bigscoop
Gold Member
- Jun 4, 2010
- 13,373
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- Older blue Excal with full mods, Equinox 800.
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Sometimes we run across information in the most unassuming places. In recent months I've been reading and researching the mining history of Colorado in preparation of a prospecting trip I'll be taking out there next summer. In doing all of this research I've also been reading a lot of old books relevant to the subject. Recently I ran into a book that cast both serious doubt on the Beale party's adventure but also support of the notion that gold deposits in the region were known about, and visited, even before the time of Lewis and Clark, or Pike.
First, as to the gold references and mining as reported in the Beale story, there is absolutely no way that the party was able to separate the ores from the conglomerates as there was no known processes for doing so. You see, the gold in Colorado was, and is, vastly different from that gold which is mined in California, Nevada, and Arizona. Even during the Colorado gold rush of 59 and for several years following the known processes of those later times still resulted in a 40 to 50% loss of the gold in the ores, sometimes this loss was even higher. It wasn't until the late sixties and early seventies that new types of chemistries were developed to improve on this process, and even then these new process took considerable more time. So if the Beale party's gold is even partially refined then it could not have come from Colorado. Period! So then, if their alleged gold was found in Colorado then it has to be in the form of ores. To these conclusions there can now be no doubt or argument, this information being available to anyone who wishes to look for it.
Now, as for the earlier knowledge that gold did in fact exist in Colorado, this is something the French were aware of. Just exactly how they knew that gold existed in Colorado isn't quite known but there is no doubt that they possessed the knowledge. So given the dates in the Beale Pamphlet this information begs the question, dime novel or otherwise, did the unknown author have this information? Did the Beale party, if a real adventure, possess it as well? Could this be the reason for the ten year term, because at the time there was known process for separating the ore? What good is gold if you can't physically extract it and posses it?
Just more food for thought.
First, as to the gold references and mining as reported in the Beale story, there is absolutely no way that the party was able to separate the ores from the conglomerates as there was no known processes for doing so. You see, the gold in Colorado was, and is, vastly different from that gold which is mined in California, Nevada, and Arizona. Even during the Colorado gold rush of 59 and for several years following the known processes of those later times still resulted in a 40 to 50% loss of the gold in the ores, sometimes this loss was even higher. It wasn't until the late sixties and early seventies that new types of chemistries were developed to improve on this process, and even then these new process took considerable more time. So if the Beale party's gold is even partially refined then it could not have come from Colorado. Period! So then, if their alleged gold was found in Colorado then it has to be in the form of ores. To these conclusions there can now be no doubt or argument, this information being available to anyone who wishes to look for it.
Now, as for the earlier knowledge that gold did in fact exist in Colorado, this is something the French were aware of. Just exactly how they knew that gold existed in Colorado isn't quite known but there is no doubt that they possessed the knowledge. So given the dates in the Beale Pamphlet this information begs the question, dime novel or otherwise, did the unknown author have this information? Did the Beale party, if a real adventure, possess it as well? Could this be the reason for the ten year term, because at the time there was known process for separating the ore? What good is gold if you can't physically extract it and posses it?
Just more food for thought.
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....when the French gained the territory from Spain they had great plans for the territory and Napoleon was very near acting on those plans if it hadn't been for Great Britain. It's all documented.
