The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1913-03-15

better mineral indications, that caused
him to stumble on the great silver
deposit.
Where the Indians Got Their Paint.
A piece of rock left on hot stove
by accident unlocked treasure house
The Indians about Prescott. Arizona.
had an abundance of paint. Where
they obtained 1t was mystery The
fact that they had il excited a party
or prospectors. who followed them
They tracked the redmen up Jercme
Canyon. and saw bright red and greet
stains on the side of the canyon walls.
They went above these. and located
silver mine, which they worked out.
Then they sought a purchaser. They
did not want to risk their money In
searching for greater wealth.
They interested Senator w. A. Clark
of Montana. He Investigated. When
and sank shaft and gave up in dis
he saw the red and green stains he
knew that back in the hills there was
a deposit of copper. He bought the
mine and commenced the sinking OF
shaft that has made famous the
United Verde.
The Cripple Creek Enigma.
Pixies Peak has always been associ-
ated with gold. IN 1859 a camp was
located in one of che many natural
parks on the side OF It,. Several thou
sand people were there. There was a
town. district rules were adopted, and
location monuments established. The
prospects were promising. There was
everything to make good town-ex-
cept gold
1t fiattened out and the place got a
hard name. Then a man went over to
Mount Pisgah. sailed some claims. and
started a rush. He left the country
about twenty-five hundred feet ahead
of a thirty-foot rope and several hum
dred angry men.
Some hardy prospectors went
around on the south side of the peak
gust For years expedition after ex-
petition wasted time and money on
the sides of the great peak.
Finally man decided that the way
to get gold out of that section was to
feed cattle on the sides of the peak.
He acquired a ranch. Later he bor-
rowed some money on 1t and could
not pay the mortgage. The holders
OF the notes offered to give him more
time. He would rather they would
take the ranch. Bob Womack dug
prospect hole in one of the gulches. A
COW fell in 1t and was crippled. The
owner of the ranch threatened to eject
him Womack sought aid to develop
a mine. In response to his request.
eminent mining men investigated his
property and tried hard not to laugh
in his presence. Dignified mining en-
gineers shook their heads knowingly.
and warned capitalists not to risk
their money.
Then some one bought Womack's
claim for song. and commenced to
work It. A little gold was found. but
there stood Mount Pisgah. that had
been sailed, and all around II aban-
doned prospect holes that told Of
blasted hopes of bygone years. 1t had
the curses of thousands of men upon
it. A little gold came from the sur
face of the ground But specialists
sat up nights advising friends and
clients to keep as far away from Grip
pie Creek as they could.
Then silver was demonetized. Thou
sands were thrown out of employment.
They needed not the. advice of the ex-
perts They rushed into Cripple Greek
by the thousand and accidentally dis
covered it, They crowded the trails.
and tramped in over the snow. The
first winter was terrible. They work
ed a placed on Mineral Hill-Wo-
mack's mine. the Ell Paso. began to
ship ore Then. like fash. came the
news of the finding Of Bonanza on
Gold Hill. Battle Mountain and Bull
Hill.
The secret was revealed. The bright.
silver-looking ore. that disappeared
before the flame of the blowpipe. was
gold disguised by tellurium. 1t was
so simple 1t all happened because a
man left a piece of 1t on a stove by
accident The slow heat drove of the
tellurium and left the gold in shining
specks. peeking through the rock.
The Opening Of the Yukon.
When the Telegraph Expedition
forced its way through the northwest
In the middle of the nineteenth CEN
fury. it founo evidences Of gold along
the Yukon river.
The party was locating telegraph
line that was never built. All that
is necessary to start prospector over
the trail is word of rich diggings at
another place. the farther away the
better Every year after that miners
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