Donner Party Gold
- Thread starter jeff of pa
- Start date
cptbil
Bronze Member
OK JEFF!
You got my interest "peaked" :P
So! Now where's the rest of the story?
"Western Edge of the Great Salt Lake?
Isn't That about where the main party broke up and that part became known as
"The Donner Party" ?
SAY?
Another subject, But!
Got any information about the Mormon Silver Dollars?
That were minted by the "Mormons" to alleviate the currency shortage back then?
You got my interest "peaked" :P
So! Now where's the rest of the story?
"Western Edge of the Great Salt Lake?
Isn't That about where the main party broke up and that part became known as
"The Donner Party" ?
SAY?
Another subject, But!
Got any information about the Mormon Silver Dollars?
That were minted by the "Mormons" to alleviate the currency shortage back then?
OP
OP
- Thread starter
- #3
cptbil said:
I didn't read this Through Bill,
But Is this maby What your Referring to ?
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,73866.0.html
cptbild
Sr. Member
Where, what "post", did I use this term ?
OP
OP
- Thread starter
- #5
cptbild said:
Right above my other Post
Gypsy Heart
Gold Member
In 1879, Keseberg gave a statement to C.F. McGlashan................. Some time after Mrs. Donner's death....................., I thought I had gained sufficient strength to redeem the pledge I had made to her before her death. I started to go to the camps at Alder Creek to get the money..... had a very difficult journey. The wagons of the Donners were loaded with tobacco, powder, caps, shoes, school-books, and dry-goods. This stock was very valuable, and had it reached California would have been a fortune to the Donners. I searched carefully among the bales and bundles of goods, and found five hundred and thirty-one dollars. Part of this sum was silver, part gold. The silver I buried at the foot of a pine tree, a little way from the camp. One of the lower branches of another tree reached down close to the ground, and appeared to point to the spot. I put the gold in my pocket, and started to return to my cabin. I had spent one night at the Donner tents."
It was rumored that some members of the party buried gold and jewels as they abandoned their wagons on the salt flats. Such an idea was begun by Virginia Reed, a young girl traveling with her family in the Donner Party. She asserted that one of the Reeds' wagons, named the Pioneer Palace, was buried along with many valuable possessions in the desert sand. During the 1980s, archaeologists Bruce Hawkins and David Madsen explored the site of the wagon burials and concluded that Virginia Reed had been mistaken. Wagons and household goods were buried, they discovered, but nothing of great value. In their explorations, the archaeologists found metal and wooden wagon parts, animal bones, and the charcoal residue from the pioneers' fires. They also found wagon ruts, most likely from the Pioneer Palace, almost 150 years after it set out for California.
Others are interested in studying the Donner Lake and Alder Creek campsites for historical information. For example, in April 1879, the Donner Lake cabin sites were informally excavated by some survivors and author C. F. McGlashan, who later wrote a book on the subject.
McGlashan noted that
many of the leading citizens were present and assisted in searching for the relics. . . . A great many pins have been found, most of which are the old-fashioned round-headed ones. A strange feature in regard to these pins is that although bright and clean, they crumble and break at almost the slightest touch. . . . One of the most touching relics, in view of the sad, sad history, is the sole of an infant's shoe. The tiny babe who wore the shoe was probably among the number who perished of starvation.
A more recent excavation of the Alder Creek area took place during the summer of 1990. A group of archaeology professors and students from the University of Nevada in Reno, headed by Dr. Don Hardesty, explored the theory that the actual location of the tents at Alder Creek was misidentified. How could this have happened? First, fewer people survived that location. Second, their flimsy tents would have deteriorated quickly, leaving no permanent record. What's more, when Peter Wedell marked the Donner Lake and Alder Creek sites for historical purposes during the 1920s, he had to guess at the actual site of the Alder Creek tents. He based his decision on the location of some tall tree stumps and a partly burned ponderosa pine tree. The Donner Lake sites, on the other hand, were easily identified by the foundations of the three cabins.
