A Few More References

[aw11mr2]

Listed further below are references to articles and letters to the editor about the Thomas L. “Pegleg” Smith lost gold story that I found in The Desert Magazine. The Desert Magazine can be downloaded from the internet. I was able to download the issues from November 1937 to around June 1985.



Another source of references can be found in the book Lost Mines and Buried Treasures of the West by Thomas Probert. The book contains over 9 pages of Pegleg Smith references (Pages 171 – 181).

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[aw11mr2]

There are several variations of the Pegleg Smith lost gold nuggets story. Here are two of the popular versions:

In my opinion, both stories have factual errors, but the general description of the discovery is the same. Note in the Munsey magazine story, Pegleg Smith was alone. In the second story, Pegleg Smith was accompanied by Maurice LaDuc (sometimes spelled LaDuke). Another thing to keep in mind is that various authors identified up to four different people called “Pegleg Smith” in the Imperial Valley at various times. There was Thomas L. Smith, John O. Smith and two others only referred to as “Pegleg Smith.” That is the reason there are stories of the discovery occurring in 1826, 1829, the mid-1850s, and late 1860s (after Thomas L. “Pegleg” Smith died in October 1866).

 

[aw11mr2]

An interesting story can be found in the March 1965 issue of The Desert Magazine:

This story reinvigorated the search for Pegleg Smith’s lost gold nuggets.

John Grasson, known on this forum as “Pegleglooker,” interviewed the daughter of Choral Pepper (one of the magazine owners at that time) and some former staff members. He concluded that the owners of the magazine likely made up the story to increase magazine sales. The story does not bother me because: 1) the proposed search area is the same as the older stories, and 2) the letters to the editors provided interesting tidbits of information on search strategies. If you think the story is credible, I suggest you find a copy of this book:

It contains a map prepared in 1957. That is right around the time The Man Who Found Pegleg’s Black Gold, as he called himself, claimed he found the location of the nuggets. Read the story in The Desert Magazine and compare some clues with the map and you may be able to narrow down the possible search area.



Please be aware that over time, a lot of the potential search area are now off-limits or restricted to searching because of current land use such as private property, military training areas, Anza Borrego State Park, and wilderness areas.

 

[aw11mr2]

THE DESERT MAGAZINE citations (Including my notes and screen shots.)

July 1940, Vol 3, No 9
Randall Henderson, “Desert Center, California,” Page 43:

“…prospector Jackson Hill claims he has located the mythical bonanza, in the Chuckawallas 14 miles southwest of here. Hill is quoted as saying a map given to him 36 years ago in Alaska led him to Peg-leg’s mine. There are thousands of tons of rich ore in a vein five feet wide and 5000 feet long, according to this report, and the ore assays ‘$1,000 a ton and up,’ it is claimed.”

August 1940, Vol 3, No 10
Black Gold, John D. Mitchell, Page 24: Story locates the gold in the desert between Bagdad and Twentynine Palms, Calif. (This story was reprinted in the March 1967 edition)
Letter: J.C. Hill, Page 45: Mr Hill states the gold is located “Seven miles west and seven miles south of Desert Center,
California, I have found the lost Pegleg mine. I have a lot of gold. Come and see me.”

September 1940, Vol 3, No 11
Letter: Bradley R. Stuart, Page 37: Provides comments on John Mitchell’s story, page 37

October 1940, Vol 3, No 12
Letters: James Wightman, Page 35: Provides comments on John Mitchell’s story (Aug 1940)
Jackson C. Hill, Page 36: Comments on Bradley Stuart’s letter (Sept. 1940),

November 1940, Vol 4, No 1
Letters (Inside cover page): H.E.W. Wilson & P.A. Bailey

December 1940, Vol 4, No 2
Randall Henderson, “Treasure That Has Been Found and Lost Again,” Page 30

August 1943, Vol 6, No 10
Black Butte Gold, David Champion, Pages 24-25

October 1943, Vol 6, No 12
Letter: T.E. Rochester, “Black Butte Disappears Again,” Page 18

November 1946, Vol 10, No 1
Lost Pegleg gold is not a Myth, Henry E.W. Wilson, Pages 8-10
Letter: O.H. Eddy, “Pegleg Was an Honest Man,” Page 39

March 1947, Vol 10, No 5
Letter: W.C. Henneberger, “On the Trail of Pegleg Smith,” Page 27

October 1947, Vol 10, No 12
Letter: Harold Withrow, “Lost Pegleg in Nevada,” Page 28

December 1947, Vol 11, No 2
Letters: Ray Hethening, “January 1st to be Pegleg Day,” Page 27
Louis Kellerhals, “Another Pegleg Version”

January 1948, Vol 11, No 3
Randall Henderson, “Gold Hunters to Erect Monument,” Page 8

March 1948, Vol 11, No 5
First Trek of the Pegleg Gold Hunters, Bill Pisgah, Page 18
Desert Trails, Marshal South, Pages 27-28

September 1948, Vol 11, No 11
Randall Henderson, “Kaiser’s Railroad to Iron Deposit Completed,” Page 31

