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

[EagleDown]

This is more than I've ever seen on the lake. I've been there several times and didn't know a lot of this. There's a lot of areas natives consider cursed around there. Friend of mine works at tule lake where there was several large battles between them and the army and its considered cursed land as well. Fort Klamath has a long history in the area as well and I've heard of several cursed tales starting from the time they buried chief Joseph's head away from his body, but what I've heard came from park museum keepers

Mysteries abound throughout the Americas. I remember hearing a story from a Souix Reservation (about 50 years ago), that Egyption artifacts had been found in a canyon on the Res. but the Indians wouldn't say where, knowing that the gov. would want to take over.

 

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[EagleDown]

Just a quick update on the TDI before I go to bed. mbg brought me a couple of "hot rocks" that his detector wouldn't tune out. After checking the ground to make sure there'd be no interference, I put the "hot rocks" down and passed the coil over them. Absolutely no response from the TDI.

Then I put my little 1dwt nugget on the ground and mgb made sure it was totally covered by the "hot rocks". What a sweet sound that little piece of gold made. It was as though there were no "hot rocks" over it at all.

I guess you could say that I'm sold on the Whites TDI. Now, if only I can find enough gold to pay for it. (lol)

Oh yeah, another selling feature; While other detectors change their ground balance when passing from (say) wet moss on the bedrock, to a dry, clean piece of bedrock, the TDI doesn't have to be adjusted. It seems to keep its ground balance throughout all conditions.

If you ever have an opportunity to check out the Whites TDI, I highly recommend you do so.

Sorry if I sound like a Whites salesman, but I guess I'm inthralled with my new toy. (lol)

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

Recently, I recieved a pm from one of my fine readers, asking if I knew of any lost treasures in San Bernardino, CA. Well, I had to admit that I didn't know of any IN San Bernardino, but he caused me to remember one near S.B.

It was about 1964 when I met and became friends with an Apache family living in N. Elmonte, CA. James, the youngest of the male members of the family and I enjoyed panning together in Lytle Creek and at Morman Bar.

One evening, we were sitting by our camp-fire and he told me a story of a "ledge" of gold. It went something like this:

Back in the early 1900s, Native Americans (Indians) were not considered citizens of the USA. Then the Government gave them a way to become "Citizens". Enlist in the military and upon your discharge, you would automatically become a US Citizen.

At that time, there was a local Tribal Chief who (as normal) saw that the needs of his Tribe were taken care of. To carry out his obligations, periodically, he would go alone into the San Gabriel Mountains. A couple of days later, he'd return with a chunk of gold weighing about 5 pounds. He was always escorted to the mouth of a canyon by several warriors, who would wait, making sure no one followed him into the canyon. He was the only one that knew the location of this rich source of gold. He had been shown the location by his father, as had his father before him.

Anyway, when the US became involved in the war overseas, the Chief enlisted in the Army. Before he shipped out, he took his eldest son with him on his last trip into the canyon. In case he didn't survive the fighting, his son would become the hereditary Chief of the Tribe and it would be his responsibility to maintain the secret, and provide for the Tribe.

A couple of years later, the Chief's family recieved notification from the Government that the Chief was "missing in action and presumed dead".

I guess the son of the Chief had no need to go to the canyon for a couple of years, but when he did need to buy supplies for the Tribe, he set out with 5 or 6 warriors just as his father had done. He left the warriors to guard the entrance of the canyon and went on up. After an absence of 4 days, the warriors were beginning to fear that something had happened to him and were discussing who would go into the canyon to try to find him. (A hard decision, since they were forbidden to enter the canyon).

Shortly before dark, the young Chief showed up. He explained that he had spent the time looking for the gold, but evidently, there had been an earthquake in the last couple of years, which had buried the gold under tons of boulders and destroyed all of the land-marks his father had showed him.

So, somewhere in Sphinx Canyon, behind Ontario, CA, there is a rich 'ledge' of gold just waiting for the right person or circumstances to be found again.

From Google Earth, I can see that there has been a lot of building going on. I wonder if there's a house sitting on top of one of the richest gold veins in CA??

 

[Cl1983]

I've been noticing things where I'm camping now that I havnt ever seen before. I'm at knights ferry outside oakdale, some of the plants you've mentioned I've noticed and some neat views of the river I've never noticed

 

[RelicLady]

Found an old pan today while hunting for gold myself!

