The Pearl Ship

[Oroblanco]

Interesting letter Mike, wish I had found that one. I had not thought to check in the letters to the editor parts of the various treasure hunting magazines, really there is a whole archive of material I now have to go back through!

Roy ~ Oroblanco

 

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[Ant]

ok,
I'm alittle confused.... how can you be west of the sink AND east of Kane springs Am I wrong I have Kane springs just south and barely west of the Salton sea... SW of the mudpots.

Braley is South/East of the Sea, so Kane Springs can't be West of the Sea in your discription. You have something wrong.

 

[Ant]

OK, I got it, Old Kane Springs road is:

From Westmorland, go WNW 14.5 miles on Hwy 86 to Kane Old Spring Road, about .5 miles before Elmore Desert Ranch.

That would be South of the Sea, Palm Spring and Indio are West of the Sea..

Look:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q...115.788345&spn=0.195561,0.30899&t=h&z=11&om=0

 

[gollum]

OKAY! I was just about to smack you arouns a little Ant! Yes, Old Kane Springs Road STARTS at the 78/86 (just South of where the 78 takes a sharp left and heads towards Anza-Borrego Desert State Park). The actual spring is just South of the San Sebastian Marsh.

So, that puts the ship in this area.

Best,

Mike

 

[gollum]

`

 

[gollum]

and in that area there are some interestingly shaped sand dunes!:

 

[Ant]

Yeah, that shape sure does looks like a ship! Man you must have put that there, you're good, j/k but that really does look like a ship.

I think Peg Legs Lost Nuggets where found on that side of the sea. They say that they came out of the ground black in color.

 

[gollum]

At the risk of going off-topic, a lot of people put the location of those black nuggets in the Thule Wash Area (just West of Salton City). To find it, just follow along the 86 by Salton City, and you will see Thule Wash. That was the area figured by the people in Desert Magazine from hnts given by the guy that found $300,000 worth of them in the 1950s.

I'm pretty sure I know who the guy was (and the story he gave in the magazine article was BS), and the location was nowhere near Salton City. If you look at the circle on the map in the Desert Magazine Article, I will say that the black nuggets are INSIDE that circle (35 miles SouthWest of the SouthWest corner of the Salton Sea). I have found another story that gives the almost exact location (within four miles) of where he found some in the late 1960s.

The black is not desert varnish as some have said. The nuggets assay at 70% gold, 15-20% Silver, and 15-20% Copper. If the nuggets were in a stream, and underwater all those years, they would still be shiny gold. They were not. They were exposed to the atmosphere for hundreds or thousands of years. This let the copper in the nuggets oxidize turning them black. That is what the black is.

Best-Mike

 

[Skifisher]

A lot of sightings were before the salton sea was formed in 1906, and some of the descriptions of where it was could easly put it under water now.

 

[gollum]

A lot of sightings were before the salton sea was formed in 1906, and some of the descriptions of where it was could easly put it under water now.

Possibly,

But you have to remember the quote from the Indian Woman "that an old Indian woman had told a man named O.J. Fisk that at one time, the ship was visible from the Santa Rosas North of Julian, on the West side of the sink and East of Kane Spring."

Between the West side of the sink and Kane Springs is the area I highlighted in red (maybe even a smaller area). I would have to assume that "the sink" mentioned was most of the area under water currently (maybe even more).

Mike

 

[gollum]

Actually, when you widen the picture, and check the view from the Santa Rosas, it makes the area even smaller than I originally thought.

Not certain of the exact location of the view point in the Santa Rosas, so I included most of the Eastern End.

Best-Mike

 

[pegleglooker]

There is a story that is only slightly mentioned here. That is the story of Thomas Cavendish and his ship the Content. Cavendish was a pirate or privateer depending which side you were on ( Spanish or English ). I got most of this story from a 6 page article from Desert mag in April 1974 by Harvey Gray. Story goes that on 7/31/1586 Cavendish sailed from a port near Plymouth England with 2 barkentines. The names of these ships were the Desire and a the Content both 120 tons. There was a 3rd ship Hugh Gallant ( 60 tons ). On 7/19/1587 off the coast of Central America they captured a Spanish ship with nothing of value. However a Manillan pilot named Miguel Sanchez ( who really was French ) was tortured until he told Cavendish (or someone in the crew ) that there were 2 Manilla Galleons coming from the Orient to Acapulco in about a month. They generally raised a lot of trouble even destroying the port of Guatulco and capturing the acalde mayor Juan de Rengifo. They left on 8/12/1587 and when they got close to Acapulco they sailed north of the city and did the same to the port of Navidad. Except they kidnapped the men of the city and then ransomed them back to the women for supplies and food. Man am I glad I live in this time period. On 11/14 Captain Tomas de Alzola of the galleon Santa Ana from Manila spotted Cavendish's ships but thought they were Spanish pearlers headed for Mazatlan. The next morning Cavendish's ships were coming in for battle. Alzola's ships were so heavy that the cannon ports were sealed and below the waterline.needless to say Cavendish won the day. It took a couple of days to tow the ship into San Lucas Bay and left 190 survivors on shore with little supplies and sail cloth for shelter. Their reward was some Chinese goods, ivory carvings, spices, wines, bradies, chinware provisions and 120,000 pesos in gold. Oh and some fine black pearls. When he split the booty there was some argument about the " division of spoils " especially on the Content. So he split the loot 3 ways 1/3 for himself, 1/3 for the Queen and 1/3 for the crew. They then burned the Santa Ana and about 500 tons of her cargo, taking 200 tons of the best she had. On 11/29/1587 they headed home via Asia, around the African cape and then north to England. As the Desire started out the Content was lagging and after a time started heading north. The Desire landed in England on 9/20/1588. The Content was never heard of again. According to the author all this was " dug up from such sources as Gerhard and Martinez ". Mr Gray then explains that he found a old Papago legend of a ship that sticking out of the sand. The Indians looted some artifacts from the ship. Gray was doing some searching in the area and found a small cave that contained some small sail cloth,metal wash basin and some other things that may have come off a ship. Gray then gives his explanation for how the ship got 12 miles inland. He thinks that shortly after they headed north the Captain and the 1st mate were probably killed and thrown overboard. the " bright " crew went to the captian's chamber and looking at the maps thought they could sail north around the " island " of California. Gray thinks that they headed inland on 12/4 which according to astronomical charts was a full moon. Which means that is the highest tide one can get. So they waited for high tide and headed for a inland river. He estimates about 12 miles in is where she laid when she got stuck. He also states that it was probably a lava reef. This was just a condensed version of the story. Desert mag has the original in the April 1974. Let the debate begin.
PLL

