The Many Lost Treasures of Mariposa, CA (Photos Added)

[Lanny in AB]

Eagle--fantastic pictures--I've often wondered what your neck of the woods looks like. Thanks a ton for posting them. Too bad that places have been shut off to you--that's a huge disappointment. I've experienced that before in other areas and it's never any fun--especially when you're counting on touching base with familiar stomping grounds!

Thanks again for taking the time to post the pictures, and thanks for posting the descriptions as well. That bedrock really does look like it needs some serious detecting!

All the best--can't wait for your next gold-hunting tale,

Lanny

 

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[EagleDown]

You're welcome my Friend Lanny!!

I have a few more to post, then it's back to writing again.

The biggest disappointment for me was not only was I not able to metal detect some areas I feel need it, I couldn't get in to take to take pictures of the places I've been writing about, to share with my readers.

Oh well, maybe the next trip.

Eagle

 

[Lanny in AB]

Eagle--great little story about Savage, his trading post, and his two pickle barrels full of gold! Wow!! Nice details about the blacksand beach and the area to detect as well. It sounds like you've got lots of great ground down there that's just begging to be detected.

All the best, and thanks again for taking the time to write. It takes a ton of time to do, as I know first-hand, and I really appreciate it!

Lanny

 

[EagleDown]

More pictures;

#11. More bed-rock that's never seen a metal detector.

#12. One of many streams found after you reach the top of "Burma Road". Look in the upper right hand corner. Ancient alluvial. (Water rounded rocks.) I imagine all of this area was worked by the "49ers", but so long ago, there's no traces left.

#13. That's bed-rock in the stream, not boulders. Good pickers in this area.

#14. I would love to have a cabin here. That pyramid shaped "rock" in the background (to the left of the near pine,) is Half-Dome in Yosemite Park.

#15. This old hulk was here the first time I came up. About 1965 or so. I think it's been shot enough, it's probably dead now. (lol)

#16. If you look between the tree trunk(s), slightly below left center of the picture, you can see the remains of a rock retaining wall. There use to be a cabin there. The first time I was here, the remains of the cabin was scattered all around. Seems the Forestry Service was trying to get a miner to leave and he was so determined to stay, he lit a couple of sticks of dynamite to scare them off. Not the brightest thing to do, he blew himself and the cabin up. (At least that was the story the Forestry was putting out.)

#17. I should have taken a picture without the telephoto on, for comparison. This is an outcrop of a quartz vein, I estimated it's about 30ft across. You can see part of it several miles away at Briceburg. Several miles down river from Briceburg, the Mountain King Mine was following the same quartz vein.

#18. Coming back down "Burma Road, you can see the metropolis of Briceburg as it appears now.

#19. A spot just below the bridge where Jack Bass pulled out over 17 oz. of nuggets in less than 30 minutes in 1978. I saw the glorious site of a header box and the first three riffles of a 6 inch dredge glowing with gold.

#20. Back in the days, this was the depot for the Yosemite Valley RR.

And that's it for the pictures on this trip. Of course, if you want more picts, I've got some of my not so little puppy. (lol)

I hope you've enjoyed the little trip.

 

[EagleDown]

Eagle--great little story about Savage, his trading post, and his two pickle barrels full of gold! Wow!! Nice details about the blacksand beach and the area to detect as well. It sounds like you've got lots of great ground down there that's just begging to be detected.

All the best, and thanks again for taking the time to write. It takes a ton of time to do, as I know first-hand, and I really appreciate it!

Lanny

Thanks again Lanny! It could be a better story if it was authenticated. I never researched it, or even searched for it. It's just one I picked up in my rambling around.

There is a lot of places around here that have never heard the sound of a metal detecter. Like your rivers, this river has changed its channel numerous times since the beginning of its life. As a matter of fact, I know of two places where you can be on bed-rock and all of a sudden, you can't get a dredge with enough suction to find the bottom of the overburden. And these deep channels run almost directly across the present river channel.

 

[calisdad]

Well that really looks interesting. Are you referring to the road that goes from Indian Flat Camp due south to Hite Cove and is nothing but one switchback after another? Might be a job for my Jeep.

