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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 2, 1913)
4 i f ft i SI Lost Mines of the Great Southwest j m By Joe Minster $ From Data Furnished by Horace J. West j)i From Data Furnished by Horace J. West (Cnpyrlxlit by UMguuy Co) ? (Cnpyrlxlit by UMguuy Co) Kj Ili:N thu railrouds built tlu'lr trans continental systems, one of thoir greatest difficulties lay in the sup ply of wntor for thi men who were working on tho projects, proat wngou-trnlns woro frequently cs fcentlal to brliiK BUfllrlont of tho supply to tnnko work for a week nt a tlnio possible Kvon aftor the completion of the roads thoro was difficulty In obtaining wator for tho purpose of supplying tho onglnuH or tho llttlo stations necessary wher ever there wnb a Biding. In order to secure water In nbundance, tho Santa Fo rnllrond had ordered a tunnel bored In tho Clipper range, located In San Bernardino county from eight to ten miles northwest of Danhv the rtaticn to which It was to bo piped If 11 iovpim: in a lntgo quantity This nil happened within a fere of ycarB. The man who volun teered for the work, a competent mining man, who was well acquainted with the sinking of shafts and the boring of tunnelH, was ThomuH Schoflcld of Lob Angeles. Tiring of work one dav In early June of ISO t he started on a prospecting trip, something which he did whenever ho felt In need of lelaxatlon He wandered Into one of tho canyons close at hand and discovered there a spring. What to him was more surprising and even startling waB the (rail that led up tho cnuyou. stopping at the watering place The trail at times very Indistinct bocauBc of the solid rock formation, led ovor three or four small hills, the hogback of two ranges and then Into another canyon. This he followed until It ended In n blank wall and he realized that the trail had been lost Going back a short distance lie discovered It winding up the nldo of the hill. ' It led to two Immense rocks, rivaling tho towers of nn old Kngllsh castle. They seemed to form tho portal to the wealth beyond, and nsituro had wet (horn so closely together that they allowed Just sufficient passageway to permit a burro well packed to enter. And Just beyond tho portal stood nn Isolated rock There beside tho black bouldor of enor mous nlze stood the shreds of what had been a enmp The wooden upright supports woro still standing, and draped from them floating In tho breeze, wero the shreds of what had beon a tent Brush bad been carefully piled up nround the sides. Inside thoro was n bench of boughs, still covered with a blanket, which wns, llko the tent covering dilapidated and ragged. Tho still- neRH of the place and tho fact that mnn had boon making his habitation there struck Schoflcld llko n blow from n fist. A pile of railroad ties, a number of niBty old axes which had beon UBcd as wedges for splitting the ties far Ingglng, a few other mining tools and some badly decomposed food still lav nbout tho place. Indicating vory sudden nbniidonmeu' of tho camp by Ub ownor. Tho most conspicuous of all tlilngft nbout Ilia place was an old-fashioned, lieavlly rustic Dutch ovon, the largest Schoflcld, had ever teen and n trifle over two foot In dlnm eter. So oppressive wns tho place and so nerve racking the Immediate strain, thnt ho continued on the trail which led away from the camp Just n short dlRtanco nwny ho came to n shnft whero considerable work had been done. It was sunk upon n series of small stringers that ran parallel to one another for a long dlstanco and nt Intervals of about six Inches Ho counted twelve of these peculiar formations In tho rock nnd thoy were of almost solid gold' Ho tested them, "horning" great strings of coarse gold. Tho surrounding ore was of nn Indlgo-blua quartz formation, nnd "to mo the stringers, pass Ing through the dark porphyry, nppoarcd a bed of roses of golden hues hidden In thu depths of n giant bed of violets," sold Schoflold In telling of his discovery. "I traced thoao lines of hlgh-grado oro for.n distance of nearly .1,000 foot, and found hern widening and enlarging ns they wont Thoy Interested mo bo thnt 1 failed to notlco for hours that tho dny was fast waning and