many years. tClose Dy the bones he also found a pick, an oldfashioned miners pick, the kind which has gone out Of use many years also one of the olde.-' make of Spencer rifles. EveTyth connected with this discovery in cated that the skeletons found the remains of the two unforuns Frenchmen who perished on the ert while enroute to their gold prt pect some thirty-six years ago. The reporter took the numbers contained in the watch, thinking possibly this record might bring to light some thing pertaining to the owners. The numbers on the inside of the watch are 20, %, 6S4, and on the case s5, { SC, S5. The works and the case are in good order The watch is made of what is known as New Port coin and . is a key winder. Case and works are in good order. both being Of the early I make of watches, and are strong and durable. Doc Carter, seen by your correspondent. expressed the belief . that the watcE, pick and gun were the property of the missing French
 men and says he will return to that
 locality and spend the next few
 months in searching for the rich gol
 deposits discovered so many yeai
 ago by these men from sunny Franc