October 1948, Vol 11, No 12
New Clues to the Pegleg’s Gold, Henry E. W. Wilson, Pages 11-12

February 1949, Vol 12, No 4
Letters: Charles C. Baker, “When Pegleg Prospected the Mojave,” Page 29
Desert Steve Ragsdale, “Champion of All Liars,” Pages 29-30

April 1949, Vol 12, No 6
Randall Henderson, “Lost Mine Mystery” & “Register for Lost Gold Hunters,” Page 32

November 1949, Vol 13, No 1
Henderson, Randall “Coachella Vally, California,” Page 28

 

[aw11mr2]

January 1950, Vol 13, No 3
Randall Henderson, “Rendezvous for Gold Hunters,” Page 32

March 1950, Vol 13, No 5
Letters: Tommy Rawson, “Here’s Latest Pegleg Story,” Page 29
Randall Henderson, “New Angle on Pegleg Yarn,” Page 31

May 1950, Vol 13, No 7
Swampers’ Gold, Jay Ellis Ransom, Pages 16-18: Story about black nuggets discovered west or south of Yuma, AZ.

July 1950, Vol 13, No 9
Letter: J.R. Kennedy, “More about Pegleg Smith,” Page 26

October 1950, Vol 13, No 12
Gold Pockets in the Santa Rosas, Henry E.W. Wilson, Pages 13-15

February 1951, Vol 14, No 4
Randall Henderson, “Annual Trek of the Liars,” Page 8
Black Nuggets in the Valley of Phantom Buttes, John D. Mitchell, Pages 5-8

April 1951, Vol 14, No 6
Letter: Bob Saufley “Trail to the Black Nuggets,” Page 19

December 1951, Vol 14, No 14
Randall Henderson, “Annual Pegleg Trek to be Held in Borrego Valley,” Page 36

May 1954, Vol 17, No 5
Search for the Lost Pegleg Mine – 1884, Henry Winfield Splitter, Pages 22-25

January 1956, Vol 19, No 1
I Saw Black Gold from Pegleg’s Hills, John Marston, Pages 26-27
Letter: O’Reilly, “Pegleg Mine Rediscovered,” Page 28

March 1957, Vol 20, No 3
Pegleg’s Mine - - Fact or Fable?, James A. Jasper, Pages 15-16

May 1957, Vol 20, No 5
Letters: Henry E.W. Wilson, “Lost Pegleg Gold Exists” Pages 26-27
Jack E. Marlowe, “Jasper Right about Pegleg,” Pages 27-28

August 1957, Vol 20, No 8
Yaqui Well - Historic Desert Waterholes VIII, Walter B. Ford, Page 16

 

[aw11mr2]

February 1962, Vol 25, No 2
Letter: Eva M. Rubottom, “Trespassers Beware,” Page 41

September 1963, Vol 26, No 9
Letter: J.C. Filer, “Pegleg Again,” Page 46

November 1963, Vol 26, No 11
Letter: F.R. Farley, “Pegleg Smith,” Page 38

January 1964, Vol 27, No 1
Letters: Mrs. James Geary, “Pegleg Again,” Page 42
George Ayres, “Pegleg Again,” Page 42

July 1964, Vol 27, No 7
Letter: Jack Yeager, “Lost Faith in Lost Mines,” Page 42

September 1964, Vol 27, No 9
Dr. Susan and the Pegleg, Kenneth Marquiss, Pages 8-9

December 1964, Vol 27, No 12
Letter: Willard W. Erbeck Sr., “Death in the Desert,” Page 42:
To the editor: “Enclosed is an authentic picture of a human being and part of his burro. An empty canteen
lying nearby tells the story. Let this be a warning to any and all people. Do not enter any part of the desert
without water, or alone in the summer.”

“This picture (showing human skeleton) was given to me by a real estate man in Los Angeles in March 1920.
He was called Peg Leg Pete and he showed me some beautiful nuggets covered with desert varnish. He
spoke of an area near Mecca where he got them, along with two pouches of gold dust. The gold dust was
retrieved with a dry washer, he told me. This was right after World War I. . . .”

 

[aw11mr2]

March 1965, Vol 28, No 3
I found Pegleg’s Black Gold, written by The Man Who Found Pegleg’s Black Gold, Pages 20-22, 37-38: (The magazine originally referred to the author of the article as “Mr. Pegleg” and later called him “TMWFPBG,” The Man Who Found Pegleg’s Black Gold)

SUMMARY OF MAIN POINTS

A. Without pinpointing the discovery on a map for reasons that are obvious, I will say only that it is least than
30 miles from Salton Sea and within the confines of the map on page 10 of the November 1946 issue of
Desert Magazine.

B. I have been a subscriber to DESERT Magazine for many years and although I’ve enjoyed reading the various
stories and articles about the lost mines and treasures, I never had any burning urge to search for them.

C. A story on where to find a field of desert wild flowers in the spring or a map showing where to collect mineral
specimens was just as interesting to me as a story about lost gold.

