Arrastra near Buena Vista, CO

[RGINN]

Camped near here last night and decided to go check this out. Arrastra comes from the Spanish 'arrastre' which basically means to drag along the ground. Best one I've ever seen and not many of them left. Alongside Four Mile Creek, cut into solid granite, about 6 foot in diameter. The trough where they would place the gold bearing rock is about a foot wide and at least that deep. (Had ice in it so I couldn't tell for sure.) A deer came up to watch me for a while. Saw an interesting thing that I've seen others post pics of and wonder about, a feather hanging from a tree. In this case, it appeared to be a marker for a clumsily set live trap on the ground below it. Not really needed, as I spotted the trap before I ever noticed the feather.

 

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[BosnMate]

Great pictures. I wonder if the feather is possibly scented to draw curious critters to the trap? I've got a trapping story from long long ago, and far far away. I was working for a cow outfit, on the Carson River, and was horseback checking cows when a coyote came up out of a willow choked coulee in front of me. Long story short, the company owned traps, so I set out to trap that critter. I shot a rabbit for bait, and went into the coulee, hung the rabbit up in a willow bush, and set a trap just below it, then set traps in every trail into where the rabbit was hung. Stood back and checked my sets, and wondered if I was going to be able to find every trap again, they were hidden so well. Next day first thing I went and checked the traps. I could see the rabbit was gone, so I excitedly went into the coulee to get my coyote. The animal was way smarter than me, he dug up and tripped every trap but one, ate the rabbit, and pooped on the trap he hadn't dug up. I decided I was a better cowboy that I was a trapper and gave up on my new career in the fur trade.

 

[tamrock]

Cool! you went there. I don't think anyone can say for sure, who and when that arrastra was put there. I know there are old diggings around here & there in those hills, but all I've ever found in research, was there was some gold mining done around the region. My guess is the arrastra was used between the later 1850's to the 1870's, but who knows for sure, it could have been early Mexican or even Spanish miners who put that there. I also have a hunch it was used by others after those who originally put it there. I think this because if I remember right from the last time I saw it "which was years ago now", someone used a short section of iron pipe to act as a bushing in the center hole... Your getting me all up with the notion to do some more exploring of that area again. From the road you went in there to the arrasta it use to go all the way to the north-east and come out to the top of trout creek pass. Over on the longs park area I once came on to an old mine very hid in the trees that had some very interesting minerals in the tailings. There were crystals and pyrite cubes in the the waist they dumped out. I've seen other veins up and around there that was a decomposed looking granite they were digging out and I think that was free milling rock... I just don't think very much information was ever recorded of the mining activity in that area, so who knows what went on around that area I do know the Native Americans were very active over many, many years in that area.

 

[tamrock]

Great pictures. I wonder if the feather is possibly scented to draw curious critters to the trap? I've got a trapping story from long long ago, and far far away. I was working for a cow outfit, on the Carson River, and was horseback checking cows when a coyote came up out of a willow choked coulee in front of me. Long story short, the company owned traps, so I set out to trap that critter. I shot a rabbit for bait, and went into the coulee, hung the rabbit up in a willow bush, and set a trap just below it, then set traps in every trail into where the rabbit was hung. Stood back and checked my sets, and wondered if I was going to be able to find every trap again, they were hidden so well. Next day first thing I went and checked the traps. I could see the rabbit was gone, so I excitedly went into the coulee to get my coyote. The animal was way smarter than me, he dug up and tripped every trap but one, ate the rabbit, and pooped on the trap he hadn't dug up. I decided I was a better cowboy that I was a trapper and gave up on my new career in the fur trade.

Not far from that place long time ago I was up there and I remember the snow was deep. I had this Blue Healer and he'd run all around. I heard him onetime yipping and crying in pain a ways off. I knew he got in a trap, so I went to rescue him. The trap was put there by this fella who lived close to me. He had like these 7 wild ass coon hounds he'd hunt cats with. Those dogs were nuts and would tear up anything they could sink their teeth in. Every time I see that movie "A Christmas Story" and the Bumbasas dogs I think of those howling hound dogs and that guy heading out to check his traps.