But you say the legends have it that the missing gold is at the confluence of the 2 rivers (South and Middle fork of the Merced)?

 

[EagleDown]

Well that really looks interesting. Are you referring to the road that goes from Indian Flat Camp due south to Hite Cove and is nothing but one switchback after another? Might be a job for my Jeep.

But you say the legends have it that the missing gold is at the confluence of the 2 rivers (South and Middle fork of the Merced)?

It would definitely have to be a 4 wheel drive. I knew one young man who went down to Hite's Cove. He was there 3 days before someone showed up fishing and went back out for a tow truck to get him out.

Personally, I'd be more inclined to check out Hite's Cove, rather than rumors of a treasure at the confluence of the Merced River and the South Fork. But, at least we have a definate location for Savage's Trading Post. That's more than comes with your average treasure story.

As I said, I never checked the "legend" out to see if there was in fact a basis for it. Just one of those little things I've wondered about, but not enough belief to try to find it.

Eagle

 

[calisdad]

Well I checked out a forest service map and that river is now 'Wild and Scenic'. I doubt you could drive there but maybe. There's also an old road that runs along the river. AND there's another Hite's cove further up river. It has its own road and shares the name: Hite's Cove Rd.

I need to get down there.

 

[EagleDown]

Well I checked out a forest service map and that river is now 'Wild and Scenic'. I doubt you could drive there but maybe. There's also an old road that runs along the river. AND there's another Hite's cove further up river. It has its own road and shares the name: Hite's Cove Rd.

I need to get down there.

The river was said to be "Wild and Scenic" several years ago. But, there all of the campsites that they've put in, with parking spaces. I believe it's just closed to vehicles during the winter while there's no BLM Rep. in the entrance office. No matter, I'll know when I go back up.

As to Hite's Cove, the one up the South Fork is the true Hite's Cove. I wasn't aware of another one. But, yep, you need to get down there.

My opinion is; if you can get into Hite's Cove, not only do you stand a pretty good chance of finding gold around the old crushers, there's also the possibilty of finding an outcrop of a vein near the surface. Anyway, it would be worth the attempt.

By the way, the young man who couldn't get back out showed me a quart jar almost full of black sand. It was speckled throughout with fine gold. He wasn't prospecting, he just saw all the black sand concentrated in spots and scooped some up to find out if all the sparklies were really gold. (lol)

Eagle

 

[Hemisteve]

Wow Eagle,
I have had some catching up to do. Your stories are well written and very entertaining. I wish I could get down that way and explore the places you write about.

Thanks again for the stories and pictures.
Looking forward to the next set.
Steve

 

[shepcal]

Eagle, been down to Hites Cove several times, starting back in the late 70's. First time was in a Landcruiser, since then, my quad. Road wasn't bad, except one spot, that had a 12-18" drop off. Last time down, I got maybe 1/2 way down and wanted a cig, but found I left my lighter in the truck. Tried holding it to the exhaust out of the engine (even put a bit of fuel on it), no luck. Might be a good time to quit! No luck, when I got to river there was a Jeep Cherokee and father and son fishing, and they had matches. Pretty down there! Didn't find much gold on any of the trips, but a pleasure.
Shep

 

[EagleDown]

I do know that craving. Back in the days, I had a '47 Harley "Hog". The right grip was the throttle, and the left one was the spark control. I would be jamming down the hiway and pull out a cig then retard the spark until the front exhaust pipe was cherry red, then stick my cigarette to it for a second, and I was puffin.

The last time I was in Hite's Cove was in the late 60s. I was with someone else, so I didn't really have a chance to explore. But I was really intrigued with the looks of the area. I didn't have a 4X4 then, and as the years rolled on, by the time I did have a 4 wheel drive, I had too many other things to occupy my mind and time. But, I always remember the old saying; "If you want to find gold, go where gold has been found". And Hites Cove is one of those places.

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

Wow Eagle,
I have had some catching up to do. Your stories are well written and very entertaining. I wish I could get down that way and explore the places you write about.

