They failed to return and nine more, driven by impending hunger, took the same trail, leaving in camp only Adams and two others. However, the story and possibility of stumbling across immense wealth has enticed hundreds of people to attempt searching for the gold mine and a fair number of those lives have ended in death. This might be the way the Peralta story became incorporated into the Lost Dutchman legend. He died in Phoenix in 1880. The Arizona Daily Star reported that the mine also experienced a fair amount of banditry, which includes approximately $70,000 in bullion (precious metal bars) stolen and hidden. Entrance is free. Love Arizona? He packed his saddlebags with approximately $7,000 worth of gold and continued on to Los Angeles. The records do not account for any gold that was sold locally or given to family or friends. Doc is just one of an endless stream of treasure hunters in search of the. The desire for gold can be so great that it motivates men to endure unbelievable hardships including starvation, dehydration and death. Packing their booty onto a number of mules, they fled, heading northwest toward a remote pass through the Arizona/Mexico border. However, the article that appears here is far from verbatim. 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. The trails are well marked. He later earned a teaching certificate, served asTheodore Roosevelts right-hand-man in the Rough Riders, and become an Arizona State Representative. from the Netherlands) because he was Deutsch (i.e. In 2006, all of Arizonas gold production came as a fortuitous byproduct of copper mining. 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. He reportedly said it came from a secret mine in the Superstition Mountains. The third Indian legend is about a Yaqui Indian who lived and worked near Warner's Ranch. 602.274.2521 At the time, he was living in Phoenix, reportedly on land owned by Julia Thomas, a local bakery owner. This is a popular trail for hiking and mountain biking, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. 8338 Lost Mine Rd. 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. He argued that each of these three legends contains some truth, but have become badly distorted through time. Lynx Lake Mineral Withdrawal Area & Gold Panning Trail, Prescott. You can reach her at monica.d.spencer@gmail.com. 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. American mining history in Arizona begins after the American-Mexican war in the 1840's. In the 1850's prospectors from the played-out gold fields of California began exploring more of the American West in search of gold and silver. There are records of Waltz selling or transporting gold which are estimated to total $254,000.. 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. On the slip was the word take. The editor feared to even remain silent, for most of the letters told of the organization in eastern villages of parties of heavily-armed men to get the gold dust or die in the attempt, and there might have been dire consequences on the head of the imaginative journalist had Phoenix been reached by even one of the desperate rural eastern expeditions. All human development, from large cities to small towns, shines light into the night sky. 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. They were friendly, and he gave her hints about the mine's location. Prospectors often recite stories that support the fabled legend of Pegleg's lost mine. The lost padre gold mine of Arizona. Find a club in your city: Goldminers HQ, Desert Gold Diggersclubs with gold claims in Arizona, Legends of America Treasure Clubs, Gold Mining Tours & Instruction He found some. The treasure buried in Skeleton Canyon has never been found, the value of which could amount to $20 million or more today. Apache Before the Storm, Edward S. Curtis, 1906. List of Arizona Mineral & Mining Museums. However, the name "Apache" came to be closely associated with the Superstitions, and the mountains became an Apache stronghold in the 1800s. Efforts at tracking him failed. 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. There are men who have claimed to have found Pegleg's lost Mine. But modern-day treasure hunters do exist. All he could be induced to do was to toss his arms and say, Plenty gold here; go hunt. Ben did hunt for years and was outfitted several times by A.H. Peeples, who believed that he finally died of thirst on the desert. Where can you learn of other dig sites or techniques and trade secrets of gold prospecting? If the story ended there, the legend of the Lost Dutchmans gold mine would make an interesting story. The Ashleys were never able to retrace Palmers path to the ledge. When you think of treasure hunters, it's typically Pirates of the Caribbean and Indiana Jones that come to mind. For More Information But the mine remains shrouded in mystery, so much so that it might not exist at all. of gold. Weiser is attacked (either by Apache or by Waltz) but survives long enough to tell a Dr Walker about the mine. But did you know the state is also home to a 30-square-mile sand dune field? Arizona Association of Gold Prospectors (AAGP), Phoenix. Lost Goldmine and Cougar Loop. Scott Taylor/Flickr Get more stories delivered right to your email. 