Ezra Kind, The Thoen Stone, and all the gold they could carry.

pronghorn

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I am looking for information on the story of Ezra Kind.
The Thoen stone was found near Spearfish around
1887. It read...

"Come to these hills in 1833 -- 7 of us -- Delacompt -- Ezra Kind -- G.W. Wood -- T. Brown -- R. Kent -- Wm. King -- Indian Crow -- all dead but me, Ezra Kind -- killed by Indians beyond the high hill -- Got our gold. June 1834 -- Got all the gold we could carry -- our ponies all got by the Indians -- I have lost my gun and nothing to eat and -- Indians hunting me."

I just recently became aware of this "legend"
If anyone can point me to info I would greatly appreciate it. I have read
what is available by googling "Ezra Kind". Just wondering if someone has
more info or would like to discuss this story.
 

Oroblanco

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HOLA amigo Pronghorn!
You have read the articles online on this great mystery of the Black Hills, so I won't bore you with more of that - most o the articles are aimed at the tourist trade anyway with little useful info. What I can tell you besides the known story is that two skeletons were found behind a small rock wall set up like a little "rifle pit" near Lookout Mountain some years ago. Prospectors found signs of earlier gold hunters in various places in the hills too which could have been from the Kind expedition. Here is an extract from an online article that helps to confirm the truth of the Thoen Stone inscription, quote

Later in 1887 a Spearfish resident, John Cashner, took a trip back east and made the first in a series of discoveries that went far in authenticating the stone. He told the story of the Thoen Stone to the Detroit Free Press which ran an article on the discovery. Harvey Brown, Jr. of Troy, Michigan read the newspaper article and contacted Cashner. He thought that T. Brown might be his half uncle, Thompson Brown, who headed west in 1832 with another man. He had never been heard from since.

Five names on the tablet -- T. Brown, R. Kent, Wm. King, Indian Crow, and Ezra Kind -- have all been confirmed as belonging to men who headed west in the 1830's, never to be seen again. R. Kent had sent a letter back east saying that he had "found all the gold he wanted" and would be heading home soon.

Interviews with miners from the Black Hills gold rush revealed that rusted picks, shovels, and the remains of a sluice box had been found several feet below the existing surface of the stream bed. The gold rushers were shocked to discover what appeared to be the remains of a long abandoned mining camp.

If you decide to look for the gold the Ezra and his partners had, I would suggest a stop at the Adams Museum in Deadwood (they have the original Thoen Stone), the Black Hills Mining Museum in Lead, and the county courthouse in Deadwood. There is a monument set up on a hill north of Spearfish, and Lookout Mountain, where the Thoen stone was found, is due east of the monument. Crow Peak is to the west, which some have thought must be the "high hill" mentioned.

The story has been published in a number of magazine articles and books, in fact I have one round here somewhere if I can find it I will post more.

Thanks for posting this one buddy, we need to get some of our northern lost treasures out for 'airin' with our fellow TH-ers. Good luck and good hunting amigo, I hope you find the gold of Ezra Kind and his partners!
(Merry Christmas too!)
your friend,
Oroblanco

PS - look for a book titled "The Thoen Stone" by Frank Thomson, written 1966, here is one online article critiquing Thomson's book, in three parts :

http://mainstreetmoments.com/retrospect/southdakota/tall_tales/?article=134

Lookout Mountain is at: 44° 29' 33" N 103° 49' 59" W, I don't know how to post the topo here but here is a linkee to the relevant map on Maptech,

http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepa...maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm&latlontype=DMS <hoo-eee that is a long-un!>

A view of the monument, a reproduction of the Thoen stone
FH000019.JPG


A shot of the original Thoen Stone in the Adams Museum (Deadwood)
Thoen%20Stone%20new.JPG
 

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pronghorn

pronghorn

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Hello Oro

Thanks for the reply my friend!

