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Show YOU. IV. AMERICAN FOliK, UTAH, SATURDAY, OOTOHKK LA 11ADRE DOIiO. i' wag my fortune some yean ago to be connected with a surveying party western through New Mexico and whose line of examination lay into Arizona, along the parallel, where a railroad is now built. thirty-fift- h A wilder country than that was at that time it would be difficult to imagine. Far apart there were a few wretched United States posts called by but the Navajoes courtesy "forts, and the Apaches the latter under the famed Chief Cochise made it unpleasant traveling through the lofty mountains and across the sterile mesas that distinguish that land. Every man in our party walked with his rifle at his back and his pistols in his belt, and when we lay down on our blankets at night our weapons were within easy reach, and our pickets were as carefully posted as If we were in the presence of an enemy, as indeed we might be said to be at all times, for, though we did. not often catch sight of the wily savages we had every reason to believe that they never lost sight of us. La Sierra Madre, or the Mother Mountain, as the early Spanish explorers very properly called the great continental divide, or watershed. Is crossed by several trails near the latitude mentioned, the most noted being Campbells Pass, fifty miles to the west of Fort Wingate. I had ridden ahead In this pass with two troopers to make some topographical examinations, and was about live miles in the advance of the main party, when an exclamation from one of the soldiers caused me to rein in my horse and to ask the cause of the alarm. I saw an Injun, sir, up there in the woods, said the soldier, indicating the direction with his carbine. In an Instant we were dismounted and watching, with our bridles over our arms and our. carbines ready. After waiting some minutes I began to think the man was mistaken, and was about to give tbe order to remount, when a horse plunged down the steep mountainside, and a glance i ; forest-covere- ' j i : : VN ENGINEER?" HE REPEATED. told me that the remarkable looking person on the creature's back was neither Apache nor Navajo, but a white man like ourselves. This, rider's long hair and beard looked to be as white as the snow on the distant mountain peaks, and bis costume was a fantastic though decidedly picturesque cross between the dress of a Mexican and that of a Northwest hunter. The pommel of his saddle, the buttons on his legglns, the stock of his long rifle and the hilts of his pistols and knife fairly flashed with sliver. He was well mounted, and rode in a way that showed that the years that bad frosted his hair had not lessened his wonderful skill as a horseman. He came fearlessly toward us and shook hands, saying as he did so, with the manner of an educated man: My name la Levi Bronson; did you ever bear of me before? I told Mr. Bronson I never had heard of him before, but to save his pride, for the ronfession seemed to give him I am a civil engineer pain, I added: and have not been long In this region." be repeated. A civil engineer? What do you want In these mountains?" and he waved his hands about him and looked as If he thought me an intruder. I told him that If he rode back toward our party with me I would explain our object; at tbe same time I expressed my surprise that any man should venture Into such (larger- -' ou territory alone. "I know the Indians and the Indians know me." said this remarkable man. "1 am to them the Silver Chief, a great medicine man, who lived with them and nursed them back to heiJth when they sickened before the men of my race came to slay and starve them. Ah, I sometimes blush for the white blood in my veins!" There was a strange gleam in his eyes as he spoke, and I concluded that tbe stranger was not well balanced. I told him the object of our survey, which bad the Pacific Ocean for its objective point and a railroad for its con- -: elusion, but the information did not please him. It is folly to build a railroad through a wilderness, he said. "What is there to support a railroad here? and again he waved his long arms at d bills. the I told him that railroads had become tbe pioneers of civilization, and that along their tracks farms and villages and cities sprang up. That may be in other places, he said, but it is impossible that a railroad should exist so close to Madre d'Oro." "Madre d'Oro?" I repeated. Yes; Madre d'Oro means the mother of gold. Did you never hear of it? I confessed that I never had, and expressed a desire to be enlightened. The old man eyed me for a few sec-- 1 onda in silence, as if Judging whether I was worthy or not; then he shook his head and said: It is my secret, and I do not know you well enough to confide it. I bowed and we rode back to where the engineer corps had formed a camp, Levi Bronson remained with us ncar-- ; Iv a week, and during that time be refused very tempting ofTers to act ns guide for us as far as the Colorado River. He proved himself to be a famous hunter, and he ventured off alone with a perfect contempt for what would have been positive danger to any other man. He was voted crazy" by ill the party, but in me the man excited the liveliest interest, and by many confi-- j dcnces T fled to drew from him the story of bis life, which I felt sure was made up of incidents of no ordinal y kind. The night before he left us he drew me to one side, and, sitting down with liis back to a tree and the flames of a neighboring fire lightning up his picturesque face, he said: And so youd