Let’s go back to the beginning for a brief resume of the Pegleg story and quote Henry E. Wilson form his story
Lost Pegleg Gold Is Not a Myth from the November 1946 issue of DESERT Magazine.

D. Whether the black nuggets found by Pegleg and the others are the same as those I discovered, I can’t be sure.

E. My own story starts in the month of March, 1955.

F. Let me reiterate, I was a simple rock hound, not a treasure hunter or a searcher for lost mines.

G. I’d driven to that part of the low desert in my Jeep for a weekend of fresh air, good weather, some exercise
and a bit of rock hunting.

H. Saturday afternoon I drove the Jeep as far as I could go up a sandy wash and camped for the evening.

I. Sunday morning, after a leisurely breakfast, I took off for a long hike, carrying only a canteen, a rock
hammer and a small sack to bring back specimens, intending to come back to the Jeep for lunch.

J. I walked about two miles through uneven terrain, stopping now and then to pick up rock samples,
none of which as I remember were of any particular interest.

K. About 11:00 A.M. I sat down on top of a small hill to take a drink from the canteen and rest a bit before
starting back. The hill I was sitting on was covered with a crust of water-worn pebbles, the sand and
dirt having been partly blown from them by the wind.

After drinking, I leaned over on my left elbow and idly began to flip the smooth pebbles down the slope
with right hand as I would shoot marbles, hardly paying attention to what I was doing.

Forcing myself to stay calm, I retraced my route to the Jeep by placing stone markers every 50 feet or so.

L. During the sleepless night I arrived at three absolute decisions. (1) I would go back to the Jeep a second time
and be positive that I could find my way back to the hill again. (2) I would mark the spot where the Jeep was,
turn it around and measure exactly by the speedometer the distance to the next road and the main highway
and draw myself a map and mark the distances on it. (3) I would go home and find out if the black nuggets
really were gold.

M. The Pegleg black nuggets contain about 70% gold, 20% silver and 10% copper.

N. Actually, there are two areas at the Pegleg Hill that contained nuggets. The hill itself and a large mound
about 60 yards to the west.

O. During the six days of the second trip I covered the whole countryside for several miles in all directions,
searching carefully for nuggets and using the metal detector everywhere. It was the detector that located
the nuggets in the mound, as all of them were underground from about four inches down to two feet,
where I discovered some of the largest nuggets. The three hills of the original Pegleg story were not in
evidence.

P. There may even be other places where they can be found on the surface as I found them on Pegleg Hill
and the mound, and it may be miles away.

Q. I’ve also thought about going in to file a claim now, but again I discarded the idea. Why? To go after more
of Pegleg’s black nuggets would require the expense of forming a mining company, taking in partners or
associates, the purchase of equipment, the expense of moving it to the site and the bother of a thousand
and one other problems that would arise.

 

[aw11mr2]

April 1965, Vol 28, No 4
New Clue to Pegleg’s Gold, John Southworth, Pages 15-17

Letters: Lewis Rawson, “Other Black Nuggets,” Page 47:
“To the Editor: I looked for the Pegleg gold 62 years ago and at various times have been shown two black
nuggets, each having come from a different location. East of Ogilvy by the second to the last sand dune,
two men found 10 pounds of the gold all in a little pile evidently left by someone too tired to carry them
further to where they could be sold. I saw one of these nuggets. It was nearly round and about as big as
a marble.

The other was picked up by an American teamster who teamed with mules from Arispe to L.A., San Diego
and San Bernardino. This man told his daughter, when she found the nuggets in an old trunk some
70 years later, that when he was teaming from Arispe across the desert there was a hill, and at the base
of this there was water. They used to camp there to rest and water the mules. Near the spring were some
rocks he used to throw at the mules of his 16-mule team. He saved them because they were unusually
heavy, but it wasn’t until his daughter became curious that they discovered they were black-coated gold.
She took her father back to locate the hills, but after 60 years he was unable to identify the spot.” (See
Swampers’ Gold, May 1950 for the entire story)

“Letters to the Man Who Found Pegleg Gold,” Page 47:

(Various letters with questions & comments. Some of the questions are included with the TMWFPBG responses in the May DESERT Letters from the Reader section.)
Jack Pepper
H.M. Barnes
Chanceford A. Mounce
Albert Cameron
A.M. Davis
Joe Young

May 1965, Vol 28, No 5
Pegleg Letter, Mr. Pegleg/TMWFPBG responds to letters posted in April 1965 Desert magazine, Pages 36-37

 

[aw11mr2]

JACK PEPPER: “Visitors coming into the DESERT magazine office to see the nuggets on display often ask if they were found within the circled area of the map, or were they in the Chocolate Mountains?”

TMWFPBG: “In answer to Jack Pepper’s letter about whether the location is within the circle of the map or in the Chocolate Mountains, let me say that I considered this when writing the story, but this information along with several other clues which I put into the story without realizing it would pinpoint the area too closely. I’m not trying to tantalize anybody, but it’s my intention not to reveal the location at this time, so I will stand on my original statement that the black gold is somewhere within the confines of the 1946 map – which was reprinted on Page 37 of the March DESERT.”


