Some Pegleg Smith References

[aw11mr2]

I am going to focus on Thomas L. Smith in this thread. Several articles and books claim that another Pegleg Smith actually found the gold in southern California. It could be John O. Smith or another “Pegleg” Smith that roamed the desert between 1852 and the 1860s.

Over the years I have picked up these books at used book stores:

 

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[aw11mr2]

Instead of looking for the above books, I recommend that you download copies of Desert Magazine, which was published from November 1937 to around June 1985. You can read several variations of the Pegleg Smith and other tales of lost black gold nuggets. Desert Magazine contains a wealth of information on Southern California history, geology, natural history, and early attractions, focusing on the Imperial County desert region and later expanding further afield.

If you want some background history of Desert Magazine, search for this newsletter.

 

[aw11mr2]

Golden Mirages – The Story of the Lost Pegleg Mine, The Legendary Three Gold Buttes And Yarns of and by Those Who Know the Desert
Philip A. Bailey
The Macmillan Company, New York, 1948 (3rd printing)
Copyright 1940
Hardcover, xvii + maps + 353 pages

Golden Mirages (1940) includes many stories of lost treasures and folktales of the desert (primarily Imperial and San Diego countries). Although the Pegleg Smith story in Golden Mirages is referenced by most of the other authors, Mr. Bailey mistakenly combines the events of the gold discovery by George Yount during the 1826-27 trapping season with the Pegleg Smith alleged discovery of gold in the Imperial Valley area (possibly during the 1828-1829 trapping season). The book contains a bibliography and several simple maps.

If you want to see Philip A. Bailey’s research files, they are located at Arizona State University: Philip A. Bailey Archival Material 1906 – 1948. Forum member Pegleglooker stated that he has copies of 1,000 pages of Mr. Bailey’s research notes. He posted some of the pages in this forum but I cannot find the thread.

 

[aw11mr2]

The Lame Captain – The Life and Adventures of Pegleg Smith
Sardis W. Templeton
Westernlore Press, Los Angeles, Copyright 1965
Hardcover, 239 pages
LCC No. 65-21223

The Lame Captain (1965) contains the bibliography Thomas L. Smith. The author includes a short description of Pegleg’s lost gold in Southern California desert and refer readers to Golden Mirages for more detail. Based on his research, there is a haze of historical information regarding Pegleg Smith’s location between March 1828 (SW Wyoming) & Spring of 1829 (Taos, NM) and Spring of 1829 & Fall of 1829 (Taos, NM). It appears possible that Thomas L. “Pegleg” Smith did travel to Los Angeles, California in 1829. The book contains an extensive bibliography.

 

[aw11mr2]

On the Trail of Peg Leg Smith’s Lost Gold
J. Wilson McKenney
Desert Press, Inc., Palm Desert, California, 1957
Copyright 1957
Softcover, 57 pages

J. Wilson McKenney was co-publisher of Desert Magazine with Randall Henderson, which started in November 1937. He served as business manager for 21 months, leaving in 1939. The author repeats or summarizes the Pegleg stories printed in Desert Magazine before 1957. The booklet does not contain a bibliography but identifies the month and year the story appeared in Desert Magazine. The booklet contains many photos that were published in Desert Magazine and the general search area map.

 

[aw11mr2]

Legendary and Geological History of Lost Desert Gold
Ralph L. Caine
GEDCO Publishing Co., Third edition
Copyright 1951
Softcover, 71 pages

Part 1 contains various stories of lost gold in the Imperial Valley. In Part 2, the author attempts to describe the geological processes that formed the Borrego Basin and his thoughts on the source of the Pegleg gold nuggets. The booklet contains a general area map and six maps showing his theory of “fault rift movement” of mountain blocks. If I understand his theory correctly, the major faults (San Andreas, San Jacinto, Clark, and Banner) become spreading basins at different times, moving mountain blocks, as sediment fills the riff between the block. The sediment is derived from weathering of the mountain blocks and mountains to the west. There doesn’t seem to be much lateral movements of the faults. Mr. Caine believes the gold is likely derived from weathering of the earth in the Julian mining district. The booklet does not contain a bibliography for the treasure tales or geologic interpretation.