I had read that article just recently but thanks for the other info.
I really feel that that gold will never be found
or if it is it will be by tremendous luck. I don't know how you could even begin
to try and trace what a band of warriors would have done with it after
they aquired the pony's. Probably dumped it to get rid of the weight and
it was scattered who know's where. Or hid it knowing white men would
want it and it could be anywhere from Wyoming to Mandan to Pierre to
Cheyenne or further. I don't plan on looking other than I am always looking
for out of the ordinary wherever I go.
Long ago I read Blackrobe, a book about Father DeSmet. I can't remember
it too well but I think there was a place in there that he stated that the Sioux
had gold dust in their possession on one of his trips. I think I read something
similar on one of the sites I read recently trying to learn more about this
tale. I think it is possible that this could have been the same gold as I
think the time frame is close.
Now if they knew that gold was in the hills but had no use for it, they
probably never bothered to gather it. Along comes the white man and soon
the indians realize this yellow metal has value and decide maybe they should
keep it after they killed the Kind party. Just my mind wandering.
 

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pronghorn

pronghorn

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Oro
Just reread your post and something my friend told me popped back into
my head. You wrote that 2 skeletons were found by a makeshift rock wall
near lookout mt. Well my friend stated that there was a small wall of rock
near the creek they were working. They were
sure it wasn't remnants of a foundation and were confused by it. Well I have
to call him now. This would not be the lookout mt. rock wall, it is miles from
there.
 

Oroblanco

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HOLA amigo!

I don't know if that gold would be impossible to find, to be honest. We know where Lookout peak is, and that gold had pretty much no value to the Amerindians of the time so it seems logical that if they had captured the horses already loaded with gold that they would have simply dumped it. Then too, we don't know exactly when the horses were captured - and from what Ezra wrote on the stone, it may have been that they had lost the horses before heading out. That would mean that all the gold they could carry would be what they could carry on their backs, and would make them a tempting target - being afoot and slowed down by carrying heavy loads. In this case, if they had any inkling of an attack, they would probably have hidden their gold in or near their camp or the spot where they encountered the enemy. In either case, there is a good chance that most of their gold is either dumped or hidden somewhere on or near Lookout peak. We know that the firearms of the day were single-shot, so horseback warriors would have little fear of a group of men on foot - they could make a false charge to "empty their guns" then close in for the kill. Considering that Ezra said he lost his own gun, it is suggestive of such an attack rather than an ambush - Ezra might have fired his gun, then with no time to re-load, had to choose to run or use it as a club. Pure speculation on my part of course, until someone can prove what really happened.

There is a theory that they had gotten the gold from Gold Run (the creek where the Homestake mine is) but I have my doubts about that - one look at the map will show you why, Lookout peak is not a logical place to head from Gold Run.

Who knows maybe someone will dig up a cache of long-rotted bags full of placer gold! Good luck and good hunting, and a very Merry Christmas to you and your family.
your friend,
Oroblanco
 

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pronghorn

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Oroblanco said:
HOLA amigos,

Pronghorn thank you for the kind words, I just posted a reply on your new thread. The story of Ezra Kind and his partners has been verified as fact to a fair degree, but no one has yet found their gold. (I have to wonder about where they were mining it, especially considering where Ezra left that stone is a bit north of the gold diggings.) If they had mined it from one of the creeks to the south where there is gold, why did they travel north to leave? I would have chosen to follow the easier/safer routes SE or SW, but perhaps they wanted to find the Missouri river to follow back? What do you think?

Hello

Something has been bugging me about the line in your response that says...

R. Kent had sent a letter back east saying that he had "found all the gold he wanted" and would be heading home soon.[/b]

This would suggest that they were mining in the hills, found a good amount
of gold, then some or all departed to
somewhere where they could post a letter, then returned and were later killed.
Where would they go to send a letter back east? I wonder from where said
letter was posted!
And if our Mr. Kent "found all the gold he wanted", why would he return to
the mining area?
His name is on the Thoen Stone so apparently Mr. Kind knew for certain that
he, Mr. Kent, was dead.
I suppose there are several explanations but it seems to me that in 183?, it
would be a good long distance from the Hills to the nearest outpost with
postal service, any idea where that might have been?

