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.)
One night he and his squaw got blissfully drunk. They were sleeping in a
shed full of combustible junk when it caught fire. Other Indians
attracted by their screams rushed to the scene but both were dead. From
Tom’s wickiup, a few feet from the shed, they took Tom’s guns and
saddles, his squaw’s priceless baskets—all the belongings of both—and
tossed them into the flames. Thus the evil spirits were kept away and
the souls of Tom and his squaw passed happily to the Piute heaven which
is a place where there is a big lake and forests filled with game and
the squaws are strong and plentiful.
The Johnnie Mine, an important gold producer, east of Shoshone, was
located by John Tecopa, son of Cap Tecopa, Pahrump Chief.
Tecopa found the float; gave Ed Metcalf an interest to help him locate
the ledge. Bob and Monte Montgomery bought the claim. They interested
Jerry Langford, who induced the Mormon Church to get behind the project.
The Potosi was an early discovery on Timber Mountain between the Johnnie
Mine and Good Springs. (It was here that Carole Lombard, wife of Clark
Gable, was killed in an airplane accident in 1941.) From this mine came
the lead which made the bullets used in the Mountain Meadows massacre.
Jeff Grundy, a prospector of early days, said his father molded the
bullets and delivered them to John D. Lee, who after 20 years was
executed for the murder of the 123 victims of the massacre.
Lee was the owner of Lee’s Ferry, which was the only place where the
Colorado River could be crossed in the Grand Canyon area until the
present suspension bridge 500 feet high was built.
Near Johnnie are Ash Meadows and the beautiful Pahrump Valley,
overlooked by the Charleston Mountains—the summer sleeping porch of Las
Vegas, 35 miles south.
At Ash Meadows lived Jack Longstreet, who wore his hair long enough to
cover his ears. He claimed kinship with the distinguished South Carolina
family of that name. Easier to prove is that Mr. Longstreet came from
Texas and as a 14 year old youngster was caught with a band of horse
thieves in Colorado. The older ones were hanged but because of his youth
Longstreet was released after his ears were cropped to brand him for
identification by others. He lived and drank lustily for 96 years and
died with a competency.
Near Johnnie also lived Mary Scott, who discovered the Confidence Mine,
a landmark in Death Valley. Mary was a squaw who, after consorting with
several white men, chose for her mate a half-breed named Bob Scott. On a
hunting and trapping trip Mary picked up some ore which Scott decided
was silver. Since silver could not be profitably handled because of
transportation costs, Scott filed no notice.
Years after Scott’s death, Mary showed samples of the ore to her cousin,
an Indian named Bob Black and Bob showed it to Frank Cole, a millwright
at the Johnnie Mine. Cole and Jimmy Ashdown grubstaked Mary and Bob, who
returned to Death Valley and located the property. Samples showed rich
gold.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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