like to know something about Madre d'Oro?" I told him that I should, it he thought me worthy of his confidence. It is a secret, he said, in a half whisper, but then what does it matter If the world knew, so long as only one man can find the place? What place?" The place where all the gold In these rocks and streams comes from La Madre d'Oro the Mother of Gold. Ah, thousands have died trying to find the place, and it may be that now that I know where It is I may not be permitted to enter in, tor you know the Aztecs believe that the wonderful valley is enchanted. Indeed?" Yes, and I am inclined to that belief myself, but then I have spent so many long, weary years searching that It would not do to lose heart, now that untold wealth is within my reach. I agreed with him, and by careful questioning I drew out of him his story of the valley of gold, which I subsequently found to be an established belief among tbe miners of the Northern Mexican states, and to them it came, without doubt, from the Aztecs, who were once the masters of all this land. Within a hundred miles of the place where we were then encamped was the wonderful valley of gold, and Levi Bronson was confident that he knew the exact location. The valley was in the heart of the Sierra Madre Mountains, walled In by towering rocks, and accessible only by a secret passage through which flowed a stream that, excepting on one day In every year, filled up the passage and made ingress impossible. This valley is small in extent and perfectly circular. Through it the river flows cool and clear and filled with fish whose scales are golden. The banks are masses of variegated flowers, and trees ever In blossom made ardelightful shades and fairy-iik- e bors. Birds of the sweetest song and most exquisite plumage, of varieties unknown to the outer, world, make vocal this wonderful valley and flash through Its dark green foliage like animated blossoms. Running across this wonderful valley there is a belt forty feet in width on which no vegetation grows, for the belt Is tbe top of a wall of gold that flashes with Indescribable brilliancy CIVIL j NO. II, ISO". when the sun balances In midheaven IS A MONSTER aud looks lovingly down on Madre dOro. Tbs old Aztec prlestz know well this valley, and as they still cherish ths belief that Montezuma will again appear In the fleth, to lead them against tbe Spanish conquerors whom they have never ceaaed to hate, they think tha wealth necessary to regain their liberties will come from this valley. But one white man ever saw and that was a Spaniard liimed'Jofee who entered through the passage, and. being discovered by tbe guardian prlesta, waa sacrificed to the aun on the golden ledge. And you know where this wonderful valley la?" I asked Levi Bronson, when he had finished his description. Yes," he replied, I am sure I could lead you within one mile of the place." "Are you going there? "I am." And you are not afraid of the guardian priests?" No, for I am a doctor, and I have practiced my profession for years among the Indiana to make them my friends. They would not harm me." But, granting that you can find tbe gold, I asked, cf what use will aucb a fabulous amount be? will only take what I want, he replied. And how much will that be?" I do not know. I have earned a great deal In all these years of working and waiting. I want to make my old age serene and bappy." Levi Bronson wanted me to join him, but I declined, and we each went our separSII way, and I did not bear of him a$&'jns But it ia safe to say he never riicj hed Ia Madre d'Oro. I have often thought of the old man since, and those to whom I have told, the story laughed and aald: He was ror ,aIored and 1,1 evcry repect flt80 that every 'ear eonie spesurely Insane tbe !iKt more1 ed,ble he' a, $Je addtd11to H be any waa, but Perhaps like OliverTwist, the consumer than tbe myriads who from cries for more. The proportion of food youtb to old age give every thought' to the acquisition of wealth, and who of mankind furnished by the fleets seek valleys of gold as inaccessible and along the coast and the snares, nets and fabulous as Levi Bronsona Madre In lines with which fish are captured rivers, etc., is constantly enlarging. d'Oro? New York Ledger. Not only this, but the Industries which fish havp contributed give this class BAD DOLLARS tSTROYED. of animals an Importance second to Women Experts Who Can Detect birds and mammals. Tbe capture of d Counterfeits. fish for manufacturing gelatine, ising-glaand for medicinal purposes is Every working day In the year Uncle Sam destroys a million dollars; de- -, carried on on a large scale, and most of liberately tears up and grinds to pulp the artificial jewelry that so much reone million dollars' worth of paper semble pearls ss almost to equal the money genuine bank notes and green- natural production of the sea. Attenbacks, writes Clifford Howard In the tion has been recently called to the A million large flBh, somewhat resembling Ladies Home Journal. the dollars in one, two, five, ten, twenty, pike, belonging to the family of Ostrog fifty, one hundred, and one thousand lossidae, which inhabits the waters of dollar notes, are daily punched full of Brazil and Guiana. As food fish the holes, cut into halves and thrown Into Arapaima gigas are unequaled, and is a machine that rapidly reduces them already of considerable economical to a mass of mushy Bubstance. When- value In Brazil, where It is highly ever a piece of paper money beeomes valued. As yet, howpvcr. It Is only soiled or torn it may be presented to tbe Aobed for by the native tribes along United States treasury and redeemed. the rivers, although considerable quan Sooner or later every note that clrru-lat- titles are salted for exportation. Ia among the people becomes unfit our Illustration natives are shown for furtber service, for It is bound to dragging fish from streams, and also become dirty or mutilated by con- size. It Is the largest strictly freshstant handling, and the United States water fish in tbe world, Its length be- hungovernment stands ready to give the ing fifteen feet and weighing four bead is without holder of such a note a new note in dred P(,undB- 9cales- but the naked skIn aumea a exchange for it; or, in other words, the horny textur!