Show 0 THE PROSPECT CIRR AND BURRO aa by will C higgins we are now in a region that is very interesting te to me said the prospector to his burro for at one time a prehistoric people lived here as is evidenced by the stone dwellings perched high up in the cliffs above us when they came here and when they abandoned this picturesque region nobody knows but they have left many evidences of their occupation and relies relics of their existence are to be found in mounds and dilapidated stone structures that this people lived a pastoral life is proven by the finding of stone jars filled with corn and wheat in old storehouses and crude implements of agriculture go to show that they were a peace loving lot as but very few w instruments of war have as yet been found that they knew nothing of mining is evident by the fact that but little of the precious metals has as yet been found in their wrecked homes and the occasional piece of gold uncovered would indicate that its value was but little known or appreciated and this reminds me of an adventure of mine down in the hopi country some twenty or thirty years ago at that time I 1 had bad been out on an ex tend tended ed prospecting trip and camped near the lodge of native indians who might have been distant descendants of the former cliff dwellers in visiting their lodge I 1 was struck by the peculiar appearance of a stone jar or b basket asket that was being used in fetching water from a near nearby by spring the jar had been formed from a red clay and baked in the fire until it was almost as hard as porcelain but what impressed me was its rough outside appearance as the sides were covered with little knobs about the size of a pea and as the light changed these knobs would glisten ano ana give out a glow that convinced me that they were foreign to the material irom from which the jar had been formed I 1 was not surprised therefore upon closer examination to discover that these little knobs were in reality nothing more than nuggets of pure gold and I 1 was satisfied that the clay deposit containing the gold existed in our near vicinity and so I 1 began to cultivate the acquaintance of the chief an old and almost toothless specimen of primitive man ind and finally asked him about the jar when it was made and where the clay came callie from he refused however to answer my iny questions only stating that he had found the water jug many years ago in a region at least a hundred miles from where we were then and so I 1 was disappointed and would have failed in my quest but for the fact that the chiefs granddaughter a really fine looking maid of twenty had taken a fancy to 10 me for I 1 was in my prime at that tinie time and not adverse to female society even if of dusky hue and it happened that this girl knowing of my wishes regarding the jug embellished with gold nuggets and my desire to know of its 0 history and where the clay from which it was made was to be found came to me and offered to get the jar for me and to lead me to the clay deposit from which it originated igina ted to do this however it was necessary for us to steal away at night and this we did when the lodge people were all asleep morina for this was the name of the girl had the precious household utensil with her when we met at the base of a nearby cliff and together we started out morina leading the way while I 1 followed with my burro your esteemed and lamented grandmother we traveled all that day and camped that night by a water hole breaking our fast on some corn coin my guide had brought with her and the best portions of a jackrabbit jack rabbit I 1 had been able to knock over with my rifle the next day at noon found us high up in the mountains and morina promised that by nightfall we would arrive at our destination when night came however we were still some miles from the spot where according to the girl the clay that was filled with gold nuggets was to be found and so we camped by the side of a little water course which pleased your grandmother very much as she found a little nourishment from the grass growing along its banks we were weary and soon after supper made down our blankets and were soon in dreamland little thinking of the near presence of danger or that our quest for the gold bearing clay would end in tragedy it must have been about two in the morning continued the prospector that we were both awakened by the snorting of the burro getting to my feet and looking in the direction toward which the burro was pointing with lowered ears I 1 was able to see in the dim light a group of indians headed beaded by the old chief there was no time for parley for a flight of arrows was at once directed to my camp I 1 seized my rifle and opened fire intending to scare away the attacking enemy just then morina rose from her blankets and stood by my side but her action was fatal for she had bad hardly gained her feet before an arrow truly aimed pierced her heart and she fell lifeless into my arms I 1 fired again and again into the ambushed foe and after awhile the battle lulled giving me a chance to lay the stricken girl in her blankets where I 1 covered her the best I 1 could being grief stricken at the sad ending of the true and courageous girl then the arrows began flying again and knowing that resistance was useless and not wishing to shed the bl blood of my foes because of my foolish and really reprehensible act in endeavoring to find the treasure trove I 1 lias nastily tily gathered my camp equipment together loaded it on the burro and quickly left the scene of the conflict not forgetting to take the clay jug with me how I 1 managed to get away without being hurt is a mystery to me to this day but I 1 scurried along leading my burro without taking heed of direction only wishing to put as much distance as possible between me and my attackers that night I 1 paused for rest in a clump of giant cactus thirsty and almost famished my grub bag furnished me with some cold rations for I 1 did not dare make a fire and I 1 laid down on the hot sand for a few hours rest long before daylight I 1 was on my way again and the next evening found shelter and water near the head of a box canyon and here I 1 slept like a drunken man far into the next morning when I 1 awoke at last I 1 was surprised to see how late it was and then I 1 realized that if the indians had been trailing me they could have found and captured me without any difficulty by this time and so arrived at the conclusion that the chase had been abandoned which reassured me greatly and so I 1 decided to camp where I 1 was for a few days and to take a much needed rest it must have been nearly a week before I 1 was myself again for I 1 felt like a pro german who had been manhandled man handled for unpatriotic and disloyal utterances which served him right for I 1 am loyal to the bone even if beyond enlistment age but I 1 en joyed my rest immensely and was thinking of packing up again for a fresh start for civilization and had gone out to round up my burro when my attention was called to pieces of rich gold float that had broken from a ledge above and slid down into the canyon upon this discovery I 1 gave up all thought of leaving and in a jiffy was climbing up to the fissure and I 1 saw at a glance that the ledge was quartz that was gold bearing the vein was three feet in width and out cropped above the surface for two feet or more I 1 was not really strong enough to prospect it but I 1 built a monument and put up my location calling it the morina lode after the dead indian girl then I 1 returned to camp and rested until the next day when I 1 located seven more claims making a group of eight in addition to which i 1 secured a water right and being short of grub by this time I 1 manager to kill a slow elk which provided me with meat for the balance of my stay during which I 1 performed the necessary location work then I 1 headed out for the nearest settlement which jl i found to be some twenty miles away here I 1 had a kind reception and when I 1 returned to my new golconda I 1 was accompanied by a gang of stam peders who succeeded in making a number of valuable locations on the same lode for two years I 1 worked my new find treating the ore in an I 1 constructed ted near the spring that furnished my water supply during all this time however I 1 was conscience stricken over the sad fate of the indian giri gin and when I 1 had the chance to leave that region by selling out to a bunch of san berdue capitalists and mining men I 1 willingly consummated the deal for I 1 was anxious to get away but I 1 am glad to state that the mine made a barrel of money for the purchasers and that the morina lode is still one of the leading dividend payers of that desert country 1 I want to tell you old long ears concluded the prospector there ara are always some acts connected with a mans life that he afterwards deeply deplores the chief one in mine being that I 1 allowed morina to leave her people and her lodge to guide me to what may have been after all a mythical deposit of tue te yellow metal and as long as I 1 live I 1 shall feel that I 1 can never repair the wrong imposed upon her even though unwittingly and if the sacrifice of the best gold mine I 1 ever found would bring her back to life again I 1 would gladly suffer the loss and there you are and then some |