Year: 1877

A GENTLEMAN AND SOLDIER WHO TURNED


HERMT-LED TO THE TREASURE Noun


TAIN BY AN INDIAN GU1DE-AN AsToUND-


ING SPECTACLE.


A correspondent of the VirginiaE Enterprise,
writing from Carson, under date of Nov.
9th, says: For many years there has been
living in the Walker river range Of noun
tains man named Algernon B. Grant, who
very rarely sought the haunts or habitations
of white men. His ostensible occupation
was prospecting for precious metals, but the
fact of his long and uninterrupted residence
in these wilds pointed to the fact of his non
success in that direction. Mr.. Grant was in
this city few days since, and the following
is an extract from his wonderful and inter
esting history: He is native of Bourbon
county, Kentucky, having been born there
in 1926. He was sent to Harvard College,
where he graduated in 1916, second in his
class. In 1851 he was admitted TO practice
in the Supreme Court Of Kentucky, lie en-
joyed a lucrative practice in that city until
the breaking out of the rebellion, when he
entered the Confederate service, receiving
commission as Major in one of the Kentucky
regiments. In the mean time Grant had
married and gathered little family around
him. These he at that time had taken to
the Southern portion of Kentucky, and
placed them under the protection of rela-
tives.


When the war ended he pictured to him
self in rapturous delight the happiness that
would fall to his lot when he could once
again gaze upon the faces of his loving wife
and dear children. He took passage for
Southern Kentucky. Upon arriving at the
spot where his hope and happiness were
conferred, there awaited him nothing but a
mass of charred ruins. The strong man dis
mounted from his horse and sat down upon
the ground, weeping like n child. He
learned that about a year before the close of
the, war small band of struggling troops
had infested that portion of Kentucky, and
that the family of Grant had been murder
ed, and the incendiary torch was brought
into play. In the early spring of 1866 he
engaged passage in mule train which was
then about crossing the plains, and after
ward arrived in this State, and omigrated to
the most extreme southern end of the Walk
er river mountains, where he has been exist
ing ever since, only at rare intervals seeing
the detested face of white man.


A 1 r A. I
ed up TO him with great reverence, supposing
him to be endowed with supernatural pow
ers About two months ago one of these In
dians, who had been recipient of special
favors at the hands of Grant, desirous.of ex-
hibiting his gratitude, requested our hero to
accompany him on two-day's ramble
through the mountains, and he would show
him cave wonderfully rich with gold and
silver. What direction of the compass the
party followed, Grant is reluctant about re-
vealing. At all events, after travelling
about two day and half, our hero and his
companion arrived at dusk one evening in
narrow canon, or mountain gorge, enclosed
on either side by rugged, steep mountains.
In this vicinity, the Indian said, the cave,
was located. A camp fire was lighted, and
while Grant was cooking supper his COM
panion went in search of the exact location
of the cave, so that no. time would be lost
in finding il in the morning. The Indian
returned with joy imprinted upon his copper
colored features, and impaired to Grant the
satisfactory tidmgs that he had found the
cave without difficulty, and that, notwith-
standing the darkness which then prevail
cd, the interior of this wonderful vault was
as light as monday. AT an early hour next
morning, after travelling in this canon,
which is many miles in length, for an hour,
or maybe a little less, the Indian pointed to
a pile Of granite of immense weight, stacked
up against the cragged side of a monster
mountain, and told Grant that by removing
the boulders an entrance to the cave could
be effected. The two men Immediately set
to work at their herculean task, which oc-
eupied them nearly two hours When the
obstruction was removed, all that could be
seen was an opening leading into the noun
tain, of dimensions only great enough to ad-
NIT the bodies of largely developed men
but the interior was as dark as Erebus
Grant venturcd into this opening to the dis
tancc of about ten feet, but the intensity of
the darkness preeluded him from seeing his
hands before his face He cried out to his
companion for some burning sagcbrush,
which was Immediately thrust into the
cave, but, strange to relate, this artificial
light would not illuminate the darkness. |
Here was a nice pass. Grant emerged from
his subterranean visit and consulted with |
his semi-savage companion as to the most
expedient means to be employed in the +,
emergency; it was useless TO seek for gold |
or anything else in so dark place where |
artificial light proved of no avail. Tho In
dian then repeated his story of the illumina-
ton which he saw in the cave the preoed- |
ing night Although this yarn sounded
rather improbable in the ears of an intelli-
gent white man, yet the Indian was so earn