The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 24, 1899, Page 22

e ———— THE SUNDAY OCALL Its Discovery Results in the Finding of the Long Lost Aztec Trail, Which May Lead to the Rich AS the lost trafl of the Astecs, leading to one of nature’s vast reservoirs of golden treasure, been discovered on the rugged sides of Blerra Bimnca, the loft- gost and greatest mountaln of Colorado? Will the uncovering of this trall lead to e reopening of one or mors of the won- trfull)’ rich mines from wiich the Mon- of Mexico drew their golden h, which tempted Cortez and his frecbeoters and led to the down- and virtual extinctien of the people led the Egyptians of the new world? Il the result be the establishment of & Suining section which will add millions in d each year te the wealth of Colorado the mation? These are questions which most deeply @onoern the people of Alamosa, the tropelis of the festile Ban Juan Valley, archacclogists and the merchants foresce a great future for the town. e84 questions have resulted tn the gath- @ring on the rugged sides and in the ches of Blerra Blamca of nearly two ousand bardy miners, with about iwo $housand more men of tha tenderfoot mriety. Bierra Blarca, fn every respect the greatest mountain in Colorado, !s the southern terminus of the serrated Bangre de Cristo Ilange, which forms the castern Poundarv of the Ban Luis Par whbich was once & glgantic 1 w 7200 feet above the ses f rises 14,488 feet abo than thres hundred feot nowned Plkes Peak. It miles arcund at mber venty miles in oircumfer. e. It s about ef osa end sixte rt Garlar When the from the Ea ago and @rst of these adventuro frem the last of the red r another race of men pouth with great pac and strong guards of a siiver at gold at Tl prospectors for nearly & € was dons processes of ex- e black sand of d renewed atten- Cristo. s and Loul terested in Bierra WO years ago and sent a til new . Ore Jvain &n Routs for the Mina, Eiiresiins - Their pesapector te the mountain. He made his way, after surmounting mahy difficulties, to the very top of the peak, far above th line of eternal snows. There he found a fine outcropping of porphyritic quartz. A geries of ¢ & was at once staked out, end work on a t el shaft was soon afterward begun, This mine is 14,400 feet above sea le and is the highest {n the United States. Another mining corapany, which bad been working at a lower level, 150 above the timber line, likewlse struck pay rock. News of these strikes was bruited about last winter despite the efforts to keep them from the ge public, and even before the snow was off the lower levels &nd out of the guiches in the spring pros- pectors began to gather at Alamoea and other places on the raflroad from which teems could be taken to the great moun- tal. The first of these were dres farmers, and pretended to be such search of ranches {n the 8an Luis Valley. When they hired conveyances tensibly to drive to & ranch fiear the town. Then came the filing of the first claims for locations at the county seat, and then the secret was out. . A grand rush was made from Alamosa, Hopper and other to’ along the Denve i Rlo Grande, reinforced by miners * no longer “looking for ranches. us hundreds of stukes were d all over the vast western and I {des of the moun- tain. One bands of Extracted Riches. 8 m.m !or xE.s place & storm 'L'fl swept away all truces of its former loce tion. The slab was misiald in some way, but he could 1t with - cumptantiel accuracy, and he made & rough sketch of it. This sketch was shown to a student of Mexican history, &end was u ronounced an Aztec guide po a8 intended to point the Wl?‘ tee mine no or r with cumstances do Valdez cannot say pointed, and onl uncover the_ 10 A ry of the Black went X p the ca the w! tha canvon v Black i attem; Pilot Boat. Continued from Pege Twanty-Ome ally, of course, It becomes an th’;ct lor the pilot t: h the ship, and 80 we Beglected 1 il night long ights wers burning, ither on our b e nita and noth- ng passed though one steamer, we u ev ‘, out taklug & pilot boats. * into port with- from either of the Next morning sew us comparatively et~ tled down In our little floating homb.’ The oldest pllot of the fleet played a marvel- ous game of solitaire all day long, with a tience worthy of a better cause. Sol- talre is a favorite game with pilots, by Teason of the loneliness of thelr occlpa- tion and the long pericds of enforced we!uns they have to endure. The day's routine on board # pllot boat is very simple. The crew consists of thres en and a mate. or & boatkeeper, who s & responsible man capable of takin, charge of the vessel when required. often happens that there i{s a sudden de- mand for pllots and they all, fncluding the captain, have to take ships into port, Then the boatkeeper assumes coutrol and steers the boat home, unless he too should be called upon for duty. In that case @ responsible member of the crew takes command and the pllotboat, her capacities exhiausted, secks her moorings off Meiggs wharf. Frequently the pilot boats' have beer the means of eaving many lives. The lat- est instance occurred but a few months ago. It was the pathetic story of the lighthouse keeper's son, sick unto death, no medical mid nearer than San Fran- clsco, and & stormy sea between. The only boat on the island was a small skiff and into this the keeper, his wife, his wite's sister, the sick boy and another man crowded. The invalld was ladd on o mattress in the bottom of the crazy craft while his mother held a three-months-old baby to her bosom. A strong southwester wea blowing and once the boat cleared the int return was hopeless. The craft oved quite unmanageable, but, luckily, ust toward dusk, Captein Jordan, cruls g in the America, picked up the half- mlm skiff. Hurledly he transferred to_another boat and crowded sutaly’ but waddest of Qu’Fe died g oly, all, he di e pllots refer with nugnmon to the sanner in which the l‘l.h ouse depart- {ll: ignores the North Farallones, 4 ts most dangerous rocks,” the there is not gcn a t, to alone a 1 IA'P There bhave Whence “the Egyptians of the New World” yeveral wrecks on this resf. Years the American ship Champlain was so8t, with of her hands, and still later the & elf up there int in & o corded casus how many and nov “Once & ship for, with &l ooner Salil And, w. sterious piled her- se still, the pilots ay at many - eére is no saying ve been lost here said a captain, es she would be done hands, end months later she ted at' Lloyd’s as missing.” not the wreckage which afford traces of her?”’ could wash ashore,” was would ell go north or ; the current but it would not reach the 4 all through Sun- ed well to the t a fresh breeze, not a the horizon. Then, toward alm, such a damp, dreary, 5 one reads about in mys- )f the sea. from out the molsture- would come a strange, S something like the noise made by a siren. Then the calm waters of the ocean would be lifted up and a monster whale would rise cioss beside our ¥ B 1 wondered what would | » underneath us, -xy‘.uy. lifting their huge out of the water and bringing wn with a resounding crash, which sent clouds of luminous spray fly- directions. sald Captain Jordan, “as we at smoking on the rall of the cockpit, ‘a whale li{ted its tall right over the side of the achooner. Luckily he did not bring it down en eur deck.” Then tiis talk drifted naturally into the subject of sea serpents, but as I wish to keep within the strictest Mmits of truth I will not repeat the yarns 1 heard. Oid Blll Kelly, the boat-keeper, who was with Perry In the Constitution, knows an infinite variety of mea stories, and why should he not, for few men have had a ‘wider and more varled experience of the pea. Tall and wiry, his lean face tanned by long exposure, he still stands erect and slert, In spite of his 74 years. Think of his career, ve landamen who sleep comfortably eévery night in your soft beds. For sixty-four years, ever since he was & lad of 10, he has roamed the facs of every ocean. Ten times he has round- ed the stormy Horn; he has gone wh ing in the tropical Bouth Pacific and fish- ing in tho bitter cold of the Bering Sea. He has fought for his country, too, and receives a well-earned penslon 'from Uncle Sam. He served on board the tur- ret ship Monadnock during the naval at- tacks on the Bouthern ports, and was resent at Mobile, New Orleans and a ozen other bloody actions. His luck was with him, and he came through without a scrateh. A long and trying life, yet to- day he !s as hale and vigorous as ever, and when it comes to reefing m‘1 main- sail lays out on the boom and handles the reef earring with ell the agility and dexterity of the youngest seaman. Monday morning found us off-the