Arizona's Lost Flannigan Mine (Part 3)

(Colorado Desert near Yuma, Arizona.)

Here is the final part of the legend of Flannigan's lost gold:

Panic in the Gila Mountain Wilderness

After Flannigan's discovery of a rich placer and two substantial gold veins in the heart of the Gila River Mountains, the 3 soldiers gathered up as much gold as they could carry, stuffing the yellow metal into every pocket, crook, and cranny of their saddles and gear. They then filled their canteens and headed back the way they had come.

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However, after hours of following what they thought was the circuitous route they had taken deep inside the Gila River Mountain wilderness, Crossthwaite, Flannigan, and Wormley realized they were hopelessly lost. Fearful that they would be discovered by Apaches, the 3 men did the worst thing possible under the circumstances. They panicked.

Mutiny in the Ranks

They soon found themselves bickering and arguing about what to do and which direction they should follow. Crossthwaite tried to pull his sergeant's rank on the 2 privates but Wormley drew his side arm and threatened to kill him.

Cursing Wormley and Flannigan and threatening to have them both court martialed if the men ever made it back safely to Gila Bend, Crossthwaite galloped off on his own. He was never seen again.

On the Verge of Breakdown

After days of fruitless wandering in exceptionally high temperatures, Flannigan and Wormley ran out of water. Dehydrated and exhausted, both men were on the verge of breaking down physically and mentally, with Wormley babbling incoherently and hallucinating.

The only thing that saved both men was Flannigan's resolve to survive and to ensure Wormley's survival as well. Through sheer determination and a bit of luck both soldiers eventually made it back to Gila Bend, but Wormley had lost his mind by this point. He never recovered.

Search Expeditions Draw a Blank

The gold the men carried back with them created a huge stir but the Apache threat at the time was so serious that even those with the worst cases of gold fever were fearful of leaving the safety of Gila Bend. It wasn't until many years later that ex-cavalry private Flannigan organized an expedition to search for his lost gold.

That expedition drew a blank, as did a number of subsequent attempts by Flannigan to locate the rich placer and ledges of gold the 3 soldiers had found in the Gila River Mountains. Over the intervening years many others tried to find Flannigan's Lost Mine but were also unsuccessful.

A Variant Legend Near Yuma?

This lost mine legend has its merits and further research should establish whether the key players (Sergeant Crossthwaite and Privates Flannigan and Wormley) ever existed and were on U.S. Army records. Ditto for Abner McKeever and his daughter Belle whose abduction by an Apache raiding party started the whole mess (by the way, as far as I can determine Belle was never found).

One variant of the legend of the Lost Flannigan Mine has Sergeant Crossthwaite eventually making his way out of the Gila River Mountains and across the Colorado Desert to a location just outside Yuma, Arizona where he expired. Taking this a step further, some believe the entire legend is based in the desert mountains outside Yuma and along the Colorado River, where many rich gold placers and lode mines were later discovered.

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Speculation Only

However, this is speculation only and I tend to doubt this one. Why?

I used to work dry gold placer claims on both sides of the Colorado River near Yuma and once you are away from the river itself there is virtually no above-ground water of any consequence to be found in the nearby hills and mountains, which have the overall appearance of a moonscape since they are so harsh and barren. A running stream and a large pool of water (key components to the Lost Flannigan Mine legend) just don't fit the local topography.

However, it is possible that Sergeant Crossthwaite could have become dazed and disoriented enough to head toward Yuma and the Colorado River across many miles of searing desert. If so, there's small fortune in gold buried alongside human and horse bones....

Good hunting out there.

If you liked this post, you may want to read: "Arizona's Lost Flannigan Mine (Part 2)"

http://treasuretrovegold.blogspot.com/2009/08/arizonas-lost-flannigan-mine-part-2.html

(c) J.R. 2009

Questions? E-mail me at jr872vt90@yahoo.com

Arizona's Lost Flannigan Mine (Part 2)

(A small part of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona.)

I now continue with the legend of Arizona's Lost Flannigan Mine:

A 3-Man Search Party

Of the various scouting and search parties that set out into the Sonoran Desert to attempt to find Belle McKeever one of the smallest was the 3-man party headed up by a U.S. Army Sargeant named Crossthwaite (sometimes spelled Crosswaithe). Accompanying Crossthwaite on this perilous mission were Privates Wormley and Flannigan.

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The 3 soldiers saddled up and headed north into the Gila Bend Mountain wilderness where signs indicated that the Apache raiding party had headed that direction. However, once they found themselves deep within the Gila Bend Mountains the soldiers found that all traces and signs had vanished, just like the marauders themselves.

A Shallow Pool Near Craggy Hills

With night coming on quickly and fearful that they themselves would be next on the Apache's "hit list," the 3 men laagered in near a broad shallow pool that had formed along a small stream that flowed down from a series of craggy hills a short distance away. There they spent a sleepless night without fire or hot food to ease their fear and discomfort.

At daybreak the 3 soldiers began gathering up their gear and made preparations for a hasty departure. When the sun was high enough to see clearly Private Flannigan noticed that the bedrock lining the pool was littered with lots of yellowish pebbles and sand and decided to take a closer look.

"Gold Boys, and Lots of It!"

Flannigan bent down and retrieved a small yellow pebble from the pool. It felt quite heavy in the palm of his hand. As he examined the pebble more closely Flannigan could see that it had an even, golden lustre and metallic appearance.

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With trembling hands he placed his find on a flat rock nearby and then struck it hard with another, heavier piece of rock. The small yellow pebble had flattened out. "Gold boys, and lots of it!" cried Flannigan.

2 Veins Rich with Gold

But Flannigan's discovery of a rich placer containing gold nuggets and flakes was just the beginning. Just a short distance upstream on the side of a small hill Flannigan also found 2 quartz veins shot through and through with free-milling gold.

One vein was about 6 inches wide while the other was easily wider than a measured foot. Each vein was eroding out where it was exposed to the elements and a trail of gold "float" was scattered along a direct pathway to the nearby stream. The exposed veins were the source of the stream's placer and were rich with gold.

I'll tell you how Private Flannigan's extraordinary discovery was lost in my next post in this series. Until then, be safe and happy hunting!

Costplustools

If you liked this post, you may want to read: "Arizona's Lost Flannigan Mine (Part 1)"

http://treasuretrovegold.blogspot.com/2009/08/arizonas-lost-flannigan-mine-part-1.html

(c) J.R. 2009

Questions? E-mail me at jr872vt90@yahoo.com

Arizona's Lost Flannigan Mine (Part 1)

(Arizona's Gila River Region.)

Still a Hostile Land

Arizona's Gila River region traverses the state from east to west and covers a considerable chunk of territory. However, the setting of this tale of lost gold concerns a much smaller section of the region that is essentially "sandwiched" between the Arizona communities of Gila Bend (not shown on this map) and the border town of Yuma which sits just across the Colorado River from Winterhaven, California.

I know this area well, having travelled it by motor vehicle on countless occasions over the years and by virtue of the fact that, for a number of years, I worked gold placer claims on both the California and Arizona sides of the Colorado River. Despite its harsh beauty, this area of the Sonoran and Colorado Deserts is still a hostile land that can be fatal to those who travel unprepared or become lost inside it.

Costplustools

Legend or Plain Fact?

The harshness of this region is a prime contributor to the legend of the Lost Flannigan Mine, which in truth, may not be legend at all, but plain fact. There is much merit to this tale as you will soon see.

Does Arizona's Lost Flannigan Mine truly exist? I myself tend to believe it does (and I am not given to being a "lost mine" addict). But in the final analysis I am only the messenger here and it is you, the reader, who must decide whether untold riches in lost lode and placer gold lay hidden within the confines of this unforgiving region.

The Search for Belle McKeever Begins

In 1869, not far from present-day Gila Bend marauding Apaches attacked the hardscrabble homestead of one Abner McKeever driving away his few horses and carrying off his daughter Belle. After the raid, the hostiles wasted no time heading north into the rugged wastes of the Gila Bend Mountains.

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During the heydays of the Wild West the abduction of so-called "white" women and children from their homes or wagon trains by natives was considered one of the worst criminal offenses anyone could commit and all available resources were employed to locate the abductees and mete out severe punishment to the offenders. Thus, not long after Belle's abduction a number of civilian and military scouting and search parties set out to find her.

In my next post on the Lost Flannigan Mine I'll tell you how one small search party consisting of 3 men stumbled across untold riches in natural gold. Until then........good hunting!

If you liked this post, you may want to read: "Library of Congress Treasure Maps (List 1)"

http://treasuretrovegold.blogspot.com/2009/08/library-of-congress-treasure-maps-list.html

(c) J.R. 2009

Questions? E-mail me at jr872vt90@yahoo.com

Library of Congress Treasure Maps (List 1)

Some Treasure Maps Contain Valuable Information

Although I personally don't place much value in treasure maps per se, there are any number of maps available in the U.S. Library of Congress that do contain valuable information for the discerning researcher and treasure hunter. Some of these were produced by state and Federal agencies, while others were produced by private individuals.

Treasure Hunting

In this post (and subsequent posts) I will list those treasure maps I think may hold real value for treasure hunters:

"A Chart of the Spanish Main." Produced by the Boston Herald Traveler Corporation. Date: 1933. Scale: 1:10,700,000. Size: 9 1/2" x 11 1/2." This map of the Caribbean from southern Florida to Panama and Trinidad was printed in the Boston Herald. The map itself shows the locations of 10 sunken treasure sites dating from 1610-1812. Map Number: G4391.E75 1933.A5a Map 55-573.

"Oklahoma's Buried Treasures." This is a compilation from various sources. Date: 1960. Scale: 1:3,041,180. Size: 17 1/2" x 12." This pictorial map shows the locations of nearly 50 Sooner State treasure sites from 1723-1930 with descriptive notes included. Map Number: G4021.E75 1960.J6.

"Ye True Chart of Pirate Treasure Lost or Hidden in the Land and Waters of Florida" This is an illustrated map that is highly decorated and colorful. Date: 1950. Scale: 1:1,393,000. Size: 17" x 19 1/2." This map includes the names, places, and ships associated with the listed treasure sites as well as the potential values of the troves. Map Number: G3930.A5 1950.S21 Map 50-686.

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"Treasure Map of the Southwest United States." Just as it says, a map of treasure troves in the Southwestern U.S. Date: 1952. Scale: 1:9,900,000 (note one inch equals 80 miles). Size: 12 1/2" x 14." This one covers Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana, showing 100 treasure locations from 1598-1936. Map Number: G4051.E75 1952.A51 Map 54-250.

"Arizona's Lost Mines, Ghost Towns, and Frontier Military Forts." This is a pictorial map containing locations that may prove highly beneficial to researchers and treasure hunters. Date: 1963. Scale: 1:1,248,000. Size: 29" x 23." This map's accompanying legend includes symbols/locations for lost mines, ghost towns, old mines and mining areas, and old military forts and installations. Map Number: G4331.A5 1963.T6.

"Mining Camps and Ghost Towns of Arizona, Nevada, and California." Shows major modern cities, still active towns, and ghost towns. Date: 1962. Scale: 1:3,200,000. Size: 20" x 25 1/2." This map includes a bit of historical text and views of Gleeson, Arizona; White Hills, Arizona; Calico, California; and Goldfield, Nevada. Map Number: G4304.Al 1962.B8.

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You have probably noted that most of these maps are dated. But it's important to understand that older maps may show locales or contain valuable information not found in current, more modern maps.

You can access the Library of Congress homepage via this link: http://www.loc.gov/index.html

Good hunting.

If you liked this post, you may want to read: "Finding the 1715 Treasure Fleet: Kip Wagner's Story"

http://treasuretrovegold.blogspot.com/2009/08/finding-1715-spanish-treasure-fleet-kip_13.html

(c) J.R. 2009

Questions? E-mail me at jr872vt90@yahoo.com

Finding the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet: Kip Wagner's Story (Part 2)

(Kip Wagner and the original Real Eight Company dive crew.)

Wagner Wins a State Lease

After some serious researching using his new-found materials on the 1715 "Plate" Fleet disaster, Kip Wagner found what he believed to be the shore-side camp the Spaniards used as a base for early recovery operations. In 1958 Wagner won a lease from the State of Florida and shortly thereafter began clearing the land with heavy equipment and using an excavator to sort and screen sand and earth he believed might contain artifacts or treasure that had been washed ashore.

Kip's salvage lease with the state included the 50-mile area from Sebastian Inlet to just short of Stuart, Florida. The state treasurer's office would get a 25% cut of any "goodies" recovered while Kip would receive the lion's share of 75% (Note: Things have surely changed with split deals like this over the past 50 years. The state and Federal bureaucrats rarely work this cheaply any longer. J.R.).

Treasure Hunting

Formation of the Real Eight Company

Kip Wagner soon realized that the task of treasure research and recovery that lay ahead of him was far too extensive for one or even two persons to accomplish. He needed investors to contribute hard cash to his treasure hunting kitty as well as the contributed or get paid-as-you-go services of experienced divers, boat captains, and equipment operators if he stood any chance at all of finding and recovering the staggering amounts of treasure contained in the wrecks of the 1715 "Plate" Fleet.

By the winter of 1959 Wagner had assembled a team of associated that soon became known as the Real Eight Company. After renting a WWII surplus "Liberty" boat, Kip and the Real Eight crew got their feet wet by working an unnamed wreck and then moved on to what they termed the "Cabin Wreck" in Sebastien Inlet.

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Persistence Pays Off

Kip Wagner and the rest of the Real Eight Company gang kept working the "Cabin Wreck" with little success, although a few artifacts and Spanish coins dated 1715 were recovered from the site. But things changed in early 1961 when Real Eight Company divers located numerous cannons from the 1715 "Plate Fleet" and thousands upon thousands of 1715 mint-marked Spanish silver reales in the area around the "Cabin Wreck."

