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

[lookielou]

As always Eagle, Nice stories (and pictures)!


The Ouiji Board eh? I forgot all about it, but due to your wonderful story, I recall receiving one as a gift around the age of 6 or 7. I thought it was nothing more then a pretty board, didn't believe what I was told about it so it sat on the shelf for a bit. My parents came across as "it was just a silly game" About a year or so later my brother and I decided to give it a whirl and worked at it from time to time with very little understanding. One day the piece we set our hands on began to move. I knew I didn't do it and my dear brother swore he didn't do it.

Long story short, We went along with the board on more then one occasion, as words and numbers were taking shape that didn't make any sense to us which I can't remember and don't think I ever will. I thought it was my brother moving the piece and he stuck to his "wasn't me" story. As a result, I quit messin around with it because I believed I could never trust anyone else on the board. How ever, to be safe I tossed it.

 

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[EagleDown]

Lanny my friend. If you do make that exploratory trip to California, you know the welcome mat is always out for you. I'm sure there are many others here that feel the same.

I don't blame you about the ouiji board, though I believe that I'm well protected, I'm not sure that I'd want to mess around with them myself. But, who knows? I would like to win the lottery.

Right now, it's back to cold and rainy here. I wish it would warm back up a little. With weather like this, there are things that need to be done that I just have to put on hold for a while.

And, you're right. There's a ton of history here, and most of it has never entered a history book. Did you know that the first gold rush in California WASN'T in 1849?? Actually, it was (I think,) about 2 decades earlier in a place called Placerita Canyon, near Los Angeles. I seems that a Vaquero stopped to have a bite to eat. He picked a spot under an old oak tree, for the shade. As he was eating, he pulled up some wild onions and while brushing the dirt off of them, he saw gold flakes caught up in the roots. Something like 15,000 Mexicans rushed into the canyon to pan for gold. Incidently, there's a sign under an old oak in the canyon that proclaims it as the actual oak tree where the gold was found.

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

Thank you lookielou.
You sound much like me. We all carry a lot of forgotten memories around. Quite often, I find that all it takes is a glimpse of a picture, or a quick word and one of those memories will pop up. And, sometimes that can be a good thing.
Of course, at the ages of 6 or 7 you didn't know that to get an answer out of a ouiji board, you have to ask specific questions. That's one of the reasons that it's recommended that there are 2 people. One to work the slide/pointer, and the other to ask the questions and take notes.

And, I suspect that it's something like dowsing; sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.


And now you have the full extent of my knowledge about the ouiji board.


Best wishes,

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

El Portal and Area

Early on in these writings, I said I had a story about El Portal. I can’t swear to the authenticity of this story, but I never caught the old man in a lie. But, I did find that all of the other things he told me (that I was able to check out,) were solid gold.

On the previous page, in picture #9, you can see where he lived for most of his life. I believe he was about 70 when I first met him in the early 1970s.

He told me a couple of interesting “Lost Treasure” stories that I never followed up on, due to (what should be,) obvious reasons.

I’ve mentioned the big flood that happened back in the mid-fifties. Well, it seems that this big flood washed out a good portion of El Portal. Houses, vehicles, etc. took a swift trip down the Merced River. But, there was one item that couldn’t have gone very far, according to his story.

There was a prospector living in El Portal at the time of the flood, (actually, there were a lot of them.) (lol) But, we’re only concerned with one of them. This prospector was in the habit of saving all of his fine gold, and only selling the coarse stuff. Evidently, this prospector raised fighting cocks as a pastime. He had one fighting cock that was outstanding in the ring.

Well, as fate would have it, one evening, his rooster made a fatal slip and fell victim to a younger, quicker cock.

The prospector had made so much money off of his prize cock’s winnings that he decided to immortalize him in gold. So, he contracted to have his rooster cast in gold by using the fine gold that he had saved up over the years.

So for years, a golden fighting cock of a little less than full size sat on his mantle place and was viewed by friends and family whenever they came to visit.

Until………"The Big Flood” sent his home and all of his belongings on a merry trip down the river, never to be seen again.

Some day, perhaps there will be another “Big Flood”, and some lucky dredger might end up as the proud owner of a 35 or 40 pound golden fighting cock.

Eagle

Stay tuned for the armored truck and a load of gold ingots.

 

[strickman]

great story eagle .Man I wish I lived closer to that area . Lots of great history and even better legends.

 

[racefanrob]

Hi Eagle,
I like all the pics and the stories too. You are the best. The latest one really makes you wonder... Would like to see the look on the their face when they found that golden fowl. lol

 

[Lanny in AB]

Another fantastic story Eagle--you sure know how to write about the great ones! And, you're always teasing me with the stories about history that have been left out of the history books. You are indeed a deep repository and treasure chest of knowledge, and I'll always be grateful that I found your writings.

That original California discovery and gold rush would have been such an unbelievable opportunity--gold hanging on the roots--that's the thing dreams are made of for sure.

Wow--would that be some kind of a rush to dredge up a hefty, solid-gold rooster of that size.

Eagle, I sure appreciate your willingness to share your stories, and thanks so much for the invitation to visit/stay. Your generosity is remarkable. And, always remember, you are invited whenever you're up this way as well.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[EagleDown]

great story eagle .Man I wish I lived closer to that area . Lots of great history and even better legends.

Thank you my Friend!!
You're right, there is so much history in this area that even I couldn't start to collect all of it. I still have many places that I discovered that I couldn't find any information on.