JOE YOUNG: “Large gold, small pebbles, but no boulders mentioned. This does not add up, and I have heard this description before. Perhaps you can explain how heavy gold got there in the absence of other heavy material.”

TMWFPBG: “In response to Joe Young’s letter: Can I explain how heavy gold nuggets got there in the absence of other heavy material? There are two points: (1) Heavy material is there all right, although I deliberately did not describe the location in detail as it would pinpoint the location too closely. (2) I stated in the story that my theory was that after the gold was alluviated, possibly buried completely. Actually, I believe the area where I found the nuggets had been thrust upwards, and in the story I said this. Joe Young did not read the story closely. There is no doubt in my mind that at one time most of the nuggets were on bed rock in a stream bed and were exposed on the surface or close to the surface in the manner I’ve described.”


JOHN SOUTHWORTH: “I would like the finder of Pegleg’s gold to comment on my article in this issue. Was there unusual igneous activity indicated near his find; was there water, or a dried up spring; were there signs of Indian ceremonial activity?

TMWFPBG: “I found Mr. Southworth’s Pegleg story in last month’s DESERT very interesting. He is warmer than the thinks! The small black pebbles found by the railroad man are, in my opinion, real Pegleg black gold nuggets. I stated plainly in my story that I thought there were other places where the black nuggets could be found on or near the surface, although it might be miles away from my own discovery. In answer to his questions, I did not find any old springs, but did find a small amount of volcanic activity, and there are a couple of small rock rings similar to the one shown on page 15 of his story. The rings were about two feet in diameter and composed of heavily varnished rocks, indicating they had been in position an extremely long time.

Letters from our Readers, Page 46
“Letters about Pegleg Gold”
Oscar L. Brauer
Howard D. Clark
A.W. Cawson
R.E. Doty
Roy H. Driver
Bill Knyvett
Wilson J. McKinney
W.M. Taylor

June 1965, Vol 28, No 6
“Letters from our Readers,” Page 38
Choral Pepper, “To the Man Who Found Pegleg’s Gold”
Robert Buck, “To the Man Who Found Pegleg’s Gold”
Ed Kirkland
Jordon Stephens

New letters with questions and comments (Editor noted that TMWFPBG did not
respond to letters in the May issue of The Desert magazine.)

July 1965, Vol 28, No 7
Here Lies Pegleg’s Lost Gold, Pages 30-31, 38:

Introduction by the Editor of The Desert magazine (Choral Pepper) followed by a letter from TMWFPBG who responds to letters published in the May 1965 issue of The Desert magazine.

Letters from our Readers To the Man Who Found Pegleg’s Black Gold, Page 39
Ironfield, Milton
Loos, Mrs.

August-September 1965, Vol 28, No 7&8
Letter from the Man Who Found Pegleg Gold, Page 57
TMWFPBG responds to letters published in June 1965 issue of Desert magazine

“Letters from our Readers,” Pages 61-62
Expert Opinion on Pegleg’s Gold (Desert magazine asked Mr. Harry J. Phillips of El Cajon, CA for opinion as to where such a lode might exist.):

“To the Editor: Pegleg black gold does exist along the Elsinore fault in the Julian district. The same slaty phylite schist existing in the California Mother Lode was very productive in gold. The last uplift caused ice-age erosion to a depth of 2500 ft., or more, of this gold bearing schist. A U.S.G.S. report estimated that, at $20 per oz., a 1000 million in gold eroded from the Volcan Mt. Near Julian through Colman Creek westerly onto Ramona flat, where an estimated 100 million in gold, difficult to recover, reposes in cemented young conglomerate gravel.

East of Ramona, $2 nuggets were dug out of an exposed bedrock. However, most of this gold bearing schist, as eroded, moved easterly onto what is now a desert area embraced by the State Park. During the ice-age, when most erosion occurred, this area was covered with forests and great rivers provided the milling and assorting action to produce gold placer deposits. It is possible that remnants of ancient old-channel placers exist, which may be detected by a marked red color due to the heavy black iron associated with placer gold. Where much lime exists, the red iron oxide would change to gray carbonate of iron. All old channel gold is coated black. Much of the gold could be locked up in young conglomerate and caliche. Secondary erosion would produce bright gold.

In the Oatman District no sample is taken above 60 ft. level because the fine gold is certain to be leached. Sulphuric acid (from sulphides in vein), desert chlorides (salt) and manganese yield chlorine which dissolves gold. In the higher Julian area I milled gold from surface ore, but no gold could be panned in the eroded vein matter a short distance away from the outcropping vein. With no stream action, no recent gold placer deposits exist in the Southwest desert area.

NJ rode into the small trading post on the east side of Volcan Mt., on a road leading from San Felipe Valley to Warners. An Indian left on horseback and returned in two hours with gold.

An Indian took a doctor upon Pinon Mt., pointed easterly and said, “When the wind blow, Indian pick up gold.”