Let's assume they first approached the hills from the east/northeast.
If they came from the Chicago area, that assumption is a very
plausible guess and not too far fetched, I believe.
They find good placer gold in a creek and let's say they either find
all they can carry or follow the creek up until they do.
They have what they want and decide to head out. They follow
the creek back the way they came. Somewhere along the exit route
they realize they are being watched. Perhaps the indians are pressuring
them from the east so that they have no choice but to go west,
towards what is now Spearfish. They don't get far and their story ends.
You asked what I think, so this is what I think, what do you think of it? ;D
 

Oroblanco

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HOLA mi amigo Pronghorn,

Pronghorn wrote:
Something has been bugging me about the line in your response that says...


Quote
R. Kent had sent a letter back east saying that he had "found all the gold he wanted" and would be heading home soon.[/b]



This would suggest that they were mining in the hills, found a good amount
of gold, then some or all departed to
somewhere where they could post a letter, then returned and were later killed.
Where would they go to send a letter back east? I wonder from where said
letter was posted!

I don't know if that information is available today (the postmark) but one place that Kent might have posted a letter to send back east would have been at the the Rapid Creek Trading Post, which was owned and operated by a fellow named Tom Sarpy. It was located at the confluence of Rapid Creek and the Cheyenne River from 1830 to 1832, so at most a few days ride from most anywhere in the hills. As to how long it would take for a letter posted at a remote trading post like Sarpy's to reach the east, I would bet that it would take more than six months or more likely a year or more. (It would not have left Sarpy's until a new shipment of trade goods arrived, and a shipment of furs was to be sent east.) Posting mail from trading posts was a common way for trappers and mountain men to send out mail so would be a "normal" thing. However Sarpy's trading post was not running in 1834 (An accident involving a candle and a keg of gunpowder resulting in the death of Sarpy) so probably not at that particular trading post - but there were others at various distances like Fort Union at the mouth of the Yellowstone (visited by steamboat in 1830), Ft Piegan, Ft McKenzie, (both on the upper Missouri river) Ft Cass on the Yellowstone below the mouth of the Bighorn, or even Ft Laramie in Wyoming. Now that I think of it, there were forts in SD and ND they might have stopped at too - Cherry Creek Post, Forks of Cheyenne Post, Fort Teton etc in SD or Sheyenne River Post, Fort Clark, Fort William etc in ND. Sure wish I had a map handy that showed the various forts and trading posts of the 1830's right now! :icon_study:

Pronghorn also wrote:
And if our Mr. Kent "found all the gold he wanted", why would he return to
the mining area?

Well saying "found" is not the same as saying "got" - I would presume that Mr Kent was saying that they had found rich diggings, not necessarily that they had already mined out all the gold they could want. Also it is possible that Kent was simply saying it, not meaning it literally - like the fellow who went out fishing and after getting soaked in pouring rain for hours says "I have got all the fish I want" even though he has not caught anything but chillblains. Then too it is possible that Kent's letter was posted very shortly before the group was killed, - more pure speculation on my part but it is possible that they visited a nearby trading post before heading out to civilization, perhaps to sell some hides (like the heroes of "Treasure of the Sierra Madre") or barter something?

Yet another possibility is tied to the Missouri river - for the famous paddle-wheel boats were traveling up the Missouri river in the 1830's at least as far as the Yellowstone river! This might explain how the Ezra Kind party got so near to the Black Hills in the first place, and would explain why they would be heading NORTH away from the hills (and towards the Missouri river) on their way out. Believe it or not, it was possible to post a letter along the riverbank, one way was to leave a pile of firewood for the boat (a common practice for riverboats was to leave money for the firewood stacks they found along the river) and a letter put nearby in some conspicuous way to be found and shipped downriver.

Kent might even have been sent to a trading post or to the riverboats to buy supplies, thus having an opportunity to post a letter - then he would be expected to return to the mining camp with the newly purchased supplies, right?

Pronghorn also wrote:
Let's assume they first approached the hills from the east/northeast.
If they came from the Chicago area, that assumption is a very
plausible guess and not too far fetched, I believe.
They find good placer gold in a creek and let's say they either find
all they can carry or follow the creek up until they do.
They have what they want and decide to head out. They follow
the creek back the way they came. Somewhere along the exit route
they realize they are being watched. Perhaps the indians are pressuring
them from the east so that they have no choice but to go west,
towards what is now Spearfish. They don't get far and their story ends.
You asked what I think, so this is what I think, what do you think of it?

