Letter from Robert T. Emmet, and the Lost Adams Diggings

[UncleMatt]

I would like to do some research on Jacob Snively, so if anyone has any details on his life like place of birth or death, or any other information, please post and let me know.

 

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[Springfield]

I would like to do some research on Jacob Snively, so if anyone has any details on his life like place of birth or death, or any other information, please post and let me know.

Great idea. There's not a lot in print, except occasional references in other books.

 

[UncleMatt]

Great idea. There's not a lot in print, except occasional references in other books.

I have a subscription to ancestry.com, and I thought I might as well have a go with Snively there. I've had quite a bit of luck verifying the existence of treasure tale characters there, much to my surprise! Many families post their entire family trees with photos and documents, and often they are unaware of the tales associated with their ancestors.

For example, I was able to track down descendants of Jim Weaselskin in the Ute Mountain Tribe, and found I had been doing business for years with one of his great-great granddaughters. When I told her the details about her relative, she was delighted as she had been totally unaware.

 

[UncleMatt]

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsn07

Sorry if any of this is already commonly known.

I am also going to look at Adams himself. Anyone have any specifics on him? Like what his first name is for certain? Henry or George perhaps?

 

[UncleMatt]

Great idea. There's not a lot in print, except occasional references in other books.

Haha, Springfield, you got me! :-D I see in the Emory Notes thread on LAD that you have plenty of background on Snively! I imagine a johnny-come-lately like myself doesn't have much chance of uncovering anything new on LAD. Maybe I better stick to Colorado. lol

 

[Oroblanco]

UncleMatt wrote

I am also going to look at Adams himself. Anyone have any specifics on him? Like what his first name is for certain? Henry or George

A Henry Adams is mentioned in newspaper articles associated with a lost lode gold vein in the Navajo reservation; here is one example:
Arizona republican. (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, August 11, 1900, Page 3, Image 3 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress "Search for Adams Cave"

Arizona republican., August 11, 1900, Page 3

UncleMatt also wrote

I imagine a johnny-come-lately like myself doesn't have much chance of uncovering anything new on LAD. Maybe I better stick to Colorado. lol

It is possible that the LAD is in Colorado amigo, but you have just as good a chance of finding the lost mine as anyone really as it is going to take a certain amount of luck, lots of leg work and research (homework).

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

 

[Springfield]

Haha, Springfield, you got me! :-D I see in the Emory Notes thread on LAD that you have plenty of background on Snively! I imagine a johnny-come-lately like myself doesn't have much chance of uncovering anything new on LAD. Maybe I better stick to Colorado. lol

Not at all, UncleMatt! I don't have much more than you on Snively. He was one of the founders of Pinos Altos, NM, in 1860, and has been speculated to be the 'Dutchman' in the Lost Adams stories. I looked high and low for documentation of the story that he rode into Pinos Altos in the 1860's with a lot of placer gold from 'up north', but came up empty.

He had a habit of being around gold discoveries. Please ... keep up your research and keep us posted. I have a little time now and maybe I'll give it another try too.

 

[Old Bookaroo]

UncleMatt:

There is an old TN post from the author of the Lost Adams book with some background.

I've been working on and off writing a TN piece about him. I'll see if I can dig it out (we recently moved) and get it back on. Then up.

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo

 

[Springfield]

...A Henry Adams is mentioned in newspaper articles associated with a lost lode gold vein in the Navajo reservation; here is one example:
Arizona republican. (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, August 11, 1900, Page 3, Image 3 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress "Search for Adams Cave"

Arizona republican., August 11, 1900, Page 3 ...

These types of early newspaper articles preceded the sensational treasure hunting magazines and can't really be considered documentation of historical events, IMO. I love the totally imagined details of Henry's struggles. The 'blindfolded Adams lost cave of gold' story seems like a combination of several other Arizona lost mine tales. Fun for the readers.