 

[aw11mr2]

Pegleg’s Lost Gold
Jesse Rascoe (aka: Ed Bartholomew)
Frontier Book Co., Fort Davis, TX, 1973
Copyright 1973
Softcover, 101 pages

The author has a unique writing style, and I enjoyed the way he presents the information. He tries to reconcile most of the Pegleg stories and points out the variety of routes that Pegleg Smith might have taken across the Imperial Valley. The author mentions some of his sources in his narrative but does not include a bibliography.

 

[aw11mr2]

Pegleg, To Date – And Beyond
John Southworth
Self-Published, 1975
Copyright 1975
Softcover, 64 pages

John Southworth’s book basically summarized the lost “black gold nuggets” stories printed in Desert Magazine prior to 1975. The author spends time dissecting the story of the man that claimed to have discovered Pegleg’s gold and removed $314,650 worth of nuggets. Desert Magazine (March 1965) nicknamed him “The Man Who Found Peglegs Black Gold” and “Mr. Pegleg.” Mr. Southworth doesn’t believe Mr. Pegleg’s discovery claim but feels at least four other lost black gold stories are credible. He wrote an article for Desert Magazine (April 1965) describing one of the “verified” black gold nugget discoveries (on the eastern side of the Chocolate Mtn.). The author appears to have lived in Southern California (Burbank, CA), so I am surprised he did not mention whether he visited the Desert Magazine office to inspect the nuggets. He did put an ad in Desert Magazine asking Mr. Pegleg to sell him a gold nugget. There is a short bibliography (listing six books).

 

[aw11mr2]

New Light Shed on Mr. Pegleg Smith
Charles L. Camp
John Howell Books, San Francisco
200 copies printed
Softcover, 10 pages

New Light Shed on Mr. Pegleg Smith is different from the books noted above and not useful to Pegleg hunters. The author, Charles L. Camp (a historian), appears to be a member of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus (ECV). I think the point of his book is that we should acknowledge the accomplishments of Pegleg Smith as a mountain man and trapper. Writers should not try to clean up his image and celebrate his reputation as a scoundrel, alcoholic, horse thief, and liar.

 

[aw11mr2]

Some books that might provide some historical context or regional information.

 

[aw11mr2]

Some maps and geology related publications. There are also plenty of United States Geological Survey (U.S.G.S) and older California Mines & Geology reports that cover San Diego and Imperial counties available for free download on the Internet. Mindat.org also is a valuable source of information of mining claims, geology, and mineral deposits.

 

[aw11mr2]

Just about any “lost mines and buried treasure” publication pertaining to lost mine stories in the southwest includes a story on Pegleg Smith’s lost black gold nuggets. Unfortunately, these books will probably not help untangle the different versions of the story.

 

[Steve Baldwin]

I'm a member of the "Legend Detectives" research team that included John Grasson, many of whom you knew as "Pegleglooker." As you may have heard, John passed away in a car accident over a year ago but the team has continued to do research on both the Lost Ship of the Desert story and the Pegleg story. Based on the research that John had amassed about Pegleg and research that I have collected from over 20 different museums, archives and libraries, the Legend Detectives team has come to some conclusions about the Pegleg story that we wanted to share:

1) The best research about Pegleg's life are not found in the books that have been posted on TreasureNet. The details about the real Pegleg can be found in a number of obscure journals, diaries and manuscripts I have found, some of which are in public libraries but most are quite rare. The 3-4 popular books that everyone reads about Pegleg contain mostly recycled myths that were created 40 years after his death.

