In fact, many cities in Arizona were named by the miners that flocked to their respective areas. The quartz veins of the mine produced 366,000 ounces of gold over the next century. Legends of lost gold have long been part of Arizona history. 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These sites exist in some of the most rugged, dangerous wilderness areas of the U.S. Forest Service, said George E. Johnston, president emeritus of the Superstition Mountain Museum. Pegleg Smith was a rugged mountain man who traded furs and supplies, rustled horses and trapped beaver. But the mine remains shrouded in mystery, so much so that it might not exist at all. All human development, from large cities to small towns, shines light into the night sky. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. The group wandered around the desert unsuccessfully, and Pegleg ended up deserting the group and turn up later in Los Angeles. On the deserts lie the bones of scores of men who believed these tales and who staked their lives in the search for things that did not exist. - arizona gold mine photos et images de collection Where he digs for gold and searches for the legendary lost Dutchman mine. Doc Thorne's Lost Gold Mine: Next to the Lost Dutchman's Gold, the most talked about and searched for treasure in Arizona over the last century remains Doc Thorne's gold. Granger distinguished three main elements to the story, with the most complete version of the story incorporating all three legends. James C. Bell, later of Globe, with two companions joined this party near Prescott and were made members, while four more joined at Fort Verde. Gold miners Dakota Fred and his son Dustin are determined to make a fortune no matter the risk. In 1932, campers found a note from him bobbing in Arizona's Salt River. The man brought pouches of gold nuggets he dug from the quartz vein to an assayer in Phoenix. Come and visit Goldfield Ghost Town today! A passing prospector had told him to hike a half-mile up the wash to a 20-foot-high wall on the right bank. 2. To help you get started on your journey, I will share with you some of the most famous legends and tales about lost mines and how they were once discovered and then lost again. To this day, both lost mines are actively sought after by old time prospectors and treasure hunters. He gathered the black pebbles thinking they were copper and carried them to Los Angeles where he later discovered they were gold. Where can you find these magnificent perennial plants? There is a Superstition Mountain Museum at 4087 N. Apache Trail, Highway 88 in Apache Junction. But will big risks lead to an even bigger pay out? It is not certain who these people were; some believe they were Salado or Hohokam Indians who populated this part of Arizona several centuries ago. They were friendly, and he gave her hints about the mine's location. Lynx Lake Mineral Withdrawal Area & Gold Panning Trail, Prescott. Lost Cities & Ancient Mysteries of the Southwest by David Hatcher Childress, Adventures Unlimited Press, 2009. Dr. DeCourcy searched for years, and was never able to find the three buttes the miner described on his death bed. Back in 1540 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led a large expedition across Arizona in search of the mythical Seven Cities of Gold. The Apache separated into several bands, whose trails were followed by small detachments of soldiers, the most westerly by Sergeant Crossthwaite and two privates, Joe Wormley and Eugene Flannigan. Research shows that spending more time on social media is associated with body image issues in boys and young men. Wild beaches, snow-capped mountains, dense woods, and lush rainforests can be found across America. For almost 120 years now, theyve been looking for it. The lure, he said, continues to draw treasure hunters from all over the world to the Superstitions. Arizonas Gold Rush Join DesertUSA as we continue the search for gold in the Desert. Monica is a staff writer for Only In Your State, photo editor for The Mesa Legend, and previously a staff writer for The Navajo Post. Arizona Gold Mining Adventure, Phoenix. The butte was one of three, thus entering the significant landmark of three buttes in most versions of his story. Mining towns such as Tumco, Bodie, Oatman and Randsberg were once booming with growth due to the mining operations which provided jobs and drew gold seekers from all over the country. Above it were two quartz veins, one narrow and the other sixteen feet wide. Most of the stories of lost mines had to them an Indian annex. Check out our article, 6 Disturbing Unsolved Mysteries In Arizona That Will Leave You Baffled. Common reasons for the mines being lost include: New Evidence About the Lost Dutchman Mine (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); DesertUSA Newsletter -- We send articles on hiking, camping and places to explore, as well as animals, wildflower reports, plant information and much more. Notes and Author: This article is primarily a tale told by James Harvey McClintock between the years of 1913 and 1916 when he published a three-volume history of Arizona called Arizona: The Youngest State. 