Hunting for Durhams Gold in 1898

[jeff of pa]

Hunting for Durham's Gold in 1898

The San Francisco call. (San Francisco [Calif.]), 22 May 1898








The San Francisco call. (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, May 22, 1898, Page 20, Image 20 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Jeff, I am convinced that 99% of these legends and lores are just that: Legends and lores. If I had a dollar for every "sure-fired treasure story", I'd be rich already. The treasure magazines of the 1960s & '70s were FILLED with such type stories. Eg.: lost mines, stagecoach robbery loot, etc... They all sounded about like this:

"The dying miner drags himself into the wild-west saloon. The lone survivor of an indian attack. As curious on-lookers gather around him, he spills the story of fabulous riches back at his mine. But ... unfortunately, he dies of his wounds before being able to reclaim his fortune. The 4 clues are: blah blah blah blah". Heck: Throw in a faded newspaper clipping, and a drawing of a miner posed next to his burro, and then ..... by golly .... it MUST be true.

They were all fun reading mind you A friend of mine even sent in one that got published (in order to the $100 payment for accepted stories). It was all made up , but nothing that a few grabbed tidbits from the history books can't make legitimate