Pegg map: Starting at the old Vallecito Stage Station, you go 6 miles along the Warners road to where you can see 3 hills, thence 6 miles farther to the red hill. At the time a short-cut trail to Warners existed also. The map was not oriented. I believe that the hills would be low table-mountains or hog-backs. A fireman on the gypsum railroad, extending from Plaster City on Highway 8 to the Gypsum mine, found Pegg dying of thirst. He poured water to him too fast and he died, but not before pointing westerly when asked where he got the poke of gold he carried.

A National City man claimed pleasing results from crevassing bed rock on week ends in the Sentenec-Canyon Stream which drains San Felipe Basin east of Julian and flows into San Felipe wash. The Vallecito Wash joins the San Felipe Wash just east of the Fish Creek Mts. Various wells, sunk in the lower San Felipe wash, revealed placer gold.

Guy let his grandfather out at Harper’s Well with a dry washer. He would walk up the wash. This was below the junction of Vallecito and San Felipe Creeks. In the Fish Creek Mts., within the Park, lies a roof pendent of Julian Schist of the Elsinore fault. A prospector found pieces of fresh-broken quartz with gold on both sides of the schist ridge. On a vein at the foot of this schist hill he did $50,000 worth of development work.”

October 1965, Vol 28, No 10, Page 38
Letters: Jack Derfus, “All for Pegleg”
Thelma Dunlap, “To the Man Who Found Pegleg’s Gold”
The Willenbacher Family
W.A. Linkletter, W.A., “Pegleg No Secret”: “To the Editor: In the controversy over the location of
The Lost Pegleg Mine, may I add a few lines? I wrote the first story the DESERT Magazine published
about this historic event in which I interviewed a man by the name of H. C. Marshall, near
Travertine Rocks. Marshall said he was an old friend of Pegleg Smith and the last time he saw him
Pegleg came to his home in Portland and he loaned him $250 to come to San Bernardino and assemble
a prospecting outfit with which to look for the lost gold deposit, which he said was on the
old Butterfield Stage Route, opposite a well where all emigrant trains stopped to water up. This well was
in the southern part of the Borrego reservation a few miles east of Warner’s Ranch, and the black gold
nuggets were found on the top of one of the three little hills opposite the well. This old well is located in
the San Pasqual Wash that runs from Corn Springs to Warner’s Ranch and can easily be located by
following the old stage route. There is no secret about the location, but anyone trying to locate the
nuggets should have a good locator of metal. “

November 1965, Vol 28, No 11
Letters: Choral Pepper, “To the Man Who Found Pegleg’s Gold,” Page 38
Robert W. Blair, “Sturdy Steed,” Page 38
J.M. Yates, “Collector’s Item,” Page 39

 

[aw11mr2]

December 1965, Vol 28, No 12
Letter from the Man Who Found Pegleg’s Gold, Page 21

February 1966, Vol 29, No 2
Letter: Ray Spears, “Pegleg Mine Location,” Page 39

April 1966, Vol 29, No 4
Letter: Choral Pepper, “To the Man Who Found Pegleg’s Gold,” Page 39

June 1966, Vol 29, No 6
Did Pegleg’s Gold Belong to Peralta?, Robert Buck, Pages 15-17, 33:
Author posed a theory that the black coated gold nuggets originated in an ancient Spanish mine on the
Calaveras River and had been transported to the desert area by a Peralta mule train enroute to Sonora.
The mule train was attacked and the nuggets were dropped/dump at the site found by Pegleg Smith and
TMWFPBG.

August-Sept 1966, Vol 29 No 8 & 9
Letter from the Man Who Found Pegleg’s Black Gold, Page 62

TMWFPBG evaluates Robert Buck’s theory.

“As I indicated in one of my letters, there is heavy material in the area, possibly ancient bedrock that was
broken up when the area was pushed up, and after long and careful study, the only logical explanation was
the one I advanced in my original story, which you bring out in your Ford Times article. I might mention that
his is also the exact theory that Mr. Buck brings out in describing the origin of the Peralta black nuggets.

Also one small thing I’ve never mentioned before as it didn’t seem important is the fact that on one of the
early trips my detector picked up something, and upon digging down a couple of inches I found a corroded
buckle which is similar in appearance to those I’ve seen in photographs of early Spanish artifacts.

With this in mind I once looked over the terrain to see if my discovery site could have been in line with a trail
or caravan route through the country. I will say this, and in so doing will give a further clue: Yes, my discovery
site is in an area through which a caravan might have chosen a route.”

Letter: Mr. Anonymous (not the man who found Pegleg’s Black Gold), “New Pegleg Claim,” Page 63

November 1967, Vol 30, No 11
Letter: Bill Bean, “To Pegleg Discoverer,” Page 43:
“To the Man who found Peg Leg’s black gold nuggets: I found some water-worn rocks a little over a mile from
where you found the black nuggets. They range in size from an agate to a baseball and strangely just as round
and smooth.

What I would appreciate knowing is: were the rock rings completely closed, or did they have s small opening?
Were they among the water-worn pebbles and nuggets, and if not how far away were they?

