skyhawk1251
Sr. Member
Jim Bark mentions "the horse country" in his notes, where he observed a large area of cut, mesquite timber, and which he assumed to have been used to line the walls of a pit mine. Using Bark's notes as a reference, if the pit mine had vertical walls (which it probably did not) and six-foot drops for each one-foot offset, a 75-foot deep pit would have been 25-feet wide just for the walls with the offsets, and this does not allow for the added width of the bottom of the pit mine, so Bark's claim that the pit was 75-feet across is not extreme. The pit's walls could have been sloped as much as 45 degrees.
I would agree with Bark that it was possible to line the pit with the cut timber. I'm wondering how the timber could have been securely held in place to assure against cave-ins. I'm also wondering if there is any evidence remaining of the cut mesquite timber (think stumps) to this day.
As for "the horse country", I'm assuming that it is the larger area where Horse Camp Basin is located. See the Google Earth images below. Sims Ely places the horse country as being about ten miles northeast of Bark's ranch (Quarter Circle U). I'm assuming that Sims Ely measured by trail distance, because the line-of-sight distance from Quarter Circle U to Horse Camp Basin is much less than ten miles.
As for the "ancient camp" mentioned by Jim Bark, he does not specify if the artifacts he saw there were of anglo or Mexican origin. I'm thinking that some smaller relics could still be found there by someone with a metal detector.
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"Horse Camp Basin is the area where Brownie Holmes found a 40-acre site of cut mesquite stumps. It is also where the remains of a work camp were found, barrels gone to hoops and staves, new horse shoes, etc. It was also known as the Soldier Camp. One of the oldest trails in the Superstions goes by there, the Old Spanish Trail. Estee Conaster has it starting into the mountains near Miner's Needle, going through the Whiskey Springs area, through LaBarge Box, and northward along the east side of the range that is formed by Herman Mountain, Sheep Mountain, Music Mountain, and onward to the Salt River. Since it went past what was known as the Soldier Camp, could this have been what Jacob Waltz referred to as the Military Trail?" -- von kidd
"Horse Camp Basin is on the east side of Music Mountain, which is to the south of Peter's Mesa. The Hoolie Bacon trail would take you there from the south. Check the Weaver's Needle topo. I forgot to mention a couple of other clues that suggest that this portion of the Old Spanish Trail is what Jacob Waltz refered to as the military trail.
"First, he told Julia and Rhiney that they could ride in a wagon (with him on a cot in the wagon bed) as far as the board house. This was the Quarter Circle U ranch house. Jacob told them that he could point out the trail to take over the mountains to them from there. This is where the Old Spanish Trail entered the Superstitions near Miner's Needle. It goes north past Whiskey Springs and enters LaBarge Box, following it to the east and turning north from there along the Hoolie Bacon trail. Second, Jacob also told Julia and Rhiney that if they came to three red hills they've gone too far. Near the east end of LaBarge Box and the point where the trail turns north is one of the two places in the Superstitions where there is found three red hills in a group." -- von kidd
"The three red hills are there, I saw them myself on my last trip into the Superstitions. After you come out of LaBarge Box and continue to follow the trail east, they are to the north before you hit the Hoolie Bacon trail." -- von kidd (posting in a forum on another website)
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HORSE COUNTRY -- "The Lost Dutchman Mine" by Sims Ely
The horse country to which Jim referred is a grassy plateau, some ten miles long from east to west and about four miles wide, in a region approximately ten miles northeast of the Bark Ranch. There the surplus horses are turned loose after rodeo. Water is always accessible within a few miles, and if the weather becomes severe, the horses can take refuge in sheltered canyons. The plateau is not level, however, for it dips into a basin which forms the head of the Le Barge "box." A canyon more than a mile long, the box is impassable along its floor, but on the wall of one side a trail has been constructed for pack animals and cowboys.