 

[RGINN]

For the first time ever I got directions off the internet that were dead on. Good deal, cause you have to be right on top of this to see it. I was curious if it were early day Spanish, but after seeing it I believe you're right about the time frame. I was disappointed the trough was full of ice, cause I wanted to see if there was any mercury present. Looking at the wear, it was in use for a few years. I scouted around for evidence of any diggings but didn't find anything in the immediate area; easy to miss though. It wouldn't necessarily have to be located real close to where they were getting the ore, since locations like this are pretty hard to find in the area: Large flat granite rock and right next to a creek. Any early day miner would have spotted the potential right off. I've seen evidence of lots of diggings and prospect holes throughout that whole area, and there is gold there, but not a lot of history I can find since they never 'struck it big'. Shame not much written research about the early days around there. I suppose I could call ol Scott Wolter, forensic geologist, and tell him I know of an alien rock circle, with possible Templar connections, in the middle of Bigfoot country (a few reports in Chaffee County) we could get a little more info on it.

 

[tamrock]

I could be wrong, but I think I remember hearing the original county records of Chaffee county got burned up in a fire long ago. So any early records are gone. I thought the same about the location of the arrastra being in a place far from the diggings, but the area was a perfect place for a shoestring mine camp. You have water and plenty of fish and game. I read someplace when President Grant, I think it was, made a visit to Buena Vista the town served up a trout dinner all caught from right there in the Arkansas River and none of the trout served was under five pounds. If that was so, I'll bet those old miners who put that arrastra there never went to bed hungry if that was the size of fish they could catch out of the river back then.

 

[old digger]

With an arrastra there had to be some mining in the close vicinity.
From experience, using a feather on a string is used to catch the ''curiousity of the cat''.

 

[Gold Maven]

cool.

The feather is to attract bobcat. Their sense of smell is not that great, but their eyesight is very keen, add their natural curiosity, and it can draw them closer to your trap.

 

[RGINN]

This is along the Arkansas River 30 miles south of Leadville, old digger, so yeah, lots of mining activity in this area, just nothin that made the news. I've panned up a little gold all around there, but nothin like the rumored 'nuggets the size of hen's eggs' they found and lost up around Lost Canyon. Not too much hard rock mining, as that took place farther up in the mountains after the placers played out. I've seen a couple of interesting quartz outcroppings around there and they probably hauled rocks from there to the arrastra to crush them and see what they had. If you look the country over it's just the best spot for an arrastra around. Interesting info about the feather and bobcats; I could see that. The trap was too small for a bobcat, and I would not want to have to deal with a bobcat in a live trap, but could have been their intention. I didn't get too close and examine the trap and feather, since as a former trapper we always respected somebody else's sets and stayed away from them.

 

[vpnavy]

 

[UncleMatt]

cool.

The feather is to attract bobcat. Their sense of smell is not that great, but their eyesight is very keen, add their natural curiosity, and it can draw them closer to your trap.

My cousin used to draw big cats into traps with aluminum pie plates suspended below branches and the ground on taught bunji chords. The wind would make them move around, and it aroused their curiosity.

 

[tamrock]

You know that "America Unearthed", Scott Wolter, uses that technique of surface weathering of rock to determine when the rock surfaces were altered outside of the natural processes. He could compare the surface of the uncut rock to the rock cut from the wear of the arrastra and come up with a possible time frame it was done. Could be some unknown explorers did that long before Columbus discovered America. (Wouldn't that be a good scenario for his far fetched TV show). There are some odd evidences of human activity around that area I've spotted. Missed placed rocks as you mention, remains of stone built walls and things like that. Stuff the average outdoor folks may not notice. I did a lot of artifact hunting around that place. So many more people go in and around the area these days, I've not had much a notion to go back and check out further some of the things I've come across in that country. I think I better do that before someone else comes across the things I know are around that area.