Lost Gold and Silver Nuggets in Michigan's Huron Mountains?

(Michigan's Huron Mountain region.)

I thought I'd give you my perspective on this tale of lost gold and silver nuggets in Michigan's Huron Mountain region because there may be cause to consider this one as valid while, at the same time, it contains a glaring inconsistency in my eyes. Bear with me though, because in the end you'll be the judge of whether the Huron Mountains still hold a king's ransom in natural precious metals.

"Touched in the Head"

In the late1880s a well-respected and hard-working lumberjack named Jack Driscoll suddenly quit his job cutting trees in the Huron Mountains and headed further into the boonies with an outfit more reminiscent of an old-time prospector than a tree feller. Some of his friends thought Jack had become a bit "touched in the head" until he started tossing around nuggets of gold and silver in L'Anse, Michigan to pay for his supplies.

Treasure Hunting
Gold Pans

Of course, this display of new-found wealth did not go unnoticed by the locals. They cajoled, pressured, and even tried following Jack to the source of his gold and silver but all their efforts failed. Things would then die down a bit until the next time Jack rolled into L'Anse laden with more precious metals. This cycle repeated itself over and over until most of the local citizenry gave up trying to find the source of Driscoll's riches.

Parts of Michigan are Highly Mineralized

Jack Driscoll continued his forays deep into the Huron Mountains for quite a few years. Early one spring, Jack's harsh lifestyle got the best of him and he came down with pneumonia. He died alone in a boarding house in L'Anse without ever revealing where his gold and silver "mine" was located.

 (Michigan placer gold.)

Many people believe that the source of Driscoll's gold and silver was near the headwaters of the Yellowdog River some 25-30 miles east of L'Anse. Whether this area contains gold and silver mineralization is open to debate but there is no doubt at all that parts of Michigan are highly mineralized with copper, iron, and some gold and silver.

Did Jack Hit the "Big One?"

Carhartt Wear
Wolverine Boots

That said, here's the fly in the ointment in this treasure tale. Silver is rarely found in the form of alluvial or placer nuggets, like gold is. Although both forms of precious metal can (and do) erode out of vein matrices, I can't think of one instance where silver was mined in the United States in placer form...and I've been a small-scale gold miner for over 30 years now.

So did Jack Driscoll hit the "big one" somewhere in the Hurons? It's quite possible...but any silver he may have found was not in nugget form. If you're in Michigan and have a prospector's or miner's eye, then you may want to satisfy your own curiosity about this one...

Good hunting out there.

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

(c)  Jim Rocha (J.R.)  2011

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

Old Taverns and Roadhouses Can Produce Great Finds

(Old stone tavern.)

Sites That are Often Overlooked

Although it’s been some years since I worked one of them, the sites of old taverns and roadhouses can produce some great coin, relic, and small cache finds. What’s also interesting is that in many instances these sorts of sites are often overlooked by coin, relic, and treasure hunters.

Strapworks.com - any strap, any length, any color!

Old taverns are pretty much self-defined in terms of what they were and the sort of services they provided. Going way back in history, taverns were mostly meeting places and locations where one might purchase a drink (or two or three), a meal, and/or lodging for the night.

Roadhouses Offered Various Services

Most of you out there are probably too young (lucky you!) to remember what roadhouses were. They typically offered a combination of various services much like taverns, with the main exception being a filling or gasoline station in addition to meals and lodging, and at times entertainment, dances, and on occasion...prostitutes.

Treasure Hunting
Metal Detectors

Although taverns in their most basic form still exist today, roadhouses have virtually disappeared in the United States, for the most part. They had their heyday in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, especially in more rural settings.

Key to Good Finds

The key to why good finds can be had at both types of locations is twofold:

1. They both had good “foot traffic (anytime people gather or congregate “goodies” will be lost or stashed).

2. They both served alcohol (anytime people are drinking or getting drunk, the lost “goodie” factor increases exponentially).

Jackpots of Old Coins

Back in the 1980s I had the great good fortune to gain permission from land owners to access both types of venues at two separate locations in rural Virginia. The amount of old coins I recovered using my trust Garrett Deepseeker VLF/TR was nothing short of staggering and included Seated Liberty, Barber, and Standing Liberty silver of various denominations as well as numerous old pennies (an 1852 large cent was the oldest).

(Roadhouse style tavern.)

One of the biggest jackpots of old coins I recovered was along an old carriage (and later an auto) parking area where those seeking a drink or two would park their conveyances. Later, after they had a good “load of steam on” and decided to find their way home, the drunks would roll out into this area dropping numerous personal items and coins along the way. Find a spot like this and you’ll be in coin hunting heaven!

Best to you all and as always, good hunting.