I know where you parked your Jeep and naturally what direction you took, as I know where Peg Leg was found
dying, etc. Those were my tracks and camp signs in the wash you mentioned in the December 1965 issue of
DESERT. I left them on purpose to see if you would comment, as I thought it likely that you would check from
time to time. I also have looked over the country, as you put it, and agree that it certainly is a trail the Spanish
train might have chosen, especially if they were in need of water. Several miles below there, small quantities of
black nuggets have been found in four and five places.

Regarding the belt buckle you found, it belonged to Thomas L. Smith and might have initials scratched on it
under the corrosion. He left it there on purpose as a claim marker in 1853 or 1854.”

 

[aw11mr2]

December 1967, Vol 30, No 12

A Surprise Letter from the Man Who Found Pegleg’s Black Gold, Pages 16-17:

“’During my last trip (August) I was walking along a shallow gully about five or six hundred yards from the discovery site, looking carefully at the ground. There were patches of blow sand here and there, and in the edge of one of them I noticed what appeared to be a bit of rusty metal sticking out of the sand. At first glance it appeared to be a rusty bottle cap or the edge of a tin can, and I started to walk on. Then out of curiosity, which I always have when I see something in the desert that isn’t natural, I stopped and pulled it out.

I quickly recognized what I had in my hand as the hilt section of a sword scabbard. The scabbard itself was iron, but the band around the center of it with two rings attached seemed to be precious metal, as there was no corrosion as there was on the iron portion.” (photo attached)

January 1968, Vol 31, No 1
Letter: William H. Walls, “Peglegs’ Sheath,” Page 43: “Based upon my cursory inspection of the sword-sheath “throat,” I gave an “origin” estimate of “around” 1700. I find, however, I doing some research on the rapier that my unconstrained observation could be off by as much as 150 years.”

February 1968, Vol 31, No 2
The Saga of Pegleg the Fourth, Retta Ewers, Pages 32-33
Letters: Page 43
Choral Pepper, “Peralta versus Pegleg”
William M. Deane, “Not too far gone –yet!” (Points out error in Mr. Beans’ letter)
Mary Dunn, “Strange Talent,” (Offers psychic help)
Eugene B. Harris Jr., “Pegleg Scabbard”: “The carrier rings near the throat section of the scabbard are
opposite each other as were the rings on a Swiss scabbard. . . . It is then quite possible that this scabbard
you pictured in your magazine us from the period of time between 1700 and 1750.”

 

[aw11mr2]

April 1968, Vol 31, No 4
The Pegleg Trail to Adventure, Pepper Choral, Pages 18-21
Letter: John Proma, “Chasing the Goose,” Page 43

May 1968, Vol 31, No 5
A Logical Look at the Pegleg Gold, J.A. Lentz, Pages 26-29
Letter: Bill Bean, “Paging Mr. Pegleg,” Page 43

June 1968, Vol 31, No 6
Letter: Mrs. A. Busald, “To Mr. Bean,” Page 43

July 1968, Vol 31, No 7
Pegleg Nuggets or Peralta Gold?, The Man Who Found Pegleg Black Gold, Pages 22-24:
(Includes a photo of one nugget undisturbed, lying on the ground among other pebbles.)

“Going back to the November ’67 issue and Mr. Bean’s letter: He makes several matter-of-fact statements which he obviously takes for granted. While I appreciate his sincere interest, let me make these observations: One, there are many water-worn rocks in the desert and, unless Mr. Bean actually found black nuggets, he is only assuming that the water-worn rocks he found is “a little over a mile from where you found the black nuggets.” Two, frankly I can’t remember whether the rock rings were completely closed or had small openings. My best recollection is that they were closed, I the sense that rocks had been laid next to each other to form the rings, and while there may have been a few inches between rocks, I don’t remember seeing any kind of opening wide enough for, say, a man to walk into the ring without stepping over the rocks. As to the distance from the rings to the discovery site, I never attempted to connect the two and made no effort to measure the distance, particularly since the rings were some distance from the nuggets. Three, if Mr. Bean really knows where I parked my jeep and what direction I took, then he obviously has found the correct area (somebody has – more about this later) but as to his knowing where Pegleg was found dying – I wasn’t aware that Pegleg was found dying at the location of the black nuggets. Also, maybe it was Mr. Bean’s tracks and camp signs I found, but he can only assume this. At this point of the letter, Mr. Bean sort of goes astray. I said I found an old corroded buckle similar to illustrations I later saw of early Spanish buckles. However, what I found was not a belt buckle, but looked more like something used on saddle equipment, and of course has no connection with Thomas Smith. Also why anyone would want to leave a belt buckle as a claim marker is rather obscure.

This answer to Mr. Bean’s letter is not intended to belittle him in any way as he is obviously and sincerely interested in the location of the black nuggets. He has, I believe, located the general area, and his letter is cleverly written with the aim of getting more detailed clues. I’ve already given another good clue. I wonder if he can figure it out. In answer to his letter in the May 1968 issue, I have been checking recently. (More later).

