Lost Dutchman Goldmine

... hidden, and it can be proven geologically. On a related subject………….. about 7 years ago, a mercury vapor detector was rented to prove the cart ruts in solid rock and that the ore from the district was processed in First Water Canyon. The details of the investigation were posted on this site. ...

... district to be true. For me, it ranks up there with the Salazar Survey, the discovery of high levels of mercury in First Water Canyon, the cart ruts in solid rock, and the comprehensiveness of the Minas del Oro map. Only the fact that there is a very large IOCG gold deposit that defines the ...

... to the Molly Marie, and might be the event described by the Indians (filling in and covering up a mine). I know you've found what looks like cart ruts, evidence of abnormally high mercury levels, etc. Have you ever found any shafts that appear to have been filled in?

... the arrow points from the label “First Water Creek” was suspected to be where the arrastras (crushers) where located. • The spot labeled “cart ruts” will be shown in detail, and are located on the large “Camino”(road) on the map. • The “Placeras del Oro” (gold placers) were suspected to be ...

... Mercury” it was documented that a great amount of mercury can be found in the soil by the satellite First Water ranch. This, coupled with the cart ruts (Ox-Carts thread) leading there is undeniable evidence there was a large mining operation. But how could the Peraltas have pulled it off without ...

My greatest challenge during my search has been coming to grips with just how big the mining operations actually were. The cart ruts told of countless loads of ore going to First Water Canyon, but it didn’t completely “sink in”. Over the past month, I’ve been poring over Cerro Negra, trying ...

... their ore in First Water Canyon was the Minas del Oro map and the thought that it wasn’t the Salt River area as it’s labeled. Subsequently, cart ruts were found leading into the awning area and a dam site surrounded by solid rock was located there also. It was then known that the windmill/awning ...

Hello Joe, My guess is that these ruts were made over a period of approximately 150 years. There were probably dozens of different people directly in charge of haulage operations during that time, and between them they had many different methods ...

Jack, http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj268/cactus_jumper/ruts1_zpsxrqp16i9.jpg My problem with the ruts is not from any position of knowledge, but was based on the multiple directions and length of the ruts. That, despite your explanation above, just ...

Hello Joe, Your analysis is well taken, and am glad you took the time to research, but the comparison of Oregon Trail ruts to these is not a reasonable assumption. The wagons and carts on the Oregon trail were going one-way; they were never coming back. The wagon trails made by settlers ...

Jack,

Those "ruts" look like natural formations to me. Here is where you will see what they should look like:

http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~hyde/jackso ... nTrip.html

Good luck,

Joe

Hello Joe, I don’t know about the ruts you are referring to on the East Side, but below is a link to the ruts I’m talking about on the West Side and on the now-gated road to the First Water Ranch awning. This is not in the wilderness: http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2posting/ruts1.JPG ...

Jack,

As I recall, the ruts are in the eastern part of the range. The caves of gold bars are in the western end.

Take care,

Joe

Hello Joe, I'm glad you picked that story as it dovetails well with mine. My favorite is not a story, but is the cart ruts. They tell a story of their own; more than a century, or more likely, a century and-a-half of broken muck was hauled over the same spot. It is hard to believe ...

... there is not one bit of physical evidence that the Peralta family was near the Superstitions…………until now. The photos I’ve posted here of the cart ruts are hard evidence that the Peraltas were here, in large numbers. As can be seen in the photos, the rock is so hard that the 4wd traffic crossing ...

... show how the road had to zig-zag to negotiate the too-steep portion of the hill down to First Water Ranch. With the Minas Del Oro map, logic, cart ruts, and the mercury vapor survey, the following theories were derived (some I have said before): • Those are not arrastras on the Minas del Oro map. ...

... and then spike to 2000 to 3000 nanograms (2 to 3 micrograms) in several holes, and drop down again. Note: the USGS paper posted in the Cart Ruts thread recorded 66 nanograms per cubic meter. The geology of the Superstitions does not support a natural mercury deposit as the USGS paper implied, ...

Some more photos were taken of the cart ruts after the rain had washed them clean. In this photo, if you zoom in, the frame from the First Water Ranch windmill can be seen: http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2posting/ruts1.JPG Here is a close-up ...

... a week for someone to respond to my post. My primary reason for posting was not to “stir the pot” but to see if anyone had any ideas about the ruts. I believe they are a “big deal”. I went out Saturday and cleaned them out with a whisk broom and used a ladder and a good camera to get some pictures ...

... dam site(I have posted about the possibility of crushers there before) and came across this: http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2posting/cartruts.JPG I have walked over the same spot a half a dozen times and did not notice it till now. I have been back 3 times to photograph and measure and ...

Paul: Was there any sign of the use of heavy equipment at either location. Ruts or other damage to the surroundings ? Newer growth replacing older....etc. ? That's something hard to hide, even after a number of years has passed, and something the USFS would have ...

... have been made in those same areas. One of the strange bits of evidence that (personal opinion) may be proof of Atlantis are the odd "wheel ruts" found on the island of Malta and elsewhere. Some are traced to below the current sea levels, indicating that they were in use when the sea ...

... always, always, always feel obligated to protect the wilderness. Those of you who answered yes need a reality check. My footprints leave no deeper ruts than those left by wild horses. If I dig a hole the size of a coffee can, I fill it before I leave. There is never a good reason to destroy the ...

I have shot several photos of the ruts,on three separate occasions,but because of lighting issues none show the ruts very well.I intend to try again on my next visit,this time with an amber lense filter to improve the contrast.I have been ...

SH, Welcome back. Those ruts have raised a lot of eyebrows over the years. Did you get some nice pictures? Hiking thru all of these areas tends to give us all, I believe, a special feeling. Walking the same trails, seeing exactly the ...