Lost Shadley Valley Diamond Mine

[mohicanjoe]

Seeking any information regarding Shadley Valley Knox County diamond & mine. I understand there is a neighbour who discovered diamond chips outside the old tailing's area.....

 

[JPS]

I am not familiar with that story but one that always interested me is Lost Diamond Mine of the Pedernals.

The Comancheros also traded with other southwestern tribes for a variety of goods, some of them precious. It was rumored for many years that the Comancheros received raw diamonds in trade from the Indians who lived near the Pedernal Hills of central New Mexico. Legend places the old Indian diamond mine somewhere in the Pedernal Hills of Torrance County, New Mexico. The mine was apparently worked by the Indians for many years and has even been chanced upon by white men during its history. One account in particular is of interest because of its description of the mine portal and the vertical shaft within. The chance discovery was made by a trader from Santa Fe who was forced to take shelter from a storm somewhere on the leeward side of the old Pedernal Hills, not far from the little village of Encino. While hunkering down from the storm, the trader noticed a small opening in the sheltered side of the hill. Just inside the portal was a man made 30-foot vertical shaft. Scattered around the cave entrance were a number of transparent crystals, some of them in matrix. The trader gathered up the finest samples and put them in his pocket. When the storm finally passed the trader continued eastward, eventually reaching Independence, Missouri. It was only then that the trader learned that his crystals were actually diamonds!