Maybe there really was a Henry Adams on the Navajo Reservation ... maybe not. Even if so, this tale doesn't connect in any way to the dozens of other 'Lost Adams' tellings, so it seems safe to assume the name 'Henry' is a moot point for our uses. For the record, we know the first boundaries of the Navajo Reservation were established in 1868 - too late for the usual 'Lost Adams' lore, a ca 1864 event. This earliest reservation was essentially the Chuska Mountains and Canyon de Chelley - mighty rough country and a good place for a forever lost mine, yes. History has also shown no gold discovered on the res other than some fines in the San Juan River that likely washed down from Colorado over the millennia. Of course, the 'Lost Adams' was allegedly in barren country too ... a well-used twist in treasure stories.

The search for Adam's identity is still unproductive, IMO.

 

[Old Bookaroo]

Friends:

I started a new Thread with an account of Snively's 1867 Expedition. A TN search under the various spellings of his name will reveal additional useful information. I checked and I think the "original" post was contributed by Curly.

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo

Google Images shows a nice map of the Snively Expedition.

 

[Oroblanco]

Springfield wrote

These types of early newspaper articles preceded the sensational treasure hunting magazines and can't really be considered documentation of historical events, IMO. I love the totally imagined details of Henry's struggles. The 'blindfolded Adams lost cave of gold' story seems like a combination of several other Arizona lost mine tales. Fun for the readers.

Maybe there really was a Henry Adams on the Navajo Reservation ... maybe not. Even if so, this tale doesn't connect in any way to the dozens of other 'Lost Adams' tellings, so it seems safe to assume the name 'Henry' is a moot point for our uses. For the record, we know the first boundaries of the Navajo Reservation were established in 1868 - too late for the usual 'Lost Adams' lore, a ca 1864 event. This earliest reservation was essentially the Chuska Mountains and Canyon de Chelley - mighty rough country and a good place for a forever lost mine, yes. History has also shown no gold discovered on the res other than some fines in the San Juan River that likely washed down from Colorado over the millennia. Of course, the 'Lost Adams' was allegedly in barren country too ... a well-used twist in treasure stories.

The search for Adam's identity is still unproductive, IMO.

UncleMatt asked about a first name, and mentioned Henry among the proposed guesses; I merely pointed out that Henry Adams is a name associated with a Lost Adams version. Are you saying there was no Henry Adams in Arizona in the time period in question? There are at least two.

As to your proposed date for the "original" Adams story of 1864, the sources for this are also mainly the very same type of newspaper articles and dating well after 1864. A lost mine is not going to be documented like a real estate abstract after all. How much documentation was there on the Silver King when it was rediscovered? Hardly even a news article, just stories getting passed around. We can't realistically expect to find much in the way of indisputable documentation. Oh and the real Henry Adams in Arizona in the time period, look in Prescott for one of them, but another Henry Adams shows up in a number of places across AZ/NM.


One last thing but it is possible that Adams could have been traveling much more north than east, in which case the distance traveled could have carried the party into Colorado. As southwestern Colorado is not especially mineralized with gold or silver, this is not too promising but who knows? Gold is where you find it. In Cambria (Wyoming) there is a gold deposit IN COAL which all geologists will tell you is impossible, yet there it is. The famous gold mines of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, were in the "wrong kind of rock" and the first geologist taken to examine it, refused to even dismount from his mule as he "knew" that type of rock could not have gold in it. Anyway gold sometimes turns up in the least promising places, even where it is "impossible" like inside of coal.

Here is one example of a search for the Lost Adams paying off for a man named Russell.
The Coconino sun [microform]. (Flagstaff, Ariz.) 1898-197?, October 31, 1903, Page 3, Image 3 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress

Good luck and good hunting amigos, I hope you find the treasures that you seek. Thank you Old Bookaroo for the new post on Snively, though I would have suggested to put it in the Lost Adams forum perhaps?
Oroblanco

 

[Springfield]

...Are you saying there was no Henry Adams in Arizona in the time period in question? There are at least two...

Not at all. Adams was (is) a common name. There well could have been more. We just don't know 'the' Adams' identity.