thnt I would bo forced to remain thoro over night. "Tho mystery, tho awe and oven tho fear of that night I shall never forget. Was 1 In the Iinunt of n robber crow who hud found wealth far richer than could bo ohtnlnod from thoir nofar Jous trnde In tho city? Had tho owners beon cruolly murdered and thoir woalth carried off by soma one else' Wns I tho victim of somo strange phantnsmngorla, or would I nwnkon to find all tho wenlth and tho ndventuro of tho day n dream? ThoBO and countless other suggestions coursed through my throbbing brnin. nnd I slept llttlo thnt night. f "In the morning I explored tho shaft nt tho llrst light of breaking Hiin nbovo tho Jaggod sky lino of broken peaks. I found that tho shaft had boon sunk to possibly seventy or olghty foot, that It wns equipped with a windlass, ropo nnd Jiuckot nnd thnt It had boon well tlmbored all the way 1o the bottom. Outsldo discovered n largo pllo of ore. Indlcntlvo of two fact that llttlo or none of tho product of tho mine had ovor beon carried laway. "Aftor gathering n numbor of flno samples and n largo quantity of tho hornod gold, I went back to tho enmp nnd thoro nguln I was attractod by tho Dutch oven. Something seemed to draw tno toward It It contained gold Half of It'was full of (he product and thoro wns I unnblo to cart It nwny All marks of those who resided thoro woro of such nn old stamp that 1 never thought whoth or It would bo right or wrong The Idea of pos session of fo much wealth pearly overwhelmed mo, and nfter grasping iom,of It I stinted bid: to (ho enmp by the tunnel pbnnlrir a trip to l.-is Angeles to see whether It was reallv gold that 1 had found " And when SrhoflHd hud bis or nud his metal tested he found thnt It wn the mnl nrtlclo and thnt he had made himself richer bv several hun dred dollars with Just (he nmiill amount he lil been nble to lug out on his person It fired him with the desire to return nt once and obtain ill of (he treasure If the right owners hid not re turned. But he hns never boon nble to got back to the H'jtch oven! In ci ing buck from the mine he had paid lit tle heed to the general dlicctlon taken. Ho had followed the trull blindly on his way up nud again on his return Journey. Consequently after n number of weeks, when ho returned with n part ner to look for tho trensuro tind found that somo tarrlfio rains and ovon a waterspout had boon ahead of his, bin plans beenmo hazy The water had obliterated all signs of n trail and his knowl edge of getting back was gone with It. Men will sacrifice love, life, virtue and kindred things Is thoro Is a groat opportunity presented for the accumulation of sudden wealth Strange alliances, storlos of murder, long legal fights and blttorest enmity have grown up In the southwest as adjuncts to the continued hunt for treasure. Among tho strange Btorlea that are more widely known Is thut which has to do with a lost placer of grout riches It finds Ha origin In the early eighties, cither 188.1 or 1E81, when a white mnn, n lone prospec tor, wandered Into tho enmp of tho Piute Indians at Pluto riond on the Novada sldo of the Colo rado river Tho bend only lay a few miles nbovo Fort 'Mohavo, nnd It Is thoro that Jamison, which Is genet ally given as tho man's nnme, gathered his first Inklings of tho storied woalth accumulat ed by sfvoral members of tho tribe. Thoy wero suld to know of several great gold doposltB In tho desert nnd mountain country con tiguous to their placo of living, nnd from these they frequently brought to Fort Mohave splendid specimen of nuggets nnd gold dust This gold they traded for a halt or third of Its actual value buying th baubles and the gaudy apparel so dear to the heart of the red man. It nlso led occa sionally to serious trouble, attempts of unscrupu lous whites to obtain their secrets, sometimes ovon by force, usually by somo chicanery. .Inmlson took n course which brought him In direct nnd continued contact with all members of the trlbo. He married ono of tho squaws, and nfter a yoar or two of living with tho Indlnns gained many of their secrets To his brother-in-law he was Indebted for the discovery of nn Im mensely rich placer. To tench It at nil seasons of the year was apparently