There is little I can add or say about Mr. Walls’ and Mr. Harris’ authentication of the sword-sheath “throat” in the January and February 1968 issues. The letters speak for themselves. It is clear that the artifacts was contemporary with the Peralta caravan.

To Choral Pepper, February issue: Your letter is one more good piece of information that ties the black Pegleg nuggets to the Peralta caravan.

To William Deane, February issue: You are right, I never at any time made mention of “water-worn rocks a little over a mile” from where I found the black nuggets. See my answer to Mr. Bean above.

To Mary Dunn: With your ability you shouldn’t worry about things like black nuggets and sword hilts when you could make millions getting the true history of mankind since the beginning of time.

Now, up to date: Somebody has found the exact location of the discovery site, whether they know it or not. I found tracks there and two places where somebody had dug holes but didn’t fill them up. Every time I found a nugget with a metal detector and dug it up, I was extremely careful to fill the hole up and leave the surface looking as undisturbed as possible.

I will make this final observation: If the black nuggets are native to the area – which is he original theory I advanced – and it is still perfectly valid, then I think other deposits will turn up as I’ve described previously. If the Peralta caravan theory is correct, then of course, the nuggets would be confined to the area where they were lost or whatever it was that caused them to be left there and, in which event, I’ve recovered the whole shipment, or at least all but the nuggets that are too small or too deep to be detected.

Sincerely, THE MAN WHO FOUND PEGLEG-PERALTA BLACK GOLD

P.S. To Mr. J. A. Lentz: You are an extremely logical fellow!”

Letter: Thomas F. Odell, “Challenges Peralta Theory,” Page 43

September 1968, Vol 31, No 9
Letter: Mrs. Betty Samis, “Hills Are Loaded,” Page 43

November 1968, Vol 31, No 11
Letter: Wells Sager, “It’s Searching Time Again,” Page 42

 

[aw11mr2]

January 1969, Vol 32, No 1
Black Bonanza!, Victor Stoyanow, Pages 26-29
TMWFPBG response letter, Page 28

Letters: Stanley M. DeWalt, “Pegleg Holes,” Page 43: “Regarding the letter from Mr. Pegleg in the July 1968 issue,
I am guilty of digging the two holes he mentions. There were four of us in our group and the temperature
was 120 degrees. My son’s wife became ill and our two metal detectors went haywire so we had to leave
the area in a hurry before filling the holes.”
Fred Barrett, “Keep Them Coming,” Page 43

May 1969, Vol 32, No 5
Fifty Years on the Pegleg Trail, Walter B. Ford, Pages 14-17, 39
Letter: C.E. Miller, “Letter to Mr. Pegleg,” Page 43: “After reading all of the stories of the latest Pegleg black gold in
your area by the mystery man who found some of these nuggets, I find myself a little confused after
reading The Ancient River of Gold by Charles Dillon. In Mr. Dillon’s book describing the original ancient
channel which goes through the Borrego area and north through the Mother Lode and west through the
Trinity Country, he states: ‘The old channel gold, when found undisturbed, is black. A nugget of this gold
that hasn’t moved very much since it was first laid down in the river will retain it tough black manganese
coating and is literally coal black, but shiny.’ I would like to ask “Mr. Pegleg” if the gold he found matched
this description, especially the coal black and shiny part.”

November 1969, Vol 32, No 11
Letter: Gilbert O. French, “Message to Mr. Pegleg,” Page 43:
Describes how he used a “geoscope” to detect an old ancient river channel in the area.

January 1970, Vol 33, No 1
Pegleg and a Paiute, John Townley, John, Pages 18-21:
(This story is about the allege discovery of gold by George Yount near the confluence of the Virgin River
and Colorado River, near Hoover Dam.)

March 1970, Vol 33, No 3
Letter: Frank Wiggins, “Where’s Mr. Pegleg?” Page 43

August 1971, Vol 34, No 8
Letter: John Southworth, “Mr. Pegleg: You Beat Me There!,” Page 43

September 1971, Vol 34, No 9
Letter: Bill Johnson, “Pegleg Gold,” Page 42

 

[aw11mr2]

April 1974, Vol 37, No 4
Mr. Pegleg Returns … Or Has He?, Pages 10-11

May 1974, Vol 37, No 5
Thimble Full of Gold, Slim Pickings, Pages 34-35

June 1974, Vol 37, No 6
Mr. Pegleg Responds, Page 32:

“Editor’s Note: The April issue carried a challenge to Mr. Pegleg to come forth after a long absence to prove he was still alive. Just prior to going to press, sure enough a letter, photographs, carbon copies of previous correspondence, plus TWO nuggets gave us ample proof that he was the real McCoy. The letter and a resume of the letters sent, but not received, during 1969-1970 are produced here to bring the enigma up to date. The nuggets, including the last two, are on display in our editorial office.”

TMWFPBG responds to Slim Pickings claim that he died in 1971.

