Lost Gold Mines

Posted By Michael Webster 

A few mines are still being actively worked today, but most mining companies that have tried to revive the old mines have been unsuccessful. The stories of lost gold mines still lure prospectors, even today. Many believe it is easier to find a mine that has been lost, than to discover a new location. The question is, "Do these lost mines exist, and are the legends of the lost treasures true?" We must ask ourselves the toughest question of all -- "Do I believe there is still gold to be found in the desert?" If I do believe, how can I find gold in the desert and where do I begin searching?

To help you get started on your journey, I will share with you some of the most famous legends and tales about lost mines and how they were once discovered and then lost again. These tales have been told by prospectors, doctors, law enforcers, rangers and by every common person who believes enough to retell the tale. Some of the stories have many versions, each containing a few facts that differ from each other. The differences are evident in the variance of descriptive landmarks, dates, and historical information.

The individuals who truly believe in a particular legend, spend the greater portion of their lives collecting data and facts about the lost mine they so eagerly seek. They build files which contain details, bits and pieces of a legend so old and peculiar, they cannot rest until the mystery is solved. They keep hoping that one day soon, they will be the lucky one who discovers the long lost mine, the one which has been sought after for years by others with similar faith.

Each step into the desert may bring you a little closer to a fortune. Keep your ears and eyes open, for you may be the lucky one who discovers the three buttes where Pegleg Smith found his black-coated gold nuggets, or a gold filled saddle bag from the Peralta Family's last mining expedition.

Two of the most famous lost mines are the Lost Dutchman Mine of Arizona and Pegleg Smith's Mine of Southern California. To this day, both lost mines are actively sought after by old time prospectors and treasure hunters.

It is said that more men have sought Pegleg's black nuggets than any other lost mine. There are multiple versions of the Pegleg legend as well as other stories of black nuggets that seem to correlate with some of the facts stated in Pegleg lore.

Pegleg Smith was a rugged mountain man who traded furs and supplies, rustled horses and trapped beaver. Pegleg, also known as Thomas Smith, lost his leg to an arrow during a trapping expedition in the fall of 1827. After his leg was amputated, his friends fashioned him a wooden leg, thus earning him the name Pegleg.

The famous legend began during a trapping expedition down the Colorado River in the late 1820s or early 1830s. Pegleg and his party had acquired a large number of pelts during their trip and selected Pegleg and another member of the trapping party to take the supply of pelts across the desert to Los Angeles for sale.

During their journey through the desert, Pegleg had gathered some pebbles which he found on top of a butte in the Colorado Desert. The butte was one of three, thus entering the significant landmark of three buttes in most versions of his story. He gathered the black pebbles thinking they were copper and carried them to Los Angeles where he later discovered they were gold.

It is said that Pegleg got drunk while in Los Angeles, started a brawl in the local saloon and was quickly kicked out of town by the authorities. On his way out of California, he stole 300 to 400 horses and drove them to Taos, New Mexico where he planned to sell them.

Many prospectors and historians wonder why he did not go back to the desert and search for the butte where he discovered the gold. During the 1830s and 1840s, Pegleg settled down and started a trading post along the Oregon Trail in Idaho, specializing in the sale of horses.

Read more: prospectorsjournal.com