Professor Hardesty wanted to set the record straight. What is interesting about his "treasure hunt" is that he was accompanied by a team of three treasure hunters, equipped with metal detectors. Although archaeologists and treasure hunters usually do not mix well, this time they teamed up to produce important results. First, the detectorists scanned the area with their machines. Every time they heard a signal, they placed a stickpin flag at that location. Then the archaeologists dug carefully at each flag location and removed any objects they found. When something important was uncovered, they placed it in a plastic bag and filled out forms about the location of the discovery.
During June and July 1990, the team covered the official" tent sites at Alder Creek and found no remnants of the Donner families. Nearby, however, they turned up many artifacts, including tools, wagon parts, coins, china fragments, and upholstery tacks. Was this the real location of the Alder Creek tents? Even these facts cannot definitely prove that the Donners had camped at that site. According to William Lindemann, curator of the Emigrant Trail Museum at the Donner Memorial State Park, people are unaware that over a period of many years, moles and other rodents have a habit of moving and thereby scattering artifacts that have been left behind. Pinpointing the location will take years of exacting study. Nonetheless, Professor Hardesty hopes to provide a conclusive result and, when that occurs, to request that the regional archaeologist of the National Forest Service correct the error. If that happens, Professor Hardesty will have found the treasure he sought: the correction of history.
In the meantime, should you wish to visit the Alder Creek site, take Route 89 north until you see the National Forest Service sign: Donner Camp Picnic Site. You will find two trails that form a loop through the site. To see the misidentified location, take the left-hand trail and follow the signs. To see Hardesty's location, take the right-hand trail and, as the trail curves to the left, look for the small area of broken ground on the left. A few clumps of dirt may not look important, but the artifacts they reveal may change a small piece of history.
It was rumored that some members of the party buried gold and jewels as they abandoned their wagons on the salt flats. Such an idea was begun by Virginia Reed, a young girl traveling with her family in the Donner Party. She asserted that one of the Reeds' wagons, named the Pioneer Palace, was buried along with many valuable possessions in the desert sand. During the 1980s, archaeologists Bruce Hawkins and David Madsen explored the site of the wagon burials and concluded that Virginia Reed had been mistaken. Wagons and household goods were buried, they discovered, but nothing of great value. In their explorations, the archaeologists found metal and wooden wagon parts, animal bones, and the charcoal residue from the pioneers' fires. They also found wagon ruts, most likely from the Pioneer Palace, almost 150 years after it set out for California.
Others are interested in studying the Donner Lake and Alder Creek campsites for historical information. For example, in April 1879, the Donner Lake cabin sites were informally excavated by some survivors and author C. F. McGlashan, who later wrote a book on the subject.
McGlashan noted that
many of the leading citizens were present and assisted in searching for the relics. . . . A great many pins have been found, most of which are the old-fashioned round-headed ones. A strange feature in regard to these pins is that although bright and clean, they crumble and break at almost the slightest touch. . . . One of the most touching relics, in view of the sad, sad history, is the sole of an infant's shoe. The tiny babe who wore the shoe was probably among the number who perished of starvation.
A more recent excavation of the Alder Creek area took place during the summer of 1990. A group of archaeology professors and students from the University of Nevada in Reno, headed by Dr. Don Hardesty, explored the theory that the actual location of the tents at Alder Creek was misidentified. How could this have happened? First, fewer people survived that location. Second, their flimsy tents would have deteriorated quickly, leaving no permanent record. What's more, when Peter Wedell marked the Donner Lake and Alder Creek sites for historical purposes during the 1920s, he had to guess at the actual site of the Alder Creek tents. He based his decision on the location of some tall tree stumps and a partly burned ponderosa pine tree. The Donner Lake sites, on the other hand, were easily identified by the foundations of the three cabins.
Professor Hardesty wanted to set the record straight. What is interesting about his "treasure hunt" is that he was accompanied by a team of three treasure hunters, equipped with metal detectors. Although archaeologists and treasure hunters usually do not mix well, this time they teamed up to produce important results. First, the detectorists scanned the area with their machines. Every time they heard a signal, they placed a stickpin flag at that location. Then the archaeologists dug carefully at each flag location and removed any objects they found. When something important was uncovered, they placed it in a plastic bag and filled out forms about the location of the discovery.
