Arrastras

[Hal Croves]

TREASURE TALES OF THE SUPERSTITIONS
"I hand the first photo to Len. "Len that's what Al called the arrastras at Mormon Flat."

T. E. Glover shares the photograph on page 422.

 

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[Matthew Roberts]

Hal,

I was with Al Reser at Canyon Lake one day and Al showed me where the old arrastra was located which was then underwater. Al had seen the arrastra back in about 1967 when the water in Canyon Lake was drawn down. Al was sure it was from the Mexican era and said you could see the circular drag marks in the bedrock. He stated the arrastra was just up out of the riverbed which would have been about where First water Creek emptied into the Salt River.

In the fall of 2007 Canyon Lake was again drawn down for repairs on Mormon Flat Dam. The lake was dropped about 50 feet from September 2007 through January of 2008.
Al had passed away by that time and I went over to the Lake to see if I could find the arrastra Al told me about. I had a copy of some photos Al had given me he had taken back in the 60's when he saw the first draw down. I searched for the better part of a day and finally found the spot Al was talking about. It was almost filled in with silt and I dug down to where I could see some circular drag marks that Al told me about.

Al also spoke of another arrastra, a larger one somewhere east of First Water Creek along LaBarge (Boulder) creek on the south side. I looked for that site also but was unable to positively say I found it although I did see a place that may have been Al's site. It was about the right size for an arrastra and what looked like a partial wall was still intact. The particular spot was too wet for me to do any digging that day.

Photos from the 2007 draw down and a couple from the 1967 draw down also.

 

[gollum]

GREAT to see you posting again! Love the pics.

Mike

 

[deducer]

Good to see you posting again, Matthew.

 

[azdave35]

Hal,

I was with Al Reser at Canyon Lake one day and Al showed me where the old arrastra was located which was then underwater. Al had seen the arrastra back in about 1967 when the water in Canyon Lake was drawn down. Al was sure it was from the Mexican era and said you could see the circular drag marks in the bedrock. He stated the arrastra was just up out of the riverbed which would have been about where First water Creek emptied into the Salt River.

In the fall of 2007 Canyon Lake was again drawn down for repairs on Mormon Flat Dam. The lake was dropped about 50 feet from September 2007 through January of 2008.
Al had passed away by that time and I went over to the Lake to see if I could find the arrastra Al told me about. I had a copy of some photos Al had given me he had taken back in the 60's when he saw the first draw down. I searched for the better part of a day and finally found the spot Al was talking about. It was almost filled in with silt and I dug down to where I could see some circular drag marks that Al told me about.

Al also spoke of another arrastra, a larger one somewhere east of First Water Creek along LaBarge (Boulder) creek on the south side. I looked for that site also but was unable to positively say I found it although I did see a place that may have been Al's site. It was about the right size for an arrastra and what looked like a partial wall was still intact. The particular spot was too wet for me to do any digging that day.

Photos from the 2007 draw down and a couple from the 1967 draw down also.

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nice pics matthew...i was also at canyon lake in 2007 when the lake was down....i took a bunch of pics but can only find a few of them now...i did send a few to mike and he can post them if he likes...most of my pics were taken where labarge dumps into the lake.....there is a rock dam and also a stone wall..hard telling what they used to be....and there is an arrestra up labarge canyon...an old timer told me about it years ago...he saw it back in the 1960's....he gave me pretty good directions to find it but i never got the chance to look for it

 

[Hal Croves]

nice pics matthew...i was also at canyon lake in 2007 when the lake was down....i took a bunch of pics but can only find a few of them now...i did send a few to mike and he can post them if he likes...most of my pics were taken where labarge dumps into the lake.....there is a rock dam and also a stone wall..hard telling what they used to be....and there is an arrestra up labarge canyon...an old timer told me about it years ago...he saw it back in the 1960's....he gave me pretty good directions to find it but i never got the chance to look for it

This seems to confirm what azdave35 is describing. Same general location, where La Barge flows into Tortilla Creek.

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[captain1965]

I have pics of the entire boulder area. I will look for them.

 

[Azquester]

Glad you're back Matthew. Hal, Right above the photo's posted with the Arrastra is a large cairn or finger rock. Behind that Finger rock is an old mine up on the mountain side above it. I saw and photographed it from the other side of the canyon, but, have never been there in person. Notice the Triangle shaped shadow pointer to the right of the old mine pointing right at it.


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That's besides the four or so mines I found on the east side of La Barge across from the Arrastra's locations. Possibly used for the pay dirt coming out of these mines right above.

 

[Azquester]

Was crushed ore panned before smelting or, was the dust of the work panned?

Hal, This old method of mining was used by the Indians that were in servitude for the Spanish. It's called "Winnowing"

I could see the Indians throwing the concentrates up and catching it in their blankets. Let the dry wind do the work just like a Modern Day drywasher. This also may be why I've heard the term "Coyote Hole" before. The Spanish called their hidden mine entrances " Rabbit Holes".