... As to your proposed date for the "original" Adams story of 1864, the sources for this are also mainly the very same type of newspaper articles and dating well after 1864...

I know. The wild variation of the 'facts' in these published LAD stories helps support my general distrust in them. That said, the articles probably contain good information - we just have to figure out what it is. Despite the oft-quoted 1864 date, I seem to remember favoring the Patterson telling of the tale, which set the events in 1857, as I remember. At the moment, I can't remember why I favored it.

... As southwestern Colorado is not especially mineralized with gold or silver, this is not too promising but who knows? Gold is where you find it...

Ooops. SW Colorado is oozing with gold and silver. I saw plenty of it myself working there. I'd say that Colorado is off the table for the LAD, but you never know.

Here is one example of a search for the Lost Adams paying off for a man named Russell.
The Coconino sun [microform]. (Flagstaff, Ariz.) 1898-197?, October 31, 1903, Page 3, Image 3 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress.

Sounds good for Mr. Russell

 

[Cacheology]

Regarding Lost Adams, have you happened to of seen this news report?
150 year old treasure legend proven true - CNN iReport

 

[Springfield]

Regarding Lost Adams, have you happened to of seen this news report?
150 year old treasure legend proven true - CNN iReport

Oh, yeah. Here's the treasure-bustin' team: TREASUREFORCE.COM I'm kinda partial to 'Flex' and Gizmo'.

 

[Springfield]

...Thank you Old Bookaroo for the new post on Snively, though I would have suggested to put it in the Lost Adams forum perhaps?
Oroblanco

Funny you should say that Oro. The Snively 1867 Expedition story is a terrific read, and when I finished it, I thought, " Mounted expedition headed for uncharted mountains looking for fabulous gold deposit; big, big Indian trouble; twin peaks nearby; fort nearby; man with a deformed ear." Sound familiar?

 

[Old Bookaroo]

Cacheology:

Thank you for that link! The PR video is long on claims - short on evidence.

A few points, if I may.

The greatest lost mine legend in the American West is the Lost Dutchman. Personally, I think Pegleg Smith comes in 2nd and the LAD third.

At about 1:00 in that video, isn't that a shot of the Superstition Mts.? Then a pan down to a corner of a Curtis photo of Monument Valley?

Commander mentions he and his team found evidence of the battle between the soldiers and the Indians. Now, I've been at this for a few years, and this twist to the story is news to me.

It's an interesting effort to tie the legend into the movie (and, of course, Will Henry's novel). That is not, in my personal opinion, a reliable source. Compared to so many others. I realize that video is a very brief presentation. However, to show a shot of Four Days from Fort Wingate and not Apache Gold and Yaqui Silver...?

I will, as always, keep an open mind. For now, this claim to have found the LAD and solved the mystery must stand in line with so many other, similar claims.

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo

 

[Old Bookaroo]

Springfield:

I'm Old School - I'll go with Julie Newmar. In the novel that character's nose had been cut off - glad they skipped that in the movie...

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo

 

[Springfield]

Springfield:

I'm Old School - I'll go with Julie Newmar. In the novel that character's nose had been cut off - glad they skipped that in the movie...

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo

Ha ha ... you've got a point. Also, Gizmo's arm tats may be a bit distracting.

 

[Old Bookaroo]

Oroblanco:

I understand your point. I decided to start a new Sniveley thread to toss a wider loop than simply the LAD. The extraordinary The Lost Adams Diggings; Myth, Mystery and Madness by Jack Purcell has a great deal on Sniveley.

Regarding Mr. Purcell's book, let me just say I wish I'd written it...

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo

 

[UncleMatt]

I'm pretty sure from what I have read so far that CO is not an option for LAD. However, my job takes me all over NM, and I have been along the AZ-NM border in the general area before. I get bored with the fact that so little info is available and so few people are working on treasure tales in CO that I cast my net a little wider at times. Plus I learn a lot about research from you guys and use stuff like LAD to hone my skills on that.