TMWFPBG summarizes his previous missing letters:

January 23, 1969
First off, Victor Stoyanow’s story, “Black Bonanza” in January, 1969 issue was an excellent bit of research, intelligent reasoning and active field work, the essence of which is to substantiate my original theory of the origin of the black nuggets. The fact that Stoyanow brings out the finding of other black nuggets in various places in the Salton Sea basin lends credence to my first accounts that black nuggets might be found in other areas wherever the presumed ancient stream bed had been exposed. The explanation he gives of the “Beach Placer” fits in very logically and the account of the black nuggets being exposed by a Chubasco wind also holds true.

Right here I will give another small clue. The area where I found my black nuggets was not all exactly like the pebbled surface shown in the photographs I sent in. I actually found some nuggets where the sand had been blown away from them – which nuggets had been covered with sand during an earlier trip, and deep enough to be beyond the reach of my detector.

May 1969 issue
Response to Mr. Miller’s letter about the origin of the coating on the nuggets.

November 1969 issue
Response to Gilbert O. French’s letter and comment: One final clue. Don’t expect the hill and mound to stand out like a sore thumb or see a sign there saying, “this is it.” The site is mighty inconspicuous and, I’m sure, has been walked over more than once.

July 11, 1970
Letter asking if Desert magazine received his previous letters.

 

[aw11mr2]

May 1975, Vol 38, No 5
Letter: Page 46
Mr. Pegleg Writes . .

TMWFPBG - In view of the incidents wherein the mail department purloined my letters including some of the black nuggets in 1969, 70, 71, 72 etc., I’m now wondering if you received my letter and photos mailed last November about the 16th or 17th.

Editor’s Note: The letter was received, but the tone was so different it created a credibility gap. Please send a carbon copy of previous correspondence or some other means of identification.

July 1975, Vol 38, No 7
Letter: John Martin, “Plea to Mr. Pegleg,” Page 46

August 1975, Vol 38, No 8
Mr Pegleg and His Gold, TMWFPBG, Page 27

 

[aw11mr2]

June 1980, Vol 43, No 5

Pegleg Smith’s Lost Gold: an Interview with Choral Pepper, Pages 16-19

November 1980, Vol 43, No 10
Letters: Page 8
John Southworth, “FROM A PEGLEG FAN”
TMWFPBG, “AND FROM PEGLEG HIMSELF”

January 1981 -- Last Mention of the Pegleg Story
Letters: Pages 8 & 9
QUESTIONS FOR PEGLEG by Bud Buckner and Iver P. Valkama.

Editor responded in regards to background on the “Peralta Operations” discussed in article by Robert Buck (Desert, June 1966 and investigation suggestions by Choral Pepper (Desert, June 1980)

 

[Old Bookaroo]

There are several variations of the Pegleg Smith lost gold nuggets story. Here are two of the popular versions:
View attachment 2123411
View attachment 2123412
View attachment 2123413
View attachment 2123414
View attachment 2123415
View attachment 2123416
View attachment 2123417

In my opinion, both stories have factual errors, but the general description of the discovery is the same. Note in the Munsey magazine story, Pegleg Smith was alone. In the second story, Pegleg Smith was accompanied by Maurice LaDuc (sometimes spelled LaDuke). Another thing to keep in mind is that various authors identified up to four different people called “Pegleg Smith” in the Imperial Valley at various times. There was Thomas L. Smith, John O. Smith and two others only referred to as “Pegleg Smith.” That is the reason there are stories of the discovery occurring in 1826, 1829, the mid-1850s, and late 1860s (after Thomas L. “Pegleg” Smith died in October 1866).

JINX!

I posted the Michelson account here on TN back in March 2018. He became a speech writer and PR man for FDR (Michelson, not Smith).

"Jack Black" was a pen name used by Robert F. Ames, the notorious publisher of Western Treasures Magazine.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo

 

[Old Bookaroo]

June 1980, Vol 43, No 5

Pegleg Smith’s Lost Gold: an Interview with Choral Pepper, Pages 16-19
View attachment 2123436
View attachment 2123437
View attachment 2123438
View attachment 2123439


November 1980, Vol 43, No 10
Letters: Page 8
John Southworth, “FROM A PEGLEG FAN”
TMWFPBG, “AND FROM PEGLEG HIMSELF”

View attachment 2123440


January 1981 -- Last Mention of the Pegleg Story
Letters: Pages 8 & 9
QUESTIONS FOR PEGLEG by Bud Buckner and Iver P. Valkama.

Editor responded in regards to background on the “Peralta Operations” discussed in article by Robert Buck (Desert, June 1966 and investigation suggestions by Choral Pepper (Desert, June 1980)

aw11mr2:

You did an outstanding job with all this information! From considerable personal experience I well know how much time and effort it takes. This is high-quality work that is very useful! Well played!

Here is the final piece of the Michaelson 1901 article:

​

This is, of course, the Munsey's Magazine article that the Englishman read and led to a fifty-year search for the Lost Pegleg (your post #13, above - Fifty Years on the Pegleg Trail, Walter B. Ford, Desert Magazine May 1969 - Vol. 32, No. 5).

Again, your posts are extraordinary, and a fine example of the best work done here on TN!

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo