Lost Rhoads Mines

I have been reading about the Rhoads mines and the information has my head spinning. This may be an impractical question but is there any idea of about how many there were? I was surprised when I searched the entire forum there were no posts. Is this dead subject that has been discussed to many times over?

I am reading ?Footprints in the Wilderness? and I am fascinated with not only the man himself but with the stories, the friendship he had with the Indians, his exploration of new mines, and the fact that he took only what he needed for himself, family, church and community, which was a wise choice and probably why the Indians trusted him and then his son Caleb. I don?t seem to find any mention if the gold that he would bring back from his treks into the mountains and back to the church was already refined or not. Is there any?
I am curious though if the Indians went to so much time and trouble to conceal their mines to protect the gold, why they would show him where so many others were as they already had an agreement of gold for the church out of the sacred mine. It is a bit hard to believe they would protect some and not all considering how they were unfairly enslaved by the Spanish to work the mines. Could they have been empty and were those the ones Caleb was getting the land rights to so he could start mining them? Also, why did Chief Tabby then deny him access to the sacred mine. Where ever his most lucrative mines were they would have to be close for him to leave and return in such a short time I would think. I may be able to answer my own questions as I read further into the book but I thought I would ask.

I am interested in finding a few good books that have the meanings of Spanish symbols as there are many out there and maybe someone knows of a few good ones already.


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GoldDigger1950;

Sorry, you have the Eurocentral concept of ownership and it is erroneous.

Although they did value the land it is almost universal that native north Americans (hardly Indians) had the belief no one person could nor should own land. It was like air, or water.

I think they were more fearful of the "spirit" they believed lived in the mountain.

That gold is likely there, but it may be risky, to locate, even off of native lands.

I seem to accidentally have a duplication, in uploads, although I managed one correction. Read it twice, if you like. 

goldigger


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The American Indian's concept of land use, not ownership, is what I was discussing Goldigger. I used the landowner statement as an analogy for the concept to be applied to a European ownership thinker. I asked him to imagine that his land was invaded by people who he first trusted as fellow journeymen on this world of ours. Once bitten . . . and all that. That was the very reason the mine locations became a guarded secret.

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Goldigger, do you know what an analogy is?

Why do you presume I am European?

There are flaws in this discussion, mate. Serious flaws. The American Indian did not want the European slave masters to find any more mines. I used an ANALOGY to describe it to a person who asked why they did it. End of story.

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Well look at that I am gone for a day?.

I think I may not have used the correct words, and may have only thought them, instead of including them. I wasn?t intending to sound like a European ownership thinker and though I guess I did, I?m not completely sure how? What I was asking about were not my own views but a quick thought of what I had read and possibly miss understood.

I am familiar with the belief the Indians had then when it came to the land and didn?t intend to imply otherwise. I understand why the Indians had no reservations in showing the Spanish Explorers what was simply an abundant and malleable metal. After the occupation by the Spanish, of course secrecy of the mines locations to future people would be wise. Yes. That is why I was trying to ask about the trust they had for the Rhoads. How much was trust and how much was based on religious views and as to why Chief Tabby decided to no longer allow access to the sacred mine. I believe ultimately the access to the sacred mine was left up to the spirit of the mountain and Tabby was mealy advising not to continue to remove gold from there.

Interesting maps goldigger, these are supposed to be to the sacred mine that the Rhodes obtained the gold from for the church? I am going to try and locate that book this weekend. By a brief description it says the cavern was cursed by the Aztecs and guarded by the Indians. I am curious about that. It would not surprise me one bit if there is much more than gold buried in the mountain.  I don?t think gold was the most valuable item to the Aztecs or Indians.


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