If the group traveled overland, the E-NE route would be most logical as the crow flies, but remember the routes that were "known" in the day led either from St Louis-to-Washington (the route of Lewis and Clark) or towards Santa Fe SW to CA. My money would be on them following the same route as Lewis and Clark, up the river, then south to the Black Hills. They might have even taken a riverboat to some point before disembarking to head for the hills as a relatively cheap, fast, easy and "safe" way to cover a lot of ground.

I get the impression that the loss of the horses could well have happened while the group was still in their camp, which would be the most easy time for a raid with the men busy with mining and sleeping soundly at night after working hard all day. Losing their horses would mean a disaster and would be a good reason to head for civilization as quickly as possible, perhaps making a run for the Missouri riverboats? If I put myself in their place (wishful thinking - except for the ending!) and we had lost our horses, I would NOT want to cross those open plains to the east, south or west afoot, so north would be a logical choice, plus we know the month (June) that Ezra wrote on the stone, and we know that June-July-August were a good chance to catch any passing riverboats on the Missouri. The terrain heading north is not much better for cover, but like you said if they knew that hostile Indians were definitely 'out there' to the east or south etc then the choices are much more limited.

We know that the steamer Assiniboine ran aground upriver of Ft Union (past the Yellowstone) in 1834, might have been the very boat Ezra Kind and his party were trying to catch. I would bet that there is a list of the various riverboats that traveled up the Missouri in that year (and other years) a bit of research might turn up more clues.

Sorry for getting SO carried away here amigo - and thank you for sharing your views. This is sure giving me plenty of ideas! :thumbsup:
your friend,
Oroblanco
 

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pronghorn

pronghorn

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Oro

I remember reading about the post blowing up in a powder keg accident.
For some reason I had it in my head that they, the Kind party,
were if not the first, were among the first to come to the Black Hills.
Forgot about the trading post on Rapid Creek, I have read so much
that I get confused and some things don't make sense :icon_scratch:

Probably alot more white man activity in the area than anyone knows.
I also probably assumed indians were plentiful in the area at the time.
Maybe, maybe not. Even if they were, I guess not all would have
been in a fighting mood. Do you have any thoughts on why the indians
would allow them to mine "all the gold they could carry" out of their
sacred hills before attacking them?

I am new to this researching a very old story thing, forgive me if I assume
too much or forget some of the basics. Riverboats popped into my head not
long after I posted the last message. Seems likely that the party was dead
before the letter reached it's destination.
As you know the river is a good 150 miles or more east from this spot, a good
ways even today. Fort Union is at least 250 miles to the north. I am in between
Spearfish and Fort Union. I don't know if you have been up that route but not
too far north of Belle Fouche the land is like a desert. I wouldn't wish that trip on
anyone back in the day, very desolate.

Your explanation of the posting of the letter and the wording ( got or found) make
sense to me now and I won't ponder that anymore. I will accept it that the letter
was posted and Mr. Kind made it back to the party before they were attacked.

Let's just say they were definitely in the northern area of the hills, there is proof
and some or all went west before they met their end. Where they
acquired the gold is not that big a deal to me, narrowing down where they lost
it is starting to grab me and eat at me. I guess I now have the "fever".

I studied the map site you sent and found a landmark my friend told me about,
I think I could now find their site without their help. Sheesh, winter just started
hasn't it, this is going to drive me nuts.

I sure appreciate you sharing what you have. Thanks :icon_santa:
 

Oroblanco

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HOLA amigo!

Pronghorn wrote:
Probably alot more white man activity in the area than anyone knows.
I also probably assumed indians were plentiful in the area at the time.
Maybe, maybe not. Even if they were, I guess not all would have
been in a fighting mood. Do you have any thoughts on why the indians
would allow them to mine "all the gold they could carry" out of their
sacred hills before attacking them?