2) The original Pegleg Smith never discovered gold. In fact, in the few times that Pegleg actually spoke to a reporter about his life firsthand, he does not even mention discovering gold on the Colorado Desert.

3) The only gold Pegleg had anything to do with was when he was trapping on the Virgin River and a fellow trapper found some gold nuggets in the river. This would be where Lake Mead is today. But he did not make this discovery, nor were the nuggets found on a butte and nor were they "blackened gold."

4) In the only documented expedition made by Pegleg to try to locate gold later in his life, I have found statements by participants that the expedition did NOT go to the Colorado desert but rather to the the Virgin River but the expedition dissolved before they made it there.

5) The story about the three buttes, black gold, etc. were all popularized after the death of the original Pegleg Smith and there is no evidence that the original Pegleg had anything to do with these stories.

6) According to the unpublished papers of some of the most popular Pegleg writers, they themselves did not believe the story about finding black gold on a butte and many of them did not even believe that Pegleg crossed the Colorado desert in 1829. I'm referring to perhaps the eight most prolific Pegleg writers of the last 80 years. Indeed, many of them wrote private notes to the effect that the story was probably fake but went ahead and wrote books that promoted the story anyway.

5) I've also tracked down accounts of 7 colleagues of Pegleg who knew him well and all say that he never discovered gold nuggets in the Colorado desert. One for example, was the fur trapper and California pioneer George Yount who was trapping with Pegleg shortly before Pegled allegedly crossed the Colorado desert and found gold on a butte. Yount issued a statement saying that that this trip never happened.

6) It is likely that the original Pegleg did tell some stories about finding gold to get free drinks in the 1850s when he was destitute in San Francisco but it appears that he copied the story about finding black gold from numerous other black gold stories that were circulating at the time. Bear in mind, the Gold Rush was ongoing at this time and lots of get-rich-quick types had flooded into California eager to hear stories about gold. So Pegleg told them stories in return for food and booze and such stories were wildly different every time he told them. They were easy suckers.

7) There was indeed a 2nd Pegleg Smith as others have theorized. I have found compelling evidence that a man who also went by the name "Pegleg Smith" did indeed discover a gold lode mine in the Colorado desert or the Chocolate Mts. in the 1880's but died a short time later. There is also compelling evidence that a soldier out of Ft. Yuma found the mine but he may have been a partner of this Pegleg so he knew the location of the mine. The soldier found Pegleg's body in the desert but I believe there's a good chance he killed Pegleg. It was this soldier who later stumbled into San Bernardino dying of thirst and was treated by a Dr. DeCorse who, after the soldier's death, spent years looking for the mine. After interviewing descendants of Dr. DeCorse, I am convinced that this part of the Pegleg story is real, but again, Dr. DeCorse was NOT treating the original Pegleg but rather Pegleg 2nd. By this time, the original Pegleg had been dead for years.

8) The stories about the squaw carrying black gold stumbling into a Southern Pacific railroad construction camp and the story about a Warner's Ranch employee finding gold nuggets nearby were disproven by a reporter in the late 1800's who questioned Southern Pacific railroad and Warner Ranch officials and both said not such events took place. Moreover, the assayer in Los Angeles who is named in many popular Pegleg stories and books has also stated that Pegleg never visited him. But again, these stories are attributed to the original Pegleg, not to Pegleg 2nd.
9) The hunt is on for the identity of Pegleg 2nd and the identity of the military man who found the mine and the Legend Detectives hope to have some breakthroughs in the next few months regarding this.

The Legend Detectives are currently engaged in deep research involving not only the Pegleg story, but also the Lost Ship of the Desert, the Henry Brandt story, the Iron door Mine, and three other stories. Our plan is to convert these stories into a television series that will be factual and entertaining. We are currently producing a pilot show and will keep our TreasureNet friends informed of our progress.

 

[ARC]

View attachment 2008634
Instead of looking for the above books, I recommend that you download copies of Desert Magazine, which was published from November 1937 to around June 1985. You can read several variations of the Pegleg Smith and other tales of lost black gold nuggets. Desert Magazine contains a wealth of information on Southern California history, geology, natural history, and early attractions, focusing on the Imperial County desert region and later expanding further afield.
View attachment 2008635

If you want some background history of Desert Magazine, search for this newsletter.

I have a small stack of the Desert mags somewhere around here.

 

[Steve Baldwin]

I have a small stack of the Desert mags somewhere around here.

Yes, the Legend Detective team acquired the entire Desert Magazine archive and there are indeed, some great pieces about Pegleg, but if you really want to find out more about the original Pegleg, here are some great articles/books/documents:

1) "George C. Yount and his Chronicles of the West," by Charles Camp
2) "Fur Brigade to the Bonaventura: John Work's California Expedition of 1832 for the Hudson Bay Company."
3) "Ewing Young in the Fur Trade of the Far Southwest," Oregon Hist. Society.
4) "Pegleg, Man & Mine," Overland Monthly, Oct 1930
5) "The Two Smiths, The Pacific Historian
6) "Wakara, Hawk of the Mountains," by Paul Bailey
7) Phillip Bailey's notes at ASU
8) Bancroft, "History of California"
9) "On The Old West Trail," and "Reminiscents of a Ranger, by Horace Bell
10)"Gold Rush" by J. Goldborough Bruff
11) "Mountain Men and Fur Trappers of the Far West." This is a ten volume set but Pegleg appears in one Volume. e.
12) "The Old Santa Fe Trail" by Harry Inman
13) "King of the Tulares" by Anne Mitchell
14) The Jimeno document, Nov 10 1841
15) "Notes on the Cockrell Family and Peg leg Smith."
16) Letters to and from Pegleg Smith with Brigham Young, LDS Library
!7) Hutchings California Magazine, "Sketches from the Life of Pegleg," Oct, 1860 - March 1961
18) "History of San Bernardino" by Brown and Boyd
19) "Wild Life in the Far West: Personal Adventures of a Border Man, Capt James Hobbs
20)"Expeditions, Trading and Life of Thomas L. (Pegleg) Smith." Glen Humphreys, BYU


These 20 books, articles and documents will put you on a journey that will inform you about who the real Peg Leg Smith was. Some of these will require contact with libraries, historical societies, visits to special collections and so forth. A few are on-line. Many are hard to find but if you want to be a Pegleg expert, this is a great start. Then, if you want to take this further, subscribe to some of the newspaper archives on-line and print out every newspaper article you can find about Pegleg from 1840 to 1940. I warn you -- we are talking about 300 plus articles.

 

[Steve Baldwin]

View attachment 2008636
Golden Mirages – The Story of the Lost Pegleg Mine, The Legendary Three Gold Buttes And Yarns of and by Those Who Know the Desert
Philip A. Bailey
The Macmillan Company, New York, 1948 (3rd printing)
Copyright 1940
Hardcover, xvii + maps + 353 pages

Golden Mirages (1940) includes many stories of lost treasures and folktales of the desert (primarily Imperial and San Diego countries). Although the Pegleg Smith story in Golden Mirages is referenced by most of the other authors, Mr. Bailey mistakenly combines the events of the gold discovery by George Yount during the 1826-27 trapping season with the Pegleg Smith alleged discovery of gold in the Imperial Valley area (possibly during the 1828-1829 trapping season). The book contains a bibliography and several simple maps.

If you want to see Philip A. Bailey’s research files, they are located at Arizona State University: Philip A. Bailey Archival Material 1906 – 1948. Forum member Pegleglooker stated that he has copies of 1,000 pages of Mr. Bailey’s research notes. He posted some of the pages in this forum but I cannot find the thread.

Yes, John's research team inherited all his Bailey files from ASU and its a lot of info. He had notes on many of the lost mine stories that do not appear in the book.

 

[Oronegro]