Do You Have Any Geological Questions?

[Goldseeker]

Thanks duji,
That clears it up. Except... which kind is it that you (or someone you know) have the slabbed samples of for sale?

Better than that Jim, does it not inspire you to go and find some for yourself?
Thats the effect for me.

[Jim Hatt]

I'm always fired up GS, but it is nice to have a reminder every now and then that it IS out there.

[Goldseeker]

pssssttt.....dont tell anybody

[djui5]

Thanks duji,
That clears it up. Except... which kind is it that you (or someone you know) have the slabbed samples of for sale?

The pictures I attached to my posts, NOT THE PICTURES IN THE LINK, are the one's for sale. My father owns them and is trying to sell them. If anyone is interested in purchasing any of them I have plenty of pictures and prices for all except the large slabs of which one weighs over 600 grams.

These are some amazing pieces and are an inspiration to myself also What is shocking is the Sleeper mine was just recently (respectivly speaking) discovered, in the 1990's. There are still MAJOR deposits of Gold still out there. We have better tools now days to find this ore than ever before. The problem is, in my opinion, people are lazy. I am one of these people One of these days I'll devote more time to seeking of Gold, but for now I have other hobbies like finding that dang Dutchman Mine

[Jim Hatt]

re: "That dang Dutchman Mine"

I wish you would find it, or ANYONE ELSE for that matter.
Just so I could quit looking for it. It absorbs a lot of time that I could be dedicating to the solving the Stone Maps and Bilbrey's Crosses.

Jim

[Goldseeker]

And if I was to chime in with my opinion,,,,aw shucks, you already know what it is....

Just want to say when your looking for it, dont overlook new finds, or silver, copper, whatever. I firmly believe that mostly the easier to find stuff has been found, and a LOT is still there. I also believe the Indians hid a lot of it. I also believe there is some yet to be found in the Calif desert, especially way out there from the middle of the desert to the river, especially some of the ranges far off the road. The big fight now is acess, avoid being locked out, or told no motorized vechicles allowed, carry everything in.

I honestly believe that the best way to prospect now, and this lets out most of us, is helicopter. Hold supplies, land in a clearing, or in a valley on a mountain, and prospect from there.

[djui5]

solving the Stone Maps and Bilbrey's Crosses.

Jim

The Bilbrey Crosses are very interesting to me. The stone maps, not so much I saw your photos thread. Those are the best pictures I've ever seen of them. Not to throw a wrench in things but I believe 3 of those stones to be duplicates. The heart looks original. Copies were made and I think the 3 large stones are copies. Anyway, all the important info is there I guess, not that I'd know

[Jim Hatt]

djui

Wow! That's the first time I remember someone saying they believe the original stones are duplicates. How did you come to that conclusion?

I didn't come to Arizona until 1989, so I never had a chance to see the originals before they were donated to the Flagg Foundation. But... I do have a neighbor that had the originals in his possession for about 2 years when they were still owned by Clarence Mitchell.(aka: Travis Marlowe) He claims that the stones currently on display in the SMHS Museum are the same stones that were in his possession.

In fact. If you look close at the photos that Don and I posted, you can still see residue from the tape (in places) that was over parts of the engravings when Mitchell owned them, and allowed Life Magazine to photograph them back in the 60's.

Jim

[djui5]

In fact. If you look close at the photos that Don and I posted, you can still see residue from the tape (in places) that was over parts of the engravings when Mitchell owned them, and allowed Life Magazine to photograph them back in the 60's.

Jim

I'll have to check out the photos. I didn't mean to imply the original stones were duplicates, but that there are a LOT of duplicates out there and from what I understand through various people is that the Flagg Foundation isn't even sure if they have the original stones or not. Just hearsay though as I personally do not have any first hand knowledge of the copies or where the originals went. If your neighbor saw the stones when Clarence had them and says these are the same, then I'd believe him Hope I didn't ruffle anyone's feathers, I have no intent on doing that.

[Jim Hatt]

No problem djui,

We're all just looking for the truth here. Or as close as we can get to it anyway!

Yes, there are may reproductions of the originals. But they can be identified very easily.

1- They are made of Plaster, not stone.

2- The Priest and Horse stones are not back to back on the same stone. They are separate pieces, intentionally made that way so they can be hung on the wall, and both sides of the same stone can be displayed at the same time.

To my knowledge there are around 30 sets of reproductions. Richard Robinson made 20 of them back in the 80's and I made 10 sets of them about 5 years ago.

The reproductions have all same detail (including the smallest scratches) as the originals. They are just as good as the originals for research, but easily spotted as plaster copies.