Originally Posted February 2022
This article comes at a convenient time where in with all the seeming recent renewed interest in the Hoyt mine I decided to write of it. After two days of putting this article together, I get a phone call informing me the History channel would be airing an episode of Beyond Oak Island regarding the Josephine mine of all things and featuring Terry Carter…. Well… I had to make an exception and watch of course, and it wasn’t bad at all… Nice job Terry, strangely enough at the same time a friend sent me a copy of what appears to be Gales transcript to the book he never wrote as he passed before hand… I love a good coincident…. Or two… needless to say I had to rethink and rearrange the article as I learned a few things I didn't know.... Who wouldn't be interested in a story which might lead to a treasure of over a billion in gold?
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Authentic stories of the past told over and over each time adding in ones own perspective is a rouge trait of story tellers and is getting worse in these times where in there seems to be no love of the truth. Minor details mention from the perspective of the originator are ignored and emphasis given to non essential descriptive words and then you sneeze, wipe your nose and an entirely different story sits before you, as you stare at it, wondering what the hell happened? No matter what you say or do to correct the miss perceptions the cancer continues to grow.
An example many of you might be familiar with, the Grand Canyon underground city discovered by G. E. Kincaid sometime around 1909. the story as incredible as it already was has grown into a deception of misinformation. It would seem a poor choice of words created the problem not to mention those to week minded to listen to what they read…
According to the story related to the Gazette by Mr. Kinkaid, the archaeologists of the Smithsonian Institute, which is financing the expeditions, have made discoveries which almost conclusively prove that the race which inhabited this mysterious cavern, hewn in solid rock by human hands, was of oriental origin, possibly from Egypt,
Well oriental people are NOT from Egypt, but perhaps Kincaid didn’t know this… Egyptians were never here, shortly after the above notation Kincaid describes a statue carved out of the stone which is clearly Buddha but as it seems no one paid any attention and now you cannot find a write up which does not lead with “EGYPTIAN CITY FOUND”…. The truth of the matter is much more interesting…
Another misinformation that has been grossly blown out of proportion is Moctezuma’s treasure, I guess there just isn’t any money in the truth… but the truth behind it is a much more interesting story as well… On with the intended story…
The Mina de Josephine de Martinique de Emperatris
Gale Rhoades and Steve Shaffer 1981
Although knowledge of the purported Josephine mine had come to Gale as early as 1969, after years of turns of events it wasn’t until Steve following up on a dream found his way up to Hoyt Peak area, and found the mine they would claim and name the Bear hole…
It was some time in the year 1994 just 6 years after the passing of Gale Roy Rhoades and after Gale had last put his pen to paper and leaving his manuscript behind, Stephen B. Shaffer released his book about the Lost Josephine mine, Of Men and Gold. Until Steve, who has since passed as well, put his book out, many of those of the treasure world had never even heard of the Josephine of Hoyt Peak, or the Mine of the Utes, even though it had been well know several times in the past. Most had never heard of Thomas Rhoades and his son Caleb. Gale was the 3 times Great Grand son of Thomas Rhoades.
The following information is based upon the best source material available that I am aware, I make no claim that any part of it is true and accurate as none of us knows the answer to that… I write the following to be of some sort of aid to those who will no doubt in the future attempt the same thing so many have tried before, to locate the true Josephine of the Garcia Waybill or Redotero.
As it would seem, here we are some 30 years later and we are no wiser as to where the Josephine is, in fact it seems we now have 3 and still many don’t know what I am talking about. Now I don’t mean the Josephine of the Henrys or any other location other than Hoyt Peak, I’m talking about the two mines of the past thought to be the Josephine and the real Josephine. This is not to say that all three have not at one time in the days of the Spanish expeditions, that each had been considered the Josephine or perhaps the title refers to any of the Royal Mines named in honor the Empress Josephine of Martinique, a name which would not be known for well over 100 years since the mine was first known in Utah. Just for notice the place the Empress was born in Martinique which was a small island in the Caribbean and at the time, was an integral part of the French Republic, yes… the Empress was French, not Spanish. Was Captain Garcia and his soldiers French or Spanish?
