b'THE OLD STORYTELLERThe Magical Mystery Mountain ChristmasBy Hank Sheffer, The Old StorytellerH ere it is December alreadysack of rich gold ore. He tried desperately to disclose theOver the years the line of demarcation, which separates with my favorite seasonlocation where he had found the precious metal, but infact from fiction, has become terribly blurred. Stories of the year approaching.the end, he too, took the secret to his grave. that I heard 40 years ago are vaguely recognizable The High Desert is so differentin their telling today. Creative, fictitious, imaginings from my original stompingAnother luckless foray into the mountains took place inare often thrown into the mix and after ever so many grounds. The delightful warmthFebruary of 1954. A doctor named Burns decided to gorenderings they fall right into place with all the others, of the Sonoran winters is far more to my liking than theup into the mountains alone. Burns had mentioned tono matter how true they may or may not be.frosty wind-driven cold brought about by the snow andfriends that he was going on a short prospecting trip. The ice that is typical of the upper northeastern seaboardsojourn was strongly advised against but the doc thoughtTo that end, I bring to you a happy-go-lucky sort winter seasons.he knew better and just laughed it off. Such warningsof adventurer by name of William Weihnachten should not be taken lightly and as fate would have it (orGlcklichevidently not from here. That was quite More often than not I find myself reminiscing aboutwhatever else might have been in play) he didnt come outa handle for a man who simply preferred to be called the many stories and legends surrounding the famedthat afternoon as he had promised.As was the case withBilly. What brought Billy to the Arizona Territory Superstition Mountains which take up the majority of myHematite Frink, a search party was assembled. late in the 1880s was apparently the same sweet scent view facing easterly from the ranch. So many of the storiesof opportunity that brought everybody else. There was deal with the un-niceties that overtake the gold-seekingLate that night he was found where he had fallen, shotnot a lot known about Billy other than he seemed to be zealots who come to the area. Most of them due, in athrough the guts just like ole Hematite. Despite thequite a pleasant, educated, though shy fellow. His shyness great measure, to their fascination with the exploits of onereport given by the autopsy surgeon, not to mentionmade him appear to be standoffish, even though that itinerate old prospector by name of Jacob Waltz. However,the expert testimony given by a ballistics expert, thewasnt really the case at all. That said, he really did enjoy Waltz seems to have left behind more mystery thanMesa, Arizona coroners inquest decided that the deathhis privacy nevertheless and eventually spent a lot of anything else. It was true that he sported a small pokehad been accidental, and let it go at that. The fact wastime on his own in the quietness of the mountains.that was generally chock-full of gold dust, while othersthat the surgeon and ballistics expert both issued sworn in search of the same prize were generally not nearly sostatements that it was physically impossible for the woundIn his early rambling around in the mountains, he successful. To add insult to injury, there were those whoto have been self-inflicted, accidentally or otherwise. discovered a small abandoned stone cabin and nearby may have come close to the location of his strike but paidwas a stream running through a clump of little shade much too high of a price for their efforts, winding up veryOn May 27, 1954, several prospectors reported to thetrees. The whole scene was a bit ramshackle, but for dead in their quest. There are a few that come to mindauthorities that they had found a human skeleton in theall intents and purposes, it was still in fix-it-up-able right off the batall of which, are to date, unsolved. Superstitions not far from Weavers Needle. A few dayscondition and to his way of thinking it was just what later, on June 6, 1954, Judge Norman Teason, Justicehe needed. It wasnt long before people began to realize One of them was Guy Hematite Frink. Early on, heof the Peace and acting coroner for Apache Junction,that this Billy was a pretty handy fellow. He could fix just was fortunate to return from the mountains, on a fewheaded into the mountains with a search party. Hisabout anything and was always happy to lend a hand occasions, with a number of rich gold samples. However,hopes were that he might clear up the mystery of theto anyone who needed help. When he came to town he in November of 1937, his luck apparently ran out. Hedisappearance of a certain Joseph H. Kelly, from Dayton,always had trinkets he made from old horseshoes and had ventured back into the Superstitions once again, butOhio with an examination of the skeleton. Kelly hadnailshe brought simple little jewelry pieces, which he then, was not heard from for a while. Frinks absencevanished more than two years prior, and no trace of himmade with pretty stones he found in the mountain. He quickly became a cause for concern with the mountainshad ever been found. Upon the arrival at the location ofalways had things he could sell to make some money reputation for having an unforgiving nature. A searchthe bleached bones, it was immediately determined thator would sometimes give away just because it made was mounted and sure enough, after two days, he wasthe skull was missing. Further scientific tests proved thatsomeones day a little brighter (including his Im bettin).found shot through the guts, dying on the side of a trailthe skeleton was, in fact, what remained of Kelly. He, up in the La Barge Canyon. Next to him was a smalltoo, had been shot through the guts and left to die. After a while, when Billy had gotten to know folks a little better, he didnt feel anxious around them like he had before. And folks who had figured him to be just one more luckless prospector were learning there was much more to this Billy person than they had originally believed, even if they couldnt quite put their finger on it.Very quickly nearly a year had passed by. The hot summer months gave way to the fall season. During that time Billy noticed that while the people were all pleasant to one another, none of them ever really stopped and talked to each other. He didnt get it but personally, I guess he figured that it was just the way folks were in those days.Billy, on the other hand, had become a lot closer to a few of the people in town. He knew the barber, Jack. They talked about all sorts of things together, probly because barbers know lots of stuff they gather from other people. However, the barbers trade was never applicable where Billy was concerned, even though his hair and beard had grown considerably and was turning gray. The fading color was due to Billys tough lifestyle on the mountain they surmised.Then there was the mercantile general store. The storekeeper was a jovial character with lots to talk about, 10 December 2019'