Show RAMBLING THOUGHTS OF A by frank F ank silvey THE LOST JACK WRIGHT MINE i elwe cornes comes a voice that awakens ns my soul li it is the voice of years that are gone they rolf before me with all their deeds ossian back in history from the discovery disco cf ct america there has a ways been st mines and treasures supposedly this is especially true ol 01 of f the great west tile the coming of brig tiam liam young and liis his followers ol lowers to the salt alt lake valley the great stam of the ibers to california in in 49 have left in their wake many stories tori cs of lost mines the lost peg leg T ag mine mine in in the mojave desert in ni california Cai fornia the ben lost mine of arizona and the lost rifle kifle sight Sigh mine tAline the lost jack wright mine the lost jasephine mine all supposedly in or near san juan county utah have caused many a prospector and tenderfoot to search in valli vain or alahn wealth in mother earth i ands tor for years have searched 1 r I the elot peg leg mine in a 3 allf other thousands ands have search ed d forteath for death valey valcy scottys scottye Sc ottys mile mine d in in death valley many prospectors who h aie a ie aca searched ached in vain for these F lest mines have met death ir in the burning heat of the desert some have gone crazy looking for it 1 A while others year after atar A will ill keep up the search all for yc 1 gold GOLD I 1 many mani rt fA illions of words have been n the alp past 40 years about i mi irones I 1 ties but few so called lost milies have aita ever been rediscovered by pros ors all written matter on this s subject has beben more or less highly i colored some writers have been writing wilting on the lost jack wright min q i some local people call it the mine from the fact that dr arh r G daughters DauK liters at present residing rc at los angeles california rear feare chod hd for fo several years for it i the writer ariter knew dr daughters at palisade Co colorado orado in 1305 and 6 and r nd in 1913 in company of the doctor doclot IV C newitt and W H coefield searched searcha cpr i r Ws this mine for two weeks I 1 1 l also liw knew jack wright in 1882 3 i ho fab iff of gus manville dist I vered veed q ln ira august Au u gust rust 1881 the copper silver deposit at lower big indian situated lO lokites mites in a southerly direction c tion from the alie present postoffice post office of la 1 sal S I andi and about bout 25 miles ina north easterly direction from monticello when a boere bere boy in 1882 3 the writer re jack wright as he came for his gis mail weekly at the ad old la sal gil postoffice post office he was from baltimore maryland and was always talking I 1 I 1 about abdiel baltimore and the fish caught near there in it 18 ai jack wright returned to baltimore 6 deserting all his mining 4 aims at lower big indian so named ly by the pioneer prospectors and cowboys as a large red sandstone rock perhaps feet high stood out lo 10 lone ite jy and solemn like a big indian jack wright was next heard of at cripple creek colorado about 1900 to 04 when he ran a hardware store there ile he later moved to palisade and also ran a hardware store jt was during this period that L 11 f dr H G daughters was attending 11 r tack jack wright v right luring during a sick spell and liere here it was the doctor saw a red piece of 01 ore lying on a shelf behind the counter of wrights hardware store stored I 1 ant am g giving N ving as near as possible what the doctor told me in august 1913 when W we C were searching tor for the lost mine the conversation that oc cured where did you get this piece of I 1 ore asked ked the doctor 1 in the la sal mountains and 1 I i thought iame ame 4 day it would be valuable as a pt paint mine and I 1 ha le e sunk a eight feet deep and devel davel 1 a and a half liala foot vert icle vein of ore so someday when there are tetter better reads and cheaper transportation po por tation maybe it will pay as a paint mine nune did pou ever have it assayed for gold eold the doctor asked N no was the reply may afar I 1 have it to send off aff to be ha Aay myed cd the doctor asked ye iye replied wright noti noticing ging the weight of ore abe doctor was very much interest 1 Ire breaking aking the ore in two pieces piece th continued on last page THE LOST JACK WRIGHT M MINK INE continued broili page 11 doctor sent one piece oft off to Bur bartoni toni an assayer of leadville colorado the I 1 other piece to Burlin burlingame garn an assayer of denver deliver colorado to bo be assayed soon the returns came from both assayers and they checked closely and ran in gold to the ton wright seemed surprised and excited and tol clothe doctor 1 I will show I 1 it to you when I 1 get well and we will both be rich jack wright soon became bedfast and dr dau daughters gaters visited him regularly each day and soon saw that wright was not long lone for this world and urged him to raw 9 a k rough map of where the mine was I 1 located and ho hov v to reach it but wright would not do this but kept cutting the doctor off stating we will both go and find it at last the doctor told wright that lie he had a very short time to live and