The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1913-05-02

$ScSSfxaGS&S4 supply TO make work lot a week III
bd3EsE& 20 a time possible Even after the
sSS[G%fM completion of the roads there was
.SaSEA.xg difficulty in obtaining water for the
~ XE1S purpose Of supplying the engines Or
the little stations necessary whe:-
ever there was siding.
In order to secure water In abundance, the
Santa Fe railroad had ordered tunnel bored In
the Clipper range. located in San Bernardno
county from eight to ten miles northwest Of
Dandy. the station to which 1t to be pped II
discovered in a large quantity. This all happened
within a score of years The man who volun'
teered for the work a competent mining man,
who was we'll acquainted with the sinking OF
shafts and the boring of tunnels, was Thomas
Schofeld of Los Angeles.
firing of work day in early June Of 1891
he started on a prospecting trip, something which
he did whenever he felt in need of relaxation
He wandered into OF the canyons close at
hand and discovered there a spring What to
him was more surprising and even startling was
the trail that led up the canyon, stopping at the
watering place
The trail at times very indistinct because OF
the solid rock formation. led over three or four
small hills the hogback of two ranges and then
into another canyon This he followed until it
ended in a blank wall and he realized that the
trail had been lost Going back short distance
he discovered it winding up the side of the hill.
It led to two immense rocks. riyaling the towers
of an old English castle. They seemed to form
the portal to the wealth beyond, and nature had
set them closely together that they allowed
just sufficient passageway to permit burro well
packed to enter.
And just beyond the portal stood isolated
rock There beside the black boulder OF enor:
nous size stood the shreds of what had been a
camp. The wooden upright supports still
standing and draped from them. floating in the
breeze, were the shreds of what had been
tent. Brush had been carefully piled up around
the sides. Inside there bench of boughs
still covered with a blanket which was, like the
tent covering dapidated and ragged. The still
ness of the place and the fact that man had been
making his habitation there struck Schofeld like
blow from a fist.
pile of railroad ties, a number of rusty Ole
axes which had been used as wedges for splitting
the ties for tagging. a few other mining tools
and some badly decomposed food still lay about
the place, indicating very sudden abandonment
of the camp by its owner The most conspicuous
of all things about the place an old-fashioned.
heavily rusted Dutch oven. the largest SchOfeld
had ever seen and a trife over two feet in diam
eter So oppressive the place and so nerve
rackng the immediate strain. that he continued
on the trail which led away from the camp.
Just short distance away he came to a shaft
where considerable work had been done. 1t
sunk upon a series of small strngers that ran
parallel to one another for long distance and
at intervals of about six inches He counted
twelve or these peculiar formations IN the rock
and they were of almost solid gold, He tested
them morning" great strings of coarse gold
The surrounding was of an indigo blue
quartz formation, and Ito me the stringers. pass
ing through the dark porphyry appeared a bed OF
roses of golden hues hidden in the depths OF
giant bed of violets.' said Schofed in telling of
his discovery 81 traced these lines of highgrade
for a distance of nearly 1000 feet, and found
them widening and charging they went They
interested me that failed to notice for hours
that the day was fast waning and that would be
forced to remain there over night
The mystery the awe and even the fear Of
that night I shall never forget Was in the
haunt of a robber crew who had found wealth far
richer than could be obtained from their nefar
ious trade in the city? Had the owners been
cruelty murdered and their wealth carried OFF by
some one else? Was the victim of some strange
phanasmagoria or would | awaken to find all
the wealth and the adventure OF the day A dream
These and countless other suggestions coursed
through my throbbing brain and I slept little that
night
In the morning | explored the shaft at the
first light of breaking sun above the Jagged sky.
line Of broken peaks I found that the shaft had
been sunk to possibly seventy or eighty feet, that
It was equipped with windass rope and bucket
and that it had been well timbered all the way
to the bottom. Outside discovered large pile
of indicative of the fact that little or none of
the product of the mine had ever been carried
away.
After gathering number of fine samples and
large quantity of the horned gold | went back
to the camp and there again was attracted by
the Dutch oven Something seemed to draw me
toward it 1t contained gold Half of It was full
of the product and there l unable to cart it
away. All marks OF those who resided there were
of such an old stamp that never thought wheth
er ii would be right or wrong. The idea of pos
session of so much wealth nearly overwhelmed
me- and after grasping some of it l started back
to the camp by the tunnel planning a trip to Los
Angeles to whether 1t was really gold that
had found"
And when Schofed had his ore and his metal
tested he found that 1t was the real article and
that he had made himself richer by several hun
dred dollars with just the small amount he hal
been able to lug out on his person. 1t fired him
with the desire to return at and obtain all
of the treasure If the right owners had not re-
turned But he has never been able to get back
to the Dutch ovenl
In coming back from the mine he had paid lit
tie heed to the general direction taken. He had
followed the trail bndly on his way up and
again on his return journey Consequently after
a number of weeks, when he returned with part
ner TO look for the treasure and found that some
terrific rains and even a waterspout had been
After Many DAYS. guilt on an