The Lost Adams Diggings was never lost

[sdcfia]

Many solutions have been offered, but the Lost Adams Diggings mystery - where it was located - has not yet been convincingly answered, IMO. I've been pondering the problem for decades and here is a paper that may help remove the confusion.

The Lost Adams Diggings

 

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[mdog]

Many solutions have been offered, but the Lost Adams Diggings mystery - where it was located - has not yet been convincingly answered, IMO. I've been pondering the problem for decades and here is a paper that may help remove the confusion.

The Lost Adams Diggings

That is an excellent article, Steve. The pictures and maps were great and made the geography a lot easier to understand.

In his book, The Spider Rock Treasure, Steve Wilson gives a few pages to Jacob Snively and his discovery of a Spanish silver mine found in the region of the Spider Rock legend. Seems like the guy had good luck finding precious metals.

Thanks for the article.

 

[mdog]

Sdcfia, on your map showing LAD search areas in New Mexico, the Zuni Mountains are shown. Do you know what might have directed the search to that area?

The Zuni Mountains and the Bear Creek and Pinos Altos locations are areas of interest to me.

 

[sdcfia]

Sdcfia, on your map showing LAD search areas in New Mexico, the Zuni Mountains are shown. Do you know what might have directed the search to that area?

The Zuni Mountains and the Bear Creek and Pinos Altos locations are areas of interest to me.

The Zuni Mountains are near the historically recent lava that covers the ground surface flow in that part of New Mexico. Some of the LAD stories mention "malpais" near the diggings. That term means "rough country", but many folks equate it to a lava flow.

 

[Randy Bradford]

Having never been to New Mexico, I'm always amazed how much my research on various topics brings me back there. Steve, between this and that file you sent me some time back with all the Adams material in it (collected materials), I think you've epitomized the kind of thorough, thoughtful, and insightful research I wish a whole lot more folks on this forum could engage in. Hats off to ya sir...

 

[mdog]

The Zuni Mountains are near the historically recent lava that covers the ground surface flow in that part of New Mexico. Some of the LAD stories mention "malpais" near the diggings. That term means "rough country", but many folks equate it to a lava flow.

Sdcfia, thank you very much.

 

[sdcfia]

Having never been to New Mexico, I'm always amazed how much my research on various topics brings me back there. Steve, between this and that file you sent me some time back with all the Adams material in it (collected materials), I think you've epitomized the kind of thorough, thoughtful, and insightful research I wish a whole lot more folks on this forum could engage in. Hats off to ya sir...

Thanks Randy. We all like a mystery. When it comes to looking into these types of challenges, a person has to be open minded and willing to change his opinions when necessary. We'll probably never know all the facts on this one, but so far this is my working model.

 

[Old Bookaroo]

Many solutions have been offered, but the Lost Adams Diggings mystery - where it was located - has not yet been convincingly answered, IMO. I've been pondering the problem for decades and here is a paper that may help remove the confusion.

The Lost Adams Diggings

Howdy!

As you well know, I have spent a great many years studying the LAD. Your work is outstanding - right up there with Jack Purcell (although, obviously, more concise).

Well played, Sir! Well played!

For some time I've thought this placer deposit was a glory hole - as in so many other cases in the West, a fabulous find that was cleaned out by the discoverers. That is the story of a great many properties - the next mice don't get the cheese.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo

 

[sdcfia]

Howdy!

As you well know, I have spent a great many years studying the LAD. Your work is outstanding - right up there with Jack Purcell (although, obviously, more concise).

Well played, Sir! Well played!

For some time I've thought this placer deposit was a glory hole - as in so many other cases in the West, a fabulous find that was cleaned out by the discoverers. That is the story of a great many properties - the next mice don't get the cheese.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo

Thanks Fred. You may be right about the glory hole. If such an anomaly happened to be in Bear Creek, Snively may have had intel or suspicions before the Apaches drove the first rush of prospectors out of the area in 1862.

 

[sdcfia]

Many solutions have been offered, but the Lost Adams Diggings mystery - where it was located - has not yet been convincingly answered, IMO. I've been pondering the problem for decades and here is a paper that may help remove the confusion.