Thanks again for the stories and pictures.
Looking forward to the next set.
Steve

Thanks Steve!! Your avatar says you're in N. Calif. I don't know where, but the Yuba, American and Feather rivers would put you in the "Mother Lode" country. I noticed on the news recently that some one was trying to kill historic oaks in Auburn, CA. They were trying to save them by taking the contaminated soil out and dumping it somewhere. If I lived anywhere close, I'd be trying to find out where they're dumping the soil so that I could detect it.

Eagle

 

[Lanny in AB]

Eagle--you're really giving away the goodies!! (I really don't think some of your readers have any idea about how much you understand about prospecting and how to locate likely gold producing ground. I'd love to detect that virgin bedrock--incredible gold-trapping ability very apparent. Nice pictures of some great sites and artifacts. That quartz outcrop looks very interesting as well.

You are one, kind, generous, genuinely unselfish human being--the real treasure of Mariposa, CA!!!

All the best,

Lanny

 

[EagleDown]

Eagle--you're really giving away the goodies!! (I really don't think some of your readers have any idea about how much you understand about prospecting and how to locate likely gold producing ground. I'd love to detect that virgin bedrock--incredible gold-trapping ability very apparent. Nice pictures of some great sites and artifacts. That quartz outcrop looks very interesting as well.

Ho my Brother,
Wait until they open the river road, I plan to post some almost unbelievable pictures. (lol)

You are one, kind, generous, genuinely unselfish human being--the real treasure of Mariposa, CA!!!
All the best,

Lanny

Thank you for your kind words, but, I’m not altogether altruistic. I, like our readers, have had many, many hours of pleasure out of reading about lost and found treasures. If any of them go to the places I write of and come in and post their finds, then I’ll not only have the pleasure of reading about it, but also the feeling of fulfillment that only comes from helping someone else and knowing that the help was worthwhile. And who knows, one of my readers could hit a good pocket of gold and think to him/herself, “Hey, if it weren’t for Eagle, I would not have found this. I’m sure he would appreciate a couple of these nuggets.)

Besides, I’m a realist…..What good would it be for me to own the world, when life’s not long enough for me to plow my own back yard Why would ANYONE spend their life acquiring knowledge, then not share it?? All that amounts to is a wasted life.

There are so many gold bearing places in just this one small area, that I don’t begrudge anyone else finding their share of it. (That doesn’t mean that I’m so generous that I would look kindly on someone trying to “jump my claim” though.)

Love and Respect,

Eagle

 

[Lanny in AB]

I love your philosophy about life, and sharing knowledge Eagle--it's solid gold! After they've read your stories no one even needs to head into the hills and mountains chasing the gold--they've already struck it rich.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[EagleDown]

I love your philosophy about life, and sharing knowledge Eagle--it's solid gold! After they've read your stories no one even needs to head into the hills and mountains chasing the gold--they've already struck it rich.
All the best,
Lanny

Thank you Brother Lanny!! My life long philosophy has been: Be generous to people and the world will be generous to you. And, it's worked out quite well for me.

Now, if the phone will be generous and stop ringing, perhaps I can finish the story that I started yesterday. It's not a long one, but the interruptions have been interminable. (Or at least, extreemly distracting.) I WILL try to post it today.


Thanks again!!

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

Halito to All,

I guess it’s been about 2 weeks or so since the last little story, so I believe it’s time I got the last one posted.

Oops, looking at the calendar, I see it’s close to 3 weeks. Yikes!! Time sure does fly when you’re working your butt off. But, I got the puppy fence built up another 2 ft. higher and a good part of my planting is done. (I’ll sure be glad when the rest is done.)

This story is kind of like a “human interest story” and a lost treasure story all wrapped up as one. The only part of it that I can swear to is how the treasure was located. As for the rest of it, well, you’re on your own there.