The question of how many Indians were in/around the Black Hills in 1834 is a very good question. There is evidence that the Sioux had not yet entered the area, but the Cheyennes and Crows ought to have been around. As one of their group was a Crow Indian, it seems unlikely that Crows would have reason to attack them. The first 'white' men to visit the Black Hills (the Verendrye brothers, about 1743) reported that there were NO people living in the area. Other sources state that the Sioux had already claimed the hills by 1775. The Jedediah Smith party visited in 1823 without any trouble with Indians, but Smith was mauled by a bear.

(*Side note, an engraved stone was found by one gold mine in the hills with a name and the date of 1816, debated as you would expect but could be the first discovery of gold in the hills by "whites".)

Why would the Indians allow the men to mine as much gold as they wanted, and carry it out of the hills before attacking? I am guessing here but comparing it with what we know happened in 1874-75-76 during the "rush" - the Indians were not as good at detecting the activities going on as we might think. There were a number of incidents of prospectors and miners being attacked/killed in the Black Hills during that gold rush, and the victims sometimes had time to be mining for some time before being attacked. Just look at the incident of the Gordon Stockade - an illegal group of prospectors spent the whole winter there, built a log fortress and mined a nice amount of gold, in a conspicuous valley by a creek, and apparently the hostile Lakota and Cheyennes never even detected their presence. Only the US Cavalry managed to run them off. My speculation would be that the men worked at their mine, accumulating the gold for possibly several weeks (assuming weather permitted) and were habitually cooking their food with fires. Indians passing through the region would likely notice a plume of smoke and investigate. If the Indians were friendly, a friendly visit would then be in order - however if they were hostile, then the horses would be a tempting target for a raid, followed by killing the group for their guns, scalps, etc. So based on later history, I would bet that the reason why the Indians did not molest the miners for so long was simply because they were un-aware of their presence until then.

It is even possible (more pure speculation on my part) that one or more of the miners made a trip to a trading post or one of the riverboats, and Indians could have spotted the man or men traveling across the open plain, then followed them to their camp in the hills. Indians might have spotted a trail of horses wearing SHOES, which would be odd and pique their curiosity to find out who was riding around in their country on horses wearing shoes. Just speculating of course, basing it on other recorded incidents.

Oh - just another side note but I found out at least two riverboats made the trip up to the Yellowstone trading posts in 1834, one being the Assiniboin (the one that ran aground) and another named the Yellowstone.

Pronghorn also wrote:
As you know the river is a good 150 miles or more east from this spot, a good
ways even today. Fort Union is at least 250 miles to the north. I am in between
Spearfish and Fort Union. I don't know if you have been up that route but not
too far north of Belle Fouche the land is like a desert. I wouldn't wish that trip on
anyone back in the day, very desolate.

I have only been through your country a few times, it is truly "God's country" for a traveler would need the help of God to survive getting across it! ;D Actually the Ezra Kind party ending up where they did (on the north side of the hills) has been quite a puzzle to me, I would have thought it would be safer and easier to head east, SE, S or even SW towards Ft Laramie. That is why I started thinking of why they might choose to head that way - hence the riverboats or trading posts etc. It is equally possible that route was the only route open to them, with hostile Indians in their path any other way, like you said.

Pronghorn also wrote:
Let's just say they were definitely in the northern area of the hills, there is proof
and some or all went west before they met their end. Where they
acquired the gold is not that big a deal to me
, narrowing down where they lost
it is starting to grab me and eat at me. I guess I now have the "fever".

I know that feeling amigo! Where they found the gold is more interesting to me - assuming it was NOT Gold Run or any of the other well-known gold deposits, I wonder if it is not the real origin of the "Old Record" lost gold mine? The Old Record is supposed to be in the northern end of the hills, with plenty of coarse gold, and was considered a very OLD mine in 1875. I have never been able to find just where that story originated, but it was well known among the prospectors of '75-'76, so why would they refer to it as the "Old" record? Did word of the Kind party discovery make it back east, to be searched for forty odd years later? I am probably connecting the dots where there are none, but you know it is usually best to try to track down the origin of the story of a lost mine, and the Old Record just seems to have been "common knowledge" in the 1870s yet no one mentioned when or whom had found it in the first place. I think it would be great to find the gold those men lost, but the mine itself really gets my blood racing! (Gold fever, incurable of course and YES it is terrible that we have to wait several more months to have a chance to get out a-diggin!) I am sure going to have good dreams tonight! :wink:

Merry Christmas amigo, thank YOU for giving me so much to think about!
your friend,
Oroblanco
 

Oroblanco

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PS - I found that book I was looking for, it is titled "Lost Gold" by Mildred Fielder, has a chapter on Ezra Kind and an interesting version of the events. Nothing too different from what we have discussed except a detail, that being the knowledge of the gold in the first place, which was the reason for Ezra, Delacompt and the group to go into the Black Hills in the first place. According to Fielder, the leader Delacompt had information that there was gold in the hills and thus was elected the leader of the group, but would not reveal the source of his information. It is possible that Delacompt got the information from Indians, as we know that Indians had brought gold in to trade in Camp Robinson (later renamed Fort R) prior to the Custer expedition. Or another possible source might have been the trapper La Pondre, though he said his gold came from the Bighorns, not the Black Hills. (Yes I have to admit having gone searching for that famous Lost Cabin mine in the Bighorns too, which I suspected was one and the same with La Pondre's gold mine)

Fielder mentions a couple of other sources we might be able to track down, one being a book titled "The Thoen Stone, A Saga of the Black Hills" by Frank Thomson (1966) and a magazine article titled "Ezra Kind's Gold" in Western Treasures, May 1969 issue.
 

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pronghorn

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Oro
Merry Christmas!

I found the following in a story on BlackHillsvisitor.com

http://www.blackhillsvisitor.com/main.asp?id=14&cat_id=30156

But everything changed when the roving miners stumbled across Deadwood and Whitewood Creeks in the northern Black Hills. Each spade of earth uncovered a veritable fortune in gold to those who arrived first and staked their claims.

You stated that you doubt that the gold came from gold run.
I would think that all the thousands of years of floods
common to the hills washing gold downstream may have made
for some enormous placer deposits far downstream from the sources.
I don't know that much about gold and placer deposits so I could be dead
wrong but the statement above seem to suggest it.

Do you think it possible that the Kind party, if they first explored the hills
from the northeast, stumbled upon these creeks in 1833-4 and, being the first,
found enough gold as to not have to venture too far into the hills before
finding all the gold they could carry? T
 

Oroblanco

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Merry Christmas to you to buddy!

Pronghorn wrote:
Quote
But everything changed when the roving miners stumbled across Deadwood and Whitewood Creeks in the northern Black Hills. Each spade of earth uncovered a veritable fortune in gold to those who arrived first and staked their claims.

You stated that you doubt that the gold came from gold run.
I would think that all the thousands of years of floods
common to the hills washing gold downstream may have made
for some enormous placer deposits far downstream from the sources.
I don't know that much about gold and placer deposits so I could be dead
wrong but the statement above seem to suggest it.

Do you think it possible that the Kind party, if they first explored the hills
from the northeast, stumbled upon these creeks in 1833-4 and, being the first,
found enough gold as to not have to venture too far into the hills before
finding all the gold they could carry?

I could believe Deadwood & / or Whitewood creek much easier than Gold run, and the "diggins" were certainly rich enough that a party would be able to mine a large amount in a short amount of time. What holds this theory back is that the first "known" prospectors to search Deadwood and Whitewood creeks reported no evidence of any earlier visitors. That certainly doesn't prove the Kind party wasn't working in one of those creeks, but does leave it open to question. Until someone finds conclusive evidence that a particular spot was "the" place where the Kind party was mining, we are left guessing.

Your conjecture about possible natural placers being formed quite some distance from the sources of the gold are correct, for instance gold was found in paying quantities in French creek all the way to Fairburn, and we know of other instances where gold deposits were found quite far from the sources (placers around Denver CO for example and several rivers in Oregon etc) so it is possible that the Kind party found a placer well outside of the "known" gold bearing regions of the Black Hills.

I am biased towards thinking the Kind gold mine remains un-discovered, it gives us another lost mine to hunt for - it is just as likely that their gold source was one of the already-discovered gold deposits.