 

[Cl1983]

I found pyrite on top of sand in a river today. Super excited till I panned it. Ok spot still

 

[EagleDown]

Found an old pan today while hunting for gold myself!
View attachment 765090

That within itself should have made the day worthwhile. I've found screwdriver crevass tools and scrapers made just for cleaning crevasses, but l've never found a gold pan.

Congratulations!!

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

Yes, there's still gold there!!

I found pyrite on top of sand in a river today. Super excited till I panned it. Ok spot still

Check out this next photo, maybe you should try here. (lol)

 

[EagleDown]

Yes, there's still gold there!!

A spot for quick cash??

 

[Cl1983]

Nice. I tried for a pic but it wouldn't show up. I did 2 pans both had color but I didn't have time to pan out much more but took a half a bucket home for practice

 

[Oakview2]

AWESOME, found this in a tailing pile north of Coutlerville...

Found an old pan today while hunting for gold myself!
View attachment 765090

 

[angelus2k5]

Recently, I recieved a pm from one of my fine readers, asking if I knew of any lost treasures in San Bernardino, CA. Well, I had to admit that I didn't know of any IN San Bernardino, but he caused me to remember one near S.B.

It was about 1964 when I met and became friends with an Apache family living in N. Elmonte, CA. James, the youngest of the male members of the family and I enjoyed panning together in Lytle Creek and at Morman Bar.

One evening, we were sitting by our camp-fire and he told me a story of a "ledge" of gold. It went something like this:

Back in the early 1900s, Native Americans (Indians) were not considered citizens of the USA. Then the Government gave them a way to become "Citizens". Enlist in the military and upon your discharge, you would automatically become a US Citizen.

At that time, there was a local Tribal Chief who (as normal) saw that the needs of his Tribe were taken care of. To carry out his obligations, periodically, he would go alone into the San Gabriel Mountains. A couple of days later, he'd return with a chunk of gold weighing about 5 pounds. He was always escorted to the mouth of a canyon by several warriors, who would wait, making sure no one followed him into the canyon. He was the only one that knew the location of this rich source of gold. He had been shown the location by his father, as had his father before him.

Anyway, when the US became involved in the war overseas, the Chief enlisted in the Army. Before he shipped out, he took his eldest son with him on his last trip into the canyon. In case he didn't survive the fighting, his son would become the hereditary Chief of the Tribe and it would be his responsibility to maintain the secret, and provide for the Tribe.

A couple of years later, the Chief's family recieved notification from the Government that the Chief was "missing in action and presumed dead".

I guess the son of the Chief had no need to go to the canyon for a couple of years, but when he did need to buy supplies for the Tribe, he set out with 5 or 6 warriors just as his father had done. He left the warriors to guard the entrance of the canyon and went on up. After an absence of 4 days, the warriors were beginning to fear that something had happened to him and were discussing who would go into the canyon to try to find him. (A hard decision, since they were forbidden to enter the canyon).

Shortly before dark, the young Chief showed up. He explained that he had spent the time looking for the gold, but evidently, there had been an earthquake in the last couple of years, which had buried the gold under tons of boulders and destroyed all of the land-marks his father had showed him.

So, somewhere in Sphinx Canyon, behind Ontario, CA, there is a rich 'ledge' of gold just waiting for the right person or circumstances to be found again.

From Google Earth, I can see that there has been a lot of building going on. I wonder if there's a house sitting on top of one of the richest gold veins in CA??

i take it this is in regards to my inquiries? glad to see i made the thread lol. i couldnt help but wonder if you mean that this golden "ledge" would be in the mount baldy area? i have very fond memories of heading up there with my family when i was a kid and swiming in the river. too bad i was too young to even think of examining those river beds a little more closely. as always very good thread and even greater stories. cant wait for your book of lost treasures and california legends lol.

 

[EagleDown]

i take it this is in regards to my inquiries? glad to see i made the thread lol. i couldnt help but wonder if you mean that this golden "ledge" would be in the mount baldy area? i have very fond memories of heading up there with my family when i was a kid and swiming in the river. too bad i was too young to even think of examining those river beds a little more closely. as always very good thread and even greater stories. cant wait for your book of lost treasures and california legends lol.

Yep! You made it to the thread. (lol) And, a hearty welcome to you!