For instance, about 100 ft. up the side of the mountain from the road, I noticed a clump of grape vines. Nothing unusual about that, except that it was in the hottest part of the summer when everything was dried up and brown. These grapevines were a lush, healthy green, so I knew there had to be a water source there. I laboriously climbed up to them and close by found a stone wall and a flat spot where a cabin once stood. At the base of the stone wall, there were a lot of broken whiskey bottles. (Target practice?) I picked up a piece that was most of one side and all of the bottom. When I got home, I showed it to a bottle collecting friend of mine. He looked it up, and matched the eagle embossed on the side with one in a book. He told me it was from the 1800s and if it were whole, it would have a value of about $18.00. That was in 1984. I haven't been back yet, but when I do, I'll have my metal detector with me. (lol)

Anyway, I guess to many years had passed, because I couldn't find anybody who had any idea about the old cabin site.

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

Hi Eagle,
I like all the pics and the stories too. You are the best. The latest one really makes you wonder... Would like to see the look on the their face when they found that golden fowl. lol

Rob, I'd like to see the look on my face if I found it. It would probably give me a heart attack. (No, not my face, the golden cock.)

 

[EagleDown]

Friend Lanny, as usual, your kind words make me feel that my writing is not in vain. I just wish that I could remember all of the little stories I was told 50 or 55 years ago. Or at least the little details to them. I have one that I picked up about 55 years ago, concerning a drywash where the bottom was a solid bed of gold nuggets. (It was "found" during the great depression and then lost again.) I don't think you could find anyone today who even remembers the story. (Other than myself.)

Frankly, I've never really understood why, but it seems that my life was created to be a repository of lost treasure stories. Ever since I was in my teens, I have had people wanting to tell me about their experiences hunting for, or losing riches. (Or their Uncle, Cousin, Brother, etc.) I guess I'm a good, none critical listener and people can sense that.

Or who knows, maybe I was being tested by the Spirits with these stories of vast treasures. I must have passed the test, because I never went out of my way to find them and I'm still a poor man financially. But, I've always been rich in friends.

Thank you for your invitation also Lanny!! Who knows, I might drift up to Montana this summer and by chance find myself in Canada.

You just never know.

Eagle

 

[racefanrob]

Hi again Eagle,

It's funny how we have never met, yet I always check my email for the latest entries to your thread. It seems like I am drawn to your pages of stories like a prospector is drawn to the mountains. Thank you again for the stories you share with us and if it meant you having a heart attack then I hope you don't find the golden cock... If you do find it I hope you have a good dose of nitro with you!!! I am planning on gettting a gold coil for my mxt and taking a road trip up to your stomping grounds soon. Are you going back anytime soon?

Take care sir,
Rob

 

[EagleDown]

Hi again Eagle,

It's funny how we have never met, yet I always check my email for the latest entries to your thread. It seems like I am drawn to your pages of stories like a prospector is drawn to the mountains. Thank you again for the stories you share with us and if it meant you having a heart attack then I hope you don't find the golden cock... If you do find it I hope you have a good dose of nitro with you!!! I am planning on gettting a gold coil for my mxt and taking a road trip up to your stomping grounds soon. Are you going back anytime soon?
Take care sir,
Rob

Thank you Rob,

Hopefully, if I can afford the gas money, I'll be heading for the Merced pretty soon after the gate downriver from Briceburg is opened. Perhaps we'll be able to meet and I can show you some of the places I've been writing about.

Take care my Friend.

Eagle

 

[racefanrob]

Eagle,
I know what you mean about the gas prices ugh... I hope we can meet up by Briceburg soon. I am wondering when the gate will be open? That would give me a good time period to shoot for. Kids are the priority and I have to wait for breaks and summer vacations to get away. Spring break is coming soon, but I wonder if the gate would be open by then? I think it starts in a week or 2
Take care,
Rob

 

[EagleDown]

I'm trying to get hold of BLM (Dept. of Recreation) to find out if/when the road will be open down-river. I'll let you know what I find out.

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

Well, I don't know how long it will be before I'll be able to get those pictures. With the help of Hefty1, I have this information. (I have called the local BLM office 3 times, still no call-back.) Anyway, thanks to Hefty1 calling the main office in Sacramento, I now have this link to keep track of when it will open.

Thank you Hefty1 !!!

http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/folsom/merced_road_closures.html


Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

I thought you would like to see some more of the pictures I took August, 2010. I use to find places like this all over. I noticed most of them have disappeared over the years. Sad loss for all of us.

 

[EagleDown]

Notice the "holes" in the face of this wall? This wall faced to the inside of the cabin. Kinda makes me wonder what might have been hidden amongst the stones.

Incidently, please, if you should happen to run across something like this, don't tear the walls down in the hopes of finding something. If you don't have a metal detecter, borrow or rent one, then return and check it out. Eventually, this wall will probably fall because someone didn't replace the stones.

I guess I'll have to try again tomorrow. It let me post this one but now it keeps telling me the file size is too large. (Not the image, the file.) Funny, I'm not trying to post anything BUT the picture.

 

[EagleDown]

Always watch for signs on trees. Most land owners are pretty friendly, but they have put up with years of people coming onto their property and trashing it. Some no trespassing signs will even have an owners phone #. To me, that generally means that the owner would be willing to at least talk to you about permission to metal detect on their property. (Or not,) anyway, it's worth a polite try!

 

[EagleDown]

This next set of pictures was taken down-river near RailRoad Flats campground. They're from the opposite side of the road, from the river. At one time, this was a very wide part of the Merced. Now, this ancient alluvial is perhaps 15 - 20 ft above the present level of the bedrock.

The first picture shows one area where "they" were working the ancient aluvial. The second is another place in the same area. (You'll have to "peek" through the trees.) The other picts are some of the many piles of rocks "they" moved. (Mostly by hand.) And this is just a very small part of the mining that went on around here. Enjoy!! Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

Look at the last picture in the last series. In the upper left corner there's an outcrop (or upcrop,) of bed-rock. A nickle will get you a donut that it's never seen a metal-detecter.

Eagle