Impossible. "Wo shall wait till tho Bnow falls nnd covers all tho land." said tho red brother to Jamison. They wnltod for two years for such a tlmo to come, snow not being a usual thing In that portion of the country every year. And when It came, tho Indian took his ndopted tribesman for a long Journey, to a placo of threo peaks nnd a placo where no wator wns obtainable, savo through molting tho snow, nnd thero they gathered from beneath the white cloak much gravel, and carried It back to tho camp of tho Indians In threo days Fooling nsBiired, then, of tho wealth he was to gather, Jamison wroto nn old eastern friend whoso namo has been lost. It Is Bald to havo boon Fields. Ho told Fields all about tho won dorful gravel, nnd so excited his deslro for riches that within n fow months Fields had arrived nt Fort Mohavo JamlBon left tho Indlnns with tho oxcuso that ho had to look after particular busi ness In California. Then with Fields ho went to Homer, n station on tho Santa Fo railroad In San Bernardino coun ty, California. Thero they purchnsed -a span of good mules with nomo of tho gold thnt Jamison had saved' from his first trip, and thoy loaded nn old buckboard with n barrel of water nnd a fev provisions nnd stnrtcd out, driving south Into Homer Wnsh. From nil reports they probably traveled, forty miles that day and night, arriving nt tho diggings early the next morning. "Thoro wo climbed a mesa," said Fields, telling of tho dlscovory In after years. "And on top of this proceeded with our work, which merely con sisted In scraping tho gravel In heaps and pan ning It In n tub which Jnmlson had brought nlong for tho purpose Tho water which had been left In tho bnrrol was used In tho tub. Tho gravol was nearly half gold, so rich that It nearly stun ned us. Wo became careless In our work, picking off only tho conrso gold nnd tho nuggets, nnd dumped tho roElduo of fine gold nnd dust Into tho tub. It was far too much work to pan It clenn." Want of water, Uio bugaboo thnt has menaced overy prospector nt ono time or nnother In tho southwest, enmo upon them at nlghtfnlli when they woro forced to give to the two mules tho wn tor that had boon used for panning. It wns loss than enough to quench thoir thirst, nnd In half panic tho two miners cached their tub, half full of dust, nnd their gold pan In a Btnnll cavo which thoy had discovered In one of tho llttlo canyons loading off tho mesa. Then enmo their retrent. as Ignominious ns any that ovor befell nn army. With nil their wealth thoy wor forced to run. A pnnlc soomod to over take them and thoy Jogged their mules through tho desert night, trying to get to Homer beforo tho break of day nnd tho bent thnt enmo with It In thnt summer pnrlod. With coming of dawn thoy found thomsolvos In n sad plight. They had lost tho trail entirely, wero In a country new to them, had not a drop of water and scarcely a handful of food. With breaking light camo hopo. Way orf in the dlstanco they dlscorned tho guldopost that has lod to many a salvation In tho dosert wastes; tolcgraph polos ntrung nt regular Intervals, To reach them and tho railroad tracks thoy marked was thoir nlm. Through threo hours of tortuous work, walking Instead of trying to rldo behind the worn-out mulcB. thoy struggled on, thoir tonguos lolling black from out thoir mouths, their throats burnod to n cinder crlspness, their eyes bulging In continued effort and stinln. And reaching flio rnllrond. thoy could discern. Just a short dlstanco to tho right, n fow strug gling buildings, somo llttlo outpost of civilization, with promiBo of wnter If nothing more And tills thoy reached eventually, milling their mules bo hind, them. Thoy wore found by nn old minor who hnppnned on to tho broad wooden platform of Mic only bar In Illako during the noon siesta of the town Thoy wero mom dend than nllve. and it took several hours of hard work to bring them to For (wo days they wero out of their minds Their first thought on coming to wns thoir gold Jluil they lost It? Had It boon stolen? Thoy directed search for It In tho wagon, and tbore It lav In a large canvas sack, untouched by tho mnn Alio had aired for tho mulos. When It was weighed tho men found themselves In