Good luck and good hunting amigo, I hope you find the treasures that you seek - and that you are having a GREAT holiday season!
your friend,
Oroblanco
 

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pronghorn

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Thanks again for sharing your knowledge. I have learned several ore cars
full of info from you and leads from your comments.
Having trouble with this old piece of **** computer, took me a day to
remove some junk that just appeared while researching this story, thought
all was lost and the computer was toast for a while. So if I disappear, it is
because the worm got me and I can't afford a new computer.

Oroblanco said:
That certainly doesn't prove the Kind party wasn't working in one of those creeks, but does leave it open to question.

I will get to view the item dated 1834 this week if all goes well.
I am not qualified to authenticate it but I take my friends word
that they found it where they did. I don't think they are even aware
of the Kind party story and would have no reason to fabricate a
scam, they were just looking for gold as a weekend hobby.

If it is authentic, it doesn't prove they were working where it
was found or working in one of those creeks, but it and the rock wall
would certainly indicate that someone in 1834
spent at least some time there and they were in dire straits.
"IF" it is authentic that is.

Maybe they were on the run and hid out there.
I guess the relic could have washed downstream before getting buried.

Anyway I have enjoyed learning of this legend/mystery and have a lot of
things to check out next trip to the hills. You got any super secret hotspots
where a guy could find a few fairburns, :wink: :wink: they are so beautiful?
 

Oroblanco

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HOLA amigo,

The learning has DEFINITELY been a two-way street buddy! Considering what you have said, I would have no reason to suspect any kind of hoax on your friend's part, and YES that would be a tantalizing clue! If that stone wall is nearby - we can conclude that they felt threatened at least, more likely had some kind of confrontation and needed protection so they could re-load etc. That spot must be either close to the spot where they were working or on their retreat route, in which case there could be a huge stash of gold nearby.

You know under the older mining law, (not the 1872 version we still use) it was a requirement that you leave something of your own at the mine site to mark it - so the item might have been intended as a claim marker. Just one possibility of course, it could just as easily have been dropped in the ruckus of a battle or trying to escape.

Pronghorn wrote:
You got any super secret hotspots
where a guy could find a few fairburns, they are so beautiful?

No but I am working on it - got an iron in the fire there.

Good luck and good hunting, I hope you find the treasures that you seek.
your friend,
Oroblanco
 

Oroblanco

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UPDATE
Pronghorn wrote:

Quote
You got any super secret hotspots
where a guy could find a few fairburns, they are so beautiful?

No but I am working on it - got an iron in the fire there. UPDATE...
Fairburn Agate Beds
By admin
The state gem of South Dakota and a highly prized find among rock hunters, Fairburn agates get their name from the town near which they are most commonly found. The Fairburn agate beds are located about 12miles East of the town of Fairburn, SD (I give GSP coordinates at the end of this post). Xiao is “into” rock hunting so we thought we would pay the agate beds a visit.

To get there, you drive along the unpaved roads to the town of Fairburn (population about 70-80). Make sure
you fill up before heading out, there are no services of any kind. The town used to serve as a major railway rewatering point. Since the decommissioning of steam locomotives, however, trains not longer stop here. The town is served by a small school and town hall, but the old hotel and much of the old main street is abandoned. The day we arrived, the town was comparatively busy voting in the South Dakota primaries.
Given the popularity of Fairburn agates, I half expected this place to be a bit of hub of rock hunters, but alas the town has yet to profit from the gem that bares it’s name.

To get to the beds take highway 18 out east for about 10 miles. You will actually see signs for the agate beds along the way, you really can’t fail to find the turn off (See the GPX file below for coordinates). There is a small rustic campground located at the turnoff, with a dirt toilet and not much else.
If your in anything other than a capable 4×4, I would park here and make your way on foot. Even if you do have a 4×4, it might be a good idea to park here and hoof it in for several reasons. Firstly, there has been quite a bit of ATV and offroaders blasting around this area and there is call from some quaters to make this area a wildness and ban offroading. Second, if it rains hard while your out there, some parts of the track in can become extremly difficult to pass, even in a 4×4. So unless you have difficulty walking up to the beds and your prepared to keep a close eye out for storm clouds, park up. All this is said with the benefit of hindsight. We drove up and we were fine, but I wouldn’t bother again.
On your way up, you will pass through a gate, make sure you close it. It was open when I went through and I didn’t even notice it. So just watch for it, and make sure you close it (I put its location in the GPX file).
Once your up there and set up, you can start looking for agates. You have to train your eyes to look for small stripes in the rock. I managed to train myself so well that small alarm bells in my head still go a off, days later, everytime I see stripes: the wood in the airstream, the lines in an apple fritta, everything. I dream in stripes. Its getting a little annoying.

