Pegleg's Black Gold Nuggets

[pegleglooker]

Popular belief is that T Cover was killed in the badlands by people he knew when he lived in Idaho. There was a " family " of thieves, rustlers, crooks and just plain bad people, that relocated to somewhere near the desert ( the name escapes me ). Tom was VERY instrumental on the founding of Riverside, he originally invested in a silkworm farm but his partner died. Tom owned a ton of land and was lost as to what to do.... But a friend told him that oranges would do real well so he started orchards and sold them.... and that's basically how Riverside started.... One belief is that while walking out on some of the hills in the badlands, he walked over a air pocket and fell into the hill and suffocated. I had read something awhile back that some bones were found in the badlands and people thought that they " may " have been Toms.... I have all of the articles from the P&H newspaper from the 1800's ( photocopies )...

PLL

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[Old Bookaroo]

PLL:

That was, I believe, the Helm family.

True West published an article "Boone Helm, Man Eater" (April 1973). Kinda sums it up, don't it?

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo

[pegleglooker]

Here's a link to the Desert Magazine's complete story on T Cover ( courtesy of http://dezertmagazine.com/ )....


http://dezertmagazine.com/mine/1954DM05/index.html

Enjoy
PLL

[Old Bookaroo]

PLL: Thank you! I have a copy of that article in my archives - the author's name didn't register when I read it above.

This is why I ask for citations - I need all the help I can get!

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo

[pegleglooker]

No problem Bookaroo, I won't mind reading your True West story as well < hint hint >

Thx
PLL

[Old Bookaroo]

PLL:

Sorry - I don't have a copy of that article. I found a reference to it while looking for something else. It might have been an old Amazon.com listing - I'm just not sure.

However, if you need help locating a copy of that issue I would be happy to help. If you're patient these are usually available for a couple of bucks. Indeed - often the shipping is as much as the magazine! [That's why I try to purchase more than one copy at a time from any one source.]

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo

[pegleglooker]

Sounds good Bookaroo... and I am VERY patient LOL!!!!

THX
PLL

[bobinsd]

Gollum...hope you are still watching this thread. Didn't you post years ago a picture of what you thought was a "natural" cross on the side of a mountain/hill. In Bailey's book the is a reference to a "natural" cross in relation to Pegleg's mine. Have you read it?

[gollum]

It's a heart not a cross.

Mike

[MrLee]

I just spent the past 6 hours (have the flu) reading this fascinating conversation. So much history down here in So. Cal and much of it not know to the public for one reason or another. I'm very interested now in the Spanish and their doings in the Colorado Desert. How is it that they could have passed these nugget up?

Also, I'm starting to do research into the Big Blue Lead as someone else had mentioned earlier in this thread. Klondike Ike had mentioned blue clay out in Barstow on another thread. I'm wondering if the Big Blue Lead may have drained into the Gulf of California, or the sea that occupied that area? Could these placers have come from the BBL?

Pegleg, have you started a book on this subject?

The history of the area would make a great mini-series starting with the Spanish and the San Felipe massacre. Very cool.

[pegleglooker]

Thx Mr. Lee, but my magazine does keeps be VERY busy ( however I have discussed a book with a publisher though ).... You should check out my site if you like ( HOME )...

[jimmyquick1]

Hey Guys,
I regestered here after a friend of mine showed me this thread. I will be the first to admit that I'm no "expert" about Pegleg's lost gold but I know the story. I grew up in the Imperial Valley. The north end. We know all about the black gold nuggets. My Dad's uncle was what we call a range rat. He used to go out on the artillery range to collect scrap metal to sell. Occasionally he would come back with a black rock. He also knows where there is an abandoned opal mine up in the Chocolates. It used to be privatley owned but the military absorbed it. I spent many days riding dirtbike and quad around the Cargo Muchacho and Chocolate mountains. Why do you think they put that big gold mine on the 78? Because there is gold out there. Also, if you are looking for sandstorms, check out the north end of Glamis, I've survived a few out there and I''l never risk it again. There is a reason that some of the moutans have a greenish hue (copper). To me it just makes sense that, if Pegleg were travelling from Yuma to LA that he would traval diagonally, rather than straight across the Valley then up. Hope this helps you guys. Happy hunting.

[MrLee]

Jimmy, never been out to Glamis, but everyone I know has. Is the gold mine you refer to just above Glamis on the 78?

