Old Bookaroo
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- Dec 4, 2008
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In the little town of Nacori I met a curious state of affairs. The population was 313 souls; but of these only fifteen were adult males. Every family had lost one or more male members at the hands of the Apache.
Here also I first heard the legend of Toyopa. This mine was said to have been of such wonderful richness that blocks of silver taken from it had to be cut into several pieces so that mules could carry them to the seacoast for ship to Spain. My informant, the white-haired Presidente [Mayor], a man over eighty years of age, told me that his grandfather, who also had lived to be a very old man, had worked in the mine as a boy, and that it was in a mountain range the Presidente pointed out to the east of Nacori.
The Apache attacked the place one day when the men were nearly all away at a fiesta in one of the river towns, killed everyone in the camp, destroyed the buildings, and blew up the entrance to the mine. A hundred years went by with no force in the country strong enough to conquer the Apache and the mine had never been found.
Those who would seek, as have hundreds before them, the lost mine of Toyopa, should bear in mind the statement of the old Presidente’s grandfather: “Here in Nacori, where we stand, on a still night one could hear the dogs bark and the church bell ring in Toyopa.”
On the trail a few days after we left Nacori two Chiricahua scouts took a detour and came into camp later with several bars of silver. But I am sure they were not from Toyopa. Some Mexican with his face turned to Heaven had yielded them up, and they had been cached until opportunity offered to recover them. Our coming into old Apache stamping ground had afforded the opportunity and the scouts had profited.
~ The Truth About Geronimo, Britton Davis (1929)
Second, when researching this story, keep in mind the alternate spellings - Tayopa, of course, is the most common. But there are others - and they all should be checked.
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Good luck to all,
The Old Bookaroo
Here also I first heard the legend of Toyopa. This mine was said to have been of such wonderful richness that blocks of silver taken from it had to be cut into several pieces so that mules could carry them to the seacoast for ship to Spain. My informant, the white-haired Presidente [Mayor], a man over eighty years of age, told me that his grandfather, who also had lived to be a very old man, had worked in the mine as a boy, and that it was in a mountain range the Presidente pointed out to the east of Nacori.
The Apache attacked the place one day when the men were nearly all away at a fiesta in one of the river towns, killed everyone in the camp, destroyed the buildings, and blew up the entrance to the mine. A hundred years went by with no force in the country strong enough to conquer the Apache and the mine had never been found.
Those who would seek, as have hundreds before them, the lost mine of Toyopa, should bear in mind the statement of the old Presidente’s grandfather: “Here in Nacori, where we stand, on a still night one could hear the dogs bark and the church bell ring in Toyopa.”
On the trail a few days after we left Nacori two Chiricahua scouts took a detour and came into camp later with several bars of silver. But I am sure they were not from Toyopa. Some Mexican with his face turned to Heaven had yielded them up, and they had been cached until opportunity offered to recover them. Our coming into old Apache stamping ground had afforded the opportunity and the scouts had profited.
~ The Truth About Geronimo, Britton Davis (1929)
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You can find this in J. Frank Dobie's classic Apache Gold and Yaqui Silver (1939). Two important things to keep in mind about that. First of all, Davis spelled the mine "Toyopa." Without a second thought, Professor Dobie "quoted" this but changed the spelling to "Tayopa" without noting the alteration.
Second, when researching this story, keep in mind the alternate spellings - Tayopa, of course, is the most common. But there are others - and they all should be checked.
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The Old Bookaroo
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