Bisbee daily review., 1914-02-15

ENOl UfA0Ms NhAAII WI ! doubtless interest many old time prospeetors of Arizona and which car. ries on the side its own lesson in prospecting and mining The story follows:
 What is the richest gold strike in i the world7
 That was the question discussed by a group of mining men at the Wal. dorf-Astoria last night The question was precipitated by a discussion with regard to the decline of the earnings of Goldfeld Consolidated. There was one who maintained that this Nevada giant, in its prime, was entitled to premier honors, others held out for Homestake of South Dakota, others again for Treadwell and the big Ju- neau. .Titans in Alaska, others flaw ored giving the palm to the giants on the Rand still others, with a strong. CT bent for history, leaned toward mines of the past, from the Ophir of the Queen of Sheba, down through Mount Berminus of King Philip Of Macedon, to the rich gold fields of Mauretania and Lusitania in the Span. ish peninsular of Roman days and each big gold field down to the mod. ern stampede in Siberia. California. Cripple Creek and the Klondike had its ardent advocates.
 An old Arizonan, however. broke in. to the discussion with the remark that IhA xrnrldfg ,.fr numbered probably among those which have never seen the light of day-as mines. The great desert Southwest gritters with true tales of fabulous finds of ore which have never been re-encountered by their discoverers. These are tales Of the famous Lost Mines" Someone ans. wered the Arizonan with the remark that the biggest fish are those which , get away" and that in much. the same way the richest gold mines also got away" However the old West erner persisted in his contention and narrated the following tale of the fam ous Lost Soldiers Mine.'
 While I have always been in the mining game since infancy, l chanced for few months some years ago to find myself in the United States Army stationed at Ft Mcdowell, Ari- zona. That was in 1869 God knows Arizona was dreary enough country in those days. and the only oasis in the vast solitude of the desert was the little ranch Of Abner McKeever, who lived near the Big Bend of the Gila River, few miles from Ft. McDow- ell have always maintained that the chief attraction of the McKeeyer ranch was Abner's pretty daughter, Belle. She was almost the only white girl for hundreds of miles around and beautiful as a picture. She was far and away the idol of every officer and every private. Not one but what would have laid down his life for her, and even now, when my thoughts revert to pretty Belle McKeever find myself waxing enthusiastic as in the days of my youth several years ago If ever there lived an idolized daughter of the regiment that girl was Belle McheeNeI.
 "One day though, in the summer of 1869, a band of Apache Indians swept down upon the McKeeyer ranch and massacred the entire out fit with the exception of Miss Belle She was carried away a captive, and every available soldier was sent out from the fort in pursuit. It would have fared very poorly. indeed, with the Indians among whom We might find her, but also, Belle McKeeveT has never been found and has not been heard from to this day.
 f1 remember that search in the burning midsummer heat in the South west desert to this day-dow alf detachment split during the chase and how, sad and disheartened, each little .group of avengers returned to It. Mcdowell with heads bowed down
 "That is, every group returned but one. There was little party of three soldiers who chased the Indians foI a considerable distance across the des ert, much farther than the rest oi us. This trio consisted of my friend Sergeant Crossthwaite and Privates Joe wormley and Joe Flannigan wormley. too. was close chum o' mine. but with Flannigan had never mixed much while stationed at tho fort
 Just how far the trio traveled they did not realize until they found themselves in a strange. remote par' of the desert with no provisions at all to add td their troubles. two of thei' horses had died of thirst. Only on' horse was left and that one moro dead than alive The men had to foo it. Starving, mad with thirst they took as much flesh from the deat horse as they could load upon the live one. That was all the food and drinl they had. They started for some dis tant hills to find water. On the way