Lost Mines of Nevada

© 2011 by Anthony M. Belli

4x4dawg@gmail.com

The “Silver State,” as Nevada is sometimes known, got its nickname from the large number of
silver mines discovered in that state. But plenty of other valuable minerals have also been found
in Nevada including gold. And thanks to the many prospectors and miners who worked these
miming claims we today have their stories and legends of lost mines, lost prospector’s caches,
buried outlaw treasures and more. And since Nevada has always been a fascination for me I
thought I’d do a bit of research and share many of her tales of lost mines here in Lost Treasure.

The Lost Mines on McCullough Mountain

There are two lost mines up in the McCullough Mountains located southwest of present-day Las
Vegas that by chance were both first discovered by Mormon prospectors. In the late 1890s a man
named Mashbird and his unknown companion stopped at the Stewart Ranch to rest before
venturing into the McCullough’s on a prospecting trip.

A month later Mashbird stumbled back into the ranch in bad shape and with a frightful tale to tell.
Mashbird told his the Stewart’s that he and his partner had camped close to a spring in the
mountains and had taken to prospecting the area. He reported that one day a lone Indian entered
their camp and Mashbird offered him a meal. The Indian accepted and sat down and ate.

The three men talked briefly about prospecting in the region when the Indian spoke up and
offered to show them where a large gold deposit was located nearby. Mashbird agreed to go with
his new friend while his partner remained in camp. The pair was soon walking down a trail when
the Indian positioned himself behind Mashbird and smashed him in the head with a rock, then left
his new friend for dead.

When Mashbird came to he stumbled down the trail a bit further and did find a deposit of gold.
After gathering a few specimens he retraced his steps back to camp only to find his partner
murdered and no trace of their belongings. Suffering from his head wound Mashbird found travel
difficult but he managed to descend the mountain and make it across the desert until making his
way back to the Stewart Ranch.

Although Mashbird did make a full recovery, the combination of his head wound and the time
spent traveling through the desert had clouded his memory and he was never able to retrace his
steps back to the campsite or gold deposit, which have been lost and much forgotten ever since.

The second Mormon discovery was made by another man whose name has been lost to history.
One day this man appeared at the Ivanpah mill near the Nevada-California state line. He had two
burros and both were carrying a sizeable quantity of gold ore. He traded with some locals who
inquired about where he’d found his gold, but the Mormon kept a tight lip and revealed nothing
to no one.

When he departed he proceeded eastwards into Nevada. Over several months the Mormon
returned to trade at Ivanpah a few more times. He always had identical ore as the first time and
always kept his mouth shut as to the location of its source. Apparently someone from Ivanpah
followed the prospector and determined that he always went into the McCullough Mountains,
which no doubt was the source of his gold.
Then his trips into town suddenly stopped. It was later discovered that the Mormon had been
murdered and his body was found in the desert. Locals searched for his mine and did find an
abandoned campsite on the west side of the McCullough’s but no gold. The mine remains lost to
this very day.

The Lost Deer Hunter Mine

During the Great Depression a deer hunter whose name is lost to time appeared at the Bowler
Ranch, as he had for years to spend two weeks every fall hunting deer. The ranch was located
along the Reese River a few miles south of the Lander County line. It was his usual practice to
hunt in Barrett Canyon where he is said to have nearly always bagged a fine animal.

The story goes that one year he had difficultly finding suitable game and decided to hike the
canyon up to the timberline where he sat down to rest. He leaned his rifle up against a mahogany
and scanned the vista for any sign of game. Spying nothing to shoot, he looked down by his feet
and spotted a piece of pink quartz. He picked up the odd looking rock and thought it weighed
much more than it should so he shoved it into his pocket and continued to hunt.

Late that afternoon he returned to the Bowler Ranch and showed his find to Mr. Bowler, who also
commented on its attractive color and unusual weight. The hunter gave the rock to Bowler who
put it on a window sill where it remained for about ten years. In the 1940s a prospector dropped
by the ranch and spotted the unusual rock sitting on the window sill and picked it up for closer
inspection.

He pointed out traces of gold appearing on the surface and asked permission to have it assayed,
Mr. Bowler agreed. When the assay report came back everyone was stunned to learn that the
sample ran $100,000 to the ton! Word reached the hunter who initially found the specimen and he
quit his job and spent the remainder of his life searching Barrett Canyon for the spot where he’d
rested that day, but too no avail.

Some pink quartz has since been found in the south fork of Barrett Canyon, but prospectors
searching the area for decades have never found anymore gold-bearing pink rock.

Nevada’s Best Known Unsolved Mysteries… The Lost Breyfogle

It’s a Nevada legend and one of the state’s best known unsolved mysteries. The story of the Lost
Breyfogle Mine is the story of Jacob Breyfogle, the Austin blacksmith who in the summer 1864
stunned Nevada residents and miners when he was found stumbling, delirious and alone in the
central Nevada desert by friendly Indians. Breyfogle carried on him some of the richest ore the
world has ever seen.

Breyfogle was nursed back to health by the Indians until he was clear minded and strong enough
to travel. When he returned to Austin and displayed his fantastic ore it created terrific excitement,
one that has been passed down from generation to generation into the present-day.

According to Breyfogle he left Austin to do some prospecting. Somewhere in the vast desert
south of town one of his saddle horses strayed from camp and while searching for it he became
lost. In the days to follow Breyfogle was unable to relocate his camp. His route has since become
a matter of study and speculation.
It is believed that Breyfogle traveled a tremendous distance without food and water until madness
set in. That’s when he came upon a strange outcropping of reddish ore laced with free gold.
Realizing his find was of great value, out of his mind, with bleeding and blistered feet, his tongue
swollen and eyes nearly swollen shut, Breyfogle managed to break off roughly fifteen pounds of
samples and continued his trek.

This was the last lucid moment the man could remember later when re-telling the story. But he
never could retrace his steps and had no idea where he was when he found and lost one of the
greatest treasures of all time.

More Lost Nevada Mines

Lost Pack Train Mine – (Elko County) This gold mine was discovered by Sam Sanders and
Julius Schultz sometime after 1869. Both were killed during an early storm that brought deep
snow to the mountains south of Mountain City. Their bodies were recovered the following June.
They were descending the mountain when the storm struck; they carried more then $30,000 in
gold ore with them, when gold sold for $16 per ounce.

Lost Sheepherder Mine – (Elko County) Is reported to be east of the Bruneau River near the
Idaho state line.

Lost Monte Cristo Mine – (Esmeralda County) Legend states this lost bonanza is located near
Crow Springs.

Lost Comstock Mine – (Humboldt County) Henry Comstock discovered a rich silver ledge in
the Black Rock country. He used silver taken from this mine to salt other worthless mines he
owned then sold to unsuspecting buyers.

Lost Pratt Mine – (Douglas County) General A. C. Pratt is believed to have discovered a rich
ledge in the Pinenut Range.

Sources:

McDonald, Douglas, Nevada – Lost Mines & Buried Treasures, 1981, Las Vegas, NV, Stanley
W. Paher, Nevada Publications, p. 46, 93-94

Thomas C. Wilson Advertising Agency of Reno Nevada, Pioneer Nevada, 1951, Reno, NV,
Harolds Club of Reno, p. 86

Author’s research file on Nevada lost mines.