Pegleg's Lost Mine

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desert wanderer
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Re: Pegleg's Lost Mine

Post by desert wanderer »

Jim, Thanks for the reply! The Chocolate Mountains being off limits really irritates me as well! I haven't bothered to look for it either, as it would be a waste of time due to the powers that be taking over the area where the gold is likely to be.
And, I DO believe there's gold there! Perhaps not the Peg Leg gold, but there is a lot of gold out in that area just waiting to be found. Someday the government may open the area up, from what I've read.
Also, I've read geologists reports of that area, and there are substantial amounts of gold in that rift!
By the way, in that photo I uploaded to my avatar, I'm the younger guy. My late father is the older fellow.
Thanks again for getting back to me, Rick
Jim Hatt

Re: Pegleg's Lost Mine

Post by Jim Hatt »

Hi Rick,

It would be nice if they opened the Choc. Mtns, but don't you know...
If the did, the people like you and me, would be so thick out there that you couldn't stir 'em with a stick!

If you are serious, ambitious, and in good health, I "might" be able to steer you towards a few places that I know about, and have not had the time to "fully" investigate yet. I have been to them and seen the potential, but have too many other irons in the fire right now, to get out, and work them properly.

Odds are, like most of us... You are in the same position yourself. But just in case you aren't.

Link to my e-mail address: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1381&p=12169#p12169

Jim
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Re: Pegleg's Lost Mine

Post by Guz »

Thanks for the apology Jim. I appreciate it and affirm my comment was not made to insult anyone.

As far as the chocolate mtns go, I made a post earlier about it along the lines of desert wanderer. My grandfather used to take us into that area years ago however all I remember are the signs stating "bombing range!" I would like to hear what you have and if you dont want to post here for the rest of us please email me.


Guz
Jim Hatt

Re: Pegleg's Lost Mine

Post by Jim Hatt »

Guz,

Thank You for accepting my apology, and I am sorry that it was even necessary.

As far as the Choc. Mountains are concerned on my end, I don't know anything. Never been there and have never met, or talked to anyone that has, besides you. I guess that makes you the "Resident Authority" on the Choc. Mtns.

We do have a bombing range in my area. It is located on the South side of US 60 just East of Florence jct. AZ. It is all fenced and posted as a "Bombing Range", but there are gates and desert trails, and I see 4X4's and ATV's out there all the time.

When they are using the Range for practice bombing, they lock the gates and fly red flags on TALL flag poles beside them. Big signs nearby explain what the red flags are for. Needless to say... You never see anyone out there when the red flags are flying!
I even "Fudge" a little on the speed limit, while driving past it when they are up. :lol:

Jim

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Re: Pegleg's Lost Mine

Post by marks231 »

Can anyone refresh my memory on my reading about arsenic and gold together, I recall one story of a wanderer coming to town nearly dead and was rambling on for a couple of days and had black nuggets with him covered with arsenic and I was told was in part the true gold fever that many thought was a curse?
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Re: Pegleg's Lost Mine

Post by oroblanco »

marks231 wrote:Can anyone refresh my memory on my reading about arsenic and gold together, I recall one story of a wanderer coming to town nearly dead and was rambling on for a couple of days and had black nuggets with him covered with arsenic and I was told was in part the true gold fever that many thought was a curse?
HOLA amigos,
That is an interesting story you have related and yes gold is sometimes associated with arsenic. Usually it is found with antimony, iron, sulfur, nickel and SILVER though. As it is a metallic-looking mineral when found in nature, but does oxidize to a dark grey color, it would be possible to call it a "black" crust if it were dark enough.

My own "theory" about what the black encrustation was on Pegleg's nuggets was a type of natural 'varnish' that sometimes forms on desert surfaces, known as "desert varnish". The AZ Geological Survey did a study of desert varnish and found it takes thousands of years to form any appreciable thickness, and contains manganese.

Considering that there are stories of black-crusted nuggets of gold which seem to point to several different locations (including one in Arizona on the other side of the Colorado river, a cowboy trying to move some livestock picked up some black pebbles to throw and noticed they were very heavy so he put some in his pocket; later on examining them, he learned they were gold. This site is tied to an old adobe corral, so would be very tough to locate today.) and the scientific fact that desert varnish can form most anywhere in the desert, it seems probable that there are several locations where black gold nuggets could be found today. Treasure author (and hunter) John Mitchell found black gold nuggets while out hunting for a meteorite, somewhere south of the Chuckwalla mountains. I would bet a silver dollar that there are more than one location for black gold nuggets.

