El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-08-03
MINING NEWS
lost COLD MINES IN The OUITMAH
MOUNTAINS; STORIES ABOUT THEM

man has ceased to come. and his
friends fear he has died"
Another Story.
Another story IS related by Tom r
Owen. the veteran miner of Sierra
Blanca. as repeated to him by one who
was a member of an exploration party
to the Quitman,s that strangely cor
roborates Williams story.
Along in 1876, a man named John
Ryland left FL PasO for San Antonio.
Tex He travelled horseback along.
the valley road as far as Camp Rice
thence to Fort QuiIman. Having a
pretty correct knowledge of the
geography of the country, he cOncIud-
ed that he could reach Eagle Springs
more directly by ascending through
a pass in the Quitman mountains TIA
by following the old road. He soon
became greatly in need Of water and
began searching for it in the canyon.
While going to a spring on the western
slope toward the river. he picked up
several pieces of rich quartz, some of
which were nearly half gold. These
he carried with him to San Antonio.
Like Williams, he also lead a party
back again.
Was Sure He Could Find 1t.
THE party was sufficiently strong
to protect themselves from any in
dian attacks. Before departing from
San Antonio Ryland assured his pros
pective companions that he would have
no trouble finding the gold ledge, and
went so lar as 10 promise IHar ne
would allow them to hang him on the
spot he would guide them to if ne
failed to show them the gold. Like
Williams, he could not relocate the
vein. He also was a victim of prag-
mataSnOtia- After several days fruit
less efforts, he gave up and announced
his willingness TO submit to the pen
atty of death, as he had agreed on. All
the angry members Of the party were
in favor of executing him except one
man, named Jack Holloway, who in
terceded- He was driven out of camp
after flogging and left in the direc
ton OF FL Paso, and never was seen
again"
Indian Maiden Tells of Mines.
Mana, an Apache maiden, once told
her cowboy sweetheart. now a resident
to gather placer gold in a canyon Of
the Quitmans even when construction
work was in progress on the rail
roads.
4 picked up a few of the best float
pieces there of any 1 found in trans
PecoS Texas" says Prof. ". II. Van
ticle, speaking Of the QuItman noun
tains. 4 refer to three gold speci-
mems Of respectively four, II and II IL
ounces of gold per ton; true small
pieces only, but proof enough that gold
is in those mountains"
Riches By Trading With Indians
It is well known that Juan Arm
endariZ, of SOcOrrO, former county
commissioner, became rich trading
with the Ysleta indians, who used to
bring placer gold to his store and eX-
change for merchandise. The old don,
although part indian himself, never
succeeded in gaining the confidence OF
the natives sufficiently to divulge the
locality where they got the gold But
several spies whom he and others sent
to trail the indians on their trips for
gold, reported that they went into a
canyon of the Quitmans-
1t is said the Ysleta and SOcOrrO and
Cenecu indians are descendants of the
old MOctezumas and that their treas
ures of gold lie buried in a cave in
those mountains.
Not long ago August Framed and
W. W. Nichols found a jar beaten out
y: native C pre- on on - sc (uft-
man hills with strange Aztec hiaroSly-
phics engraved on one side, and Just
below in d gulch he PANIED rich gold
from the decomFO si-ior Ct a VEIN In
another gulch was found a fra gment
of an old stone arraStr;l, OF gOlc mill
All these stories ard ancient relics
corroborate the existence of lost gold
mines in the Quitmans.