KGCnewbieseeker
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The beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Colorado are steeped in legend and shrouded in mystery. One of the most famous and compelling legends of the Sangre de Cristos concerns a fabulous ledge of gold-bearing quartz said to crop out here and there along the western flank of the range for several miles. Known as the Lost Golden Ledge of the Sangres, the fabulous ore body has lured and captivated prospectors for over a century and a half. And rightly so. Throughout the late 1800's, a succession of prospectors showed up in the local mining camps bearing samples of extraordinarily rich gold-bearing "float". The prospectors had found the "float" just lying on the surface in various places along the western foothills of the Sangres. In addition, a number of accounts of rich lode deposits on the western side of the Sangre de Cristos exist. The Precambrian granites of the Crestone Range are home to several of these, including the Lost Tenderfoot Mine and the Lost Turkey Creek Mine. The Lost Skinner Mine, may also lie somewhere on the western side of the Sangre de Cristos, near the headwaters of North Crestone Creek.
During the late 1870's, rumors of a fabulous ledge of gold running the length of the Sangre de Cristos brought a wave of prospectors into the area. Some of these prospectors found veins of gold-bearing sulfides in the canyons along the western edge of the mountains. A prospector named John Duncan discovered gold-bearing veins near the mouth of Pole Creek while another named Thomas Ryan found rich deposits two miles northeast, near the mouth of Deadman Creek. Rich deposits were also discovered near Cottonwood Creek during this time.
Other prospectors were not so lucky. Some actually stumbled upon rich deposits but were unable to relocate them when they tried to return. In 1880, H.A. Melton, E.R. Oliver, and S.J. Harkman were prospecting a few miles north of the headwaters of Deadman Creek when they got caught in a snowstorm. The three men were in sore need of shelter. The small mining camp of Sangre de Cristo was too far away, situated as it was on the western edge of the mountains, near the mouth of Deadman Creek. The mining camp of Cottonwood, which would eventually rise up near the mouth of Cottonwood Creek, was still 13 years in the future. So the three prospectors took refuge beneath an overhanging ledge where they discovered a small cave entrance that widened out into a sizeable chamber. In a small side chamber, they discovered several crudely-smelted gold bars! Had the previous miners found and tapped into the Lost Golden Ledge? The three prospectors gathered up the gold bars and eventually sold them in Silver Cliff, Colorado. But when they tried to return to the cave they were unable to find it. They never did.
During that same year, another group of prospectors led by Dan De Foe and M.M. Warner were combing the western foothills of the Sangre de Cristos when they discovered an old prospect pit hidden in the trees. Scattered around the pit were several fragments of heavy, silvery-gray ore. De Foe and Warner were not particularly impressed with the ore but they took some samples anyway. Eventually they returned home and had their ore samples analyzed. To their amazement, the nondescript silvery-gray ore samples contained as much as 45 ounces of gold per ton! Thoughts of the Lost Golden Ledge filled their heads as they headed back to the Sangres but when they got there, each foothill looked the same. Try as they might, they could not find the old prospect pit.
These, and other accounts of lost gold mines in the Sangre de Cristos, have encouraged the belief of many mining men and prospectors that an undiscovered, discontinuous vein of gold-bearing quartz exists somewhere along the western flanks of the range. It still lies hidden to this day.
During the late 1870's, rumors of a fabulous ledge of gold running the length of the Sangre de Cristos brought a wave of prospectors into the area. Some of these prospectors found veins of gold-bearing sulfides in the canyons along the western edge of the mountains. A prospector named John Duncan discovered gold-bearing veins near the mouth of Pole Creek while another named Thomas Ryan found rich deposits two miles northeast, near the mouth of Deadman Creek. Rich deposits were also discovered near Cottonwood Creek during this time.
Other prospectors were not so lucky. Some actually stumbled upon rich deposits but were unable to relocate them when they tried to return. In 1880, H.A. Melton, E.R. Oliver, and S.J. Harkman were prospecting a few miles north of the headwaters of Deadman Creek when they got caught in a snowstorm. The three men were in sore need of shelter. The small mining camp of Sangre de Cristo was too far away, situated as it was on the western edge of the mountains, near the mouth of Deadman Creek. The mining camp of Cottonwood, which would eventually rise up near the mouth of Cottonwood Creek, was still 13 years in the future. So the three prospectors took refuge beneath an overhanging ledge where they discovered a small cave entrance that widened out into a sizeable chamber. In a small side chamber, they discovered several crudely-smelted gold bars! Had the previous miners found and tapped into the Lost Golden Ledge? The three prospectors gathered up the gold bars and eventually sold them in Silver Cliff, Colorado. But when they tried to return to the cave they were unable to find it. They never did.
During that same year, another group of prospectors led by Dan De Foe and M.M. Warner were combing the western foothills of the Sangre de Cristos when they discovered an old prospect pit hidden in the trees. Scattered around the pit were several fragments of heavy, silvery-gray ore. De Foe and Warner were not particularly impressed with the ore but they took some samples anyway. Eventually they returned home and had their ore samples analyzed. To their amazement, the nondescript silvery-gray ore samples contained as much as 45 ounces of gold per ton! Thoughts of the Lost Golden Ledge filled their heads as they headed back to the Sangres but when they got there, each foothill looked the same. Try as they might, they could not find the old prospect pit.
These, and other accounts of lost gold mines in the Sangre de Cristos, have encouraged the belief of many mining men and prospectors that an undiscovered, discontinuous vein of gold-bearing quartz exists somewhere along the western flanks of the range. It still lies hidden to this day.
Great information. I love hearing those stories. Great post