I don't remember about the Mt. Baldy area. I do remember checking a county map and finding that Sphinx Canyon was pretty much North of Ontario and was shown on the map by that name. I never did go up into the canyon, as at that time, it was still pretty rugged and I had on idea of where to look. (Still don't) (lol)

Eagle

 

[angelus2k5]

Yep! You made it to the thread. (lol) And, a hearty welcome to you!

I don't remember about the Mt. Baldy area. I do remember checking a county map and finding that Sphinx Canyon was pretty much North of Ontario and was shown on the map by that name. I never did go up into the canyon, as at that time, it was still pretty rugged and I had on idea of where to look. (Still don't) (lol)

Eagle

i know what you mean. without any landmarks or even a general thata way direction that cache is sure to be lost until some lucky hiker stumbles across it. however by studying the maps on google earth it should be possible to determine a few dozen (if not hundreds) sites to try digging in given that your story mentions the site being hidden by a rock slide. this rock slide should have changed the appearance of the particular spot on the mountain. since a rock slide hid that shelf, the land/mountain side must not be stable enough for vegitation to grow which means that it should still to this day stand out on a satelite image as rocky terrain. of course this is all just a mixture of speculation and assumption coming from someone who is as experianced in geology and dendrology as an omish person is in modern robotics and web page design. at the very least i assume we could rule out the whole mountain and aim for the sections on the sattelite images that would coinside with rock slides/unstable ground. not much of a theory but still food for thought. (oh and please forgive my spelling as im typing between working and dont care too much to spell check)

p.s.
im thinking of going camping near el capitan state beach in june. do you (or any other readers) by chance know of any legends out that way?

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

Ya know what Eagle, I had a brain lapse. I guess ya could take pride in my mistake. Lol. I enjoy his stories as well as yours.
I sorta twisted my healed broken ankle Saturday. I see the doc about ankle tomorrow and hope I didn't damage it. Could effect me more than I hope. Hard enough going downhill on my arse. Then those steep banks forget it.
So it's the simpler flat areas for a bit. Not bad though. A couple months ago, a guy was metal detecting one of the campgrounds by one of the mines by Payson. He stumbled across a 1/4 oz nugget. So I went out there to stumble around a bit. Trying to stay on the flat areas, but I'm like that elusive gold nugget. Gravity keeps working me downhill. Didn't find much but a bunch of shells, lead shot and bits and a penny and a 1967 dime (Rosie, my first one). Looked it up thinking it might have some silver, since it looked like new coming out of the dirt. No silver value, but still quite happy on the find, and I didn't find the daddy of that other guys nugget yet. Though I did see some other spots to hit. Just need to make sure I've got somebody with to hold my hand .
I've got to finish reading that novel you wrote about crater lake and the other one I skimmed. I haven't told you lately, but I truly appreciate your stories and knowledge. Lanny's to. I'm still a puppy when it comes to this. Just finally able to take the knowledge I've learned through the years.
Keep getting better my friend and I'll be at the Eagle University.

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

AWESOME, found this in a tailing pile north of Coutlerville...

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/a...fnds-novice-accomplished-miner-9-3-12-005.jpg http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/a...fnds-novice-accomplished-miner-9-3-12-006.jpg

Relic lady: great find. What a piece of history.

Oakview: I think you found my walking cane for when I detect. Lets me know I can find iron.

 

[EagleDown]

Speaking of Eagle University, I'm letting my friends know that I'll be on the Merced river below Briceburg on Saturday, April the 13th. (Weather permitting). I sincerely hope to see some of you there.

Love and Respect,

Eagle

 

[Oakview2]

Eagle

Wish I could make it, will be over the hill from Briceburg, northeast of Coulterville. My oldest son and I have a three day dig planned. Got the gear packed, grub ready. Hope to bring back something good to show

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

If I get enough gold the weekend prior Eagle I could make it. Just got to tell my son. Run the pool business, I'm going to see an Eagle about some kinda yellow rock.
Think he'll go for it? He caught gold fever for his 18th bday. Lol

 

[EagleDown]

Eagle

Wish I could make it, will be over the hill from Briceburg, northeast of Coulterville. My oldest son and I have a three day dig planned. Got the gear packed, grub ready. Hope to bring back something good to show

No problem Brother, just bring back a note from Dr. Gold, along with a couple of photos of your finds and you'll be excused. (lol)

Perhaps the next time!