Kimball and the Slave Traders 1851 and Captain San Jose Pueblo
It was 1851 when General Kimball arrested some Spaniards for slave trading in Utah and he being the first to learn from one of the arrested of the Lost Josephine. The Spaniard, San Jose Pueblo told General Kimball that many years prior he hauled ore from the mines found near the head waters of what was now known as the Provo River. Near as I can tell however the story made no headlines other than the court proceedings, as it seems that only some circles had ever heard about it. The early settlers in the Kamas valley knew well and good of the old worked out mine west of the valley but never knew the story behind it. That would all change in 1898 when William Bird and his son found an old mine up by Hoyt Peak, but was it the same mine that Gale and Steve have wrote about? From here on I will refer to that mine as the Hoyt Mine. As a result of William Birds discovery, General Kimball’s story is told, and I find it is the most credible of the documents used in this investigation along with the Garcia redotero.
From the Salt Lake Herald December 6th 1898;
In the year 1842 there were four companies of Spaniard who came up into this country for the purpose of prospecting and mining. They called the river they were on the Tempe Nogas but this is now known as the Provo River.
These men had two mines which were located between the Provo and Weber rivers One of these they worked out and the white people who first discovered Kamas valley or what was called Rhodes valley In the early days found this exhausted producer which was situated on the west side of the valley about half way between the Provo and Weber rivers and when discovered tools of ancient make were round in its old workings.
The other mine and the one from which the Spaniards took the most gold was across the valley on the eastside and was situated on the ridgeback of what is now known as Hoyt’s Peak between the Provo river and the Weber The Weber was not named at that time but a man could stand on the ridge between the tunnel and shaft of what Is now called the Josephine mine and see the Tempe Nogas river now the Provo and also the unknown river [Santa Anna] now known as the Weber. “The Spaniards” Mr. Kimball went on to say left the mines when they load secured all the gold they wanted heading for Mexico through the territory occupied by the Navajo Indians. The Indians were hostile and massacred the entire company with the exception of their captain who managed to make his escape The Spaniard who escaped was named San Jose Pueblo.
Pueblo made his way to Mexico where the Utah mines were recorded at Santa Fe and after remaining there for sometime made up a party for the purpose of returning here to reopen and work these old mines but upon his arrival finding the Mormon people here he concluded to abandon his project Instead of which he went into the business of buying young Indians for the Mexico slave trade.
The United States government hearing of this ordered me, then deputy United States marshal to arrest the Spaniards which was done in the fall of 1851, and I had eight Spaniards under arrest and under my charge for It period of seven weeks who were charged with buying Indians for the purpose of taking them to Mexico to sell as slaves. The only one of the prisoners who could talk English was San Jose Pueblo and I spent considerable time in his company gaining his confidence and he told me a great deal regarding his gold mine above Kamas and all about the one which had been worked out. The theory had been that the Spaniards closed and sealed their mines to hide them but San Jose Pueblo stated that their laws obliged them to conceal their good mines whenever they left them for any length of time. He also said that if this mine (the Josephine) was ever found the finders would find in its old workings a lot of tools powder etc which had been used in the working of the mine. He also said that this mine was a natural cave when first found and that it was very rich in gold in the bottom and that the property had been worked by them quite extensively, several cuts having been run from the cave in which large of gold ore had been uncovered on every hand the workings extending late the mountain until a depth of 600 or 700 feet below the surface had been attained. Pueblo also stated that an incline tunnel had been run in a westerly direction and that finding that this incline headed for an old shaft on the property the workings were extended until air connections were made. San Jose Pueblo also told me that he came to this country to mine with his father when he was a little boy but when I first aw him he was a man of at least 50 year which goes to show that the mines above Kamas had been worked for many years prior to the advent of the white man into this country.
San Jose no doubt was with the Garcia expedition, but he makes no mention of a cache being left behind… if he was 50 years of age in 1851, he would have been a small boy in 1814 when Garcia left the Josephine as a result of hostile Indians.
