The lost adams mine 1916 article

[jeff of pa]

• I hope this is the same as the Lost Adams "Diggings"

• St. Johns herald and Apache news. [volume] (St. Johns, Apache Co., Ariz.), 13 July 1916.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...t=&proxValue=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=9

 

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[sdcfia]

The value - $300,000 - and the allegation that it is a "hidden treasure" seem to indicate that it is something else. The "Adams Diggings" has almost always been described as a placer gold deposit. But ... who knows? Captain Jones seemed to think he did.

 

[Old Bookaroo]

In my opinion that is the Lost Adams Diggings ("Diggin's"). Technically, of course, it was never a mine. It was, at best, a prospect. A glory hole that may have been rapidly cleaned out.

It would be interesting to search the March 1916 issues of the ​Gallup Independent.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo

 

[jeff of pa]

In my opinion that is the Lost Adams Diggings ("Diggin's"). Technically, of course, it was never a mine. It was, at best, a prospect. A glory hole that may have been rapidly cleaned out.

It would be interesting to search the March 1916 issues of the ​Gallup Independent.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo

Yea ! I don't have Access to ​Gallup Independent.

 

[Old Bookaroo]

Because it was such a common practice for newspapers in the late 19th and early 20th Century to simply copy articles from each other, there's a good chance another paper picked up the story from the Gallup Independent - just as the St. Johns Herald and the Apache News did here. In the next week or so I'll poke around a bit and see what I can come up with.

This article is a nice find!

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo

 

[jeff of pa]

Very Long Full Page Article on the Addams Diggings



El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.), 19 Feb. 1916.



Click Here:

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...ings&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1


Correction:

El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.), 18 March 1916.



https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...ings&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

 

[sdcfia]

Very Long Full Page Article on the Addams Diggings

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...ings&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1


https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...ings&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

I remember obtaining a microfiche printout of this article from the El Paso Public Library back in the 70s and getting hot on the trail in malpais country looking around for the fabulous placer deposit. This of course was over ground that hundreds or thousands had searched with a fine-tooth comb for many decades with no success whatever. It wasn't until much later that I realized that Byerts was way late to the LAD party and that, IMO, his information was seriously flawed. Despite many expert opinions to the contrary, it's my belief that, if it existed as told, the LAD was not located as far north as the Byerts account relates. However, for folks who love adventure yarns, the Byerts account is terrific reading. A pamphlet publication of his account is still available, I believe, and is a good addition to your bookcase.

 

[Old Bookaroo]

sdcfia:

Yes, the Byerts pamphlet is still available. I reprinted it some years ago because copies were unobtainable at the time. Ed Bartholomew ("Jesse Rascoe") wrote me and said he didn't think it existed - that J. Frank Dobie had just made it up. Obviously, that was a rare time when Ed was mistaken. It's a very important piece of the legend. It's not, of course, the whole story. But then, what is?

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo

 

[sdcfia]

sdcfia:

Yes, the Byerts pamphlet is still available. I reprinted it some years ago because copies were unobtainable at the time. Ed Bartholomew ("Jesse Rascoe") wrote me and said he didn't think it existed - that J. Frank Dobie had just made it up. Obviously, that was a rare time when Ed was mistaken. It's a very important piece of the legend. It's not, of course, the whole story. But then, what is?

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo

Thanks for publishing that pamphlet Bookeroo. I also must thank Jack Purcell for providing so much good information in his exceptional The Lost Adams Diggings: Myth, Mystery and Madness. I know that it's become a very pricey purchase these days, but for serious LAD inquirers, Purcell's book is an anchor. [h=1][/h]

 

[Old Bookaroo]

sdcfia: Let me say this about Jack Purcell's book - I wish I'd written it. It is an absolutely essential contribution to the LAD lore.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo

 

[desertdog1]

I believe Adams stated that the diggings were 3 days travel from Fort Wingate....
I read a book written by an old settler in the Reserve NM area who stated that Adams came back to that area(Reserve) and stayed with his family for a period of time while he searched for his long lost mine.
He said Adams never found it and was sad and despondent.

 

[Old Bookaroo]

Was that Old Magdalena Cow Town by Langford Ryan Johnston (1983)? It's a tough title to locate these days - hang onto your copy!

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo

 

[desertdog1]

No...I can't remember the title....It's in the Silver city library.....there were actually 2 different references in 2 different books about Adams coming to the Reserve area and looking for the mine.
The guy must have had a terrible sense of direction....

 

[rickb2202]

Snow lake middle fork of the Gila need a damn good lookin over before I find the end of the trail. Pinos altos and Silver City area have always produced various ores.

 

[sdcfia]

No...I can't remember the title....It's in the Silver city library.....there were actually 2 different references in 2 different books about Adams coming to the Reserve area and looking for the mine.
The guy must have had a terrible sense of direction....

There are some interesting transcripts of early (1940s or 50s, as I remember) audio tapes with old timers in that library. Most are pioneer tales, but there are also a number of treasure-related memories. I can't remember the name of the collection - ask the librarian.

 

[Randy Bradford]

The value - $300,000 - and the allegation that it is a "hidden treasure" seem to indicate that it is something else. The "Adams Diggings" has almost always been described as a placer gold deposit. But ... who knows? Captain Jones seemed to think he did.

Perhaps they're referring to the cache of gold nuggets that were buried near the cabin, according to LAD lore? Not sure where the dollar amount of that would have come from though.