Dry Washing. Dry washing is a method of winnowing gold from dirt. In many parts of the mining districts of California, water cannot be obtained during the summer for mining purposes. The miner therefore manages to wash his dirt without water. He takes only rich dirt, and putting it on a raw hide, he pulverizes all the lumps and picks out the large stones. He then with a large flat basin throws the dirt up into the air, catches it as it comes down, throws it up again, and repeats this operation until nothing but the gold remains. Of course a pleasant breeze, that will carry away the dust, is a great assistance to the operation. Sometimes two men have a hide or a blanket, with which they throw up the dirt. The process is very similar to the ancient method of separating grain from chaff. The miner who devotes himself to dry washing must be very particular to take only rich dirt, so he scrapes the bed-rock carefully. He never digs very deep not more than twenty feet ; and when he goes beyond seven or eight feet he "coyotes," or burrows after the pay-dirt. He may coyote into the side of a hill, or sink a shaft and coyote in all directions from it. This style of mining is named from the resemblance of the holes to the burrows of the coyote, or Californian wolf. Coyote mining is not confined to the dry washing, but is used also by miners washing with the gold pan with a cradle.

 

[Hal Croves]

Hal, This old method of mining was used by the Indians that were in servitude for the Spanish. It's called "Winnowing"

I could see the Indians throwing the concentrates up and catching it in their blankets. Let the dry wind do the work just like a Modern Day drywasher. This also may be why I've heard the term "Coyote Hole" before. The Spanish called their hidden mine entrances " Rabbit Holes".

Bill Riley,

There is enough circumstantial evidence to build a very strong argument for the occupation of Mormon Flat/Tortilla Flat, by Mexican miners in the mid 1800's.
Old news for some but for me, its an exciting discovery.

 

[gollum]

Here is a nice arrastra pic:



That pic is thanks to Doug Wright. Won't say where it is, but it is a nice one.

Mike

 

[Azquester]

Bill Riley,

There is enough circumstantial evidence to build a very strong argument for the occupation of Mormon Flat/Tortilla Flat, by Mexican miners in the mid 1800's.
Old news for some but for me, its an exciting discovery.

I believe they were there much earlier maybe back to the 1600's. Water courses were the life blood for the Indian's and anyone else that may have traveled there for mining. It's not the water for drinking but the water for animals they needed. All early mining operations required it. Even old Jacob needed water for his Burro's and Horses. Or maybe Whiskey for his friends and Beer for his Horses? If Jacob had to be near a water source for cobbing his ore and he needed it for his animals he was not very far from a water source. Like the Mexicans that he killed at their campsite they needed water sources for their operation. Lots of it. So did Jacob.

 

[deducer]

Bill Riley,

There is enough circumstantial evidence to build a very strong argument for the occupation of Mormon Flat/Tortilla Flat, by Mexican miners in the mid 1800's.
Old news for some but for me, its an exciting discovery.

I wonder if the Mexican occupation might have happened a lot earlier than that, Hal.

Don't forget the Mexican Cession happened in 1848, so any Mexican presence in the area would have been frowned upon, at the very least. I don't quite think they'd be running an arrastre or two right out in the open, especially just a stone's throw from the Apache trail.

Fort McDowell, while established on the Verde river in 1865, came to be because of the increasing encounter between the whites and the Native Americans, so you have to imagine that there was burgeoning activity in that region, especially along the Salt River for at least the past decade or two prior to that. While McDowell isn't exactly around the corner from Tortilla, you have to wonder about incidental contact as soldiers were sent out on a regular basis to chase the NA into the mountains.

Just some thoughts for you to entertain while doing your research.

 

[gold tramp]

for more shots of my mill and a story
you can chk out my web site.

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[Azquester]

for more shots of my mill and a story
you can chk out my web site.

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Do you have the link?

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Speaking of arrastras, about 15 miles from here are the ruins of a mining camp/vilage.San Francisco. there is a small church that has been dug up with thw bones scattered around by treasure huntera, An aquaduct supplied water and many of water driven arastras.are still evident..Some of the drag stones are enormous, perhaps some 8 cubic ft perhaps some 1500 lbs, some run to 3 -4 ft and are scattered down the small arroyo. The arrastras have long been dug up. But it is a fascinating place. I have soent hours there wth different metal detectors. As for treasure, a large coper bowl was found full of coins of different denominations, but nothing else.The vein ran acroos the arroyo.

Traditiom runs that after the village was abandoned it is filled with water. One of the aquatic serpents took up residence there and the ranchers fearing for their stock attacked it one day wth machetes, rifles and it escaped into the under water tunnel wher e it died. The bones can stil be seen in times of drought. Possibly the same family as the one that I encountered while swiming across the Rio Fuerte while on the trail of the Gloria Pan mine. I have no idea how long it was, but the part that I saw was about the diameter ofa telehone pole - I never swam nude there again.

 

[gold tramp]

sorry for the delay over at my site, prospecting, mining, milling just no computer time.
have to take advantage of the last of these cooler days to get that gold !!!!!!

i will try to get the arrastra stuff done before the end of the month.
GT.................

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

No problem, for those cold mornings before it starts warming up -- that time of the year.

 

[audigger53]

Amazing how many times we lived through our "Young Dumb Moments". Even when not so young. LOL Like crawling face down and spread eagle across a 30 degree sloping rock face with a 100-150 foot drop below just to check out a place. think I was between 36-40 that time. It is always easier to climb up a rock face than trying to go down one, at least for me with no other equipment than my hands and feet with boots on.

 

[audigger53]

Wool blankets work best as the rough wool threads catch the gold better. Then later the blanket is burnt and then panned as well.