Loafing along Death Valley trails : $b a personal narrative of people and placesCaruthers, William
History
Loafing along Death Valley trails : $b a personal narrative of people and places
Caruthers, William
Death Valley (Calif. and Nev.)
Breyfogle left a crude map of his course. All lost mines must have a
map. Conspicuous on this map are the Death Valley Buttes which are
landmarks. Because he was seen so much here, it was assumed that his
operations were in the low foothills. I have seen a rough copy of this
map made from the original in possession of “Wildrose” Frank Kennedy’s
squaw, Lizzie.
Breyfogle presumably coming from his mine, was accosted near Stovepipe
Wells by Panamint Tom, Hungry Bill, and a young buck related to them,
known as Johnny. Hungry Bill, from habit, begged for food. Breyfogle
refused, explaining that he had but a morsel and several hard days’
journey before him. On his burro he had a small sack of ore. When
Breyfogle left, Hungry Bill said, “Him no good.”
Incited by Hungry Bill and possible loot, the Indians followed Breyfogle
for three or four days across the range. Hungry Bill stopped en route,
sent the younger Indians ahead. At Stump Springs east of Shoshone,
Breyfogle was eating his dinner when the Indians sneaked out of the
brush and scalped him, took what they wished of his possessions and left
him for dead.
Ash Meadows Charlie, a chief of the Indians in that area confided to
Herman Jones that he had witnessed this assault. This happened on the
Yundt Ranch, or as it is better known, the Manse Ranch. Yundt and Aaron
Winters accidentally came upon Breyfogle unconscious on the ground. The
scalp wound was fly-blown. They had a mule team and light wagon and
hurried to San Bernardino with the wounded man. The ore, a chocolate
quartz, was thrown into the wagon.
“I saw some of it at Phi Lee’s home, the Resting Spring Ranch,” Shorty
Harris said. “It was the richest ore I ever saw. Fifty pounds yielded
nearly $6000.”
Breyfogle recovered, but thereafter was regarded as slightly “off.” He
returned to Austin, Nevada, and the story followed.
Wildrose (Frank) Kennedy, an experienced mining man obtained a copy of
Breyfogle’s map and combed the country around the buttes in an effort to
locate the mine. Kennedy had the aid of the Indians and was able to
obtain, through his squaw Lizzie, such information as Indians had about
the going and coming of the elusive Breyfogle.
“Some believe the ore came from around Daylight Springs,” Shorty said,
“but old Lizzie’s map had no mark to indicate Daylight Springs. But it
does show the buttes and the only buttes in Death Valley are those above
Stovepipe Wells.
“Kennedy interested Henry E. Findley, an old time Colorado sheriff and
Clarence Nyman, for years a prospector for Coleman and Smith (the
Pacific Borax Company). They induced Mat Cullen, a rich Salt Lake mining
man, to leave his business and come out. They made three trips into the
valley, looking for that gold. It’s there somewhere.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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