Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-01

found Longworth one day in little room out
in the yard behind the boarding house his wife
keeps. He was working electrical device
for locating minerals that he calls the radio
sleuth." After explaining its mechanism, he
brought out a thick pile of documents. From
them and from his own testimony, have put
Longworths story together. Like all good
stories. it begins far away and long ago.
A BOUT $780, while Texas was still part OF
Mexico, man by the name of Dixon settled
on the San Marcos River near the present town
Of San Marcos. He was poor man. but not
too poor to keep an Indian in his hire. This
Indian seems to have been a kind of outcast
from his tribe One day an aged Mexican ap-
peared at Dixon's cabin inquiring for rocks
marked IN o certain way Dixon knew Of some
rocks on his own land that bore the SIGNS de-
scribed He, his Indian, and the old Mexican
went to them, and in a short time the Mexican
dug up small ola Of silver coins, which he
divided with the landowner.
Not long after this episode the Indian asked
Dixon If it was his desire to possess great
deal of silver. Dixon admitted that it was.
Then" replied the Indian, IT win lead yO0
to 1t. Yonder to the west In Summer Valley
is a cave full Of it. The mouth Of the cave u
stopped up with rocks, but have been inside.
can go inside again"
It turned out that by Summer Valley the
Indian meant the valley OF the San Saba River.
Thither he and Dixon set forth. When they
b0cy saw
where; the Comanches and the Apaches were at
war; Dixon,s guide was afraid of both war
parties, but from . concealed position he pointed
out the vicinity Of the cave. Dixon took q good
look at the features of the country SO that he
could recognise the place when he should re-
turn at safer time. Then the two men went
back to the San Marcos. The next year the
Indian died. This was not long after the close
Of the Mexican War.
Dixon now took into his confidence three
neaghbor1ng settlers: Sam Fleming, c. B. Ezeu
and Wiley Stroud. The four partners felt that
they needed something more definite and re.
liable than the Indians tale to guide them.
The truth Is that the Indian had not on other
occasions distinguished himself for veracity.
Therefore, they decided to send Dixon at COM
mon expense to Monclova, Mexico once the cap
ital OF the united provinces of Texas and Goa
hula. to ind out what he could from the ar.
chives there.
Upon arrival in Monclova Dixon found that
the archives were in the custody of the Catholic
Church, and that outside examination of them
was. for the time being prohibited He was
on the point Of returning home when he met
Spaniard whom he had known In Texas He
frankly told him his dificulty
Now it happened that the Spaniard had a
daughter, named Carlota, who was engaged In
some minor capacity by the priests In charge
OF the archives. Her father thought she might
help in getting the desired information She
readily assented to the plan. She declared
that some Of the reports in the archives bore
on the San Saba mines. though she had no idea
OF their contents. They were kept secret She
could copy them, she added only at risk to her
life. She would probably have to wait long
time for q chance to get fun information.
With the understanding that he would hear
when this was obtained, Dixon came home.
Months went by without a word, then years
so many years that Dixon and his partners
had almost given up hope of ever learning any
thing from the Monclova documents Then one
day IN 1853 the northbound stage through
San Marcos brought letter. It was from
Carlota. She was in San Antonio and she had,
she said. information too valuable to trust TO
the mail. She wanted Dixon to come to her
Immediately. He went.
In the interview that followed, Carlota was
at once open and secretive, definite and in
definite. She was willing to ten only part OF
what she knew, though that part she disclosed
without reservation. She had dug out. she said.
documentary evidence concerning IA mines To-
Gated around the old San Saba fort some OF
them more than six leagues distant from 1t, the
richest being Las Iguanas In the bottom OF
the shaft leading to the Iguanas mine reposed
200 bars Of silver weighing SO pounds to the
bar. To this vast storage she agreed to furnish
a detailed derrotro (chart), with the under
standing that fifth of the silver should go to
her. Once the silver was secured it could be
utilized in reopening and working the great
mines from which it had been extracted before
hostile Indians ran the Spanish miners out OF
the country.
dig up this silver" she said, land then you
shall have all the other charts
Dixon could not read Spanish, but he brought
home the derrotero, and Wiley Stroud, the only
Spanish scholar in the company, read it. It
stated that the shaft was filled up with rocks.
The partners agreed that it and the old Indians
cave were one. They were on FIRE with en-
thusiasm and confidence.
But it always takes lost mine hunters good
while to organize their expeditions. The greater
the wealth at stake and the poorer the search
ers the longer the time renliired The San Saba