if he wanted to see his folks at baltimore while he be was able to travel he had better go there at once wright stated that he would leave by the 9 train in the mo morning riling for his home again the doctor urged him to tell where the mine was located go to peters spring and turn off you will find it on a sage brush ridge with scattering pinion and cedar trees you can see it for some distance d isi as the red dump shows up plainly I 1 have passed near this a number of times he stated on rny my way from big indian to peters spring taking the cutoff tra on oil fact as I 1 was afraid of indians on oil tle main peters hill trail I 1 will tc cl you more in the morning before I 1 start by train dr daughters tried to see I 1 nt the following morning but was delayed by an emergency case so did net again see wright about two weeks later jack wrights brother came out to grand junction and ana hunted up dr daughters at palisade that ja k hid had reached home but bat had died soon afterwards before death he stated that you could tell me where to look for this rich mine the doctor explained all that he be had learned about where to look for the mine too vague and uncertain tor for me to look for it so it is yours doctor if you can find it that summer and during each summer for a period of ahr three ec years the doctor kept this under his hat and searched first near peters spring then lacky basin and la sal creek district without success during this period he heard of the find by a cowboy with some red ore tied up in a red bandana handkerchief that left peters spring headed for monticello but on the way his horse fell with him breaking his nee neck and killing him instantly st was this a myth the writer thinks it was the following summer the doctor left palisade slid and moved to long beach california where he practised practiced his profession but still wanted to look for the lost jack wright mine A year later he took in a partner who had bad some funds to help look up the lost mine the writer met in et them in lisbon valley in august 1913 and stated that they were looking for homesteads after two days of looking they came to me and said you are an old prospector and cowboy and know this country and we are searching for c r lost anine that thai is the richest in gold in all the west do you want to help us for an interest I 1 replied that I 1 did not go strong on lost mines but would take a chance for a couple of weeks at least W H coefield was then taken in as a partner as he be had saddle horses and pack animals so that we leave the auto and camp ort ont in the hills bills we struck directly for peters spring and camped there about ten days at my suggestion in se arcing we redo four of us abreast lr east about yards apart searching all day long in the boiling sun until at the end of ten days we had covered with at least the eye every rod of ground between peters spring and south canyon also considerable ground west of peters spring each night the doctor would at the campfire go over what jack I 1 wright had told him about the I 1 lost 0 st mine at the end of ten days I 1 v wis satisfied ti I 1 saied that there was no such miria in in the pet peters ewrin sm in liri dielt lt t from rost as a a p pc I 1 had known that rarely ever i gold found in the dachota or lerate crate formation formati forma tim in so I 1 w wis its triou tri ou i I 1 and a so 0 stated blit as a last las cliar anan rn an I 1 would woul id take a trip to t c ute re reservation er at navajo afify aw n vy il 1 interview old time indians viat that h 1 camped at peters deprine az and 1 w nt ed buckskin all over that di tr t what we were looking for was red ore and as the old time indians indian oten nten painted their faces face s with a led hc fc of iron ore and also I 1 think they got their yellow paint fram uranium or ores I 1 thought we might find out something from th ehni m after some trouble we found old wash at first he was suspicious and did not want to talk about peters spring as he had killed in a duel his old friend bridger jack at this spots spot but finally he talked and other old i time Indians no see redrock peters spring so find urn um on ridge near old bill silvey ranch near rattlesnake he be stated I 1 was now fully satisfied but still made inquiries of gus manville 0 old I 1 d time partner of jack wright and mat martin of moab and they stated that i jack wright was a good fellow but I 1 visionary and might dream of a mine 1 dr daughters and his partner soon left for long lone beach california the story of this lost mine was soon circulated with many variations and was to be found in many places from rom the rims of the colorado canyon on the colorado river the blue mountains peters spring big indian and the la sal mountains while in los angeles in 1923 24 25 and 26 1 I visited dr daughters and he still thinks this mine exists and wanted me to keep the location under my hav hat and we would some day in the future find it but for many years I 1 have thought it all a pr prospectors pec pee tors dream and it does not interest me in the least today so far as searching for it any more I 1 will it is time thrown away |