The soldier camp, so-called, is situated at the westerly end of the horse country. The visible signs there consist of some two acres of thick brush in which there are many remains of an ancient camp -- the staves of many kegs, rusted hoops, ancient cartridge shells, and the like. The cowboys who gave the place its name were influenced by these relics and -- most interesting of all -- the great number of tree stumps. The stumps are mesquite, and they vary in diameter from seven or eight inches to a foot or more. They cover an area of at least forty acres. -- Sims Ely
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EXCERPTS FROM BARK'S NOTES -- CHAPTER THREE: JACOB WALSH
Now, in regard to the monumented trail: I have followed it over the mountain without difficulty, and then the monuments could not be found for about two miles, when we found them along a trail where cattle did not travel, thence over a divide into the horse country, where the monuments failed us again, but led us to a much more significant feature of the story: that is, the cut mesquite timber. Helena and Rhiney said that Jake told them that there were two pits at the mine about 75 feet deep and like distance across the top; that they were lined with mesquite wood and would drop about six feet, then an offset of about a foot, and so on down to the bottom. Upon every offset, there would be a toe ladder, a stick of timber with notches cut in it that the peons would climb by placing their toes in the top with a rawhide sack on their backs and a strap around their foreheads, the sack filled with ore. It really was astonishing to see how fast men who were used to that kind of mining could come up from the bottom with a load of about one hundred pounds. Now, those pits took considerable mesquite, and we positively have found where they were cut, and they could not have been cut for any other purpose that we can conceive, and they were all cut with an ax, a tool that Apache Indians never used. The cut timber must have gone down, as the cutting is on top of the mountain and covers quite a large area. We have been working on the cut timber for several years, and we have found where they had quite a camp at one time, just to cut and pack the wood. They must have left it in a hurry, as we found a lot of small horseshoes (new), several kegs, gone to staves and hoops, as there is no water there, and other evidences of a camp. Now, we think we know very nearly where the wood left the mesa and that will be our next attach this winter. Jake also told them that at times Juaquin Murietta, the bandit with his gang, would join with the Peralta outfit and come to the Superstition mountains and to the Peralta camp as a mutual protection; and that at the camp they had a Mexican race track, and that Murietta's outfit would run horses against Peralta's. He said they would skin the Peraltas out of all the money the had, and that Murietta had a silver mine somewhere beyond and they would move on to his mine for a load of silver ore. I have undoubtedly found that camp and the race track. -- Jim Bark
I would agree with Bark that it was possible to line the pit with the cut timber. I'm wondering how the timber could have been securely held in place to assure against cave-ins. I'm also wondering if there is any evidence remaining of the cut mesquite timber (think stumps) to this day.
As for "the horse country", I'm assuming that it is the larger area where Horse Camp Basin is located. See the Google Earth images below. Sims Ely places the horse country as being about ten miles northeast of Bark's ranch (Quarter Circle U). I'm assuming that Sims Ely measured by trail distance, because the line-of-sight distance from Quarter Circle U to Horse Camp Basin is much less than ten miles.
As for the "ancient camp" mentioned by Jim Bark, he does not specify if the artifacts he saw there were of anglo or Mexican origin. I'm thinking that some smaller relics could still be found there by someone with a metal detector.
*************************
"Horse Camp Basin is the area where Brownie Holmes found a 40-acre site of cut mesquite stumps. It is also where the remains of a work camp were found, barrels gone to hoops and staves, new horse shoes, etc. It was also known as the Soldier Camp. One of the oldest trails in the Superstions goes by there, the Old Spanish Trail. Estee Conaster has it starting into the mountains near Miner's Needle, going through the Whiskey Springs area, through LaBarge Box, and northward along the east side of the range that is formed by Herman Mountain, Sheep Mountain, Music Mountain, and onward to the Salt River. Since it went past what was known as the Soldier Camp, could this have been what Jacob Waltz referred to as the Military Trail?" -- von kidd
"Horse Camp Basin is on the east side of Music Mountain, which is to the south of Peter's Mesa. The Hoolie Bacon trail would take you there from the south. Check the Weaver's Needle topo. I forgot to mention a couple of other clues that suggest that this portion of the Old Spanish Trail is what Jacob Waltz refered to as the military trail.