623.934.6882 When he arrives in Los Angeles, he shows his friends the nuggets and organized an expedition to return to the desert to bring back more gold. The mines involved usually contain a high-value commodity such as gold, silver or diamonds. Learn how your comment data is processed. The men searched as far as the Gila River, near San Carlos and then up to the headwaters of the Gila and back again to Fort Apache, but they had no success and still undiscovered are the ashes of an old cabin where Adams told Bell, was buried gold dust worth at least $5,000. Thorne was afterward denounced as an impostor. 623.934.6882 Jesse Capen was obsessed with the legend of the lost gold, despite the lack of hard historical evidence. The ingots were buried in 1891 in a hastily made, shallow excavation and, likely, only a few inches below the surface. Depending on the purity of the silver, various estimates place the value of the silver cache at close to one million dollars. It is possible that the mountain was the Harqua Hala. Two of the most famous lost mines are the Lost Dutchman Mine of Arizona and Pegleg Smith's Mine of Southern California. From a single shovelful of earth had been panned seventeen ounces of gold. 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. This post card is a humourous version of the many serious treasure maps that undoubtedly circulated in Arizona and environs at the height of gold mine fever, at the end of the 19th century. 16 Lost Treasures of Arizona Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine Herman Wolf's Treasure Trove Legend of the Lost Opata Mine The Smiling Bandits Lost Loot Red Jack Almer Gangs Lost Loot $72,000 in Gold Coins: Stolen Army Payroll Buried Cans of Gold Coins at Ashurst Ranch Lost Gold at Granite Dells Blacksmith's Lost Booty Hidden Indian Gold Near Lynx Creek Waltz fell ill and died in 1891, but not before revealing the location of an alleged gold mine to Julia Thomas, the neighbour who cared for him. Just one day into his journey, he disappeared. The Indian said he had seen much larger pieces of the same substance and started off to show him the treasure. He struck up a friendship with several Yavapai chiefs, even when they were the most hostile to the other miners, and they told him of a place where there was much gold, far more than on Rich Hill, where we were working. A number of other people, in addition to the Peralta family, had knowledge of the mine's location. With Arizonas wild and violent past, you can bet there are quite a few that exist in our Southwestern state. If I do believe, how can I find gold in the desert and where do I begin searching? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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. All of the legends and stories mentioned in this article have been told many times by miners and prospectors who believe that the Pegleg and Lost Dutchman Mine exists. 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. 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. Additionally, there never was an army doctor named Thorne in the 1860s in Arizona. The tests revealed the gold to be rich, but the man was never able to find the original dig site again. Shasta, Californias Mysterious Volcano, is an Enigma Waiting to be Explored, Three New Species of Snakes Discovered in Graveyards and Churches in Ecuador. Wickenburg established a farm near this settlement, now known as the town named in his honor. 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. Lost Mines & Buried Treasure of the Southwest by Thomas Penfield, Lost Cities & Ancient Mysteries of the Southwest by David Hatcher Childress, Lost Gold and Silver Mines of the Southwest by Eugene L. Conrotto, Lost Mines & Buried Treasures of Arizona by W.C. Jameson, Southwest Treasure Hunters Gem & Mineral Guide: Where & How to Dig, Where to Find Gold in the Desert by James Klein, 3 Thrillseekers wanted to travel to Sweden, Ecuador or Canada in July with World Nomads, Worldwide: Getty Images Awarding $10,000 Grants to 3 Instagram Photographers, New Creative Opps for Travelers in Switzerland, Montana, Michigan, California & Marfa, Texas, Hey Dutchman Hunters! Offers five-day prospecting lessons and mining excursions for small groups throughout the year. By the 1860's large discoveries of gold were occurring in the Bradshaw Mountains, especially along the Hassayampa . 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. Pegleg's questionable character and his reputation for drinking and lying add to the controversy surrounding the legend of his lost mine. The ore in the heaps was about the same character as that which had been brought into Wickenburg in the early days by the Lost Dutchman, but it didnt agree at all with the ore in the shallow prospect hole, which was not considered worthy of further development. Peck, discoverer of the famous Peck Mine at Alexandria. In the early 1850s, the Colorado River crossing at Yuma became a major route for gold seekers from the East. A Detailed History of Mining in Arizona from Arizona Mining Association Numbers of others have tried to find the Ni**er Ben diggings, but they have not been discovered as yet. He supposedly described the mine's location to Julia Thomas, a neighbor who took care of him prior to his death. Many legends of lost treasure from Arizonas early Gold Rush days still remain to this day. Above it were two quartz veins, one narrow and the other sixteen feet wide. When they failed, it is reported they sold copies of a map for $7 each. from the Netherlands) because he was, The Lost Dutchman Mine is also the most sought after in American history. Usually, the story ran that the Indians would bring in gold and silver, but would refuse to tell the secret of their wealth. 