The Parker post., 1912-09-28
REVIVES STORY OF LOST MINE
Continued from Page 1D


their search, which had it's original
inception in 1858, when Peg-Leg
Smith wandered into Mohave with
nearly $40, 900 worth of black nuggets
in his possession.
The day he pulled into the mining
camp, with it's three saloons and two
stores, his lips were cracked and
black and his hands almost bursting
from the pressure of blood caused
by long tramping. His mule had
saved his life by half dragging him
into the camp, which he would new
er have located alone.
For several days he lay abed, grip
ping the saddle bags, which had been
brought into his room in one of the
shacks that served as saloon and ho-
tel. When he recovered conscious
ness and health, he opened the sad
de bags and satisfied the curiosity
OF the hundred or two prospectors
who were working in the vicinity.
What they saw startled them 1t
vas black gold Nuggets, hundreds
Of them, as black as coal on the out
side, but pure dull gold within.
"Where did you get it?" was the
question. and Smith tried to tell
them, after securing from each of
them a promise share in the
wealth should they find it.
According to his story, he had
been living with the Yuma and Co
copah Indians along the Colorado
river for several years Away from
the river the land resolved itself
into the dryest, most deSolate region
imagi:iable a region they seldom ven
tured into because of their dislike
for tho God of Fury, who over
wEelmed them and buried them be-
meath the swirling sand dunes when
they {, ught the black pebbles.
They told stories of great treas
ures of yellow metal, but never ven
tured after it themselves. Smith
who Fad lost a leg while in an en-
counter with the Indians in crossing
thc plains, boarded up all of the
stories and after securing all of the
informal on possible he went to San
francisco to obtain a partner in his
work AT that time the desert was
not mapped, and it was a really haz
ardous undertaking for any man to
attempt
In this desolate region Smith lost
his bean Ings. The fierce yellow sun,
the dancing, juggling heat waves, the
dust flurries, confused his direction
lie f.rally climbed upon black butte
that stood near by and, arriving at
IFS summit, probably 1900 feet in the
air, he attempted to locate his where
abouts
When l reached the top" he told
some of his friends, 81 saw just
short distance away another butte of
exactly the same height and type as
the one on which l stood. 1t was
connected by a low saddle, and the
twin buttes were isolated from the
main range. Finally l decided on the
way | was to continue and started
back down the hill to my mule, which
incline
Il had tied the animal to a boulder
in order to prevent it from breaking
away and carrying off the only water
supply available for perhaps a week
or more. Rather restless, the mule
had stamped about and kicked up
some good sized pebbles that showed
strange CLINT where the hcof had
struck. Picking up one of the black
stones, pulled out my pocket knife,
scratched it's surface and found that
it was gold"
l. was repetition of the old Ori-
entail fable of the stranded Arab on
the desert, who came across a sack
of pearls when he sought figs and
water. Smith was running short of
food and water and could only take
few pounds on the already overloaded
mule, and these he placed in his sad
die bags, proceeding then on bis
route.
After he had recovered sufficiently.
he started ont to relocate his valua-
bic property. Others had preceded
him, and number followed close
along, hoping to be with him i'm the
find. For days he wandered about,
but the twin buttes had disappeared
as if by the magic of Aladdin's lamp.
He tried time and again, as did doz-
ems of others, to locate the immense
ly wealthy find, a place, as he ex-
planned, where black gold lay strewn
for blocks over the ground like mere
chunks of rock and lava pebbles.