possession of fWQOn for n single day's workl Tho story of their find made Hlako n desortod village In a fow hours. A stampede for gold was on. For days and wooks It continued, but novor successfully. Their trail hnd been obliterated In tho winds that continually sway tho Band from duno to duno nnd obliterate censolossly through ogos It was a week before Jamison nnd Fields could travol. Thoy packed up nt tho end of that time ond In thoir swaying buckboard thoy drove to Needles, where Fields with his share of tho gold started for the east to secure capital for develop ment Jamison turned his mules back to Homer then, nnd on back to the Pluto Hend to his In dians, arriving there In a delirium caused by n rela'pso Into fover acquired on the trlpfrom tho diggings. Ills squaw nursed him tenderly nnd medlclno men of tho trlbo gave him herbs, but Jamison died. Fields came back when ho heard of this. Ho had a chicken hpart Induced by past experiences, and nothing would Induce him to stnrt out nlono on quest of wealth that lay hidden In tho desert nenr the threo penks. He sent other men for him, giving them a mnp of the country as he had concolved It, but thoy all failed In tho relocation of the trensuro. Threo men rode leisurely out of the Pnnamlnt tango of mountains at tho edge of thnt famous filnk of mystery Death Valley, and on across country townrd San Bernardino, their destination. They were all on good horses, had ample jiacks, and ten-gallon wnter canteens. They rodo through the heat of the day. their horses kicking up tho dust of tho desert nnd leaving behind a contin uous hazy vapor which always distinguishes any thing of llfo that moves In the desert wastes During tho heat of thfe day thoy stopped to camp In tho shade of their horses, which wero watered and fed Soon they stnrtcd on. This tlmo thero wns not the name certainty, tho nnme equanimity, nmong them, nnd a quarrel aroso as to tho proper direction to take Thoy quarraled till that afternoon, and finding their water-supply practically nil gone on the following morning, their words almost resulted In blows. They sepa rated. Ono of them Frank Goler, struck out nlono In an easterly direction, while tho other two went south Ily noon of the second day Ooler had arrived nt a series of low hills that lav directly In his path. He croHBed them, nnd on the farther Bide discov ered a canyon into which ho plunged without tho Ipnst fear and with renewed hopo of salvation. It contained abundnnt vegetation, nnd what was moro than all the rest. It carried In Its deepest ombraco a little mountain stream. " Arriving at Its banks, Goler, nearly delirious from lock .of wator. gave his horse Its freedo-n nnd dropped to the edgo of tho stream and began lapping up the cool, bright water. And while I'o drnnk. the rays of tho sun, penetrating the foliage of an overhanging cottonwood, glinted upon some thing on tho bottom of tho stream something yellow Just beyond tho touch of his lips. It was a nugget weighing several ounces. Ther were others near It. and Color, bewildered nt his good fortune, pulled forth three of tho pieces of gold atid then stopped to think of food, for ho had not taken nourishment for" moro than a day. He tucked the nuggets Into tho bosom of his shirt, caught his horse, mounted, and then pro ceeded with all possible speed down the canyon, taking llttlo time oven to mnke proper survey of tho location of tho treasure. Finally, aftor sev eral hours of rough riding ho camo out upon a plain. Just ahead of him ho saw what apparent ly had bq'e'n tho bed of n big body of water. It was all dried out and lay In a straight east erly lino with Mount San Antonio, or Mount Baldy, ns It Is more generally known In the south west. Tho snow-capped peak gavq Goler encour agement, and also Indicated the proper direction to the llttlo mining town at tho foot of the fnmoui Arrowhoad. where tho Indlnns found relief from many Ilia in the waters that purled from several springs. It required another day for him to reach thlo placo, and when ho did he wns completely ex hausted and his horse fearfully Jaded and ready to collapse. Three wooks elapsed before he had fully recov ered, nnd then he allowed the treasures that