 

[pegleglooker]

Hey everyone,
I thought I would add this pix as well from " Lost Desert Bonanza's " by Eugene Conrotto. The pix was originally in one of the early Desert mags. Note how far the wide " river " comes in from the gulf and stops to become a small river. I do believe there is a ship lost on land, I'm just not convinced that a " galleon " type ship could make north enough to get into the Salton sea or Lake Cahuilla. However I would to see if anyone has anything otherwise.
PLL

 

[pegleglooker]

If you go 12 miles in this is approx the spot

 

[gollum]

Even though the story says Galleon, it could just as easily have been a smaller Caravelle.

There are several stories from Mexican Immigrants crossing the Sonoran Desert about finding old ship remains. There may be several between the Salton Sink and the Gulf of California. The Pearl Ship (if it truly exists, and I believe it does) is somewhere between Kane Springs and the Salton Sink.

There have been several finds made over the years in this area of Spanish Artifacts. A few stories about Desert Rats finding pieces of ship's rigging in the Sand Dunes after big sandstorms, only to have them disappear when the sand blows back.

ONE DAY someone will find it at just the right time, completely by accident.

Best-Mike

 

[pegleglooker]

Hey Mike,
Would this be close

PLL

 

[DesertRat]

Mike, your marker for Kane Spring isn't right. That area of the San Sebastian Marsh is known as Harper's Well. Kane Spring is on the other side of 78/86. On my Harpers Well Quad 7.5 its listed as Harper's Well.

A little history..."they reached a watering place which Anza named San Sebastian, alias del Peregrino, in honor of the wanderings of the Indian Sebastian. It was a large marsh with a small lake and a well of fresh water on San Felipe Creek near its junction with Carrizo Creek and near a spot now identified as Harper's Well, lying more than 160 feet below sea level. It is directly west of Highway 99, about three miles from Kane Spring and south of Highway 78 running from Highway 99 to Borrego Valley from which it can be seen." The History of San Diego by Richard F. Pourade.

Nothin' major just a little more accuracy. Been out there a few times.

 

[gollum]

HHHHMMMMMMMMMMMM?

In TOPO USA, that spot IS referred to as Harper's Well, and it shows Kane Spring as being right on top of the 78/86. On another TOPO Program I have, it is Kane Spring. Even used to be an old sign there that said Kane Spring. It was right where Kane Spring Road turned South, going West from the 78/86. If you took the longer route, you ran into the spring, the shortcut bypassed it. I see a little investigation is in order.

Google Earth doesn't name it, and neither does MS LiveSearch.

Best-Mike

 

[gollum]

Just found another interesting possibility for a Desert Ship (No pearls though):

In his account of the conquest of Mexico, Captain Bernal Diaz del Castillo, bold companion of Cortez, relates: "In the month of May, 1532, the Marquis del Valle (Cortez) sent two ships from the port of Acapulco, to make discoveries in the South Seas. They were commanded by a captain named Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, who, without going far to sea, or doing anything worthy of relating, had the misfortune of a mutiny among the troops, in consequence whereof, one ship, of which the mutineers took possession, returned to New Spain to the great disappointment of Cortez. As for Hurtado, neither he nor his vessel were ever heard of again."

If mutineers took over Mendoza's ship, the Iqueque, the Gulf would have been a logical hiding place for them. It was the spot that the mutineer Jiminez head for, a short time later, when he took over a ship which Cortez sent out to search for Mendoza. Jiminez was the first known to have discovered and landed on the peninsula of Lower California, and he and his companions were killed by the natives there. The expedition of Francisco de Ulloa, which went to the head of the Gulf, was also searching for Mendoza, as well as exploring.

Maybe?

 

[pegleglooker]

Hey Mike,
Ulloa's body was found due east of San Luis Rey mission in a cave by J J Markey in 1957. Markey was working for the San Luis Rey historical society. I have seen a pix of markey in the cave. I can't remember where I saw it, I've been looking thourgh my books. I know that if you google Ulloa and JJ Markey some things will come up. According to what I read Ulloa went north with 1 ship a cew of about 25, a scribe and 23 women of ill repute- let's say-. Around Oceanside his men and him came down with scurvy and he died. His srcibe supposedly rowed south around 2000 miles and was rescued. Markey found or 5 or 6 skulls in a cave near the mission. All were native skulls except one, and that was a euopean skull. He sent the skulls to UCLA and carbon dating set them at approx 500 yrs of age. Remember he found them in 1957. It was Markey contention that Ulloa was the 1st to discover California before Cortez. The article aslo said that 1 or 2 years later Markey also found 2000 coins that valued at 500K. So If Ulloa died here there he is out of consideration. If I find the pix I'll post it. The article said that Markey went to Madrid ( for the Spanish Archives ) and hired 3 researchers and it was these researcher that found the info for where Ulloa was buries and where the coins where. It was from the scribes testimoney that it was found.
PLL