![]() Bloody Springs is located a few miles southeast of Pittsville above the banks of the Pit River.įrom the 1850s to the 1880s, Sierra County, California, was crawling with prospectors in search of gold. Today, an occasional gold piece is still found at Bloody Springs in Lassen County. The “contest” continued until each and every one of the gold coins was either in the river or lodged into the rock walls of the gorge. Before he made his getaway, the man witnessed the Indians competing to see who could throw the shiny disks across the Pit River Gorge. Finally, he made his way to Fort Crook, telling of how the train was carrying approximately $60,000 in $20 gold coins. On one such occasion, an entire emigrant train was massacred by the Indians. Bloody Springs, at the lower end of Spring Gulch, was the scene of numerous attacks, hence its name. Weary of the white men continuing to encroach upon their lands, the danger to travelers was very great when entering California from the northeast.Īs the California Trail proceeded south into the Sacramento Valley on the Pit River route, wagon trains and travelers were often ambushed by the natives. Many believe that the lost Mormon treasure continues to be hidden along the banks of Clear Creek southwest of Redding, California.Īs in many places of the American West, the friction between the scores of men entering California during its Gold Rush days and the Indians was often bitter. This began yet another search of Clear Creek, but again, no one found the lost cache of coins. This meant the coin was privately minted by an assayer and was of the very same type the Mormons had lost some 60 years previously. The coin was stamped with the initials “SMV,” dated 1841, and the words “California Gold” were inscribed around the rim. The incident was then forgotten for decades until 1910, when a prospector named William Dreestelhorst found a ten-dollar gold coin in his sluice box. Able to unhitch his team of horses, Bishop and the animals made it to safety, but the wagon was carried downstream. Soon, one of the wagon wheels fell into a deep hole, and without warning, the wagon tipped on its side. Entering the swollen waters just a little downstream from the others, he quickly found the creek deeper in that particular area. Most of the wagons safely made it across the river, but one wagon, belonging to Mr. When the flash flood waters had slowed but were not yet calm and shallow, they decided to cross. However, they were impatient to get to their destination and didn’t wait long enough. Forced to stop on the creek’s banks, they waited several days for the creek to settle down to its normal, easily crossable state. However, when they arrived, Clear Creek was nothing but quiet instead, it was a muddy torrent of raging floodwaters running off the nearby mountains. However, they first had to cross Clear Creek, usually, a quiet little stream, to get there. In the 1850s, a group of Mormon wagons was passing through the fertile valley of Redding, California, on their way to the tiny settlement of Horsetown. Today, those buried caches are thought to be still hidden in Amador County. ![]() However, his friends said that he was often known to bury his profits close to the site of the claim. Afterward, it was found that Butler had about $80,000 on deposit at Mokelumne Hill and a similar amount at Sacramento. This soon resulted in lawyers and lawsuits, all wanting a piece of the action.īutler, a simple prospector, was overwhelmed by all the controversy and soon took sick with a fever and died. As word of the rich find got out, several men, anxious to have a share, hunted down Butler’s former partners, inducing them to sell their interests in the claim. Some said a day’s work with a rocker would produce as much as $50,000 in gold. ![]() Seeing potential in the claim, Butler soon borrowed $600 from a man known as Uncle Pompey and opened another claim a little lower down in the bend.īutler’s instincts were right, as his gold pan would be filled with gold nuggets after a day’s work. However, there was no holding place for the gold, so the entire party soon left – except for a man named Butler. The river was soon dammed so the miners could work the smooth channel. Near the very place where James Marshall first discovered gold at Sutter Creek, another profitable claim was being worked that may continue to hold large amounts of gold buried close by.Īt the foot of a deep gorge coming out of the mountains was a claim first owned by a group of African-American miners. In the heart of Mother Lode country, Amador County, California, was once crawling with prospectors. ![]()
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