he hnd collected. "Why, there Is onough of this stuff to load sev eral wagons where I found It, nnd I nm going to x bring In a load In less thnn a month," ho assured somo of his frlondB Ho at once sot out to fit up a wagon with broad rimmed wheels, light canvas top nnd a team el sturdy horses. Tho day ho sot out, a largo gathering watched him off and several prospoctofs followed, hoping to be In on tho wealth that ho had discovered, in a fow days they returned, disgusted with tho fact that Goler apparently did not know whither 1h was traveling. In a month ho came back, tired out and disgruntled because ho had beon unable (o relocate tho samo chain of hills ond the hidden waters. Six different times ho went in senrch ci his wealth nnd always returned with the sa;iie story oio of reverses and loss, until finally he hnd spent all of the money ho had accumulated In n llfetimo nnd had to give up tho quest. It Is generally conceded thnt tho Goler dlscov ory has since been found. His first location was In 188C. In 1891 an old and odd character. Hen Moss, who made his homo In San Bernardino started out on ono of his regular prospecting trips. One of his burros wnndored away from the othor throe, nnd Moss started to follow the lost nnlmnl with his entire train. Tho wandering burro found a ennyon nnd In U water, and In this way led Moss to tho dlsepverv of a gold doposlt. In a fow hours be parfued out several ounces of dust with his horn spoon and nlso found two or three fair-sized nuggets. Tin discovery went to his head. Ho failed to place his locating Btnkcs and hurried bnck to San Her nardlno to colobrato his good fortune. With borrowed capital ho fitted up n second time, nnd when ho left town ho might have been mistaken nt a dlstanco for the Pled Piper ol Hanielln Moro thnn half the male Inhabitant? of San Bernardino wero nt his back, nil equipped for a long Journey with pack train or on horse. Moss tried to throw them off his trail, doubled on thorn, returned to Sun Bernardino, but all to no avnll f "Guoss 1 might as well take you along." h enld one day when his patience hnd been frazzled to u rag This time ho proceeded directly to the dlstnnt mngo In tho open dosert. And when he ncared the canyon those who wero following him realized tho nearness of tho end of their Journey. Most spurred his horse nhend and left his pack train tc euro for Itself. Thoro wero bettor horses In thai group, and race ns he might, his hand, unsteady and his saddle not so well fllled ns others, ho was overtaken nnd passed. Tho stampeded prospectors, tilled with lust foi gold, had reached their goal, and old Hen Most was one of the Inst to arrive on tho ground of his iiiscovcry no staked what proved to bo the poorest claim of all the eighty that wero staked out The men nil figured thnt they had como to tho old Goler discovprv. and therefore (hey sc named (he district, which was at onco organized Tho Goler district Is located In what Is now Kerr, county, California, nbout twenty-elght mllna north of Mojavo. a llttlo mining town on the Southern Pacific, Tho creek proved ono of tho richest ever founC In California Several hundred thousand dollars wro taken from a comparatively small area SECRETARY BRYAN JOKES OF OFFICE William Jennings Bryan 1b heartily enjoying his new position as secretary of state, according to tho Impressions he gave a number of frlondB with whom ho conversed tho other day. Dixon Williams, prcsldont of tho Southern club of Chicago, which enter tained tho colonel, Is telling a number of anecdotes which tho secretary; related. "This now position of mlno has puti me in a plnco where I can get back at my critics." said Mr. Bryan in tho courso of a conversation. "All I havo( to do Is to appoint them to somo diplomatic post. "You 8.00, thoro arc a great varie ty of posts. If I want to get a man ?ut of tho country all I havo to do ft o send htm to some remote placo.' The troublo Is that '1 can send him only 12,500 miles at one tlmo. If I send him any farther he'd bo coming back. "I'm beginning to think." ho contin ued, his cycB twinkling, "that it would be a good thing to appoint only Itepub licans to offlces in tho dlplomntlc service. I might mnnage to get