If you liked this post, you may want to read: “Waybill to Lampson's Lost Gold (Part 1)"

(c)  Jim Rocha (J.R.)  2011
 
Questions? E-mail me at jr872vt90@yahoo.com

Alien Gold, 200-Pound Nuggets, and Other Treasure "Oddities"

 ("Stay away from our gold!")

 Most of My E-Mails are Down-to-Earth

I get quite a few e-mails from treasure hunters, loyal readers, and or those who simply ended up at "Treasure Trove Dreams" for one reason or another. Most of these missives are pretty down-to-earth but every now and then I get one or another that make me sit back, take a long, deep breath, and shake my head in wonderment.

Treasure Hunting
Metal Detectors

These sorts of e-mails are never threatening like those sent me by "crazy is as crazy does" types, but they certainly are unique. With that in mind, I thought I'd share a few of these with you unedited except for last names, addresses, and phone numbers.

Alien Gold?

I received this highly intriguing e-mail from Michael who resides in Arizona:

"Dear J.R.,"

"This may sound crazy; I know; but you might know already that UFOS are all over Arizona these days. Why all this action? One thing is this; Arizona has lots of old gold and silver mines. There are many old mine tunnels and shafts and these make good hideing places. Based on many years of reserch I believe aleens have been coming to earth for a long time; but NOT TO KIDNAP people!! NO. They are using old mines to hide gold and other precous metals that they mine in space at other planets and sistems. Because of this, there is large fortunes to be MADE!! If intersted, call or write me and I will tell more."

Hooo boy!...No, I have not contacted Michael nor am I likely to anytime soon. I wish him well though. Those of you living in Arizona who have a taste for "alien gold" may want to start checking those old mine sites out one more time, just to play safe. Oh, one more thing...if you get caught, please don't tell those little grays with the big black eyes that I put you onto their troves OK?!

200-Pound Nuggets in Maine

"I need some help, you or thru your connections may be able to work with me to recover natural gold in the state of Maine.  What I need are the right people who are honest and trustworthy, no money.  This is not any type of scam as I am a complete novice as to all rule, regulations, and negotiating regarding gold mining.  Plus, once i reveal what I have I am the one that could get shafted.  I am now 84 and  its enough to say I have spent a great amount of time perfecting what I do which is private, but based on scientific principals, even though I consider what I do as a gift." 

("Lemme at that gold!")

"My walking is limited which means I am grounded as to any field work.  That is why I am reaching out by email to find the right people to help me.  I hope you have an open mind should I talk to further.  At the moment I have 3 locations in Maine, one which can be checked out and recovered fairly easily.  First is a glass jar full of gold nuggets buried @ 2 ft. along the banks of the Swift River my GPS will lead you right to it.  The second is a huge nugget location (estimate 200 lbs.) at a location on Flagstaff Lake also marked by GPS but, may be on private property, thus wheel and deal with a landowner may be needed."   

"Third is the mother lode of gold they have been looking for, for years behind the village of Eustis, this is the big one and any deal would have to be airtight.    Looks as though it might be on a potato farm.  The bottom line here is I will never do this alone and I hope to find the right people to prove all.  Below is my info."

My first reaction to this one was, "yeah right." But there are two possible interpretations of this message: 1. It has scam written all over it. Typically any time someone makes unsubstantiated, grandiose claims like this and then in the same breath tells you that 'this is no scam' and he or she requires 'no money' or investment is actually lying his or her butt off. That's theory one.

Wolverine Boots
Dickies Work Clothes

2. Theory two is that this may indeed be an old timer who's a "dowser" or "long-range" treasure finder who has developed what he thinks is a new method or technique for getting the gold. Trouble is, I don't believe in dowsing for precious metals nor in the ability of people or their expensive "treasure locators" to locate gold remotely. Duh. Finally, I've been a small-scale gold miner for over 30 years and if there is (or ever was) a 200-troy pound gold nugget in Maine (or anywhere else in New England, for that matter) then hound dogs really do fly, right alongside pigs!

Be safe out there.

If you liked this post, you may want to read: "Crazy Is as Crazy Does"

(c)  Jim Rocha (J.R.)  2011

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

Gold and Poverty at All-Time Highs

I Feel Compelled to Speak

I hope you'll forgive me here if I digress a bit and speak plainly about something that bothers me deeply. That is, simply put, that the spot price of gold and poverty in the United States are both at all-time highs.

If you are reading this and you can't see the irony in this sad fact, then I suggest you not read any further because what I have to say won't interest you and obviously won't register with you either. That's OK friend, because you have the right to come here for solid info on treasure hunting, and not my personal perspectives or viewpoints. But I feel compelled to speak out here just the same.

