I had the chance to go to the Pumphouse wash area a couple of months ago...thought I would provide an update. There is indeed a washed out bridge as described and caves line the canyon walls. One of these caves went back about 20 feet and would have been a perfect place to bury gold in the soft dirt of the cave floor. Unfortunately my metal detector didn't pick up anything. There are other spots in the near vicinity that hold promise but the area is popular with camper/hikers and finding anything from the 1880's to verify this story and/or pinpoint a location would be difficult if not impossible. There are so many nooks/crannies and side canyons...one can literally spend a lifetime metal detecting this area alone. There were several stacked rocks...but hard to tell if they were from graves or from old camp fires. The walls of the canyon are steep and only a handful of places offer any method of bandits with horses getting down to the area. It makes sense they would go through Pumphouse wash though as this is one of the only areas horses can escape off the rim. Pumphouse wash is in an intermediate zone....off the high rim but still above Oak Creek Canyon. Perfect place for bandits to hang out for a while thinking they were undetected.
I have problems, however, with the story. Sure Perry Owens, Brogdon, and Jacobs were real figures. Heck, Brogdon and Owens are buried 100 feet apart from each other and, yes, I have seen their graves. But contrary to what is being reported, I have scoured all local papers (Sharlot Hall, Flagstaff Champion, Holbrook papers, etc.) for any mention of this incident and there are none. The only thing I can find of some relevance is an article on the Valenzuelo gang robbing a transport of gold from the Vulture mine.
I'm thinking either the gold has been found and unreported or the whole thing didn't happen--a story Pete fabricated. Granted, I have come across some incredible finds in and around this area--some of which date to the time period--but none of them are saddle bags full of gold coins.
If someone has an article talking about the shootout, I am all ears and will likely change my stance on the topic. Otherwise, I think a shootout of this magnitude occurring on the outskirts of Flagstaff going unreported? It likely did not happen.