enough Republicans out of the United States to Insure" Democratic success at tho polls four years from now." NEW HEAD OF NAVIGATION BUREAU Secretary Danlols has appointed Commander Victor Bluo of South Carolina to bo chief of tho bureau ot navigation, navy department, in placo of Cnpt. Philip Andrews, resigned. Tho incumbent of that office has the rank and pay of a r,ear admiral. Before tho navy personnel had fairly recovered from tho surprise caused by tho change in head of tho navigation bureau, Secretary Daniels lasued a fresh order that will havo far-reaching consequences. That makes sea service an absolute condi tion for promotion. It took tho form of an instruction to tho naval exam ining board, requiring: "That officers coming up for pro motion shall havo had sufficient sea services In tho grade from which they are to bo promoted, to Insure beyond doubt that they are fully qualified and experienced at sea to perform tho sea duties of tho next higher grade." The new chief of the bureau of navigation has had a conspicuous career in the navy. During tho Spanish war Commander Bluo was promoted for heroism as a result of daring reconnolterlng. tours around Santiago to locate tho enemy's fleet. t IK- ) VbbbbbbbI Jbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbhbbbbbbbbbbbk JsbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbI BACK -TO FARM IS PLAN OF MOORE Willis L. Moore, chief of tho weather bureau, whoso resignation, to take effect July 31, has been accepted by the president, broke winter camp in tho Powhatan hotel tho other day and supposedly started on a hike to his Rockvlllo home. A largo and profitable estate Is" owned by the chief of tho weather bureau near Uockvlllo. That ho will dovoto his attentions to this and hid Virginia place Is generally expected. Professor Mooro Is a natlvo of Scranton, Pa., where ho was born January 18, 185C. At the ago of eight years, his father having Joined Grant's army, and being unable to bear tho separation, Young Moore joined the troops in the Hold, where he supplied them with newspapers. Ho was educated in tho Bingham ton public schools, nnd science seem ed to bo his strong point. However, he didn't take it up as soon as ho launched into manhood, as ho be came a compositor nd later a reporter on ono of tho Btnghamton papers, and then went to Burlington, Iowa, where ho continued to do newspaper work. In 1S8G, at Closter, N. J ho married Miss Mary Lozler. Norwich Uni versity in 189G gave him tho degree of Lii.D.. and in tho samo year the Uni versity of St. Lawrence made htm a doctor of science. Before this was done, however, he had Joined tho weather bureau forces, which wero then a part or tho United States signal corps, and began watching tho clouds and tho sun and. other meteorological adjuncts of tho earth. Ho rose in tho weather bureau to bo local forecast official at Chicago, 1891-94. Since 1895 ho has been chief of tho central bureau at "Washington. McADOO SUGGESTS USE OF MAIL Tho United States mall is sug gested by WlUiam G. McAdoo, secre tary of tho treasury', as tho best means of applying for n Job in his department of tho federal govern ment. Driven almost to distraction by tho rush of tho hungry to his plo counter during tho first days ho was In office, ho slipped back the other night to Now York ns a haven of refuge from tho mob. Mr McAdoo rnturned the next morning sufficiently rested and refreshed, but tho army of job hunters uIbo had a good rest tit Washington during his absence, nnd they Bwnrmed about him thicker than ever. Mr. McAdoo, in desperation, gave out this statement: "Without any disposition to bo dUobllglng, 1 nm compelled to discon tinue my efforts to receive personal applications for office. I havo tried It for ten days and I find that it consumes my entire time and leaves mo no chance to attend to important public business. Besides, it Is absolutely futile, because none but a superman could romentber nt tho ond of a day overy ono who has poured a story Into his ear. "Applications should bo made In writing nnd mailed to tho secrotnry of tho treasury. They will be tiled atid receive much moro careful consideration than it pressed in person." OBBBBBf TBBBBBBB m