The Desert magazine article on "The Man Who Found Pegleg's Black Gold Nuggets" had letters from this person, whoever he was, and his description included this statement, quote

it is less than 30 miles from the Salton Sea and within the confines of the map on page 10 of the November 1946 issue of Desert Magazine.


...and somehow many folks reading this, got the idea that this "circle" was confined to a small area SW of the Salton Sea mostly within the Anza Borrego State Park, which is not what he had written. His description covers a MUCH larger area including the edge of the Chocolate mountains and the area where Mitchell and Crazy Ike reported that they found black nuggets.

We could debate the route taken by Pegleg and how far they had traveled, or even just which Pegleg Smith is the correct one (there are several, but I am convinced it was the original Thomas L. Smith, a trapper and mountain man, as well as highly notorious horsethief, outlaw and world-class liar) heck there is (or was) even a Pegleg Smith Liar's Contest. However at the root of this story we can weigh out the probabilities, remember that most (if not all) legends have some basis in fact, that gold nuggets can be encrusted by nature either by desert varnish or copper, manganese etc, and that such nuggets have been reported found in several locations over the 160+ years since Pegleg celebrated his fur sales with a drinking spree, and realize that a person really just MIGHT find a deposit of black gold nuggets, somewhere in southern California or SW Arizona. It just takes some research, a lot of field work, and a generous portion of good LUCK.

Good luck and good hunting amigos, I hope you find some of those black-crusted gold nuggets and post some photos here so we can all drool! ;)
Roy ~ Oroblanco
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Re: Pegleg's Lost Mine

Post by rockdude »

desert wanderer wrote:Jim, Thanks for the reply! The Chocolate Mountains being off limits really irritates me as well! I haven't bothered to look for it either, as it would be a waste of time due to the powers that be taking over the area where the gold is likely to be.
And, I DO believe there's gold there! Perhaps not the Peg Leg gold, but there is a lot of gold out in that area just waiting to be found. Someday the government may open the area up, from what I've read.
Also, I've read geologists reports of that area, and there are substantial amounts of gold in that rift!
By the way, in that photo I uploaded to my avatar, I'm the younger guy. My late father is the older fellow.
Thanks again for getting back to me, Rick
I to am irratated at that. But what also irratates me is the wilderness areas. I'm not to good with the walking these days and with the lovely roads in the wilderness areas that could be used by those unable to do the march, well I'm just mad I guess.
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Re: Pegleg's Lost Mine

Post by roc2rol »

I came across this book today.

Legendary & Geological History of Lost Desert Goal by Ralph L Caine

Published in the late 1950’s

I haven’t seen any reference to this book in any of the articles
so thought I mention it. I only had a chance to peruse it.

It mostly focused on Pegleg and the lost ship treasure near the Salton.
It was very informative on the geology of the area.
I was surprise to hear of another landscape/mountain area
in California called the Superstition Hills. A second Superstition
& Lost Dutchman Mine? :o
double our pleasure for lost treasure...

Ed
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Re: Pegleg's Lost Mine

Post by oroblanco »

Hola amigos,

These so-called "wilderness" areas really tick me off too - they have created "wildernesses" where there was none, by erasing roads and trails and now what they amount to is a private retreat for the elites who can afford to pay for being packed in etc. For anyone NOT in excellent physical condition, they might as well be on the Moon for any access. The idea behind creating these "wildernesses" was to preserve a part of our wild areas, but as always seems to happen - with the best of intentions, they caused the worst of results.

Thank you for the book recommendation Ed! I just re-read an old book by Drago which has a good chapter on Pegleg, though he didn't believe it ever existed; I disagree respectfully and wholeheartedly - it is perfectly natural for gold nuggets and even pebbles to get a black crust (desert varnish) and Desert magazine ran an interesting article years ago about a man who claimed he found the legendary mine and of course removed all the gold. I don't know if I believe his story or not, but am convinced that at the root of the Pegleg story is a real gold surface deposit that just hasn't been found again. Oh the title of the book is "Lost Bonanzas" and was published in the 1960's.

Roy
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Re: Pegleg's Lost Mine

Post by roc2rol »

I was perusing Ralph Caine book
and took these photos
Image

Image

I’m sure these are published in the Desert Magazine articles
as Caine book was sponsored by them
Ed
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