Elements of Truth

Let me ask you this, my treasure hunting brothers and sisters. How is it that we, the United States of America, once the richest nation on earth, came to this pass? How did a nation that was once lifted up and transformed by exploration, sacrifice, and plain old hard work (including the search for and mining of precious metals) end up with tens of millions of children living in poverty?

OK, I already know the easy answers:

"Too many lazy welfare bums slurping like pigs at the government trough."

"Too many illegals clogging the system."

"Too much incentive not to work and instead just take food stamps, unemployment checks, and the rest of that welfare gravy train."

"Too many kids having kids."

"Too many single-parent households."

"Too much alcohol and drug addiction."

"Too many Democrats, liberals, and lefties pushing their socialist agendas."

"Too many good ol' boy, robber-baron Republicans in office."

These are just a few reasons among many and yes, they all contain strong elements of truth. But they alone are NOT responsible for this disheartening dichotomy...no, not by a long shot. These reasons alone have not brought us to this pass as a people and as a nation.

Kids Have no Choice

You know, it may sound terrible, but I don't care about adults. We are supposed to be able to take care of ourselves and assume responsibility for our actions. (Good luck with that last one in this day and age.)

But kids have no choice in the matter...they are victimized either way and it doesn't matter a lick in hell if their parents (for lack of a better term) are black, white, brown, yellow, red, or Democrats, Republicans, leftists, socialists, independents, right-wing nuts, employed or unemployed. Kids end up taking the heat for the failures of adults...

A Long Time Coming

So here we are, it's nearly 2012, and gold has never been more valuable than it is today and more children live in poverty here in the good ol'  U.S. of A. than ever before in recent history. Yes, many things are responsible for this...but what about greed? What about the prevailing attitude of "something for nothing?" What about selfishness, lies, and manipulation? What about so-called public servants who line their own political nests without thought one for the impact their thievery and self-aggrandizement will have on children today and those generations to come? What about them?

We didn't get here overnight...this toll has been a long time coming. Gold never loses its lustre no matter what's thrown its way or how hard it's handled. Children don't have that luxury.

Gold help us if we, as a nation, don't start realizing what is truly golden, what is truly of value...

(c)  Jim Rocha (J.R.)  2011

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

West Virginia Troves Worth a Second Look

 

(Old hotel ruins near Minehaha Springs, West Virginia.)

Here are a couple of treasure troves in West Virginia that are still kicking around out there. One has to do with man-made gold and silver while the other deals with gold in its natural state:

“We Got Lots More”
Up until the mid 1940s John Kelly and his extended family lived and worked on ground just west of Minehaha Springs in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. The Kellys were hard working and industrious, and did very well for themselves, considering the times.

Gold Pans

At one point in the 1930s a cattle buyer traveled to the Kelly farm to conclude a transaction. When change was needed to finalize the deal, John Kelly’s brother presented a metal bucket filled to the brim with both silver and gold coins of various denominations.

When the buyer expressed his surprise over the amount of coins in the bucket John Kelly’s brother quipped back, “Heck, that ain’t nothin’. Back in the house we got lots more hid inside an ol’ log.”

Worth Checking Out
When John Kelly died in 1945, no one ever mentioned these coins being recovered, either by family members or anyone else for that matter. With a bit of research you can probably pinpoint the old Kelly farm quite easily (but be advised it remains private property).

Are the Kelly house and the old log stuffed with silver and gold coins still there? It’s anyone’s guess, but this one’s worth checking out. Maybe you can work a deal with the current owner.

Mini-Gold Rush
Although the Appalachian Mountains have been producers of large amounts gold (and some silver) in other southeastern states, West Virginia has not been noted for either. But natural gold in low-grade ores has been found near Porterwood in Ritchie County, West Virginia as well as two other locations.
Treasure Hunting

A mini-gold “rush” ensued in 1927 when the Porterwood or Sissaboo Hollow “strike” was announced, but the frenzy soon subsided. It seems the ore was so low-grade as to be commercially unfeasible.

As a long-time gold prospector and miner I know I’d be checking this ore out myself if I were in West Virginia. What was commercially “unfeasible” when gold was only $16.00 a troy ounce would be a totally different ballgame with gold at $1,400.00-$1,500 an ounce!

Good hunting.

If you liked this post, you may want to read: “‘Top10’ U.S. Gold Coins (Introduction)”

© Jim Rocha (J.R.) 2011

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

"Don'ts" for Novice Treasure Hunters (Part 2)

(Don't want to do your own treasure research? Hire a PhD.!)

