The Coolidge examiner., 1935-08-09
GOLDEN
PHANTOMS
fascinating
Tales of tsaA. w.,.os
Lost Mines e-~u
STORY OF LAS PLACITAS
Taigka " aisoa
c. ~

AA At-F NAftAsAa RA &9''. - " ~ "A
a place not far from santa Fe. that
center ~ romance and excitement
Tor the whole western country. As
ihey talked about things old and
new. never dreaming what madness
was in store for them. Old Jesse
Martin came riding up. all steamed
up over something.
Look at this. boys" he said.
fairly suffering. i've got the
richest thing on top of this here
earth"
This" was a handful of ore
ore So rich that the two friends
caught the rouiaglon and grew as
excited as Martin.
"Where'd you get e. Jess" they
asked. eagerly
Il amt a-goln' 20 tell you" was
the answer. Not now. boys. I aln'f.
! got partner IN santa Re. and
I'm Eoin' 90 tell him first. Then
Rhen We Eit everything fled. i'il JET
you ln on IT,"
All the pleading they could do
would not more Martin from this
decision. lie rode OF finally To-
ward Santa Fe with his ore and his
news leaving them 90 wonder where
IN the world he had found such n
bonanza Had he run acrosss the
Adams dirrinEs. or the Hatrhei
mlne2 Pshaw. ihose places were
too FAR south FOR Martin 10 End.
This mus, De- something n lot near
er home.
Nearer home-why. perhaps they
could ask some questions ~ the
Mexicans and Indians ihercabouis
and end out where old Martin had
bccn. That was the idea Hastily
they caught up their horses and
rode forth. and began 20 take up
Martins TRAN. They finally came
% claim. ali regularly staked In
the prospect hole vas ore --orc
Ike that he had showed thcm-yery
rich ore.
The iwo men were greatly pleased
wlth their furethouEht IN tracisg
down the location. with business
Ike prompiness. they staked their
claims alongside Martins From
thes. new notwithstanding they
gathered a Few samples. and then
they raced back To the asSayer.
The assayer grew excited with
them Hastily be prepared for the
business ~ extracting gold, ~ they
watched the process with eager
eyes At hist
IN The bottom % The crucible las
button ~ something Now for
the acid tesi--would Il prove 70 be-
gold7 With trembling hands tie
assayer poured In the acid-and the
button Was not CUT Enrekai They
we're -orth fortunes
They rushed back To thelr~cialms
The news tad already spread. IA
,nat strange manner with which
he word 90 new-found gold always
has spread. and men were coming
IN to stake claims as near 10 theirs
as possible.
Then came crowd from Santa
Fe. AZ It's head were Jesse Mar
tin and-Goyeruo Lew Wallace
So that was the partner The news
ran ahead ~ them-Iesse's samples
had assayed So To 500 to the ton.
Everyone laughed with glee-eyery.
one cheered.
In three days Las placltas &C
cumnlated a population of i0.OD
souls. Everyone vas gold.craEy--
the golden phantom had led them
10 fortune and they bad left their
wits behind when they set out 10
follow her. And yet
Some ~ the more sober souls be
gan to qulet down. II was time 10
make more assays. to see just how
far the gold spread out, TO learn just
bow rich II would run.
The assays were made They
showed no value az all.
The shock was tremendous. Men
at first refused 20 believe II. They
argued angrily that there was some
mistake. They knew they had found
gold. The assayer must be- a fool.
not 10 know his business. He
could not ind gold when II was
right under his nose.
Then someone thought OF looking
for Jesse Martin. lie had "the
richest thing on top OF this here
earth" did hel Well. he'd better
explain himself.
Put Martin had vanished from
slght-and with him disappeared
about 5000 In real money--money
that he hal obtained from Lew
Wallace and other prominent men
~ Santa Fe. He had alt OUT for
parts unknown rs soon as the rush
SET in. He was too keen an old
codger 10 risk discovery and retri-
button.
But the mlne-that was still
there. and the rich ore had most
certainly come from his claim! So
II had-but not originally. Martin
had salted the hole with high-grade
from another mine.
And the assay-the button OF gold
which acid would not cut II was
merely crystallizatlon, and not