Adventure Magazine Cover, February 3, 1921 — page 194: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

188 Lost Mines DVICE for hunters of ’em—work for day’s wages: Question: —‘‘I am going into the mountains of Texas this Winter to prospect for gold and minerals, and also trap. Have you any information of lost mines in Texas? Have heard there were some. What kind of an outfit would you advise for a stay of all Winter?. Traps and guns: Being a resi- dent would we need license? And have we a right to prospect on any land under fence? Please don’t mention name in Adventure.” — ——, Sipes Springs, Texas. Answer, by Mr. Whiteaker:—Your letter received this morning and I will say in answer that trapping, hunting, and prospecting for minerals are all right to pass away time for pleasure, but as a livelihood it would not be much of a success during these days of high prices. There are several lost mines that have been talked about a great deal but as to the reliability of such reports I can not say. I have not seen any one that has had success in finding one, although I have known several of my friends to make the attempt. In one of the mountains of Lampasas County there is said to be one that is very rich—r5 jack loads of gold was thrown back into the shaft of the mine when a band of Indians attacked the miners and drivers, who were Spaniards. The shaft was then concealed by boulders and small rocks to keep the Indians from finding it. In the fight that followed all of the miners were killed except one, who made his escape and made a map of the mine and location. He went back in later days but was not able to find the place. The mountain is on a ranch and fenced in. The owner will not allow any more digging on the land, for some have dug deep holes and stock fall into them. On the Colorado not far from Llano there is said to be another mine that is lost. In the south- western counties that border on the Rio Grande there are several mines that are looked for every year, but none have been found that I know about. I can not vouch for the truth of any of these mines. You would have to get the permission of the owners of land that you wish to prospect on if the land was under fence. That ought not to be a hard thing to do though. A high-power rifle—.30-30 or some other such cali- ber—for big game; a 12-gage double-barrel shotgun for ducks, turkeys, geese, quail, squirrels, and other small stuff; as for the traps wait until you arrive at your destination and then find out the size of the animals in that vicinity. There is no use in loading yourself down with a lot of traps that may not be of use to you. You will be able to get traps in nearly all hardware stores or in general mercantile stores in all parts of the country. Take a small pick, a tap hammer, a small shovel, a woodsman’s hand ax—you will need these in pros- pecting—some woolen army blankets, woolen socks and shirts, extra shoes, two shelter halves to keep out the rain and the cold, extra pants, leather leg- gings, a strong pocket knife to use in skinning, forks, spoons, tin plates and cups, frying-pan or skillet, coffee-pot, a water-proof match-case, and if you can find a pack carrier like we used in the army it will be the very thing that you need to carry all the above in. Adventure All of the above can be rolled into a pack that can easily be carried on your back. The above will be about all that you need so there is no use in taking a trunk or several suit-cases full of things with you. I believe that I have covered all of your questions. If there is anything else that you want to know about my territory, I’ll be glad to give you the best that I have. Pearl-Fishing [ts fascinating work to talk about—but how many people do vou know who got to be millionaires working at it? Question: —“‘T would like to ask in regard to pearl- fishing. What is the best way to hunt them? Where I live here (on Caddo Lake) the water is shallow; the deepest parts are only ten or twelve feet. There are lots of shells here but few pearls, so the shells would prove a greater compensation than the pearls, so I would like to know where I could find a market for the shells. Would like to know if a diving-suit could be used without an air-pump in that shallow water—ten or twelve feet. Please give me the address of some company that makes diving-suits; also the address of the nearest pearl and shell buyers, to where I live.’—W. M. MarsuHAtt, Oil City, La. _ Answer, by Mr. Spears:—Some of best pearls found were in Caddo Lake a few years ago. Write Fur News, 71 W. 23d St., New York City, for price- list of their books—‘‘Pearls and Pearling,” one you want. : Diving-suits are used in Indiana and Illinois. Write Fisheries Commission, Washington, D. C., for information about*shells, pearls and their markets. They’ll send you a number of pamphlets. Mention Louisiana and Texas. Shells are high-priced, and you should be able to market some of the shells there, though southern pearls are not so good as northern of same weight. Shells, I think, are about same price. Bait for the Muskys i Ree at the risk of being called a senti- mental fool, I personally am for using artificial bait for fly-fishing every time it will catch the fish that natural bait will get: Question: —“Please oblige me with all the informa- tion you have on hand, on fresh-water fishing in New York State (upper part) and the Thousand Islands and neighboring lakes. Following are a’few questions I would like to have information about: 1. Best live bait for muskellunge. 2. Best artifical bait for muskellunge. 3. Which is best here, live or artificial bait? 4: Best bait for pickerel, pike, bass, both artificial and live. 5. What kind of an assortment of tackle must I have? 6. The best camping outfit for traveling by auto- mobile. 7. If I put up each night in a hotel on the trip up, and stay in a hotel while up there for five or six days, what will the expenses amount to (roughly esti- mating it)? Go NOOK = a (C@