light- sbhip, having traveled just twelve miles in geventeen hours, and hers we lost our ilot, for, just before breakfast, the o arter and smashed turning them Juwt atter 1 stepped on board a ke over the 5 five of the deck inside out, bunks and all. Another close call occurred a couple of years ago, when We Wwere crossing the bar In a heavy sea. The wind suddenly fell, and we wera be- calmed amid the breakers. No less than eleven huge seas fell on board. But the good little schooner lived through it all - right, and comparatively little damage war don % ne o remarkabla’ accom- plishme: pilot {s their of sure- BILt sighted, his how heading. he Is able to add the , Where she 1s from, and 1d the Farallones, s le speck of canvas. “What vessel is was the first question. “Will she * the second. As she gradually rose the horizon, every detail of h rigging was criticized. The first point ascertained was that she had no skysails, next her large xafl-zog;fll proclaimed her an American bark. Vas she the S. G. Wiider or the R. P. Rithet or, the Haydn Brown, all American barks® due fiom Hawall with sugar cargoes? Then, as the glistening black hull appeared above the sea line, the captain took another look through his glasses. “Long gilt head" was all he sald. It was the Haydn Brown, and we set our gaff-topsail and stood toward her. “Valuabl» cargo,” observed tain, “‘she’'ll take a pilot” 1 may ex- plain that if & captain refuses to take a ilot, no matter how well ho may know e port, he runs a risk of forfeiting his insurance should n.ng disaster overtake the vessel. The underwriters may de- clina to pay, but if a certified pllot is employed they cannot dispute the claim. However, as would have it, the dn Brown d 4 to save haif her . We close under £tern, our eervices w lald our course for another t appearing beyond the Farallones; hen ensued quite a pretty little game of hide and seek. Eeveral salls popped up all of & sudden around the horizon: a largs sbip towing out—but we did not trouble HERE IS THE. HIGHEST GOLD MINE IN THE WORLD On the Top of Sierra Blanca, 13,500 Feet High. - [ T g e e Jhe Commodore Mine. ber—several small coasting and “There she is,” cry half a dozen velces finally a three-masted sc we simul eously. There was nothing to be northward of the first She seen but a little grayish , Bomewhat back- s we toue than its clouded Long ber r id h d her to_be the Mar her we knew n we got closer we made out & large which sailed from Hawall q one of the fleet of steel day as the Haydn Brown ich rench, stimulated by had made the voyage of 2 ral Government subsidy, have re- same time, arriving exactly cently been building. She seemed badly hour. We knew, of course, managed; she kept on running before th wind, instead of heaving to, as she shoul would not take a pilot, but have done. she was good for half fees right down upon he 4 e we salled s if there t's he doin preme contempt for tion. “Wish I could The ever re cue, had m ble for rred wi “Shall I try t asked z‘.dnxx two pllots 16 the Hghtshi “Wouldn't,”” re Captain Jordan, night fruitl Jot with a foreignaf, tell what i of @ ¢rew he's got, or whetther they m age the s or dr an T, or a bright lght northward, close to Po lighthouse and the ship’. et most as_one, cape the k t was 9 o'clock, I fresh \velterl?’ breeze blowing cry from the helmsman abead, sir,” the captain it {nstantly, and away, like @ h from the leash, went the little A in mearch of her quarry. There was no hurry, no fuss, no excite- ment. Everyihing was in readiness for just such an emergency. In a moment ths fiylog {ib and gaff topsall were set, and with all the canvas she could carry the schooner bent down to her work. ‘Where was that elusive will-o'-the-wisp light we were chasing? Again and agaln the ¢ black the last d still & pi coal hul Captain_Jordan on catching her away to the nor expected prize, through our fingers and bafore we cc our see her =lip The breeze was light nywhere near wé burned our torchlight, but got no ; 2 . > t . EOL 1O Te- {ha Lady Mine, pilot-boa the innes Ly B e Rt an AT far patlence gtation, had slipped fn and made the cap- gwering light came from over the waters, ‘Gno Sthor tria wnd) far away between Point Reyea aud the Farallones, “‘Hard a-lee!” shouts the skipper. Round he spins like & top, and away we go on resh tack. T'll catch him this time,” exclaimed