However, one of the most spectacular Real Eight Company recoveries occurred not on the "Cabin Wreck" site but along the nearby shore as Kip Wagner was beach hunting with his nephew Rex. After a few hours of fruitless searching, Rex detected and uncovered a beautiful hand-worked gold chain nearly 11 feet long (Note: The Spanish used links from chains like this as a form of "cash" in many instances, thus the excessive length. J.R.) with an attached gold bosun's whistle shaped like a dragon.

This beautiful and historic item alone brought Real Eight $55,000 at auction and proved to be the single most valuable artifact of the 1715 "Plate" Fleet recovered up to that time. By the winter of 1965 Kip Wagner and the Real Eight Company (along with help from Mel Fisher's Treasure Salvors Company) had recovered vast amounts of Spanish silver coins and bullion "wedges," scattered amounts of gold escudos and miscellaneous gold items, as well as many historic artifacts that were once part of the 1715 fleet.

Treasure Hunter Turned Millionaire

Kip Wagner was the first American treasure hunter to become a millionaire recovering lost treasure from old Spanish shipwrecks. Eventually the Real Eight Company would make other significant finds and recoveries, as well as establishing a treasure hunting museum.

Wagner himself died in 1972, but the legend lives on. Kip and the Real Eight Company set the bar for all the shallow water treasure hunters to follow, and his contributions to the realm of treasure research and recovery were nothing short of extraordinary.

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Good hunting to one and all.

If you liked this post, you may want to read: "Finding the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet: Kip Wagner's Story (Part 1)"

http://treasuretrovegold.blogspot.com/2009/08/finding-1715-spanish-treasure-fleet-kip.html

(c) J.R. 2009

Questions? E-mail me at jr872vt90@yahoo.com

Finding the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet: Kip Wagner's Story (Part 1)

(The late Kip Wagner finding Spanish silver with a WWII surplus metal detector.)

Introduction

There are a number of Americans whose activities (past and present) in treasure hunting have made significant contributions in areas such as treasure research methods, the development and implementation of new treasure hunting technologies, and the overall importance of their individual finds and recoveries. Kip Wagner was one of these legendary treasure hunters:

Wabasso and Sebastien Inlet

Kip Wagner was born in Ohio 1906 and as a young man followed his father's footsteps into the home construction business. During the 1920s Kip and and his brother made a number of driving trips along the Florida coast and during one of these expeditions Kip fell in love with the tiny beach hamlet of Wabasso (about 12 miles from Vero Beach, Florida).

Treasure Hunting

Not long after the end of Word War II Kip moved his construction business (as well as his wife and son) down to Wabasso to start a new life. One day a friend of Kip's told him that after strong storms beachcombers often found old Spanish silver coins scattered about the sands of local beaches, especially the stretch of beach between Wabasso and nearby Sebastien Inlet.

Silver Reales on the Beach

Although somewhat skeptical, when the next storm came through the Wabasso/Sebastien Inlet area Kip found himself prowling local beaches for Spanish silver. He had passed a number of blackened discs by until a friend pointed out that they were oxidized silver coins.

When Kip cleaned his recoveries he realized that they were all Spanish silver reales dated 1715. After speaking with friends who had been recovering similar coins for years Kip realized that their finds were also dated 1715, and that's when his treasure hunting curiosity was piqued.

The 1715 "Plate" Fleet

Kip began researching old Spanish shipwreck histories and soon was introduced to Dr. Kip (yes, another Kip) Kelso who was legendary for his knowledge of the Spanish Colonial era in Florida and the Caribbean. It was Kelso who showed Kip an old map showing the estimated location of the wrecks of the Spanish treasure fleet that went down off Sebastien Inlet in 1715.

This lost treasure fleet, also known as the 1715 "Plate" Fleet, carried an estimated $20,000,000 in silver and gold coin and artifacts (Note: The overall value of the 1715 "Plate" Fleet treasure would be exponentially higher at today's precious metals and numismatic prices. J.R.). Once Kip and Dr. Kelso realized the significance of the wrecks off Sebastien Inlet and their treasure potential, they spent a year researching and translating old documents from the Spanish Maritime Archives in Seville.

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I'll continue with Kip Wagner's story in my next post. Until then, be safe and good hunting.

If you liked this post, you may want to read: "Treasure on Lake Superior: the Hermit Island Caches (Part 2)"

http://treasuretrovegold.blogspot.com/2009/07/treasure-on-lake-superior-hermit-island_31.html

(c) J.R. 2009

Questions? E-mail me at jr872vt90@yahoo.com