Show the pro prospector ali ealor and his burro IA by will C higgins 1 some strange experiences enter into f the life of a prospector who has spent years in the canyons and mountains said T the prospector to his burro ex experiences perien ces that are seemingly supernatural and that can hardly be fathomed by mortal mind you have had them often you say which is really remarkable for a burro whose looks would indicate a thimble full of brains for every hundred pounds it weighs and yet you claim that there must be some thing occult in the impressions you have r occasionally regarding the whereabouts of f that outlaw out law lop eared jack of yours that you have not seen for six months and who f I 1 may be twenty miles away from you at the time in any of the four points of the com pass this may be nothing but instinct with you but as to being a communication from the unseen world there is nothing in it none whatever 1 I can well remember the incidents connected necked with my discovery of of f the phantom mine in the crooked circle range some twenty years ago continued the s tor and that there was something weird and unexplainable about it I 1 am sure you will agree with me at the time I 1 was on a general prospecting trip and was headed for or a distant and practically unknown re gion for two days I 1 had been far beyond the nearest habitation and the country was wild and desolate that night I 1 made my camp dcamp near a little spring and spread my bed under an overhanging rock I 1 was tired and weary and soon fell asleep and I 1 dreamer ed of my dear wife who had passed over atthe divide five years before she looked just as sweet and beautiful as the day when we were married and with out stretched arms looked at me most lovingly the dream comforted me a whole lot and J thoughts of her were with me all the next day y late in the afternoon to my great surprise i met an old man coming down the fhe mountainside he was tall but rather bent qt his hair was long and snowwhite blit t his eyes were as clear and bright as a i yung young mans and his countenance beamed with goodness and benevolence As we met he offered me his hand and said 1 I was expecting you judson you were camped last night by a little spring and slept under a jutting rock and while you slept your wife appeared to you do not doubt my word for she was there in reality and if she had had the power of speech the power of mortal touch you could not have questioned her real and actual presence for you the veil was drawn aside for a few moments and the woman you saw in the spirit land was your departed wife who is often with you although you realize it not unless subconsciously sub consciously then he took me to his primitive abode a rough shack of rock and doble dobie built into a crevice in the cliff here I 1 remained until morning and he chatted with me pleasantly about the affairs of the outside world concerning which he seemed to have wonderful and accurate knowledge considering the fact that he had not been ten miles away from his mountain home for over fifteen years in the morning when I 1 left him he said judson within two days you will make a discovery that will be remarkable for its size and richness I 1 can see it and know just how you will find it do not ask for directions for you will find it all right goodbye I 1 laughed for I 1 was skeptical and had no faith in mere luck believing that only careful prospecting and the exercise of good judgment would lead me to the discovery of a bonanza boa sinza anza the next night I 1 camped in a wash where I 1 had to dig in the sand for water in the morning I 1 entered a rough canyon in which I 1 found a few pieces of gold float by noon I 1 was some soma distance up the mountain side and had stopped to eat my lunch under a giant mahogany when I 1 had finished and as I 1 was taking a drink from my canteen my eyes rested upon a peculiar outcropping cropping out a few yards from where I 1 sat around its base were fragments of float of a yellow ish brownish color which looked as if detached f from rom th the e outcrop by the action of frost water and heat it did not take me long to establish the fact that I 1 had accidentally discovered a great fissure vein that was loaded with gold and then I 1 remembered what the old hermit had told me and I 1 was fil filled led with wonder and amazement the rock was a honeycombed honey combed quartz and when broken gold pellets as large as duck shot would rattle out of its crevices and cavities for nearly a week I 1 remained on the aroun ground d making locations and prospecting the ledge then 1 I loaded my burro with about fifty pounds of the rock and began my hike to the outside stopping overnight at the hermits on my way back he was not at all surprised over my big discovery and although he would not give me any explanation regarding my wonderful experience peri ence he said that an unseen power had guided me to the great ledge 1 I want to tell you old long ears concluded the prospector you may be inclined to snicker at what I 1 am telling you as others have done to whom I 1 have related my experience regarding my discovery of the banthom mine but believe me there are unseen and unknown influences at work around us that have much to do with our success in life whether we realize it or not and there you are and then some |