This started a couple of nights ago when I stumbled across a link to the story Marc (Tnet Marc,) told. As I was reading it, one of those forgotten memories popped into my thoughts. Of course, I thought that perhaps my friends would like to read about it, so here goes:

~~~\/~~~

A Visit From the Grave

The year was 1972 and I was Chief of Detectives in the Police Dept. It was one of my rare days off from work and I was relaxing at home when a friend called and asked if they could come for a visit. I told them to come on out. At this time, my wife and I owned a two story home on Bradenton Beach, less than a block from the Gulf of Mexico. I’ve speculated that living so close to the Gulf might be part of the reason for our other-worldly visitor. (Or at least his claimed profession.)

Alex and his wife (and two children) arrived around 7:00 pm and we decided to play some penny ante poker. So, since their children were close to the same age as ours, (6 and 8 yrs old,) we put some cartoons in the VCR while we retired to the dining room table. (Nothing like good friends and a Scotch and Soda to create a relaxing evening.) (lol)

We had been playing and talking for a little over an hour when my daughter, (the oldest of the crowd) came running into the dining room closely followed by the other three, excitedly exclaiming; “Daddy, Daddy, guess what”?? I probably showed more irritation than I did interest as I asked; “What”? (Yes, I had lost about 25 cents and was not happy about that.)

“We know where there’s a SUNKEN TREASURE”!!

My irritation immediately turned to amusement as I asked; “Oh, and where would that be”??

Now here’s where it started to get a little weird.

She said; “It’s just off of the coast of Spain at Latitude and Longitude ”.

At this time, it didn’t immediately dawn on me that at her age, she knew nothing about geographical mapping, and by most standards, shouldn’t have been talking about latitudes and longitudes. (And especially including the minutes and seconds.) (lol)

Anyway, going along with their little game, I got out my world atlas and looked near Spain for the latitude and longitude she gave me. Which incidentally, all of the children were unanimous about.

And, “holey mackerel”!!, the coordinates they gave me were in fact, just a couple of miles off of the coast of Spain.

I asked them how they had found out about this treasure, and they answered;
“Captain Jack told us”. “Uuh, Captain Jack”? “And where did you meet this Captain Jack” I asked??

“He talks to us through the Ouiji Board” my daughter answered. “He said that he had sailed all the way back from the “New World”, and was almost home when his ship ran into a really bad storm and went to the bottom, taking him and all of his hands with it”. “He said the reason it sank was because it had so much gold and silver on it that it was riding with the water up to it’s scuppers.

It was about this time when it really struck me that my little girl was talking nautical terms like a veteran sailor. In other words, telling me things that she should not have known of.

It was also about this time that I turned and asked Alex to take the Ouiji Board out to his car, and please don’t bring it to my house again.

Now, I wasn’t superstitious, but I had read a number of stories over the years that Spirits could communicate with the living through a Ouiji Board. And since I follow the Medicine Path, I knew that some Spirits are not all that nice, and some of them can be downright vindictive. I had read that some are jealous that we have a material body and would like nothing better than to take over ours.

Can they really do that?? Well, 40+ years ago, I didn’t know what I know now and I wasn’t about to take any chances of my children being taken over by some wayward Spirit. (lol) (Come to think of it, from some of the things they got into as teenagers, I’m not sure but what they WERE taken over by “wayward Spirits”.)

So, there you have it. A journey into the occult.

Story…………………TRUE!
Conclusions…………. INCONCLUSIVE!!

Notice, disclaimer:
I’m not suggesting that anyone here run out and purchase a Ouiji Board. So, if you decide you are going to try it out, please let everyone know before hand that Eagle isn’t responsible if any misfortune should befall you.

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

Hmm, I was just reviewing the pictures above and realized I had left a couple out.

#1. Historical marker

#2. Agua Fria road

#3. Agua Fria creek

 

[Lanny in AB]

Eagle--so glad to see that you're still relating the tales. The one about the ancient Spaniard giving the coordinates of the wreck does indeed smack of the occult. I've never had an experience with otherworldly communicators, nor do I wish to explore those horizons, but your story is fascinating nonetheless.

Your newest pictures are intriguing as well--there is a whole ton of history in your area--and I love history. I may have to get more serious about visiting California again. I haven't been in quite a few years, and on my previous visits I was more interested in theme parks, beaches, and Redwoods!

All the best, and keep writing your stories--they are a gift that I appreciate, and the time you have invested in writing them is much appreciated as well,

Lanny