623.934.6882 He claimed to have been abducted by Navajo in 1854, discovering a rich gold vein during his captivity. The richest always was somewhere out in the desert, beyond water, or within almost inaccessible mountains, where wild Indians guarded the golden secret handed down to them by their forefathers. There May Be a Long-Lost Gold Mine in the Arizona Mountains By: Mae Rice For more than a century, adventurous souls have sought the Lost Dutchman Mine, and since 1891, more than a hundred people have claimed to find it. Within a year, Thomas and others began searching for the hidden gold and even sold maps with instructions to get to the mine. Pegleg, also known as Thomas Smith, lost his leg to an arrow during a trapping expedition in the fall of 1827. Get-rich-quick schemes are as American as the Fourth of July. Wormley reached the river, almost demented from his sufferings, and was unable to guide a party back into the desert. A few mines are still being actively worked today, but most mining companies that have tried to revive the old mines have been unsuccessful. Below, in the sand of the wash, was almost a pavement of gold nuggets. It has been looked for in Colorado, California and in two places in Arizona the other one being near Wickenburg, 180 km north-west of the, Granger distinguished three main elements to the story, with the most complete version of the story incorporating all three legends. This evidence, along with the stories and records of gold transport issued by Waltz, confirms the legend of the Lost Dutchman. Prospectors often recite stories that support the fabled legend of Pegleg's lost mine. Some writers have indicated that there actually was a Miguel Peralta whose family operated a gold mine but this was in the 1860s, near Valenciana in California. Here's the thing about the House on the Rock it's certainly a sight to behold, but it's no museum. According to legend, this was when he spotted the large quartz outcropping, which later became the Vulture Mine. Lost Mines & Buried Treasures of Arizona by W.C. Jameson, University of New Mexico Press, 2009. The mines involved usually contain a high-value commodity such as gold, silver or diamonds. A number of other people, in addition to the Peralta family, had knowledge of the mine's location. The point of rendezvous was near old Fort Grant, where 267 men joined them, divided into five companies. #s. Statue of Scotlands beloved poet, Robert Burns, Loch Ness, Nessie map and Urquhart Castle Ruins, S, Christmas lights on the historic Sanquhar Tolbooth, Flock and ruins, Sanquhar Castle, Scotland. But did you know that they can all be found within Washingtons Olympic National Park? After the mine became unprofitable, Miguel Peralta turned to fraud. 480.982.7661 Love Arizona? The most significant and debilitating bout occurred in 1849 after gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill the previous year. The Cerro Colorado Mine, which sits a little less than 20 miles from the Arizona-Mexico border, produced mostly silver but also small amounts of gold, lead, and copper. Shasta, Californias Mysterious Volcano, is an Enigma Waiting to be Explored, Three New Species of Snakes Discovered in Graveyards and Churches in Ecuador. Why 2023s Venus-Jupiter conjunction wont be bettered until 2039. One story describes the journey of a discharged soldier who followed Pegleg's trail from Yuma to Los Angeles. Maricopa County is also popular for prospecting because much of the gold here is found in sizable pieces that can be found with metal detectors . His partner had been killed, and he had escaped only by a miracle. So far. Tiffany Owens is a freelance travel writer and the Phoenix/Scottsdale City Expert for HomeandAbroad.com. Thorne pretended that the sand was of little value, but furtively took all that he could. The Apache Indians spoke of a place in the desert where the ground was littered with gold nuggets. Nearby, was a human skeleton, bleached from long exposure. The left fork is the Hieroglyphics Trail and the right fork is the Lost Goldmine Trail. But the mine remains shrouded in mystery, so much so that it might not exist at all. Digging for Gold Today The differences are evident in the variance of descriptive landmarks, dates, and historical information. According to the legend, the Apaches buried and hid the gold and