nmth
Sr. Member
First trip
Great to see a relative here! An 80ish-year old friend of mine has followed this story for decades. Must be exciting to see others sharing in the family history. I figure that if Melvin could not find it, then it must be somewhere else. I've explored alternate locations for years - even far away. Now I live closer to the "expected" area. I'll be up there this next week. Excited to see the area. Lately, I've been smelting highgrade ore found in known colonial Spanish areas (and others), and I can tell you that Silver is fairly easy to come by, so a big accumulation over the course of years is not a fictional concept. I'd love to hear more about the SW AZ mesa, but expect it may be in locked-up land.
Edit/Update:
1) Beautiful country up there, and a lot of the land access is open-ish, but I am most interested in the story closer to San Francisco Peaks that's the main topic (I think a second story was mentioned a while back in the thread) so don't know about the Eastern Malpais land status closer to ABQ.
2) I may be repeating other's ideas here (or not), but the story "feels" to me like the pack train was moving South through Chavez Pass and got turned around by the battle and they started fleeing North since their main route was blocked, and maybe they figured they could lose their attackers' interest eventually. Would a route down to Tubac or over to San Diego or somewhere make sense for Silver coming from CO or NM to go through Chavez Pass (pass of the Mogollones)?
3) Regarding the load they put on a mule and how much the one (*assumed* associated) bar weighed x the number of bars: the story does say that the mules were "overladen", but there's an upper limit. Unless the # of bars or # of mules is to be discounted entirely, then the computation relies on the weight of the bars. So, this almost suggests that the Bonito Park bar is *not* associated with this tale if I get the gist of the computation and "Colonial Spanish Mule GVWR" posted earlier.
4) Springfield asked "why bother to stop and cache the goods when at risk of death and exhausted?" I guess i) penalty of pain/demotion/social standing, and ii) duty/religion, in that order, makes some sense?
5) The map description says something like "Peak with Red Spot 6 leagues from burial". Soooo, did they pass this peak before the burial? Did they spot the peak in the distance, wet their fingers and declare "6 leagues", or what? Probably important. Also, the ledge is described as six feet high or something? Not much of a landmark. I've got my geography of interest (which will probably change - sigh) and ideas, but this one's tricky.
When some super hardworking guy from generations back so close to the original materials seemingly comes up empty, then "Slim just left Town" unless you can a) get lucky (which can happen to even a non-searcher) or b) find the missing angle - 'cuz in this case short of the actual map and entry, it seems like extra paper does not have much more it could reveal? To the dirt!
Great to see a relative here! An 80ish-year old friend of mine has followed this story for decades. Must be exciting to see others sharing in the family history. I figure that if Melvin could not find it, then it must be somewhere else. I've explored alternate locations for years - even far away. Now I live closer to the "expected" area. I'll be up there this next week. Excited to see the area. Lately, I've been smelting highgrade ore found in known colonial Spanish areas (and others), and I can tell you that Silver is fairly easy to come by, so a big accumulation over the course of years is not a fictional concept. I'd love to hear more about the SW AZ mesa, but expect it may be in locked-up land.
Edit/Update:
1) Beautiful country up there, and a lot of the land access is open-ish, but I am most interested in the story closer to San Francisco Peaks that's the main topic (I think a second story was mentioned a while back in the thread) so don't know about the Eastern Malpais land status closer to ABQ.
2) I may be repeating other's ideas here (or not), but the story "feels" to me like the pack train was moving South through Chavez Pass and got turned around by the battle and they started fleeing North since their main route was blocked, and maybe they figured they could lose their attackers' interest eventually. Would a route down to Tubac or over to San Diego or somewhere make sense for Silver coming from CO or NM to go through Chavez Pass (pass of the Mogollones)?
3) Regarding the load they put on a mule and how much the one (*assumed* associated) bar weighed x the number of bars: the story does say that the mules were "overladen", but there's an upper limit. Unless the # of bars or # of mules is to be discounted entirely, then the computation relies on the weight of the bars. So, this almost suggests that the Bonito Park bar is *not* associated with this tale if I get the gist of the computation and "Colonial Spanish Mule GVWR" posted earlier.
4) Springfield asked "why bother to stop and cache the goods when at risk of death and exhausted?" I guess i) penalty of pain/demotion/social standing, and ii) duty/religion, in that order, makes some sense?
5) The map description says something like "Peak with Red Spot 6 leagues from burial". Soooo, did they pass this peak before the burial? Did they spot the peak in the distance, wet their fingers and declare "6 leagues", or what? Probably important. Also, the ledge is described as six feet high or something? Not much of a landmark. I've got my geography of interest (which will probably change - sigh) and ideas, but this one's tricky.
When some super hardworking guy from generations back so close to the original materials seemingly comes up empty, then "Slim just left Town" unless you can a) get lucky (which can happen to even a non-searcher) or b) find the missing angle - 'cuz in this case short of the actual map and entry, it seems like extra paper does not have much more it could reveal? To the dirt!
You guys have done some great research. There was a part posted by Igadbois "buried in fine black sand" that was only on the original map. My mother said that is true, that Melvin told her that. As for the map, the plateau on the left being sunset crater could be very true. I have a different theory. While Melvin was searching for the silver he found and claimed the McCormick mine which is a mile or two southwest of O'Leary. We still own this mine and it is our main source of income. My mother said George may very well have buried the map as he was apparently quite a stubborn character. Melvin believed the silver to be out there and wanted to continue searching, but it would take 7-8 Melvins to complete all his projects! He also spent time way down in southwest Az looking for ONE special plateau. This is also something Im very interested in. I have basically grown up around the O'Leary area, marking claim corners, riding dirtbikes, camping, etc... I wish I had asked Melvin more questions when I was 3-4! My parents will be moving to a final location next summer where we can finally look through Melvins treasures. Im 100% positive the search will continue!!! Anyone who would like to come along is more than welcome, and if anyone has any questions feel free to ask. There are still a few knowledgeable McCormicks around (myself not included)!
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