- wh,(h. taklnB the .for It. redeem mawill The government covers the entire bead. of P,atca clerks of the In this employed jority are scales The very thick, and arrayed of the governimportant department ment are women, many of whom are over the body like pieces of mosaic. the moBt expert money counters and counterfeit detectors in the world. In fact, only experts can properly perform the work that is required; for not only must the soiled and mutilated money be accurately and rapidly counted but all counterfeit notes must lie detected and thrown out. When we consider that some counterfeiters can 30 cleverly imitate genuine money that their spurious notes will circulate through the country without detection, and are not discovered until they are finally turned into the treasury, sune idea of the proflc'ency of these experts can be gained, especially when we bear In mli-that these notes are often so worn that the imprint on them ran scarcely be deciphered. It not Infrequently happens that these bad notes are delected simply by the feel of (hem, which in some cases Is really the only wav of the fraud; lor while a counterfeiter may occasionally succeed in so perfectly imitating the assign of a note as to mislead even an expert, it is next to Impossible for him to counterfeit the paper used by the government. FISH. an 1 I flsh-insan- e ! . Dent-Ma- ss ! ! er : - - The mouth, like that of a pika tt r sein hies. Is quite large and round, with small but numerous teeth. It is with the bones of this fish the Indians arm their books and lances by which it la cuught as well as with the spurs of tbe porcupine. They are also shot with tbe wuurali poisoned arrows of the Macouslic tribe. Strange as It may seem, this poison does not render the fish unfit to eat. Tha Indians sharpen their fishhooks, arrow points and lances on tha teetb of another flsb. tbe Paraya. The Indians prepare a part of the jaw of this fish containing five or six teeth. This la carefully cleansed, a hole is bored through it and fastened to tbe quiver. The weapons are readily sharpened by placing the pointa between the keen edges of any two teeth and drawing them with a twisting motion backward and forward. A number of natives embark in their canoes, armed with lances, bows and arrows and blow guns. As soon as the fish appears it is shot or lanced. Of course it instantly disappears, but ia followed up and shot at again and again until, becoming exhausted. is easily captured. The taking of this splendid fish will doubtless develop into an Important Industry. And I am assured it could be readily bred in our southern waters, as it ia both prolific and hardy. Minnie Siade in New York ledger. A t'amrl'a Vengeance. Camels have a great share of Intelligence, and the Arabs assert that they are so extremely sensible of injustice and that, when this Is carried too far, the inflicter will not find it easy to escape their vengeance, and that they will retain the remembrance of an Injury till an opportunity offers for gratifying their revenge. Eager, however, to express their resentment, they no longer retain any rancor when once they are satisfied ; and it Is even sufficient for them to believe they have satisfied their veneunce. Accordingly, when an Arab has excited the rage of a camel, he throws down his garments in some place near which the animat is to pass, and disposes them in such a manner that they appear to cover a man sleeping under them. The animal recognizes the clothes, seizes them in his teeth, shakes them with violence, and tramples on them in a rage. When his anger Is appeased he leaves them, and then the owner of the garments may make his appearance, and without any fear may load and guide him as he pleases. Interchangeable Milage Tickets. new form of thousand-mil- e ticket, the result of careful consideration and discussion between the railroads and their principal patrons, will be placed on sale September 1 at all important Michigan Central ticket offices. The ticket is sold for $30. with a rebate to the purchaser of $10 when used up In compliance with its conditions, and is accepted on all the lines in the Central Passenger association, forty-fiv- e in number, rovering a vast extent of country. No mileage book has yet been devised so acceptable to all parties concerned and bo advantageous to the holder. Every one who is likely to travel a thousand miles in a year should avail themselves of it, and should consult the nearest Michigan Central ticket agent. A d:M-overln-g Dotton's Xrw School. Boston is to hare a new public school named after Paul Revere, which will cost, including the site, about $3,000,-00The building will be constructed of light pink granite, gray, red and white brick and terra cotta. It will contain public bathing fail I! ties for the children 0. THE LARGEST 4."). FRESH WATER FISIL |