The Navy is working on an LEIS for a 25 year renewal of the CHocolate Mountain Gunnery Range. Any possibility they could be turned down by Congress or the public?

[jimmyquick1]

Mr. Lee,
Yes, there is a big open pit mine North of Glamis on the 78 (Ben Hulse HWY). The Native Mexican's mined the Chocolates and then the Spanish after them. There's even a legend about a lost gold ledge in the Chocolates.

Lost Gold Ledge of the Chocolate Mountains

I can't really see them not renewing the lease for the Gunnery Range, partially because there is so much unexploded ordinance out there it would cost a small fortune to clear it all. Trespassers beware!

[MrLee]

Oh, I won't go near that range. Had a friend in high school that was out on his atc, picked up a flare, probably signal flare. He brought it back to his trailer to show his dad and it went off. Severely burned him.

I was out at the geode beds last week. Talk about middle of nowhere. Seems very difficult to find them now as we spent a few hours digging as did the other people around us, but nothing good. Still a nice day to be out and see the area.

[mastahmynd]

i found the black gold missing and i got pictures to prove it !!

[Scout]

Hey PLL, I have read your story in old issues of Desert Mag.... thanks! Have you read the book by Frank L. Fish "Buried Treasure and Lost Mines" his story was from the personal papers taken from a man who spent 40 years looking for the Gold from 1865 to 1905. He was injured in an accident in the Badlands and taken to his home in Santa Monica where he died from a crushed chest. Before he died he said he finally found the Lost Pegleg location. His wife could not make no sense of his directions to the find. However, later when his maps and notes were studied closley his search area and findings centered around the south end of the Santa Rosas in the Badlands, a hard to reach spot.
It does not give a name of this person in the book of this man who spent 40 years looking.... you might have this info already so I am sorry if I missed a post regarding this person. Thats a long way to travel with a chest injury even these days, I know because I broke seven ribs riding my dirt bike down there in those Badlands. I rode back in a truck and that hurt like hell.
The book says that two of these Black Nuggets the size of Hazle Nuts with a reddish-black coating rest in the iron safe at one of the California Ranches! ... well that really narrows it down
I am up for a trip down again when the weather allows, lets go guys!

[Jack Hamilton]

Hey PLL...been a few years. Hope things are well. I've read through this entire thread. While I may not have the knowledge of the treasure tales, I have been prospecting quite a bit. If there were nuggets being found on hilltops, there will be fine gold and pickers and smaller nuggets in the tributaries and washes, even hillsides below the places these blackend nuggets were and have continued to be found.

An interesting note to point out. I have been prospecting east into the high desert. Just south of 29 palms. I have found chrysicolla mines and many gold mines. Chrysicolla is a copper ore. Geologically speaking, the low desert is really not far. Considering these nuggets were found on a hill top or butte, it may place the geologic time frame some where in the vicinity of the high desert. Just a guess there, Need a topo for minerals...sooo

I took a look over at the USGS website which is simply a maze of directions to go and no search engine. I tried to use google also to pull up a geologic map of the southern mohave. It will take me more time. I do think it would be benifcial to locate the mineralized hill tops and possibly cross referance those with your own research.

If you ever want to go down and do some spot checking for color in areas, or washes that may lie below your suspect targets let me know. I've learned quite a bit since we chatted last. I've found spots in the high desert where people were finding nuggets in the past with metal detectors but never dry washed and done well. Also, small gold runs further than big gold. If we find small gold and follow it to pickers it will point a direction to either the original placer deposit as mentioned in the ancient river theory spoken of earlier in this thread, or a vein. Take care and best of luck.

[H-2 CHARLIE]

great reading stuff , carry on guys >> Desert Fever Table of Contents

[pegleglooker]

Hello Gang,
Wow it's been awhile hasn't it lol Things are good and everything is fine, our magazine ( Dezert magazine ) is doing very well!!! In fact I'm here to let everyone know that I wrote an article about Pegleg in the recent issue. If you would like to read it , please follow the link ( Dezert Magazine Archives | Dezert Magazine/ ) and there is no cost for the online version. But if you like, you can also order a printed copy as well ( $15.00 ). It will be a 2 part article and this one debunks some of the old theories and follows, what I believe, is the true path... In the next issue we will lay out where we feel the gold is and why it hasn't been found in so long... I hope everyone is healthy and doing well, if you would like to stay in touch you can reach us at Facebook/Dezert Magazine....




Adios Amigos!!!!!