Here's my second installment on what NOT to do if you're a novice treasure hunter:

4. Don't depend on others to do your research for you. Unless you're part of a big-time treasure hunting corporation or expedition that can afford to hire PhD. historians or archaeologists as researchers, you'll need to do this sort of grunt work yourself. Yes, it's painstaking, tedious, and sometimes frustrating work, but if you don't do your own research, who will? Are you just going to accept everything you've read about a trove in a book or online (including here at "Treasure Trove Dreams") as hard fact and proceed accordingly? I surely hope not. Besides, each of us is a distinct and unique individual with different perceptions and abilities to dig through the crap to find a potential diamond in the rough.Your own research might reveal one small detail that others missed along the way, and that small detail just may be the one to make you a very rich man or woman.

Treasure Hunting

5. Don't believe everything you read or hear. I've touched on this one before, but I can't stress its importance enough to you. Much of what you read or hear in treasure hunting circles is based on half-baked facts, ego-driven BS, and copious amounts of misdirection. This latter element is bigger factor than most of you out there realize and is commonly practiced by experienced treasure hunters in the know as well as fringe "nut" cases. It's the ol' football misdirection play...get the competition focused on fantasy while the home team scores. There are hordes of BSers out there too who just love to bend your ear about their recoveries, how great they are with every bit of metal detecting gear imaginable, and who need you as an audience to puff themselves up. These sorts will actually fake recoveries and then post them on THing forums and sites..listen to their BS at your own risk. Good research will take care of the half-baked facts issue...so read number 4. (above) one more time.

(See below...)

6. Don't team up with liars, clowns, and idiots. If you absolutely have to team up with other treasure hunters make damn sure they aren't liars, clowns, or run-of-the-mill idiots. One is simply not trustworthy and will drag you all over the place on wild-goose chases while the other will test your patience and your ability to control your homicidal urges. The clown will just leave you shaking your head in disgust. Granted, you don't always know on the front end what other treasure hunters are like till you've spent some time with them in the field, but the very second you say to yourself: "This dude is sooooo full of crapola he oughtta be a politician," or "If he tells that stupid-ass story one more time I swear I'll shoot him on the spot!" then it's time to run in the opposite direction as fast as you can. It's far better to hunt alone than to waste your precious free time with those who "try men's (and women's..) souls."

Metal Detectors

Good hunting just the same!

If you liked this post, you may want to read: "Bushwhacker Caches in Missouri"

(c)  Jim Rocha (J.R.)  2011

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

"Don'ts" for Novice Treasure Hunters (Part 1)

It's always tough when you're just starting out in any new pursuit, hobby, or avocation. Treasure hunting is no different and novices often overestimate their potential gains while underestimating their true knowledge and abilities.

Treasure Hunting
Metal Detectors

If you are a newcomer to treasure hunting, here are a few "don'ts" that will surely save you time, trouble, money, and hassles:

1. Don't ask for information and leads from others unless you have something to give or trade in return. I see this one a lot these days and invariably the source is a novice who doesn't have a clue about how things work in "polite" treasure hunting society. Sometimes this is the result of sheer ignorance and can be dismissed as such, while in other instances it can be the result of an aggressive, "me, me, me!" mentality. I can't tell you how many times (including this very day) I receive an e-mail from an aspiring treasure hunter who wants me to give him or her every last bit of researched info I have on a particular trove. Yep, you heard right. And what do these folks have to offer in return? Why more "demands" of course, including things like a direct waybill to a treasure they've done no research or work on whatsoever! Say what?? So if you're a "newbie" and this is your modus operandi, I can tell you right now you won't be getting very far in treasure hunting circles.

2. Don't "show your hand" unless you know it's a winner. Those of you out there who are poker players understand the basic necessity of taking this admonition to heart. On the other hand, many novice treasure hunters don't have a clue in terms of just how important keeping your treasure hunting cards close to your chest means. So if you're a novice and you're really onto solid leads or info concerning a particular trove or cache, don't lay all your cards down on the table unless you're sure they're winners. Why? Because if that cache isn't already in your hot little hands, some other treasure hunter (maybe even me) is going to take that info you just laid out for all to see and use it against you to build a better hand and perhaps recover that cache right from under your nose. Trust me...it's happened before.

3. Don't assume anything. To paraphrase a popular saying, "assumptions are like rear ends...everyone has one." I'll tell you right now, treasure hunting is not the sort of venue where novices (or old pros, for that matter) want to be making assumptions about people, places, information, leads, research, equipment, integrity, honesty, value, trustworthiness or anything else under the sun. It's sort of like a treasure hunting math equation...the more you assume the more you'll screw up (or get burned in the process). If this sounds a bit harsh, then welcome to the real world brothers and sisters. In order to avoid the pain and potential difficulties  treasure hunting can impose or inflict on the unwary, your best bet is to operate from concrete fact and not assumptions.

There's more to come in this vein so stay tuned and, as always...good hunting!

If you liked this post, you may want to read: "Idaho's Lost Breen Mine"

(c)  Jim Rocha (J.R.)  2011

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