I've edited the paper a bit. Here's the current one:

Lost Adams Diggings (current)

 

[gollum]

I don't know if you know Bob Schoose or Ron Feldman, but Bob owns Goldfield Ghost Town and Ron owns The OK Corral Stables. They are two VERY well known Dutch Hunters. They have both also spent a lot of time in NM. Schoose likes Cooke's Range, but Ron spent a long time searching out the LAD. I don't know if you've read it, but Ron wrote a book with a Hardrock Miner Buddy Mic McPherson called "ZIG-ZAG CANYON". Don't know if you've read it. I've never spent much time on LAD so I don't know if its worth a crap, but Ron did spend a long time chasing that one.

Zigzag Canyon: The Legend of Gold Gulch

Book by Feldman, Ron, McPherson, Mic

www.goodreads.com

Mike

 

[sdcfia]

The Cookes Range is a very worthwhile destination.

 

[Crow]

The Cookes Range is a very worthwhile destination.

It has an interesting history.

Cookes Peak is a 2,563 m (8,408 ft) high granodiorite mountain peak located approximately 27 km (17 miles) N of the city of Deming.

Cookes Peak Mining District is a lead-zinc-silver mining district that produced about $4.2 million worth of ore between 1876 and 1965 from carbonate replacements and veins.

Ed Orr, a rancher and prospector, discovered silver north of the peak in 1876, but prospectors Taylor and Wheeler were the first to find profitable ore bodies in 1880. Economic mineral deposits in the Cookes Range include galena (lead), sphalerite (zinc), silver, copper, gold, manganese, and fluorite.

Over 20 tons of ore were removed from Cookes Peak Mining District between 1904 and 1943. While operations in the district were wide-spread, mines were typically speculative and small-scale.

The majority of mines were relatively shallow, less than 3.6 m (12 ft) in depth, and there was only limited use of cribbing (wood supports) and rail systems. Moreover, the layout of both the mines and camps demonstrated a lack of formal planning, made apparent by the small number of legally patented mining claims. However, overall Cookes Peak Mining District was quite productive through the years.

Crow

 

[Crow]

For me if i was in Arizona the money ticket is in the following areas. The Wickenburg Mountains. The Hassayampa River. Cave Creek area.The Agua Fria River. The Bighorn Mountains. Prescott – Lynx Creek.
Stanton – Rich Hill. Black Canyon City.

I still think these areas hold a lot of promise even for a small week end miner, prospector.

Crow

 

[Crow]

Madog

If you plot the above locations on a map
The Wickenburg Mountains. The Hassayampa River. Cave Creek area.The Agua Fria River. The Bighorn Mountains. Prescott – Lynx Creek.
Stanton – Rich Hill. Black Canyon City.

Then draw lines between each known deposit location plotted on a map. Where these lines dissect. there is the probability of a high chance of discovering a undiscovered gold deposits.. Because of fracturing allowing epithelial deposit to pushing heated waters near the surface.

Crow

 

[mdog]

Madog

If you plot the above locations on a map
The Wickenburg Mountains. The Hassayampa River. Cave Creek area.The Agua Fria River. The Bighorn Mountains. Prescott – Lynx Creek.
Stanton – Rich Hill. Black Canyon City.

Then draw lines between each known deposit location plotted on a map. Where these lines dissect. there is the probability of a high chance of discovering a undiscovered gold deposits.. Because of fracturing allowing epithelial deposit to pushing heated waters near the surface.

Crow

Crow,

I posted a map on my thread, LUE Map Theory, Maybe Some Context. https://www.treasurenet.com/threads/lue-map-theory-maybe-some-context.694704/page-15#post-7234428

I hope you check it out.

Mdog

 

[Crow]

Crow,

I posted a map on my thread, LUE Map Theory, Maybe Some Context. https://www.treasurenet.com/threads/lue-map-theory-maybe-some-context.694704/page-15#post-7234428

I hope you check it out.

Mdog

Not a bad attempt amigo. Note each of sites are technically alluvial deposits there will be some where upstream of each point shredding gold from epithermal quartz veins.

These fractures full of quartz and gold are the money ticket. Over million of year of erosion gold weather of of these eroding quartz vein slow pieces of gold studded quartz braking down as chunks roll down a hill falling into a stream.

With water action slowing grinding the goLd apart through bed of streams trapping in little crevices being ground even more as it travels down the water course over millions of years.

The map you made is virtual treasure map. because with the upstream watershed of those key points there are with doubt areas still shredding gold in a ongoing process. the creeks and gullies are virtual highway of gold.