the captain. “Can’t make out what be's after, Why doesn't he burn anotber light?” ‘With patience, the light came, and it was evident we were closing on our cha, “All hands to board ship,” and our | tle crew tumbies up from below and ar schoon per resum ended ou then habltt sway. Practic ert though we speaking the General tralfa. Now it was all for the shors to ged 8 few hours’ rest bsfore commencing other cruise. However, on our way {m we met tha Bonita, and received ords to waif for the outgoing Panama mi steamer. It meant 8o b delag de. but pilots take ophio- Our old friend, Ca 7, Tom us, having ' had , and then we made all sail for whart, groups ltsel{ on the forecastle. A moment befora the schooner's de now they L were in darkn fllumined by & to Forward the little g men, straining their eyes into the amidships the polished deck, 2 with moisture; abaft the captain, stand- A ing solitary and watchful in the cockpit. >up of rough-cos glo said the captain, as we sels spoken and twe lots placed on board during the cruiss. 1d the finest weather I have seen for & long ‘time." J ROSE-SOLEY. NCTRESS MEMORIZES 4000 WORDS AN HOUR HE mental collapse of poor Victory Bateman, which is said to have been entirely due to her fll-advised at- tempt to make herself mistress of a repertoire the extent of which was far beyond her real capacity, has aroused a new interest in the question of brain power and brain endurance. Ambitious and indefatigably {ndustri- ous, Miss Bateman simply ‘‘drove a will- ing horse to death,” for she crowded her brain until its delicate ctructure gave way entirely under the unsupportable strain, and her friends were obiged to place her in an asylum for the insane. While Miss Bateman was crushed by her self-assumed mental burden, Miss ar] Nannary, who 18 known all over the coast, has welghted herseil far more heavily end has experienced no ill effects what- ever, Miss Nannary, however, has with- out doubt one of the most phenomenall quick end retentive memories possesst by any member of her particularly ex- acting profession. generally received opinion that theatrical eople are. as & rule, particularly blessed n the matter of memories, it is in reality by no means a fact, for some of the most brilllant etars in the dramatio firmament find it fmpossible to include more than a dozen roles in their repertoires, and even threse they are obliged to restudy if any appreclable length of time intervenes be- tween the dates of thelr presentation. Many of our most brilliantly intellectual actors and actresses find that after years of wvere study their ability to commit their lines to memory easily and well be- comes much diminished, sometimes to an extent which is annoyingly inconvenlent, this being agaln, of course, the result o: too assiduous application. The case of Migs Nannary, therefore, is g0 unusual as to be almost, if not quite, without 2 pa lel. While the Eastern leading lady con- ders herself as well equipped if she has reportoire embracing fifty ‘parts, our ejong at a tremendous rate, her existence depended upon reaching port at the earliest possible moment. She hardly cared to pause for a pilet, though Captain Mur{)hy. breakfustless, leaped into the and was on board in a few minutes. “It is easy enough boar now,” eaid Ceptain Jordan, “‘though winter, when I went on Juan, & -1-1':1; ship, it was a different story. i was bl 3 northwester and had grave doubts as to wh 1t woul be poesible o mas the trip, T appeaied ):" elly. an do if r he zu.d. th & pair of aculls.’” He went ith m in the boat, handling her himself, an SR e up under her leo clever Western actress is excellently able to perform a different role nearly every night in the year, should she so choose, end do so, too, without having recourse to restudy. Miss Nannary l‘i the present time {8 thoroughly famillar with T- ent plays, and is letter-perfect in her own erein. Her Il:\ln seems to be of a ¢! that she has a on ‘word br&n ' and reckonin, bllflnm American on, she doubtless can this distinction. ot only d Notwithstanding the ~ been proven that she can commit, and correctly, fifty “sides” of seventy-five words each {n the astonishingly brief space of ffty minutes. Buch surprising feats as this even she does not perfo) over-frequently, but that she is capabl of go doing is susceptibls of demonsiratiom at any time.