In the first portion of the previous article, it mentions a place where if you stand you can see the Weber river in one direction and the Provo river in the other. For those of you who have not been to Hoyt Peak formerly known as Hoyt’s Peak, if you were to stand between the Hoyt Mine and the Glory hole, there is no way in hell you could see the Provo river or the Weber, there is only two places that this can be the case and one location in my mind, clearly shows John Young’s first discovery location was NEAR WHERE HE BUILT his cabin? But it could also be one other location of which I have not yet ventured in this article.
William Bird 1889
It is said in the article of the Salt Lake Herald, October 25th 1889 states that that year William Bird found a mine by following the instruction of a map and drawing which was furnished them by others and as it would seem they knew its location was recorded in the archives of Santa Fe New Mexico.
It is further said that when they found it the entrance was “walled” up with rock, and making entrance that it was an incline of about 30 degrees and ran as far as a quarter of a mile being 1320 feet.... But… no mention of a wooden door!..
According to the Garcia redotero that would not be know for another 80 Years and according to its presumed author Captain Jose Joaquin Garcia, there was a treasure in the mine left behind a big wooden door located 46 varas from the mine opening and the treasure is said to be another 8 varas behind the door, this is approximately 150 feet from the opening of the mine! Where is the thick wooden door? I have been in that mine some 280 feet and I saw no evidence of a door nor a cave in as a result of an explosion which would not occur for another 41 years after the discovery by William Bird. Bird also makes mention of a presumed nearby shaft some 300 deep likely the Glory Hole.
Based on this information and other documents it would be my opinion that William Bird found the same mine, the Hoyt mine called the Josephine some 80 plus years later, the Hoyt mine which the Forrest Service bull dozed not many years ago. But was it the Josephine mine talked about in the Garcia Redotero? I don’t think so.
Keep in mind the Spaniard that Kimball arrested in 1851, likely never knew of the Garcia Redotero, and if he did he wasn’t going to tell about it, but I would however suspect he was a part of the Garcia expedition. William Bird although it is possible, likely never knew of the Garcia Redoterro either.
John Young 1939
Some 40 years later after the Birds had apparently abandoned their efforts the story was revived again. I do not have the original source material for the following but I am taking it from the last manuscript of Gale Rhoades and I choose with some reservation, to take his word for it. John Young who was the grandson of good old Brigham Young, reported in about 1939 the following taken from manuscript…
“John and his twelve- year-old son, Keith were riding leisurely through the timber and up a small shallow canyon toward Hoyt Peak when, just before they reached the crest of a low pass on the northeast slope of the peak, a sudden thunderstorm let loose, sending John and Keith Young scouring for shelter under a protruding bush- like tree nestled against a small gray ledge. After the two had sat huddled up against the ledge and in the shelter of the small bush-like tree for a considerable amount of time, John turned to find that his son was no where to be seen and he called out for him, not once, but several times. The boy, hearing his father' s call, soon stuck his head out of a small nearby hole at the base of the ·ledge, and said, "Dad! There's a house down in here!"
Now I do however question the accuracy of how they found the mine and would love to see the original source material, but keep in mind the last persons to occupy the mine, ASSUMING it is the Hoyt mine and the mine William Bird had found, would have been the Birds. Was there time enough for a bush to grow thick enough to conceal the mine opening in 40 years? Not likely although possible, did William Bird conceal the mine by closing it up again? Johns supposed record of events says he crawled through a small hole. So far I do suspect a bit of author liberties… the description he gives concerning the room just inside the mine is fairly accurate, however later he says that there was much evidence of donkey mule or horse manure and I am here to tell you that in that first room was NEVER a horse mule or donkey, the opening was hardly big enough for a man let alone a mule. And inside there was not as much room as you might think, immediately as you entered there was a very large rock on the left side of the room which seemed to work perfect for a table or shelf and not having much room on the right to pass by it with the mine tunnel continuing past it and to the south west then immediately turning west. Even if the doorway to the mine was big enough for horses, there was no room in that cavity you entered first. Also it was said the room ceiling was caked with smoke and soot, and the room I went into was a ceiling of rock which looked no different than the walls or tunnel rock. Johns remaining description of the tunnel is familiar but sounds like Gale describing the interior rather than John. Then his description comes to the door, now at that point which he describes a door, I am here to tell you was no door anywhere in that specific mine and no evidence of a door what so ever. I personally believe John was in another mine altogether at a different location other than the Hoyt mine.