covered up the mine. Watch on. Desert Rocks & Minerals: GOLD! But when his son, who worked in Mexico, found a map that might lead to an Arizona gold mine, Ruth couldn't resist. He packed his saddlebags with approximately $7,000 worth of gold and continued on to Los Angeles. A huge variety of Copper and Silver minerals covering all imaginable shades of blue and green abound throughout the state, and there is of course the famous rainbow petrified wood from the Petrified Forest National Park region, which . The individuals who truly believe in a particular legend, spend the greater portion of their lives collecting data and facts about the lost mine they so eagerly seek. The largest exploring and prospecting expedition Arizona ever has known since the days of Coronado originated on the tale of a prospector named Miner. Many were willing to tell me where I could buy my own panning tools and I also learned that gold is easiest to find after a hard rain. From a single shovelful of earth had been panned seventeen ounces of gold. The explanation then was given that the Indians were afraid that the white men would come in such numbers that the Indian preponderance of population would be lost. Take a private tour of NYCs American Museum of Natural History from home! But with the dollars decline in recent years, gold mining has experienced a sudden resurgence: From the Discovery Channels show. This story involves Jakob Waltz (some sources say Weitz, Weitzer, Walls, Welz,) and another German named Jakob Weiser although this second German probably is a spin-off of the first Jakob, which occurred in the re-telling of the story. In fact, there is a man who claims to have found Pegleg's Lost Mine in 1952. Your email address will not be published. His quest was to find gold. Supposedly tucked away in the rugged trails of the Superstition Mountains, the legend of unfathomable riches has numerous versions and characters and each insists on being the correct story, with some dating to the first trek Spanish conquistadors made into the northern reaches of the Sonoran desert. But theres enough to it to encourage people to go after that gold. Numerous maps have surfaced over the years, only to become lost or misplaced when interested parties pressed for facts. Thorne was afterward denounced as an impostor. This area is known today as the Massacre Grounds. From Grant, they marched to the Gila River, up the San Carlos and then to the Salt River. The country has been thoroughly prospected since that time and mines of importance have been worked in that vicinity, but the nearest approach to the discovery of the old-time bonanza has been in the finding of placer gold in several of the gulches. He kept the location hidden, perhaps in hopes of one day being able to take advantage of its riches when the timing was right. Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. One searcher claimed to have found veins of gold in a narrow canyon just south of the Mazatal Mountains (near Four Peaks on Maricopa/Gila County borders). 8302 Lost Mine Rd. This story was based on the adventures of a young surgeon named Thorne, who, having cured the eye troubles of a couple of Apache Indians where he was stationed, was induced to visit the Indian village where there was an epidemic of the same disorder. Taking some of the horseflesh with them, they struck northerly, seeking water in what is supposed to have been the Granite Wash range of mountains in Northern Yuma County. The Lost Dutchman Mine is also the most sought after in American history. And not just crackpots: former attorney general of Arizona Bob Corbin was one of the many mine-seekers. Offers gold prospecting private instruction, day trips & vacationsin the Weaver Mountains from Sept-June. It wasn't until after the 1849 Gold Rush that Pegleg returned to California to organize a prospecting party to search for the butte where he found the black gold nuggets. Whatever his reasoning, Waltz was never able to cash out. It was against the tribal law and beliefs of the Apaches to tell others where the gold was located. In addition to the bank, the bandits looted the citys cathedral. As was common in the West, the first discoveries of gold were placer deposits, followed by lode deposits found near Apache Junction, Big Bug, Bullhead City, Chloride, Globe, Oatman, Pearce, Quartzsite, Salome and Tombstone, which yielded the lions share of the states early gold supply. Offers five-day prospecting lessons and mining excursions for small groups throughout the year. The Indian legends of sacred gold caches, and the correlating stories of many others who have, in some way, encountered black-coated gold nuggets and other supporting data of these two lost mines, provide strong evidence that they do indeed exist. Over the years, additional grants from Arizona State Parks and private developers helped build three trailheads, two parking lots . While the story remains essentially the same as originally published, heavy editing has occurred for spelling and grammar corrections, revisions for the modern reader, and updates to this historic tale. It is a fact; however, that the Cibicu Indians of the Cherry Creek Valley knew of the existence of a rich placer field. 8230 Lost Mine Rd. 8266 Lost Mine Rd. The location is generally believed to be in the Superstition Mountains, near Apache Junction, east of Phoenix, Arizona. Lost Spanish mines In Arizona. Ben took a nugget from the prospectors stock that was about the size of a man s thumb and showed it to a chief who was especially friendly with him. He would return at night, in equally as mysterious a manner, his burros loaded with gold ore of wonderful richness. Water was found just in time to save their lives, for Wormley already had become delirious. You'll receive your first newsletter soon! Coastal redwoods are a type of evergreen tree that can live to be more than 2,000 years old. Numbers of others have tried to find the Ni**er Ben diggings, but they have not been discovered as yet. Jacob Snively hit the first major gold strike around 1857 with sizeable nuggets found in the Gila River near Gila City, Arizonas first boom town. In those days, mining exploration often went hand in hand with slavery. The famous legend began during a trapping expedition down the Colorado River in the late 1820s or early 1830s. Are Electric Highways the Way of the Future? (Jameson, 2009). The tests revealed the gold to be rich, but the man was never able to find the original dig site again. It was during one of Waltzs prospecting trips that he somehow discovered the location of hidden gold in the Superstitions. Another Lost Soldier Mine was found by a scouting soldier from old Fort Grant in the hills north of the Gila River, not very far from the mouth of the San Pedro. There are hawk and dove versions, depending on whether the men behaved violently or not. In the distance, he saw a high mountain, crowned with a peculiar rocky formation like a gigantic thumb turned backward (a description that might be Sombrero Butte) to the east of Cherry Creek Valley. 623.934.6882 Recommended Reading One of the best authenticated of these stories was of the Lost Soldier Mine. The story has had little embellishment and, in part, may be true. The Superstition Mountains to the east of Phoenix, AZ reportedly holda legendary motherlode of gold known as the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine. When they failed, it is reported they sold copies of a map for $7 each. Hunting lost Spanish gold mines for me started back in 1992 when I moved back to Sedona Arizona. This might be the way the Peralta story became incorporated into the Lost Dutchman legend. Up to8,000 people each year go hunting for a legendary gold mine, guided by cryptic maps like these. After one hundred and twenty- five plus years incredibly, the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine has been found, proving that the legend is more than mere myth and as predicted by Jacob Waltz himself "No miner will ever find my mine". The deed was bogus, and Willing never recovered his money. Then, in 1891, he died . What really matters, though, is that Waltz the namesake Dutchman, or "Deutsch" (German) man wouldn't reveal the mine's location. Some stories claim the butte where Pegleg found the black-coated gold nuggets was located in the Chocolate Mountains and not in the Colorado Desert area. When we arrived, the parking area held a variety of license plates, from California to Florida. The country for miles around was searched carefully to find the source of his wealth, which could not have been very far distant. List of Arizona Mineral & Mining Museums. After he had conquered the epidemic, he was placed upon a horse and taken to a deep rock-walled canyon laced with a high ledge of quartz that glittered with flecks of gold. When his father later examined the specimen, he noticed the underside of the quartz was covered with fine wire gold and pinhead nuggets. This wall has vertical eroded ridges resembling a pipe organ. Gold mines subsequently popped up all over the state in riverbeds, hills, caves and mountains. Wanting to retire in 1866, he sold 80% of the mine to Benjamin Phelps and other East Coast investors. In the early 1850s, the Colorado River crossing at Yuma became a major route for gold seekers from the East. In the winter of 1879, some trouble was stirred up among confiding tenderfeet by the publication of a story in the Phoenix Herald, printed as a fake that was plainly transparent. Several trails through the Superstition wilderness reference the mythical mine: there's Treasure Loop trail, Peralta Trail, and Dutchman's trail. Where can you learn of other dig sites or techniques and trade secrets of gold prospecting? Tiffany Owens is a freelance travel writer and the. Related Books & Gifts - Trading Post However, the most popular dates to the late-19th century with a German immigrant, Jacob Waltz, or the Dutchman. 