The area surrounding Nelson and Eldorado Canyon was first home to the ancient Ancient Puebloan Indians, and later the Paiutes and Mojave tribes. Living peacefully for hundred of years, the Indians were intruded upon in 1775, when the Spaniards arrived in the canyon in their constant quest for gold. Founding a small settlement at the mouth of the Colorado River, they called it Eldorado. However, these early Spaniards somehow missed the rich gold veins just beneath the canyon?s flanks, finding silver instead. They soon found that the silver was not in high enough quantities to justify their operations, and moved on.
Seventy-five years later, in the 1850s, a new breed of prospectors began sluicing the many streams feeding into the Colorado River.
For a few years, the miners were able to keep their gold find a relative secret due to the remoteness of the area. However, this all changed in 1858 when the first steamboats began to make their way up the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. Before long, word spread and miners began to flood the area.
By 1861 miners had discovered the Salvage Vein about five miles up from the Colorado River. The rich, vertically stacked ribbon of gold ran through a steep ridge along one side of the canyon. The miners began at the top of a high hill, cutting down into the vein. Before long, several of the miners formed the Techatticup Mine, supposedly through a series of shady dealings. The name derives from the Paiute Indian word for hungry, a term often heard by early settlers from the starving Indians inhabiting the dry hills. The Techatticup Mine was once owned by Senator George Hearst of California, father of William Randolph Hearst of publishing fame.
Linkback: You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login
http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,21871.msg151414.html#msg151414
|
|
Logged
|
If you believe everything you read you are reading to much.
Treasure is a Harsh Mistress
|