Those key points show where there was at one tine a hot spot in earths crust heating up mineralized water to the surface where it cool depositing gold with stress fracture in the Host rock allowing gold to form with quartz.

For me in all of Arizona inside that cluster of key points would be the money ticket for the next big find.

Crow

 

[mdog]

Not a bad attempt amigo. Note each of sites are technically alluvial deposits there will be some where upstream of each point shredding gold from epithermal quartz veins.

These fractures full of quartz and gold are the money ticket. Over million of year of erosion gold weather of of these eroding quartz vein slow pieces of gold studded quartz braking down as chunks roll down a hill falling into a stream.

With water action slowing grinding the goLd apart through bed of streams trapping in little crevices being ground even more as it travels down the water course over millions of years.

The map you made is virtual treasure map. because with the upstream watershed of those key points there are with doubt areas still shredding gold in a ongoing process. the creeks and gullies are virtual highway of gold.

Those key points show where there was at one tine a hot spot in earths crust heating up mineralized water to the surface where it cool depositing gold with stress fracture in the Host rock allowing gold to form with quartz.

For me in all of Arizona inside that cluster of key points would be the money ticket for the next big find.

View attachment 2169237

Crow

Thank you for the tip. I enjoy reading your posts because I always learn something new. Thank you very much for sharing your information.

Mdog

 

[Crow]

Thank you for the tip. I enjoy reading your posts because I always learn something new. Thank you very much for sharing your information.

Mdog

It's my pleasure I hope gives a few people some useful insights before Old Crow falls off the perch.

Treasure legends would be soulless world with out them. Some have more truth to them than others. The trouble is too many focus on a name. Any glory hold can be made out to whatever name you want it to be? For me the names of lost mines are unimportant. it is the yield that puts beans on the table.

The following quick yarn is not connected to Arizona, but provides and excellent example how alluvial deposits over thousands of years make their was down hillsides from eroded quartz reef into small gullies and tributaries flowing into into rivers. The following location is secret.

Alluvial deposits quartz from shredding epithermal gold deposits made their way over millions of years tumbling down into gullies. And then depending on water flow? Boulders was washed over the waterfall. over time if the base of the waterfall is deep full of grinding boulders slowing spinning under the weight of the waterfall grinding against the bedrock.

large chunks of gold break away from the quartz material in naturally rock crushing mill. depending on the strength of the water churning the waterfall bottom only the smaller grains of gold flow down stream lodging in sand banks of finely ground material

The coarser gold still in the bottom of the falls is slowly separating from quartz and grinding away into smaller particles.

Large amounts of coarse gold was found up river from this point. down river the gold is only very fine carried away by the river flow. The old timers in the old days never had the capacity at time to reach the deep bottom of the falls. No scuba gear in the 1850s?

So its significance was largely forgotten. the place in question I know some one used a dredge at bottom of falls diving to the bottom and running tailings through a sluice.

He was making 3000 dollars in gold a day. Some day if the water follow was too strong it was impossible to work. As well as the cold. The flow of stream ebbed and flowed with seasons. If it was in wet season no luck. dry season with only trickle he could dive.

Historical records indicate significant sized nuggets 100-150 ounces was found nearby in the 1850 -1870 in the alluvial deposits upstream. Like the example below

It should be noted not all waterfalls work like this. but some do. take look at diagrams below.

Here is an diagram like the type in the picture.

Now getting back to point about those key point on Mdogs map he made of placer deposits. Some where upstream from all those alluvial deposits is a falls that is natural rock crushing machine. in current river bedS and ancient river beds. Now many falls are dry so the grinding action only works during flood. Finding those locations upstream from those deposits is where you going to find the honey hole amigos.

Crow

 

[Crow]

It should be noted some of these honey or glory holes holes are filled in with debris where gold under over burden. And fall of these type come in various sizes large or small. And you might have a stream with several. it really depends on topography.

A glory hole is a gold rich pocket made by a waterfall or series of waterfalls that leave behind mainly large gold accumulates and large rocks at their bases. Other types of glory holes are made by ancient rivers or waterways that meet and combine flows in what used to be narrow river valleys.

To hypothesize too much about lost mines name identities is fun but in most cases it not going to take you where you follow and find the gold.

Crow