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. 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. Six Planets are Retrograde, What Does that Mean for You? The Superstition Mountains (their name inspired by Pima Indian legends) have been a source of mystery and legend since early times. 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. This is gold mining at its most extreme. The Indians would not harm him, evidently on account of his color. Though the Indians pressed handfuls of the nuggets upon him, Thorne still persisted that the stuff was worthless and refused to take any, convinced that he could again find the treasure. Sign up below or read more about the DesertUSA newsletter here. But Ruth did indeed find the Lost Dutchman, according to a message in a bottle. Walk down Main Street, explore the many shops and historic buildings. (Waltz definitely existed, and was definitely German, but his ore is not as well documented.) Pegleg, also known as Thomas Smith, lost his leg to an arrow during a trapping expedition in the fall of 1827. In the morning they found the spring fairly paved with gold nuggets. It is a fact; however, that the Cibicu Indians of the Cherry Creek Valley knew of the existence of a rich placer field. Pan for gold then take a ride on Arizona's only narrow gauge train. 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. But the prospector, with only his burro for companionship, was wont to dream strange dreams and, eventually, to transmute them into what he considered reality. Follow the lives of ambitious miners as they head north in pursuit of gold. It's near a 1,000-foot-tall rock tower! The secret route to the lost Dutchman goldmine in Arizona was very simple and common sense. Not only is it 600 miles of mountains, lakes and rivers, but leaving late in the season means the winter may derail their plans. Then, to recoup the cost of the failed expedition, Thomas started selling maps that she claimed would lead people to the mine. Returning down Cherry Creek, prospecting continued up the Pinto Creek and Pinal Creek Valleys. Where to Find Gold in the Desert by James Klein, Gem Guides, 1994. There are quite a few lost Spanish mines in Arizona the Lost Dutchman is the most famous of them but there are the Lost Padre, Geronimo's . Ben was taken to some water holes, about 65 miles northwest of Antelope, toward McCracken, in southern Mohave County. When the miner reached Los Angeles, he became ill and was taken under the care of Dr. DeCourcy. Pegleg and his party had acquired a large number of pelts during their trip and selected Pegleg and another member of the trapping party to take the supply of pelts across the desert to Los Angeles for sale. Mining flourished in Gila City until 1862 when a flood destroyed the town. He would return at night, in equally as mysterious a manner, his burros loaded with gold ore of wonderful richness. I had heard of a publicly declared gold excavation and panning trail in the Lynx Lake Recreational Area near Prescott and decided to investigate. - arizona gold mine stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images Before we get into those, here are some genuine facts about the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine: There really was a Lost Dutchman, although he wasnt Dutch. Adams understood to have been a San Bernardino colony Mormon, in 1886 heard from a Mexican, a story of a rich gold deposit, and forming a party of 22 men, struck eastward to a point supposed to have been near Fort Apache, where the Diggings were found. By Jim Bremner, More Two of the most famous lost mines are the Lost Dutchman Mine of Arizona and Pegleg Smith's Mine of Southern California. This evidence, along with the stories and records of gold transport issued by Waltz, confirms the legend of the Lost Dutchman. When they arrived; however, the chief would show him no further, seemingly being struck by some religious compunctions he hadnt thought of before. In May 1871 he was in Prescott, coming with several companions from Nevada, and in that month reached Phoenix from the North with about thirty men. You'll also get to witness an old west gun fight performed by the famous Goldfield . Since its early Gold Rush days, Arizona has produced in excess of 498 tons or 16 million troy ounces (ozt.) The gold trail led through New Mexico, Tucson, and Yuma to California. Hundreds of "lost mine" stories have been localized everywhere over the West. When the mines closed, the towns died, and their remains have become ghost towns and tourist attractions. The second legend concerns an Indian woman who was wandering about the desert in a state of dehydration. Tour the historic Mammoth Gold Mine and visit the Goldfield Museum. 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