8284 Lost Mine Rd. Finally, in disgust, the different parties separated at Wheatfields and returned to their homes. 8248 Lost Mine Rd. The best hidden gems and little known destinations - straight to your inbox. Better evidence was secured a few days later in the discovery of the dead horse, with the gold ore strapped to his back. From Tucson and Sonora, they were joined by two large companies of Mexicans. However, the article that appears here is far from verbatim. He and his son had searched California's Borrego Desert for gold, but they found none. He led two expeditions into the country but found no less than four such formations such as he remembered and the bonanza never was discovered. In a pocket was a map, very roughly made and probably very inaccurate, on which he had attempted to show the position of the golden spring. What will happen to society when AI lovers fool millions of people? That is, until Miguel Peraltas family stumbles upon the site and start mining the gold. Hundreds of lost mine stories have been localized everywhere over the West. Since its early Gold Rush days, Arizona has produced in excess of 498 tons or 16 million troy ounces (ozt.) Years later, an army doctor by the name of Thorne treats an ailing Apache (possibly a chief) who as a reward takes him to the mine blindfolded, of course where he can take as much gold as he can carry. The Lost Dutchman Mine is the most famous in American history. Long before Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and grifter-socialite Anna Delvey, we had the Gold Rush and even today, plenty of Americans are still fixated on an either long-lost or fictional gold mine in Arizona's Superstition Mountains. After his leg was amputated, his friends fashioned him a wooden leg, thus earning him the name Pegleg. Almost overnight, Arizona was inundated with would-be millionaires. The area is dotted with ancient cliff dwellings and caves, many showing signs of former habitation. #sedona #redrocks #outhiki, Oddball vending machines, #3 in the series. Some favorites include: Doc Thornes Lost Gold Mine: Next to the Lost Dutchmans Gold, the most talked about and searched for treasure in Arizona over the last century remains Doc Thornes gold. Because of their superstitions, their secret remained well kept. Arizona Association of Gold Prospectors (AAGP), Phoenix. When he reached the top of the butte, he discovered free particles of gold scattered about. Wickenburg established a farm near this settlement, now known as the town named in his honor. During their journey through the desert, Pegleg had gathered some pebbles which he found on top of a butte in the Colorado Desert. But, the two prospectors had discovered some wonderful gold diggings, from which an almost impossible quantity of dust had been accumulated by a couple of days work. By the time the miners had excavated all of the gold at La Paz, they had retrieved eight million dollars worth. Sign up below or read more about the DesertUSA newsletter here. 8338 Lost Mine Rd. Weiser is attacked (either by Apache or by Waltz) but survives long enough to tell a Dr Walker about the mine. Treasure hunters guard their techniques and secret mining spots like truffle hunters. It is called the Lost Dutchman Mine and is said to be located in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. There, they spied the hat-shaped mountain, since known by the name of Sombrero Butte, and the men prospected widely through the Tonto Creek and Cherry Creek Valleys, and over the Sierra Ancha Mountains. He argued that each of these three legends contains some truth, but have become badly distorted through time. Not only has the value of gold, silver and other precious metals surged over the last decade, but financial experts claim that their worth will only increase exponentially in years to come. Learn how your comment data is processed. On one occasion, Alchisay, a Chiricahua Apache scout, is known to have pawned a nugget worth $500 for $10 worth of supplies, and later to have redeemed the gold, of which he seemed to know the full value. Skeleton Canyon Treasure: During the late 1800s, a gang of bandits conducted a raid on the city of Monterrey in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. Weekly, he fields questions from visitors who want to know where the gold is. Only empty