The Coolidge examiner., 1935-08-30
GOLDEN
| PHANTOMS
fascinating
Tales of ,a,., ~,,.o,
Lost Mines e-AU.
SUNBURNED GOLD


of California. Ilow much they knew
about it's source they did not r..
veal Bui IL Is said that when the
pew dispensatlon began they caused
the Indian - hide their mine md
forget that So existed. And O,
stayed hidden and forgotten until
the DAY when it was found by Peg.
Lex smith
+ Fesles ~as. as hls name implies
+ p one.icE-ej man--a rousfubout
sometimes q proGector. What he
was doing ia the Colorado desert
on that day ln 1885, Is unknown.
Eut somew here between Yuma aud
San Diego. instead - going from
one water hole 10 another as sen.
slh.e people should. Dee decided 90
make a short cut and as result
De- became loF.
4 There was mountain close by
and PcEles knew that th. on.y
thing io do was 90 reach It's top
and get hlS bearings from there. i,
must have been am unpleasant
cllmb. with bat one good Iez 20 ro
ou. but finally smith stood on ,hc
summit aud hooked about him
( lie also looked down-and there
Ht hls feet WAS ore-sfranEc. dark
ore. lie was not certain that q
had any value. but picked up r
few chunks anyway. and resumed
his delayed march 20 san Diego.
For several weeks the ore las
about unnoticed Finally. just be.
cause IL was curious looking stun.
FeEleG showed 3, 20 his acquaiui-
anCcs. Some on. recognized IL as
gold la spite of Its odd appearance.
and n uew search wa nn.
As such things will this search
proved prodtless. Finally the ex-
citemeui died down
I Bui q had no more than done so
when there came soldier from
For, Yuma wiih more of that same
unusual ore. lie had = slightly
more detailed location 10 give:
there were three peaks. De said. IN
stead ~ one lie was anxious 20
return. and lost little time In out
h,tius and choosing several com.
panlons. They set out wlth vast
confidence that they would soon ~.
turn with loads - gold Then the
desert Swallowed them
East of Warmers Pass an trace
of them was lost.
Later. an Indian woman appeared
with some of the ore at place
where wurkmen we're laying tracks
Tor the railroad She had lost her
way. she said. and Ike Pegleg. she
had seen the mountain and had
climbed IL. 10 discover the ore. She
claimed. also. that there were three
peaks. which subsianiiated the sol.
dlcr's story. From tEe mountain
top she had seen the lracklayers.
and she had headed Tor their
camp
The tracklayers took one startled
inspection ot her little load ~ ore.
and then most Of them Immediately
threw down their tools and made
tracks" In the direction from
which she had come. without walt
ing 10 hear the end of her story.
This was a fatal mistake. FOR she
told the rest that she had clrcled
around and approached their camp
from an entirely different direction
than that In which the mountain
lay The men who had so hastily
rushed on were never seen again.
The Indian woman refused from
the first 10 disclose the location ~
the gold. At last a prospector, Jim
Denslow, became her friend. and
after many years she told him of
the three peaks. and that the mine
was near a dry lake Then he set
out. as so many had done before
him. seeking for the strange dark
ore. lie found the three peaks at
last. but between him and them
stretched, not dry lake. but a
vast. shallow. wet one, with such
dangerous quicksands around its
margin that he could not cross II.
Denslow decided that the thing
10 do was To return 10 San Diego,
re-outfit. and come back prepared
10 do some work. This he did, and
succeeded In skirting the lake and
climbing the peaks only 10 find
nothing but obsidian, volcanic
glass.
The next 10 locate the mine was
n Mexican cowboy. He disappeared
~3r several days from the ranch
where ne ~as employed, and on his
return ne showed some OF the cop
per gold. This he Squandered on
fine saddles and other such matters
dear 10 the cowboy heart, and on
gambling. When he was broke
again. he disappeared "a before,
and returned with more gold. This
he did several times, managing each
time 10 elude all those who tried TO
trail him. or course he would not
tell the location. but the charac-
ter of the ore revealed that II had
been taken from the same place as
that which Pegleg and the others