"First, he told Julia and Rhiney that they could ride in a wagon (with him on a cot in the wagon bed) as far as the board house. This was the Quarter Circle U ranch house. Jacob told them that he could point out the trail to take over the mountains to them from there. This is where the Old Spanish Trail entered the Superstitions near Miner's Needle. It goes north past Whiskey Springs and enters LaBarge Box, following it to the east and turning north from there along the Hoolie Bacon trail. Second, Jacob also told Julia and Rhiney that if they came to three red hills they've gone too far. Near the east end of LaBarge Box and the point where the trail turns north is one of the two places in the Superstitions where there is found three red hills in a group." -- von kidd
"The three red hills are there, I saw them myself on my last trip into the Superstitions. After you come out of LaBarge Box and continue to follow the trail east, they are to the north before you hit the Hoolie Bacon trail." -- von kidd (posting in a forum on another website)
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HORSE COUNTRY -- "The Lost Dutchman Mine" by Sims Ely
The horse country to which Jim referred is a grassy plateau, some ten miles long from east to west and about four miles wide, in a region approximately ten miles northeast of the Bark Ranch. There the surplus horses are turned loose after rodeo. Water is always accessible within a few miles, and if the weather becomes severe, the horses can take refuge in sheltered canyons. The plateau is not level, however, for it dips into a basin which forms the head of the Le Barge "box." A canyon more than a mile long, the box is impassable along its floor, but on the wall of one side a trail has been constructed for pack animals and cowboys.
The soldier camp, so-called, is situated at the westerly end of the horse country. The visible signs there consist of some two acres of thick brush in which there are many remains of an ancient camp -- the staves of many kegs, rusted hoops, ancient cartridge shells, and the like. The cowboys who gave the place its name were influenced by these relics and -- most interesting of all -- the great number of tree stumps. The stumps are mesquite, and they vary in diameter from seven or eight inches to a foot or more. They cover an area of at least forty acres. -- Sims Ely
*************************
EXCERPTS FROM BARK'S NOTES -- CHAPTER THREE: JACOB WALSH
Now, in regard to the monumented trail: I have followed it over the mountain without difficulty, and then the monuments could not be found for about two miles, when we found them along a trail where cattle did not travel, thence over a divide into the horse country, where the monuments failed us again, but led us to a much more significant feature of the story: that is, the cut mesquite timber. Helena and Rhiney said that Jake told them that there were two pits at the mine about 75 feet deep and like distance across the top; that they were lined with mesquite wood and would drop about six feet, then an offset of about a foot, and so on down to the bottom. Upon every offset, there would be a toe ladder, a stick of timber with notches cut in it that the peons would climb by placing their toes in the top with a rawhide sack on their backs and a strap around their foreheads, the sack filled with ore. It really was astonishing to see how fast men who were used to that kind of mining could come up from the bottom with a load of about one hundred pounds. Now, those pits took considerable mesquite, and we positively have found where they were cut, and they could not have been cut for any other purpose that we can conceive, and they were all cut with an ax, a tool that Apache Indians never used. The cut timber must have gone down, as the cutting is on top of the mountain and covers quite a large area. We have been working on the cut timber for several years, and we have found where they had quite a camp at one time, just to cut and pack the wood. They must have left it in a hurry, as we found a lot of small horseshoes (new), several kegs, gone to staves and hoops, as there is no water there, and other evidences of a camp. Now, we think we know very nearly where the wood left the mesa and that will be our next attach this winter. Jake also told them that at times Juaquin Murietta, the bandit with his gang, would join with the Peralta outfit and come to the Superstition mountains and to the Peralta camp as a mutual protection; and that at the camp they had a Mexican race track, and that Murietta's outfit would run horses against Peralta's. He said they would skin the Peraltas out of all the money the had, and that Murietta had a silver mine somewhere beyond and they would move on to his mine for a load of silver ore. I have undoubtedly found that camp and the race track. -- Jim Bark
