The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-11-27
A LOST NINE
JUST REDISCOVERED
Bolt Of Lightning Lays Bare
Fabulous Wealth in
Panhandle.
UcK OF MISS0URlAN
Thought He Was Gold Bricked
When He Bought Farm
ing Land

and story of the southW est. Is thought
TO have been revealed only a few days
ago in a most dramatic manner. 4
group OF dissatisfied visitors looking
over the estate recently bought by one
of the party saw a bolt OF lightning rip
TONS OF rock from the top of a bluff
and hurl the mass OF earth and stone
into a ravine 100 feet below. When
the thunder storm had cleared away
a geolOgist in the party strolled over
10 look at the mass of fallen debris.
His shouts of surprise and wonder
brought the whole party 10 his side
in a moment. The cleft and split
stone was all a-glitter in the rays of
the sun that were breaking through
the flying scud of the passing thun-
der shower. 1t was gold ore. the same
gold ore doubtless that had brought
thousands Of prOspectOrs into the re-
giOn since the days of the early set
Elements Of the Spanish. says the Chi
cago Inter Ocean.
Anyone who has ever spent a few
weeks in the southwest has heard of
the traditional lost mines OF the early
settlers. The story has endured since
the days of COrteZ, by whom ii was
most firmly believed.
The tradition of fabulous wealth in
the Panhandle has persisted in spite
of the disappOintments of the many
who have wandered through its hills,
gulches and over the prairies looking
for the forgotten shafts said TO have
been sunk there by the AZtecs.
IL has been Turing the adVenturer
since the DAYS of Coronado, who wan
dered for months over the plains of
the southwest and up into Kansas
looking for the source Of the gold of
the MonteZumas. Ii has been told
hundreds of times around the camp
fires since the first freighters and cat
tlemen began TO camp along the
creeks and cOulees of the arid country
known as no Mans Land" and the
Panhandle"
II is a barren and desOlate land
over most of the region. Lately it has
begun 10 settle up by reason OF a re-
markabie influx of settlers from the
north, but for a generation it has
been one of the last StrOnghOlds of
the cOWmaH. The ranches are begin
ming 10 sell out their immense hold
ings, and the lassO, and the quirt, the
chaps and the branding iron are max
ing way for the plow. the seed drill
and the steam threshing machine
The only gold found in the region up
10 the present was that gathered by
range beeves They were content TO
coin their gold from the herds that
ranged over the plains.
A few months ago Joseph W AyIor
of Webb City. Mo. bought a large
tract Of land near Amarillo, Texas, one
of the flOurishtng towns that have
grown up in the Panhandle within the
last half dozen years One of the big
ranches was being cut up by the own
ers, and I,O00 acres Of the former
range was bought by the MissOurian
He had never seen the land and
knew nothing of its value except what
had been told him by agents of the
property. In this instance he depart
ed from his lifelong habit of caution.
AylOr is one of the lead kings of
the southwest and has immense hold
lngs in the zinc and lead industry in
southwest Missouri Not so very many
years ago he was very poor man, a
wood hauler and a tie hacker by
occupation. His rise TO wealth has
been rapid. His horror has been the
dread of being 'fleeced" of his wealth
by some plausible appearing scheme
lie has feared for years that he
would one day fall a victim to the
gold brick scheme in some of its
many variations Shortly after he had
received the deeds for his Texas
holdings he began to fee THAT he had
been swindled OutrageOusly in the
deal He made a "trip of inspection
holdings and his worst fears were ap-
parently realized.
Ii was a discouraging landscape.
that of the Panhandle burned and
scorched by the sun of late summer.
The grass in the cOulees and along
the creeks was dead and dry, and wan
dering winds were stirring up little
whirls of dust and dead grasses along
the level spaces. IL looked like any
thing other than a site for farm
Aylor commended that among other
frauds committed, the description in
mis- deeds had been changed so that
he had been saddled with a tract of
bluffs, gulches an broken country in
stead of the level agricultural land
that had been offered him Cedar
brakes, Jack oak and mesquite bush
covered all the tract that offered a
foothOld for vegetation.
The lead king was thoroughly dis
gus1ed with himself and his purchase
and was bent on making a bitter
fight in the courts to regain his
money. They wandered here and there
over the region for some DAYS The
was making numerous
plates showing the rough hillsides. !
the broken coulees and the cedar and
Jack oak groves for the purpose of !
proving how little adapted the land |
was for agricultural operations.
On one of the last days of Septem-
Der they were working down a cOulee |
that was particularly disheartening TO |
agricultural aspirations 1t was about
the toughest they had as vet seen !
No rain had fallen for several DAYS /
and the grass was dead and dry. the
leaves OF the jack oak were whitening /
and even the green cedar was begin /
ming TO show brown tips in token of a |
protracted period of bought. Low
of thunder were heard al +!
various times through the morning. /
but no attention was paid TO il. as the /
JhunderstOrms of early autumn in that |
region. never last long They were
taking especial pains 10 get some good |
and descriptions of this !
particular gulch.
They were still down in its hollow |
when the shower and electrical storm |
broke over their heads. The party ran |
for shelter 10 jutting rock extending |
out over the cliff for a distance of sew |
erai feet. beating blowing rain be- !
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