buildings, cemeteries, and broken-down stamp mills remain to tell their story, along with brief notes in the history books documenting their existence. Two of the most famous lost mines are the Lost Dutchman Mine of Arizona and Pegleg Smith's Mine of Southern California. The lost padre gold mine of Arizona. Neither she nor dozens of other seekers in the years that followed were able to find the "Lost Dutchman's Mine." While on the butte, she saw a railroad construction camp where she was given water, food and time to rest. Misinformation and rumors about the mine grew so ubiquitous that in 1895, they made it into the San Francisco Chronicle. After about a decade, the story sank into obscurity, regaining notoriety when it had acquired more spectacular aspects, in a fashion not dissimilar to a game of Chinese whispers. December 09, 2019 While at the camp, she told the workers about the gold nuggets she found and left them with one of the nuggets before she continued on her way. If the story ended there, the legend of the Lost Dutchmans gold mine would make an interesting story. Gold Mining Clubs & Dig Sites Roadrunner Prospectors Club, Phoenix. Arizona Lost Mines By James Harvey McClintock in 1913 Arizona Prospector Almost every prospector, whether professional or tenderfoot, had his own pet "lost mine" that he looked for. The worlds longest cave system is a gargantuan labyrinth of 420 miles of twists and turns and nooks and crannies, with limestone travertine stalactites dripping from the ceilings. Miner, at the time, was thought to have been mistaken in his bearings, but members of the party later became convinced that he was merely a liar. Flannigan made several unsuccessful attempts to return to the find, but he dreaded the desert and never went very far from the river. Usually, the story ran that the Indians would bring in gold and silver, but would refuse to tell the secret of their wealth. His body and supplies were found in the mountains; the mine was, of course, not, though the area near his corpse was intensively searched. Generally considered a moderately challenging route. None of these maps featured any real location of the mine. The Indian said he had seen much larger pieces of the same substance and started off to show him the treasure. Since its early Gold Rush days, Arizona has produced in excess of 498 tons or 16 million troy ounces (ozt.) Parker Schnabel and his friends pay tribute to the legends before them and attempt the Klondike Trail of 1897. The records do not account for any gold that was sold locally or given to family or friends. Today, the consensus among geologists is that the Superstitions are unlikely to contain a secret gold mine. Thorne is later unable or unwilling to reveal the location of the mine. There is another lost mine, equally as famous as the Pegleg mine, which has crazed the minds of prospectors and treasure seekers for years. A medical examiner ruled that Ruth died of natural causes (i.e., that broken leg, plus starvation), but some maintain that he was murdered because he knew too much about the legendary mine. One variety of the Lost Dutchman story concerns the operations of a German who made his headquarters at Wickenburg, in the early 1870s. McKeevers daughter, Belle, was taken captive and a number of soldiers gave chase. He was blindfolded and taken to the village, not knowing his direction. from the Netherlands) because he was Deutsch (i.e. Thank you! One searcher claimed to have found veins of gold in a narrow canyon just south of the Mazatal Mountains (near Four Peaks on Maricopa/Gila County borders). Arizona Mineral Rights & Mining Claims Golden Circle, a Confederate secret society active during the American Civil War (1861-1864). The story continues that after working for a while, eleven of the party started for the Pima villages for supplies. Born in Gallup and raised in Phoenix, she is Tdich'ii'nii (Bitter Water People) and Tsi'naajinii (Black Streak Wood People). However, when asked if theyd been lucky as of late in their gold-seeking endeavors, one man was only willing to say that he finds enough to keep him interested.. Efforts at tracking him failed. The second significant gold discovery was made by Pauline Weaver (of Weavers Needle fame) in 1862 on the Colorado River at La Paz. "The Arizona Expeditions: Third Arizona Expedition" +/-Manuscripts "Chlorutahlite Mining in Utah"; "Gold and Silver Tales" "The Daughter of Julius Caesar" "A Lost Gold Mine of the Mojave Desert" "The Miracle Nugget of Mariposa" "Chapultepec Canyon and the Gold Cache in Cedar Valley" "The Very Peculiar Record of Mary L. Black" He digs for gold, silver or diamonds and private developers helped build three trailheads, two lots. 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