| Show PALACIO FLORES FORTUNE 3 james L morgan an extensive rancher in southwest texas is now oft 1 a trip to the east superintending super intending taft construction of devices and machinery for the purpose of procuring a 0 mexican money in the early part ot of the present ice penti ST tury when san antonio was the h how t 4 f t 1 of many wealthy spaniards and the commercial center of all of 07 northern mexico a mule train started for the city of mexico says an antonio correspondent pon dent there were thirty mules each loaded with silver dollars and a considerable amount of gold loin coin the total amount being about the caravan was in charge of captain palacio flores a prominent and trusted employed of the government in addition to the drivers of the mule train there were about fifty well armed and equipped guards the old and well worn national highway through san luis potosi and monterey Lon terey was taken and the dangerous mountain defiles south of Sal tille were passed without any attack on the train being made the rio grande river was crossed a few miles above laredo and the train made its way rapidly toward san antonio in those days the national highway passed through what is now dimmit county tex following the bank of pena creek lor for several miles on the bank of that stream was a favorite camping place which is now called brand rock water hole this hole is located at a sharp bend in the stream and is of unfathomable depths although it evidently has a natural bottom as the water in it does not pass into any interior cavity when this camping place was reached captain flores decided to remain there a few days resting the mules preparatory to making the miles still remaining between there and san antonio he considered that all the dangerous portion of the country had been passed through and only left ten men on guard the first night even this number see seemed m unnecessary as there were no signs of any attack and no pickets were posted on the following day it was about noon on that day when a band of brigands brigande bri gands suddenly rushed upon the unprotected camp out of a dense live oak thicket captain flores and his men were taking their noonday siesta when the attack was made but they did oot inot submit without a desperate struggle the bags of gold and silver were piled in a heap near the deep water hole and when captain flores found that the brigands brigande bri gands were about to get possession of the wealth he ordered the drivers to throw it all into the placid pool the command was obeyed and the brigands brigande bri gands massacred every member of the train party with the exception of a driver named alejondro lajero cajero who succeeded in making his escape proceeding to san antonio where he gave an account of the terrible adventure a record of which was made at that time and is still in existence there his story was discredited until the parties to whom the money had been consigned made an investigation and found the bones of the victims and evidence that the bandits had made efforts to recover ithe wealth from the pool attempts were then made to explore the h hole ole but without success heavy weights have been sunk to a depth of severa several I 1 thousand feet but the bottom tot tom of the hole has never been reached A few months ago james L morgan an eastern capitalist and the owner of an extensive ranch in southwest texas was pas passing sing through dimmit county when he was told the story of the hidden wealth in the brand rock water hole he visited the mysterious spot isi i and became so deeply interested in the remarkable tale that he decided to make a supreme effort to explore the depth of the hole in search 0 ot the and recover the wealth if possible |