The information provided in the manuscript suggests John thought he had found the lost Rhoades Mine and did not mention the Josephine, “perhaps and old Spanish mine” he said.
Reading the remainder of manuscript leads me to believe several liberties were taken to merge two stories of two different locations, I do not believe this was done intentionally to deceive anyone, I can very easily see how he would have believed the two locations were the same but it seems John Young knew of both and worked both locations. The mine he first describes in this manuscript cannot be the same mine he is later working which is no doubt the mine that William Bird found 40 years prior to Johns discovery.
John Young in his later years account clearly had knowledge of the Hoyt mine, I just don’t see the evidence of a door that according to the Josephine redotero supposedly written by Captain Garcia in 1814, as being the same mines.
Now this is not to say a wooden door in the mine does not exist, it just doesn’t exist according to the description found in the Garcia redotero. As it would seem there are two stories of an old wooden door being found down in the glory hole, one was found in John Young’s later years and described. According to the presumed later find and the description of the door found, the two doors cannot be one and the same, in fact the latter is likely much more ancient than the Spanish and we begin to see, that the reasons the Spanish were mining this area, is due to much older information handed down of which few would even think.
Let the discovery of the old Roman coin in the glory hole be a clue. Yes it is possible it was dropped by some Spaniard, but let’s not dismiss the first possible conclusion. As an example, if you are familiar with the Lady of Elche Bust discovered in Elche Spain in 1897, just because the bust was found in Elche Spain, does not mean a non existent culture called Elchites or Iberians were responsible, in fact I will venture to say, when all is said and done… it will be discovered that the Lady of Elche bust was manufactured here in the west on this continent, and is not a rendition of a Lady… let the academics chew on that one for a while…
THE OLD UTE INDIAN 1960
Within the manuscript is also told the story of the 103 year old White River Ute Indian who was brought to their camp situated on the South East side of Hoyt, by John McBee. Although the dates given or time frames don’t quite add up, regardless here is yet another believable account of either the same mine at Hoyt of Gale and Steve, or the mine of John Young’s first discovery, where we still have a problem with a door.
The following is the story according to the manuscript;
In about 1877, when he was only 12 years old, he was brought out to Hoyt Peak by his father and a band of warriors who were sent there, specifically, to kill a small group of Spaniards who had been found working an old gold mine.
The leader of the mining expedition, who was referred to as "Black Whiskers" by the Indians, had come from California with a group of Mexicans which he had either bought or stolen for the purpose of working them in this mine, using slave labor tactics. He had also managed to obtain a certain number of White River Reservation Indians which he, with the help of two other Spaniards, also forced to work the old mine. It was said that this Spaniard, called Black Whiskers, had learned the location of the old mine by researching old records and had come in there, with his Mexican and Indian slaves, to work the mine of its gold and silver.
Prior to the presence of Black Whiskers some of the reservation Indians had entered the old mine, peeled pure gold from its veins, and had taken the gold down to the Rhoades Valley Fort at Kamas where they had traded it for food, clothes and whatever else they may have needed.
But then Black Whiskers came out there with two other Spaniards and they forced the Mexicans and the Indians to work the mines, smelt the ore, and store up a large cache of gold and silver bars, which they stockpiled behind an old wooden door inside the mine. When he (the old Indian) and that delegated group of warriors arrived at Hoyt Peak in 1877, the miners were all down inside the mine working. A plan of attack was devised by the older men and he, being only 12 years old, was left a short distance behind, on the south side of a large rock, to hold the horses while his father and the others crept around the hillside and down through the timber to take positions less than 100 yards across from the old mine entrance to await the kill .
All during the afternoon the young Indian boy watched with anticipation, and when the miners finally began to emerge from a hard day's work from within the mine the warriors steadied their rifles and took careful aim. Moments later, when Black Whiskers and his two Spanish companions were in clear view, the signal was given, shots rang out, and the three Spaniards dropped to the ground in sudden death.
The Mexicans and the Indians were then released and sent on their way, to freedom. However, before leaving the area, the Mexicans were allowed by their Indian liberators enough time to bury the three slain Spaniards, as the Indians would not bury them after they had killed them. So the Mexicans, in three groups, carried the three dead men up the hillside to a spot above the mine, on the north side of the rock near where the horses had been held by the young Indian, and there buried them alongside their personal belongings, erecting a wood cross as their gravestone . [Why?]
Following the massacre and then the burial, the Indians told the Mexicans that they were free to leave and to return to their homes, but that, under no circumstances were they ever to return t o the old mine.
The Mexicans, of course, soon left the site of the old mine, but they were for a time secretly watched by the Indians who feared that the Mexicans might try to return for the cache of gold and silver stored within the mine. And, true to the suspicions of the Indians, the Mexicans returned after only a few days, where they loaded as much of the gold as they could carry on their pack animals and then rode off. As they rounded the hill, a short distance from the mine, they were set upon by the very Indians who had freed them from their bondage, and the Mexicans were made to bury the gold in the very place where they were stopped - in the side of the sloping hill, not far from the old mine. When all the gold bars were covered, the Indians once again let the Mexicans go, but only with a stern warning that if they should return every one of them would meet certain death. The Mexicans then fled the area and they never did return.
Although I find the story as credible, I do have a few issues with it, one particular that stands out, why would the former captive slaves want to bury their oppressors, let alone carry them up the hill? If anything, I would have thrown them back in the mine and let them rot. Also the part about stockpiling gold and silver behind an old wooden door seems a bit odd and comes across as a convenient insert but as always, I could be wrong.
Let me say at this time that an old wooden door found in an old Spanish mine would not be a unique occurrence, I am personal acquainted with at least 7 mines in the area all of which might be considered as the Josephine, depending on who has worked them in the past, and I would bet at least 3 of them have old wooden doors in them, but only one will match the description told in the Garcia redotero, if it is an authentic document. So far John Young’s description of the first mine fits nicely, except it is in the wrong place, just as is the Hoyt mine, this is not to say that either mine does not contain an old wooden door and a cache behind it. IF the story told by the Old Ute Indian is true as it was presented in the manuscript, then we potentially have TWO caches behind an old wooden door in two separate mines. Which could be highly possible.
The Old Maps
One of the most asinine things I ever heard a treasure hunter skeptic say about the treasure books is… "Have you ever noticed that all the maps fit on 8 X 11 paper?" I wonder if this Sherlock had ever made a copy a of 20 inch by 52 inch scroll….
A digital reproduction of an authentic map
Before any Spanish exploration began, the Captain would sketch (make a duplicate) a copy of the area he was going to, first a general area map was made, and then copied from a master map of that area, the master copy which was never intended to leave the archives, he would make a copy of the licensed area he was going to, having received permission of the King. These maps have shown up in all sizes, the smallest I have seen was made by Miguel Hidalgo about 5 by 9 inches and likely not a licensed expedition and the largest on goatskin probably about a foot and a half by 3 feet, and when it was copied it took 2 scan copies and of course it was then made into 3 sections the size of 8 X 11 so it could fit in a BOOK.
I saw a picture of a 4 Man Spanish cannon once… however I noticed that it must have been fake as it fit on a 17 inch computer screen…. Did I mention asinine? Moving on...
Lets start with the Pedro Nunez map of 1771 of which is likely from a licensed expedition but either they could not afford a good cartographer or he was killed along the way… who ever made this map was no cartographer, but sometimes as in this case they were very good at capturing other details not usually picked up on in cartographers maps.
I use this example for many reasons we will not go into, suffice it to say, I believe without doubt that this is an authentic map left behind by the dead. The right half of this map, representatives of Spain have expressed there sediments about letting a copy of it go from the archives, and there dismay about us having a copy of the left half, we call it the half map.
Pedro Nunez, Villa Vicerceo 1771
However I would like to draw your attention to a certain portion of the map,
If you will notice the balloon with a mound drawn in it, this mound is meant to represent the peak or mountain of what we today call Hoyt Peak, and some may disagree… however everyone has a perspective and often different from others, notice the X above and behind the mound on the right? Also notice the X in front of the mound and on the right along the dotted line which is a trail that passes along the front of the mound on the south, the previous X is likely North East of the Peak, but it is the lower X that I believe the notation on the map has to do. “La Mine De Josephine Emporatria” This is near the location of John Young’s cabin built after his first discovery. Why would John who was very possessive and secretive about the mines location build his cabin where he could not see it over two hills and a half mile away? I believe Johns first discovered mine is “one of” the known Josephine mines, but it is not THEE Josephine of the Garcia redotero.
The Garcia Map
This particular map is a hand drawn copy of the original, as I recall Steve told me it was found in the archives of Santa Fe, OR it came from the Garcia family whom he and Gale had tracked down at one time, neither of which I can confirm. However after seeing as many maps as I have, I have no reason to believe it is a forgery and there are certain things appearing customary of the master map which strongly implies its authentic origin and yes it does fit on an 8 X 11 piece of paper.
Aside from other features found on the map, there is one feature that was clearly duplicated and apparently without question. The theory of the skeptics is that Gale and or Steve would falsify their maps, Why, when so many of them have surfaced through the years? On this map unknowing I am sure to Steve and Gale is a notation that actually shows that the mine of the Garcia redotero was not the mine they so adamantly believed it to be as well as every other Tom, Dick and Gary.
I want very badly to show you this and compare step by step to the Garcia redotero, but I just can’t. well, ok some… I can however share it with that one individual who not only can take it to the next level but would put forth the effort to do so for the right reasons. Certain equipment must be had in order to validate what is already so plain… if you can put two and two together then so be it, but the answer to this part is this, if you want to know where this mine location truly is, read and read carefully… The true Josephine of the Garcia redotero is exactly where he said it is… and this map holds one of the best clues to support what Garcia said.
If you are familiar with Hoyt Peak area the maps and the many perspectives… read carefully the following in addition to the Garcia redotero.
Around 2002 or so I had just returned from a day up at Hoyt, checking directions and distances validating what I had already come to believe… being the skeptic that I can be, I just have to check and recheck, at this point I was looking for my validation… On my way home I stopped in Murray to visit a friend in a professional manner, in coming through the door he greeted me with a smile and a “Dan! What ya been up to?” He being a roadside treasure hunter knew of some of my research projects. I told him I had just spent the day up at Hoyt Peak checking details of an old Spanish mine… Looking slightly perplexed and as if I light just turned on, he asked me if Hoyt Peak was east of Kamas, I assured him that it was… then his eyes lit up and with excitement he said, I have a story to tell you! If I told you who his dad was you would understand why this was exciting to me as well… but I cannot…
He being not much older than I, said that when he was 10 years old and on his birthday, his dads Indian woman friend came to visit him, this would have been about 1965 or so. She told my friends dad that she has to speak with him and she began with saying how much she has appreciated the friendship he had shown her these many years, she said “in fact, you are the only real friend I have”… she continued with “I want to tell you that many years ago, my grandfathers killed some Spaniards up near Hoyt Peak who were working an old mine sacred to the Native people, after the massacre it was placed upon my family to continuously keep the mine covered and hidden of which we have always faithfully done so and I have done for many years." She said that she was getting to old to do this any more and no one in her family had any interest to continue, she said to him, "I want to give it to you."
The Indian woman drew her friend a map and gave him many details and she bid him her goodbye’s. Excited he went to his son, being my friend and asked him if he wanted to ride up to the top of a mountain with him, “sure!” he said and they packed up and headed up the next day… He told me the map lay on the seat between he and his dad, all the way up the mountain he only glancing at it from time to time, he said we drove around the south side of the bald Mountain called Hoyt Peak and around the east side turning westerly and at the end of the road not far below the peak they parked next to an old twisted pine tree on the edge of a ledge over looking to the North West a canyon valley of sort. There was a small pond down below and his dad took the map and stood at the edge of the ledge looking down, and then at the map, and then down again, and his dad raised his hand pointing down and in the distance and said its right down there! I bout fell out of the chair I was sitting in, and as he told me this I could see every step and I could plainly see his dad was pointing at the very spot I and a friend had previously discovered of which fits the redotero directions and description near perfectly… I had my validation. We previously had found the small BLACK ledge spoken of in the Garcia document, and confirming the little Indian woman’s story, someone had been keeping the small black ledge covered except where it broke surface in the bushes nearby.
Now let’s take a closer look at the Garcia map and giving it a little credibility.
Now the Garcia map has a unique feature that I am sure most everyone has overlooked, I didn’t notice it until I personally hiked into the area myself some 20 years ago. You will notice the river which stems southward from the Rio Santa Anna, (top of map is North) this is the South Fork drainage but at its end it does not show the tributaries or at least is not clear on this point. But remember that if you were making a map showing the drainages you would like Captain Garcia use the tributaries that were pertinent and where there was a water flow. Near the south end of what Garcia drew as South Fork of the Weber, there is a branch with the Weber continuing towards the mine X “Oro” however it is not shown. The tributary it would appear he chose to place on his map is Maxwell Creek and how do I know this? From the end of this tributary there is a gap where you see the word "la Mina" and then del Yutas... and the line continues in a westerly direction and shortly there after ending, why is this gap there? Did the river disappear? Well… yes it did…
On one of our first expeditions into the area we discovered that not far above the Maxwell creek junction with South Fork, the creek comes out of the ground with no contributing water source from above it. If you follow the Maxwell creek drainage up towards the Josephine, you will find where this very same creek drops underground in a sink hole surfacing again at the point previously mentioned. As it would seem Garcia noticed this as well as this can be the only explanation as the why the map has a gap in the creek. If you follow this creek from the sink hole to its origins, it leads to a spring which is not shown on any map and it runs all year round. From the point in which the water disappears into the sink hole to where in surfaces again is about 1500 yards. The spring which feeds this water source does not contribute to the small pond so many are familiar with in fact the USGS maps show that the pond drains to the North then meanders its way to eventually joining with Maxwell which it most certainly does not, in fact if and when water is flowing from that pond, it peters out and disappears and likely feeds the pond which is North of the small pond mentioned prior. Why is this all important?
If you will notice, as per Garcia’s stroke of his pen, he marks the location of the Josephine of his redotero as being N/Westerly from where the sink hole would be. This is when my suspicions were confirmed ever since I first received and read a transcription of Men and Gold by Steve Shaffer and a year or so before it was published it. I knew when I read the redotero that the mine referred to as the Hoyt Mine, the Bird Mine, Bear Hole and many other titles is not the Josephine of the redotero and also not the mine in which John Young first described, but I did know it was the mine the little Indian woman describe and drew a map to and the Mine of the Garcia document.
This is also when I had a epiphany discovering a most important awakening of knowledge… Spaniards could not fly… so why would Garcia make the distance to the mine 1600 varas if no one was going to walk it? You have to follow the trail and whether it is the new location I have just given or the Hoyt mine, both could be justified as 1600 Varas, depending on the course and it certainly is not perfect but only one of the locations falls into the description of NORTH EAST of the Peak.
Now to finish this up, Garcia was a Sea faring Captain, which would you think he would have been using for his bearing? Magnetic North or North Star? If he was using the North Star the new location is situated at approximately 40 degree from the peak, close enough to be considered N/E. The Hoyt mine would be at approximately 85 degrees resting between East and North by East. If he was using a compass and adjusting to the declination of today which really isn’t much different than in it was in 1800, the new location would be at about 27 degrees with the Hoyt mine at 72 degrees and N/E falling in the middle of the two but nearer to the new location. Which was intended? Or do we need to consider a new location? And the questions no one want to hear... Did Garcia make it back? and was he successful?
My hope is that you receive something from this if nothing more than enjoyment.
Although I have several prospects, I am still looking for that perfect protégé, one who has the time, the money, the intelligence and inclination to take it all to the next level…. The hard part has been done, or has it, but in this day and age we have all sorts of new technologies of which I cannot seem to get my hands on and so I revert to further investigation… this particular project is still open to additional methods of validation aside from the new technologies… I just want to know the truth...
