froggy
Full Member
A prospector known only as Old Man Mansfield worked a gold mine somewhere near the old Mansfield Trail which ran from the San Francisco River in Catron County, New Mexico, to the headwaters of Eagle Creek in Graham County, Arizona. He packed his ore out on mules until one day, in 1862, three prospectors found a pack-laden mule grazing along the trail with sacks of incredibly rich gold ore. Mansfield was killed by the Indians and his rich gold ledge was never found.
In recent years, most searches for the Lost Black Burro Mine have been in the area near the junction of the San Francisco and Blue Rivers [N 33 12.555' W 109 11.505'] North of Clifton. An 1864 military report about a patrol in that area (Col. Oscar M. Brown, First California Cavalry). The report mentions "...remains of an old camp and indications of considerable work done in gold digging. Some of my men, having received permission, sunk or rather opened up, one or two holes and got a very good prospect of fine quality gold." This patrol was zigzagging all through the hills looking for Indians north of the Gila and up the San Francisco and Blue Rivers The Col. Brown military report of Oct 1 - Nov 27, 1864 can be found in the War of the Rebellion Series 1 Vol XLI (Part 1 Reports) pages 867 thru 878 incl. This is the same military report Ron Jensen reported on in his LAD website disclosure as the basis for his Lost Adams area hunts. Capt. Shirland was also mentioned in Col Brown's report as having been there before (San Francisco River gold placers) according to the same guide for both expeditions. Someone cross checked Capt. Shirland in every volume of the War of the Rebellion but could not find any expedition report to that area. As a side note, an old Arizona Geologist Tom Childs staked some rich gold placer claims on the San Francisco River (near the Blue junction) in the 70's - formed an OTC stock company called SUNGOLD. Unfortunately Tom died shortly thereafter and SUNGOLD went into obscurity, as he was the driving force. You or anyone researching the County Recorders office or BLM claims books should be able to come up with the claim location.
In recent years, most searches for the Lost Black Burro Mine have been in the area near the junction of the San Francisco and Blue Rivers [N 33 12.555' W 109 11.505'] North of Clifton. An 1864 military report about a patrol in that area (Col. Oscar M. Brown, First California Cavalry). The report mentions "...remains of an old camp and indications of considerable work done in gold digging. Some of my men, having received permission, sunk or rather opened up, one or two holes and got a very good prospect of fine quality gold." This patrol was zigzagging all through the hills looking for Indians north of the Gila and up the San Francisco and Blue Rivers The Col. Brown military report of Oct 1 - Nov 27, 1864 can be found in the War of the Rebellion Series 1 Vol XLI (Part 1 Reports) pages 867 thru 878 incl. This is the same military report Ron Jensen reported on in his LAD website disclosure as the basis for his Lost Adams area hunts. Capt. Shirland was also mentioned in Col Brown's report as having been there before (San Francisco River gold placers) according to the same guide for both expeditions. Someone cross checked Capt. Shirland in every volume of the War of the Rebellion but could not find any expedition report to that area. As a side note, an old Arizona Geologist Tom Childs staked some rich gold placer claims on the San Francisco River (near the Blue junction) in the 70's - formed an OTC stock company called SUNGOLD. Unfortunately Tom died shortly thereafter and SUNGOLD went into obscurity, as he was the driving force. You or anyone researching the County Recorders office or BLM claims books should be able to come up with the claim location.