Some say these agate beds are dug out and all the best stuff is gone. While I’m sure they are not as fruitful as they used to be, you can still fine some nice Fairburn and Prairie Agates here. After every major rain storm, new rocks are reveled. The best places to find these freshly uncovered rocks is in the washes: small gullies, where the water as run down the hill side.
If nothing else, the views from the top of some of the hills in this area and stupendous. Its also about as close as a tourist, like me, is going to come to feeling like an old time Blackhill’s prospector. Slaving away under a hot sun, bent over looking for valuable rocks is a much more authentic experience than the tatty museums that line the streets of Custer, Hill City and Deadwood.


Things to bring/remember the agate beds:
Water and lots of it. At least a gallon per person per day. Note, that if your going to stay at the campground, there is no water here, so bring it all in. While a fresh supply of drinking water is vital, water is also useful to wet stones to see any pattern more clearly.
Strong bucket or bags. Don’t forget: rocks are heavy.
Matt. I found that it was quite productive to take a longer look in some areas. Sitting down and going through the smaller rocks. So bring a matt to save your bum some stress.
Keep an eye on the clouds if you drive in. Don’t get stuck in thick mud out there.
Don’t drive past the “no vehicles” signs at the end of the dirt road. Past that point the ground is not very stable and large cracks could easily open up under your car.
Take a modest amount of samples. Remember, these beds are for personal collecting only.

<from>
http://notencouraged.com/?p=40

I could not find any GPS coordinates but the driving directions should suffice. There is also this online
http://www.northern.edu/natsource/EARTH/Fairbu1.htm
which says the collecting area covers quite a large region, and it is legal on national grasslands so...there is plenty of area to hunt them. I have never searched for Fairburn agates so it wll be a new experience for me.

Good luck and good hunting amigo, I hope you find the treasures that you seek.'
your friend,
Oroblanco
 

OP
OP
pronghorn

pronghorn

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Thanks Oro

Hope I can get down there this year but........................

Take care.
 

Oroblanco

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I am going to try to get a day to go poke around there myself, it might be picked-over with not much left to find or who knows? If I get there to check it out before you I will let you know how I make out. Also -if you get there before me - would you let me know if it is any good? Thanks amigo! :thumbsup:
Oroblanco
 

cactusjumper

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Pronghorn,

What might make this story a little suspect, is the fact that Mr. Thoen immediately began making copies of the stones, and selling them to local tourists. I doubt you will be able to Google that fact.

Take care,

Joe Ribaudo
 

Oroblanco

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Cactusjumper wrote
Pronghorn,

What might make this story a little suspect, is the fact that Mr. Thoen immediately began making copies of the stones, and selling them to local tourists. I doubt you will be able to Google that fact.

The whole story has long been suspect, as "officially" no one had explored the hills before '74. Even Jedediah Smith skirted through the southern end, as there were just not enough furbearers present to attract the trappers. There are reports of a few expeditions in the 1860's during the Montana and Idaho gold rushes, but little proof. Even the fact that six of the names do coincide with persons who "vanished" in the west COULD be sheer coincidence or perhaps Thoen researched for some names to scratch onto the stone. Carved stones are always suspect - it is just too easy for anyone with an iron nail in hand and bored enough to waste time scratching a stone.

If someone were going to spend their life savings on a quest to find the lost fortune, I would sure try to discourage them as this story is just "possible" - as far as I know no one has ever found any gold that can be directly connected with it. Now if Mr Thoen had found a rotted poke full of gold dust right along with that carved stone, I might still try to discourage others but I would be out there searching! ;D :D
Oroblanco
 

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