| Show AN ENCHANTED MINK MINE ONE OF TUB OLD STORIE STOKIE THAT ARE ALK TOLD ON THE LOWER LOWEK PACIFIC COST COAST T A about bout sixty ait m 1 from the pacific c coast in sinaloa la is a mountain known as gerro ric de oro or of gold it rises ries ri es in majestic gran grandeur deir from the mid it of cial cring bills grand in 10 but ns in the presence pie sence ok oathia this sl eat gloomy rugged uld kirie kint to the casual observer there la is nothing remarkable about this magnificent mountain moun lain whose sides are covered with vegetation and apparent pare rilly as r smooth as the graday slopes of california calif ornia seen from the dock deck of a asing as ing steamer its immensity is nut realized until the assent is its sides apparently patently ly su so smooth are found to be traversed by deep gorges and by ns fis shadad by giant trees whose interlacing branches bianc bran nes cues cast a sombre gloom over the entrances to the dep ca canoes rions a there is isastia a strange tradition handed down that long ago this hill was the scene of active dirting mir ting that the mountain side now so gloomy and silent echoed the click ot ake hammer and we the voice of the muleteer urging the pati patient e u t animals as ta ty toiled around the a airas erasm tH aart the sin singing ing of the happy miners rubhin ius bing K down the mountain side de their jays ays task done thinking of the bright eyes watching for them and tortillas hortillas tor tillas and frijoles baitin waiting for foi them at their humble little homes but in an evil day all was changed A bind baud of robbers robber lured by b the glitter of the abundant gold 5 old swept down oe side bide like lii e a blast of nie fire apt down ne nieu like dogs doda not leaving a soul alive to tell the tale the tae trea treasure they secured was immense they loaded all the males with 1 treasure re asure and left the place so lately tail lull of life a scene ot of grim death and desolation then anen it the Du duenden duendes Duen endes cleB fairies of by enchantment closed up the eat entrances rances of the mines and it it is said that the spirits of the murdered mui dered miners stul still dwell in the mines aines ii nothing but war in its cruelest crudest form says a the st louis globe democrat could induce a mexican to leave his nome home and seek beek shelter in the gloomy eaves caves of old cerro del oro ore for foi it is the abode of spirits ard and demons no one cares carea to venture alone lato us its dept depths many queer tales are told of the sights seen by venturesome persons persona tait it Is under a spell of enchantment is well known by the old and firmly believed by the young th that it extensive expensive mining his has been done in this mountain mouD tAin no one can doubt as numerous nume iou panas bettios where ore oie was assorted and aad i ulus rulus of astr ast rastas where the cold was extracted extrac iLd prove that beyond akoub and by digging into the piles specimens ot 01 free gold ore are ob tampa occasionally in the neighboring v it es while excavating foundations im houses I 1 bars of gold have bee heeb i discovered dic ivend aud and ornaments ot of gold out oue leave been ua but there are no gold anin iino kaohu to exist eist within leagues of this mountain once every year the portals of the mines are opened on the eve of tit st john toward evening an old man mail appears ears at the mou h of the tunnel and the as of old the ghostly actors going through tile the work asiu asin as iu life the meu men with their hammers the muleteers mule at their arrastias arr astras all busily basily at work but 4 silent as the graye grave A young man who was belated while looking for cattle came unexpectedly upon the scene lie was fixed power of motion and was forced against his bis will to see the ghostly crew at work over the glittering golden treasures at 12 the ghostly captain gave the signal and all hands quit work and seizing their na napkins containing the mid midi ngat girt lunch I 1 lit thell the urea resto to neat heat their tortillas hortillas tor tillas and ad coffee ane fire was an unearthly blue and burned with 4 flickering uncertain light the eyes of each and every one were lit up with an uncanny alook look of phosphorescent light at a word they all resumed work until at the crowing of a cock at a distant hamlet all vanished and the unwilling spectator found himself again capable of motion in the gray morning he rushed frantically home tearing his flesh and clothing in his mad tusa through the thorny brush arriving at hon homede rehe was met by a horrified look from his wife who fell fainting inting ta to the ground his hair had turned snow white and while only 25 years old ire he appeared to be an old luau of GO I 1 years after this some little girls were out gathering wild fruit they came up upon a level place free of bushes which they sever never remembered to have seen looking up they saw the entrance to a tunnel and just J inside was seated a venerable old man who was making motions for far them to come closer but they being frightened ran home the next day a party of men visited the spot but it was a tangled labyrinth of thorny brush inter with large trees the tradition f further states that in only one way ean the spell be broken that a person of perfectly pure heart must walk boldly up to the mouth of the mine and boldly addressing this old man must ask who he is ind and what he wants tie he will offer to the speaker the wealth of the mountain only on the promise that one tenth of the wealth taken from the mine be devoted to masses for the souls of himself ana bis murdered companions 41 |