During June and July 1990, the team covered the official" tent sites at Alder Creek and found no remnants of the Donner families. Nearby, however, they turned up many artifacts, including tools, wagon parts, coins, china fragments, and upholstery tacks. Was this the real location of the Alder Creek tents? Even these facts cannot definitely prove that the Donners had camped at that site. According to William Lindemann, curator of the Emigrant Trail Museum at the Donner Memorial State Park, people are unaware that over a period of many years, moles and other rodents have a habit of moving and thereby scattering artifacts that have been left behind. Pinpointing the location will take years of exacting study. Nonetheless, Professor Hardesty hopes to provide a conclusive result and, when that occurs, to request that the regional archaeologist of the National Forest Service correct the error. If that happens, Professor Hardesty will have found the treasure he sought: the correction of history.
In the meantime, should you wish to visit the Alder Creek site, take Route 89 north until you see the National Forest Service sign: Donner Camp Picnic Site. You will find two trails that form a loop through the site. To see the misidentified location, take the left-hand trail and follow the signs. To see Hardesty's location, take the right-hand trail and, as the trail curves to the left, look for the small area of broken ground on the left. A few clumps of dirt may not look important, but the artifacts they reveal may change a small piece of history.
warsawdaddy
Gold Member
I believe in the online book by the youngest Donner girl that I posted in reccommended reading,she mentions 'cached' goods in one chapter.I haven't read all of it yet but because Jim Reed was a cousin in my lineage,I'll read it thru.
tapoutking
Sr. Member
Taken directly from James Reed diary from 1847.
"Cont'd) and as fast as possible resusitate the enfeebled (?) so that they might in a few days start, took 3 children of J Donner and the men (?) I took in and returned the same day making this 20 miles carrying 2 of the child got back to the other cabins about 8 o'ck, much worn down, as I passed Mr(s) Graves (?) told them I would be (?) of in the morning, the men that remained with him (her?) today cached the principal of his (her?) effects and got for her out of one of the waggons about 800 in gold & silver which was concealed in a slat (-----?) or (?) bracket that was nailed in the middle (?) of the bed the money being placed (?) in grooves (-----?) made for the purpose"
"Cont'd) and as fast as possible resusitate the enfeebled (?) so that they might in a few days start, took 3 children of J Donner and the men (?) I took in and returned the same day making this 20 miles carrying 2 of the child got back to the other cabins about 8 o'ck, much worn down, as I passed Mr(s) Graves (?) told them I would be (?) of in the morning, the men that remained with him (her?) today cached the principal of his (her?) effects and got for her out of one of the waggons about 800 in gold & silver which was concealed in a slat (-----?) or (?) bracket that was nailed in the middle (?) of the bed the money being placed (?) in grooves (-----?) made for the purpose"
Cleetus
Full Member
- Oct 24, 2011
- 189
- 14
- Detector(s) used
- Fisher Gold Bug Pro
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
The Donner route across the Salt Flats is known and artifacts have been found along it. I've heard even some of the wagon wheel ruts are still there, but I don't know if that's true. The Donner party did definitely jettisoned a lot of their heavy belongings there. I have heard that a number of people have carefully devoted their years of their time to systematically searching the route. The Mormons minted their own coins for at least 2 years, to supplement the lack of coinage. People traveling were reluctant to part with a gold coin which they had converted their wealth to. This minting wasn't counterfeiting, because at the time Utah was called the Great State of Deseret and not part of the U.S. Only after the U.S./Mormon war did it eventually become a state. It encompassed 1/2 of Nevada, the bottom strip of Idaho, and some of Arizona and Colorado. The Mormon coins are covered with esoteric, Masonic like symbols,. Pyramids, All seeing eyes and secret handshakes......some of the rarest coins of U.S. coins.
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