The Pearl Ship

[carajou]

http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=19&Z=11&X=5&Y=35&W=1

The above link is to Terraserver's image of the Salton Sea, California, and this concerns the story of the Pearl Ship, which was supposedly a galleon that got trapped in a rare flooding of the area from the Gulf of California about 1615. Some stories state it went aground about 30 west of Dos Palmas; that it involved a "Captain Iturbe"; it had onboard a king's ransom in pearls.

So, short of going into the Spanish Archives, here's the other option. Look at these satellite photos of the northern Salton Sea area for the ship. If it exists, it should show up somewhere along the edge of the mountains where maximum flooding took place.

 

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[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

The above link is to Terraserver's image of the Salton Sea, California, and this concerns the story of the Pearl Ship, which was supposedly a galleon that got trapped in a rare flooding of the area from the Gulf of California about 1615.? Some stories state it went aground about 30 west of Dos Palmas; that it involved a "Captain Iturbe"; it had onboard a king's ransom in pearls.

So, short of going into the Spanish Archives, here's the other option.? Look at these satellite photos of the northern Salton Sea area for the ship.? If it exists, it should show up somewhere along the edge of the mountains where maximum flooding took place.?


A&Q) HOLA: My Indian contacts, published stories by others, etc., place it SOUTH of the border. There are reports of it being occasionally uncovered and Ming Dynasty ware being recovered. Unfortunately, in all cases, when the finder attempts to return, it is covered again or the finder cannot orient himself well enough.

Who knows how much is true and how much ----.

In any event the area is accessible with a sand buggy or a 4 wheel drive vehicle with soft sand capabilities, and backup facilities..


Jose de La Mancha ( I tilt windmills )

"I exist to live, not live to exst"

 

[carajou]

Whether north or south of the border, it'll be fun sitting back and looking at some arial pics to see if it exists.

Suppose this was posted as a contest...say the person who discovers it by looking at the pics gets a metal detector from this website, followed by an additional contest to see who could be the first person at the site...winner gets the cargo of the ship!

Hmmmmmm!

 

[modrian]

I actually have a pretty good chunk of info on this one- lots of old articles describing peoples trips out there and talk of the ship- as mentioned, once it was found, it was always never able to be re-located. I haven't looked at them in a while, so maybe I'll dig 'em up again and post some of the info. I always felt that if all the reports and locations were marked down you could probably triangulate a perspective area to search- and now with Google Earth, that area could be scanned. The only problem is rounding up maps from the time to co-ordinate the old place names. There is some people who believe that it's an old ferry that keeps getting mistaken for the ship. I'll let you know what I dig up....

 

[Albert Osborn]

Any treasure recovery group
interested in this thing, then
contact me.
Al Osborn
[email protected]

 

[GaBnn3]

This is a great story, and would be the find of a lifetime. However, as you know the ship became trapped in the inland sea due to the changing whims of mother nature, who allowed this area to become flooded occasionally due to overflow by the Colorado River. That is no longer the case. This inland sea is a vacation mecca, which is regulated by the state of California. The inflows and outflows are carefully monitored. It will never dry out again in our lifetime. May I suggest that the ship was probably abandoned at the lowest point, which is where the water remained the longest, until such time as Captain Iturbe realized that waiting was fruitless. If the lowest point is about the same now, then it is under water, and will remain so. Thus, being a salt water body, what salvage laws apply, if ever found at all?

 

[carajou]

From what I got from the stories, Captain Iturbe abandoned ship after it was grounded, either inside or near a box canyon. That means it was near a point where mountains jut up from the flooded area of the shoreline. And since it was alledgedly seen over the years by whom ever stumbled in the area, it is possible it is far above the present shoreline of the Salton Sea.

 

[cptbil]

To all:
If you'll check some VERY! Early Spanish Maps, you find that they show CA., as an Island!
Look at a modern Aerial photo/map of CA. and you can plainly see, the explaination, of why!

 

[kimimik]

Actually the Salton Sea was only formed 100 years ago. The actuall sea never reached that far north. There was an ancient lake that was created by the Colorado River, but it was a fresh water lake and it dried up around 1600. In 1907, a levee broke in Yuma that flooded the Salton Basin and formed the Salton Sea. It is misleading being called a "sea", one would logically assume that it is a remnant of the sea receding, but it isn't. Here is a link to some more information. Hope it helps guide you in the right direction. I suggest that you might want to check out geology sites and research information on the landformations at the time the ship was lost. Don't just go on legends and rumors as I am sure we all have learned, they get us no where. You will find much more success if you look at it scientifically.

http://home.att.net/~amcimages/singer.html

Kimberly

 

[HappyTrails55]

I concurr wholeheartily with the statement above and the Monograph by Eugene Singer, however, with that said, it seems appropriate enough to add a little bit here...These "Legends" of a Ship (or Ships) in this region were part of Folklore or Stories passed down from Pima, Papago's and Chemevehes and others, LONG BEFORE the Spanish Arrived here, certainly, Juan Cabrillo, Juan de Iturbe and others crossing the area heard of these things...And there are Modern-Day Stories of Ancient Vessels that have been Found and Lost in this region.....Happy Trails To You....

 

[gollum]

I've done loads of research on this one because it's close to home. O.C., Ca. Yes, the captains' name was Iturbide, and yeas, it had a king's ransom of pearls, and even a small chest of gold that was to have paid for the trip. The report that Capt. Iturbide filed in Acapulco stated that when the ship finally ran aground, they took only what they needed to survive the trip back to the third and final ship, leaving all valuables behind. Some stories put the ship 240 miles from the current Gulf of California shoreline, which is ridiculous, because that would put it in the vicinity of Kokoweef Peak! Careful translation of puts the ship in the dunes between Yuma, Az. and Mexicali, Ca.

You can study Google Earth and Terraserver Pics the this area until you're blue in the face. I thought that too, until I drove out there one day just to see what it looked like. Those dunes are 60-100ft tall on either side of Highway 8. The dunes are 7 miles wide at the widest and 47 miles long from North to South. This treasure will stay lost until some lucky chump trips over it by accident, the same as most every other lost treasure in this area. Make no mistake my armchair TH'ers, this area is VAST and DESOLATE! That's the only way she's been able to keep her secrets for these many hundreds of years. There are many REAL caches of treasure lost to time in the rough rectagle comprising California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. All the research in the world will only prove that a particular treasure actually exists, and is more than a fable. It's only when you pull the car over to the side of the road, get and look, and see nothing but sand and rocks all around you from horizon to horizon that you begin to comprehend just how rare and fantastic finding anything at really is!

All the great stories of found caches happened mostly by chance. I know there are some that were looked specifically for and found that never made it to the papers, because the finders were not only persistant, but smart as well to keep quiet!

 

[gollum]

To all:
If you'll check some VERY! Early Spanish Maps, you find that they show CA., as an Island!
Look at a modern Aerial photo/map of CA. and you can plainly see, the explaination, of why!

Actually, Cpt. Bill, you are absolutely correct! Here is an old Spanish Map of the New World, and you will notice that California is named "CALIFORNIE ISLE"

Enjoy-Mike

 

[ashleen]

Here is a 1740 map showing Ca as an island...

 

[grizzly bare]

Hate to ruin a great story, but didn't Iturbe say he was having problems with Natives before he abandoned ship? Don't you think said natives would have raided the ship as soon as they knew the crew was gone?
I have read over a dozen stories of sightings of this ship and have even mapped/extrapolated a general area of interest, but I don't believe any treasure will be found. None of the stories going back several hundred years mention anyone seeing any pearls or anything else in the ship.

grizzly bare

 

[HappyTrails55]

Whether it is the Spanish "Iturbe" Ship or another More Ancient Vessel, one would think that if there was Indian-Related problems, the Masters of the Ship would have "SCUTTLED" the Vessel, or, purposely Sank it at some location and "noted" in the ship's Manifest or Log, if it was "Spanish".....So where are the Scholars here that have investigated the Archives in Mexico, dealing with this Legendary Story?.....So, Lake Cahuilla disappeared approx. 400 years ago....I would check the weather patterns and the history of them in this area...Anyone that is familiar with this area and, or lives out that-a-way will be able to tell about which way the "wind" normally maintains it's flow....Every area in the world has a main normal flow of wind, where I live it's normal flow is from the southwest to the north east...I mean, we are talking about a "Masted Ship", are we not? Anyone that spends considerable amounts of lengths of time in the outdoors (like me), will be able to discern the normal wind direction (even if there's no wind), simply by studying Mother Nature's Floral and Fauna, which it's growth is subject to...NO ONE LEAVES A TREASURE GALLEON UNPROTECTED AND SUBJECT TO "INTERESTED OTHERS" or "THE ELEMENTS"....It this Ship of whatever Culture Exists, IT WAS PURPOSELY PLACED AT A KEY LOCATION...To be Salvaged at a Later Time...Also, Ithurbe and his remaining crew "WALKED" back to Mexico? Which side of the Lake would he "most favor of"? He's got a vast amount of water with Mountains all around him and his decision to make a bee-line for Mexico has to be accurate, he certainly does not want to go west to the Santa Rosa's, so where does he go to make his trek? Where does he land his Ship to Protect it.....Archaeological Reports, their Data, countless Books of the area, can VERIFY pretty close to where all of the Indian Villages once existed there....So, chances are, the Ship would not be found in that area........The FISH CREEK MTNS. would be a good Target as well as the Superstition Hills, both VERY MYSTERIOUS AREAS,..... Happy Trails To You

 

[HappyTrails55]

Re: The Pearl Ship ...Suggested Reading

"LENGENDARY AND GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF LOST DESERT GOLD" by Ralph L. Caine, Gedco Publishing Co., Los Angeles, Calif., Third Edition, 1951.........Now if you can find this Book, you'll be wiser....Happy Trails

 

[gollum]

Hey Happy Trails 55,

It's not like they could have scuttled the ship. IT RAN AGROUND when the water level receded. That whole area was an inland sea. My personal thoughts are that an earthquake shifted the land causing the seas' main water source to dry up.

A ship of this size didn't carry a large crew. With 80-100 miles to walk in the desert, I'm sure they cared more about carrying water and food than pearls or gold. If you really are an outdoorsman, and have seen this area, or others like it, you would KNOW that its all about survival when your ride gets stuck and no AAA around to help. Check out my post TREASURE LEGENDS>Old Shaft Uncovered in Anza-Brrego Desert!!! This is the general area of the Pearl Ship Story. I will also post some of my pics of the area in another post, so everyone can see just how vast and desolate this area is. I've been photographing bighorn sheep in the mountains and finding mansign in the area for a few years now.

Capt. Iturbe's full report is still in the naval archives in Acapulco, Mx. There is also a copy in the archives in Madrid. Someone who speaks Spanish and a few well placed phone calls will net you a xerox copy of this report.

This story is definately based in fact. One thought I have that no one else seems to have thought of is that where Iturbe said the ship was may not be accurate. He might have reported the loss so he wouldn't have to give up the royal 5th. He may have gone back and picked it up himself after filing his report in Acapulco.

Mike

 

[HappyTrails55]

Everything you have said is well taken and I agree with you on some points....The vastness is just that, indeed....The Story of a Earthquake that receded the water is also part of the Indian (Mohave & Cocopah to list a few) creation and emergence stories handed down to present day...."violent earthquakes, a large lake, water serpents and the crossing of a great river".......Indeed I Thankyou about the Manifesto Info.....Yes, I too have been through alot of this country, chasing down stories and leads, sometimes getting into trouble....Where ever I found stories or locations of Petroglyphs, Pictographs, Associated Carvings, Etchings, Mountain Landmarks (Indian Head) and others, from the vast Libraries on the subject of the Aztecs and other Very Early civilizations that identified certain areas within the area we're talking about, I ran off to seek them, sometimes photographing the sites, and documenting them....Not just exclusively in the Southern California Desert of the Colorado, but all across the American Southwest, parts of the Northwest and also into Mexico proper, many times, sometimes chasing elusive butterfly's, did all this only because of what I found in the Upper Mohave Desert.....Ofcourse the Spanish were here, very early on, that is of no doubt. The History Books that supposedly educates the children in America, are False....when it comes to the early Spanish and Califia...California and many parts of the Southwest...Again I Thankyou......Happy Trails

 

[Oroblanco]

Greetings Carajou, Real de Tayopa and everyone,

This is one of the most fascinating and seemingly far-fetched of the many tales of the old southwest. It strikes one as utterly un-believable on first hearing it, and until one can get past the first impression (that it is fiction) to actually investigate the matter it is highly likely you will dismiss the story out of hand.

I say that because I had that very impression, that this was one of those tales told round the Mahogany Ridge (local alcoholic beverage establishment) for the entertainment and edification of the gullible and/or tourists. It took me several years to even bother to check into it, I had already built such a bias against the story that I did not see any (good) reason to waste time investigating it. However a friend on the desertusa forum convinced me to at least have a look into the matter, and I was slow to come round but now am convinced this is a TRUE tale!

The fact is, Captain Juan de Iturbe was dispatched to explore the Pacific coast by the king of Spain in 1610 , and to harvest as many pearls as possible while exploring. Iturbe was under command of a Captain Cordone, among a little squadron of three, (forgive any detail errors please, working from memory here as my file cabinets are still in storage – but some day SOON I plan to get into them so could fill in more exacting details) relatively small ships, not the huge Spanish galleons but sloops or brigantines. The report was that Iturbe was quite successful in harvesting pearls, filling the holds of all of his little squadron (or nearly so) and they continued on up the gulf of California searching for a passage round the northern end of California “island” as they expected it to be, based on their best maps of the day. This was the reason why Iturbe sailed up the Colorado river, and when his lookouts spotted a channel of the river flowing to the west, he assumed this must be emptying one mouth of the Colorado river into the northern end of the expected “channel” which would separate California “island” from the mainland, so sailed right into a large body of water with mountains on both shores. Sailing up this “bay” as he thought, he must soon find the north end of California “island” and be able to sail right round it, only to find that the waters grew shallower and shallower as he sailed north! He ordered the ship turned round and they explored the coastline of this “bay” (actually an inland lake formed by a massive flood of the Colorado river which broke through the rather low banks that separate it from the Salton sink) and went up every opening along the shore expecting to find a connection to the Pacific, or at least into another bay which would then connect to the Pacific – and ended up back where he had entered the lake (as he now understood it was) only to find that the Colorado had fallen from its flood stage and it was no longer possible to get back into the gulf of California! He had his ship sail back up the coast of the now-sadly-understood inland lake, growing more desperate by the hour, in a frantic search for any connecting channel or outflow that would allow him to sail back to the Pacific, but another complete circumnavigation of the lake, checking every canyon and opening, failed to find any way to get back to the open sea. In fact they even noticed that the level of the lake waters were receding, while they were in the act of sailing around it.

With the lake slowly but surely shrinking before their very eyes, Iturbe and his desperate crew sailed their sloop up into a box canyon where it might be somewhat protected (and perhaps could be returned to, to recover the huge haul of pearls as well as valuable porcelain from Chna) and deliberately ran her aground. Offloading the basics they would need for a long over-land trek, and but few pearls, the crew set off to return to civilization. They were eventually successful, and made it back to rejoin their compadres; however the authorities (even then) did not put much faith in Iturbe’s report of having accidentally sailed into a land-locked lake and cast aspersions as to his motives, dark suggestions were made that he had “turned pirate” and hid his gains, which was why he requested another ship to return to the site and recover the load of pearls and other treasure. So they refused to send Iturbe back, but did dispatch another sloop which went to the Colorado river and sailed up it some distance, but did not find any connecting channel into some now-mythical land-locked lake, so returned without Iturbe’s pearls and this cast further doubt on his report. As far as I could find in the old records that was the end of any attempts to recover the “ship of pearls” by Spanish officials.

During the Anza expedition (1775) from Sonora to California overland to found a new military presidio in California as well as open an overland route to the Spanish colonies in CA, one of the mule drivers of the expedition was sent out on detached service to try to find a water source while the small army (which included the families of the soldiers as well) was crossing the Salton sink. I can’t recall his name, but he could hardly believe his eyes when he walked up a box canyon and spotted the masts of a ship, then the hulk of the ship itself lying half-covered in sands. Out of curiosity he went into the ship and found the hold full of pearls! He loaded as many of the pearls as he could into his pack and decided on the spot to quit de Anza’s expedition, setting off on foot to the California settlements on his own – to sell his new booty and get equipment to return for the rest. He managed to get to the settlements alive, (through the assistance of friendly Indios) and made a fortune from his pearls, then equipped himself to return with an Indian guide as a help-mate. He failed to find the ship!

There have been quite a number of reports of sightings of this ship, and the exact site is going to be tough to pin down! It may be in Mexico, or it may be in CA – for I found newspaper reports of a man who lived outside of the town of Niland, who had a strange source of Spanish coins in his back yard! According to neighbors, this fellow had dug up something in his back yard that he would disappear into (as if it were some kind of underground chamber) and come out with coins. He never allowed anyone to enter his mysterious underground chamber, but always had plenty of Spanish coins as well as fine porcelain from China, and after a year of mysterious workings in his back yard, left town as a very wealthy man. Did he find the lost ship, buried in his back yard? If it were the pearl ship, why didn’t he turn up with pearls?

To make matters even more confusing, the Pearl ship is not the ONLY ship believed to be lost in the Salton sink! An English privateer, repeating history, sailed up the Colorado river during a huge flood and found a strange channel flowing west so sailed down it, perhaps expecting to find a new way around California but at any rate ended up very much the same way as Iturbe’s sloop, trapped in a fast-evaporating land-locked lake. This ship would have a great treasure of gold and silver, and almost certainly Chinese porcelain as it had been attacking Spanish galleons on the China trade route. There is another ship that I can’t recall much in the way of details, which was supposedly carried into that same desert basin by a massive tidal wave in the 1800s, which also cast a ship aground near the mouth of the Colorado river at the same instant.

There is also a ship which was being hauled across the desert which was abandoned when the going got too soft, and was the subject of many curious sighting reports. Even stranger is the fact that the local Indian tribes have legends of ancient ships being trapped in the same region, as has been cited by another post here, BEFORE the arrival of the Europeans! To back this up, there are a handful of reports of sightings which can only be describing a quite ancient ship, either something Norse or Phoenician in origins. There is solid evidence to back these very puzzling reports, in the form of photographs! They have been published in a newspaper but I have not (yet) managed to track them down, nonetheless the description of what is in the photos is of a long, narrow ship, with round metal discs (shields?) along the sides and metal covering the hull, a single old mast still erect, and what appears to be oars along the sides. There were a type of Spanish galleon which was also equipped with oars, but odds are this is a very ancient ship, 1000, 2000 or even more years old. Can wood survive in the desert that long, with the termites and all? Yes, though the wood remaining would be as fragile as Styrofoam.

Kimimik wrote:
“Actually the Salton Sea was only formed 100 years ago. The actuall sea never reached that far north. There was an ancient lake that was created by the Colorado River, but it was a fresh water lake and it dried up around 1600. In 1907, a levee broke in Yuma that flooded the Salton Basin and formed the Salton Sea. It is misleading being called a "sea", one would logically assume that it is a remnant of the sea receding, but it isn't. Here is a link to some more information. Hope it helps guide you in the right direction. I suggest that you might want to check out geology sites and research information on the landformations at the time the ship was lost. Don't just go on legends and rumors as I am sure we all have learned, they get us no where. You will find much more success if you look at it scientifically.”

I beg to differ here – for one, according to a geologist friend of mine, the gulf of California did connect with the Salton sink, but over a thousand years ago the increasing sand deposits of the Colorado river eventually sealed it off. (Check this site:
http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/salton/EnvirnEconValueSaltonSea.html
and
http://www.waterrights.ca.gov/IID/IIDHearingData/LocalPublish/Exhibit_22.pdf

here is one quote to back this up, quote
The Salton Basin was once connected to the Gulf of California and was
characterized by a shallow marine environment (Downs and Woodward 1961). For the
past several million years, as the Colorado Plateau was uplifted, the sediments that once
filled the Grand Canyon were deposited in the Gulf of California, eventually building a
huge delta, blocking off the Salton Basin from the ocean. The deltaic dam is now forty
feet above sea level, with a drainage divide about 17 miles south of Mexicali, Mexico
(Dibblee 1954).
End quote, from TESTIMONY OF DR. TIMOTHY P. KRANTZ, Salton Sea Database Program, University of Redlands, To Be Presented to the State Water Resource Control Board, April 30, 2002

So not to nit-pick here but the idea that the Salton sink or trough was never connected to the open sea is mistaken; in fact most of the trough remains below sea level even today despite a continuous geologic uplift raising the entire region slowly – the lowest point is over 200 feet below sea level.

I then must disagree whole-heartedly with this statement: “Don't just go on legends and rumors as I am sure we all have learned, they get us no where. “ – those old legends and myths are pretty much ALL based on facts. I could list a great many instances of successful researchers finding long-lost and long-believed to be mythical ships, treasures and even whole cities, such as the finding of Troy by Schliemann, Helike, the Greek city which suffered the same fate as Atlantis (can't recall the names of the discoverer, but you can find it if you are curious) the Atocha by Mel Fisher (who before his death had recovered over $400 million, and the ship continues to produce still more booty even today) or in lost mines the Tayopa by my friend Real de Tayopa, and many more but this post is already getting really long so will simply point out that by all means execute your search in a scientific manner, be methodical and thorough, but NEVER dismiss those old “legends” as a waste of your time!

I have never had a chance to search for this most fantastical lost treasure, the Pearl ship of the desert, but (God willing and the crick don’t rise, as they used to say in PA) assuming I don’t get too danged crippled up I plan to some day. So if you are ready to dismiss the whole story and write it off to fiction, heck I won’t mind a bit – it is a certainty then that you won’t find it, and at the very least we won’t be tripping over each other digging in the sands over there! (hee hee)

Oroblanco

Remember the wisdom of the ancients…

There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. Matthew 10:26 KJV NT

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Luke 8:17 KJV NT

For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered. Gospel of Thomas, 11

 

[gollum]

Hey Oro,

I never heard the part about De Anza's man finding it.

I did find this story while going over some stuff about the Pearl Ship. In about 1907, a desert rat prospector was on his way to Borrego Springs to get some supplies. He was in the Coyote Canyon area just NorthEast of Borrego Spings, when dust storm kicked up. He found some old dead wood sticking up out of the sand, and made a shelter for the night. When the wind died down, he found his mule was dead. He started a fire with some of the dead wood, and spent the night. The next morning, he noticed that the dead wood looked like part of a ship. He started digging around, and found old rotten baskets everywhere fll of pearls. He filled his pockets, and walked the rest of the way into town. He could never find it again either. He lived there for about 20 years looking for that ship.

Oh! And the reason Iturbide was in the Gulf of Cali was because they had been all up the West Coast. They were full of pearls, and caught a bad storm in the Pacific. One of the galleons was sunk. The last two ships sailed up into the Sea of Cortez for proyection from the storms. When he sailed up the Colorado, he ordered one of the ships to stay behind, in case anything happened to his ship, so they would have a way back to Acapulco. Of the entire crew, only three guys made it to the Gulf (including Iturbide). Some stories say that nobody made it back, and the last ship sailed back to Acapulco sans Iturbide. This is proven untrue, because Spanish Naval Records in Acapulco, show that Iturbide testified about what happened at a hearing into why he lost two of three galleons.

The guy with the Spanish Coins couldn't be THAT ship. They had no reasons to carry money with them. While the West coast was well explored and named, in 1612 when this happened, there was nowhere to spend money! Below is part of a French Map that was made from a Spanish Map in 1655. Notice every Point and Bay is named, but there are no missions or pueblos shown. Everything on the West Coast are abbreviations for Punto, Bahia, or Isla. Look on Mexico proper, and you will see actual missions and pueblos.
\
Best-Mike