Old Bookaroo
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- Dec 4, 2008
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LEGEND OF TYOPA MINES FULL
OF ROMANCE AND ADVENTURE
Legends of lost gold mines of fabulous richness have been so common in the past that they have ceased to be taken with much interest except for the sake of romance, but there is one such story, that of the Old Tyopa mines of Sonora that has an element of local interest on account of the known characters associated with it.
Jack Dunn, the old prospector and scout who is generally accepted as the real discoverer of the Warren district, is one of the few who said that he had seen the old Tyopa from the Casa Blanco, an ancient breastworks overlooking the ruined village. He told of this to his son, George Dunn, and fully intended to return to the scene and explore the place when the opportunity afforded.
The legend of the old Tyopa locates it in the Sonora Madre mountains, a vast and rugged range in Sonora and Chihuahua. Records of the mine exist in the City of Mexico as of the seventeenth century. In the latter part of the seventeenth century, according to the story, the isolated village was raided by Indians, who destroyed the town and killed all the inhabitants, with the exception of one priest, who escaped.
After wandering for several weeks, this priest arrived at the little town of Agua Fria, on the Yaqui river, where he was received and taken care of by a Mexican family. He died as the result of hardships and exposure but before his death told the story of the destruction of the town, and left for the people that took care of him a map and detailed description of its location. He also reported that the production of seven years, in the form of bullion was concealed in a tunnel of the mine. This was accounted for by the isolation of the mine, lack of means of communication and the difficulties of travel, both by reason of the ruggedness of the country and danger from Indians.
So here is the typical legend of the lost gold mine; the lone priest who escaped death; the stored up treasure; the inaccessible location, and the map and description. The story, and presumably the map, were handed down from family to family for years. Those who attempted to get to the old Tyopa lost their outfits, and frequently failed to return. The Indians for years formed an impenetrable menace, and that condition still exists, the Indians being augmented by roving bands of bandits and outlaws.
But there are more recent and more local angles to the story. Max Covita, for several years Mexican consul at Naco, was supposed to have had in his possession the original map and data concerning the old Tyopa. He himself declared that he twice succeeded in getting as far as Casa Blanca, from which the ruins of the old Tyopa are visible, but was forced each time to return on account of insufficient equipment. At any rate it was generally reported that he was still trying to reach the place at the time of his death a few years ago. Now comes Streeter, the outlaw, known to all the border and in Mexico as "The White Apache." Streeter was an army officer in California, but was outlawed for killing a brother officer in New Mexico. He went off with some of the Apache scouts that were attached to the army, and joined the Apaches in Mexico. He became a member of the tribe, and so "The White Apache." In the latter part of the 70's Streeter was on a war trip with the Apaches through the mountains and saw the ruins of the ancient village. He asked the Apaches what it was and they told him it was the Old Tyopa.
Streeter was killed by a Mexican at the old Placeritus, which was the original Nacozari. His brother-in-law is now employed by one of the mining corporations of this state, and is well known.
The Arizona Mining Journal, January 15, 1922
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Good luck to all,
The Old Bookaroo
