BLM - Staking A Mining Claim General Mining Law of 1872 The federal law governing locatable minerals is the Gen-eral Mining Law of 1872 (May 10, 1872), which declared all valuable mineral deposits in land belonging to the United States to be free and open to exploration and purchase. This law provides citizens of the United States the op-portunity to explore for, discover, and purchase certain valuable mineral deposits on public domain minerals. Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) This Act did not amend the 1872 law, but did affect the recordation and maintenance of claims. Persons holding existing claims were required to record their claims with BLM by October 1979, and all new claims were required to be recorded with BLM. FLPMA’s purpose was to pro-vide BLM with information on the locations and number of unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites to determine the na mes and addresses of current own-ers, and to remove any cloud of title on abandoned claims. What is a Mining Claim? A mining claim is a parcel of land for which the claimant has asserted a right of possession and the right to de-velop and extract a discovered, valuable, mineral de-posit. This right does not include exclusive surface rights (see Public Law 84-167). Locatable minerals include both metallic minerals (gold, silver, lead, etc.) and nonmetallic minerals (fluorspar, asbestos, mica, etc.). It is nearly impossible to list all locatable minerals because of the complex legal require-ments for discovery.

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v. 18, n. 7 July 2014 Going for the Gold

Rocky Mountain Prospectors & Treasure Hunters Newsletter

The News Visit RMPTH On The Internet At http://rmpth.com

Contents

"Of all those expensive and uncertain projects which bring bankruptcy upon the greater part of the people that engage in them, there is none perhaps more perfectly ruinous than the search after new silver and gold mines."

--Adam Smith

1 BLM – Staking A Mining Claim 2 About The News 4 Find Of The Month Program 5 RMPTH Diamond Hunt Cancelled 6 Salida, Colorado 7 Stagecoach Robbery In Colorado 10 Calendar of Events 11 Calendars 12 Silver Bar Treasure Hunt Prize

Awarded 13 The Stagecoach Robbery 16 Trading Post 18 2014 Schedule of Events 19 Contact List

Page 2 The News, July 2014

T he News is the official newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Prospectors and Treasure Hunters Club (RMPTH): our mailing address is 278

Sierra Vista Drive, Fort Collins, CO. 80524. Opinions expressed in The News are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the club or its members. Publication of information in The News constitutes no guarantee of accuracy. Use of any information found in this publication is at the sole risk of the user. Neither RMPTH, nor its coordi-nators, nor The News, nor its editors or contributors assume any liability for damages resulting from use of information in this publication. Submissions Articles, letters and short items of interest on pros-pecting, detecting and treasure hunting topics are welcome and encouraged. All items submitted for publication are subject to editing. Submittals for pub-lication may be made in writing or, preferably, in AS-CII text format on IBM-compatible disk. If you have questions about a submission, please contact the edi-tor for information. Copyright Unless otherwise noted, other nonprofit groups may reprint or quote from any articles appearing in The News without prior permission, provided that proper author and publication credits are given and that a copy of the publication in which the article ap-pears is sent at no cost to RMPTH at the above mail-ing address. Clubs wishing to exchange newsletters with RMPTH are invited to send a copy of their news-letter together with an exchange request.

About The News Advertising Classified advertising for topic related items is free for non-business ads. See the “Trading Post” section for donation pricing of camera-ready display ads. Do-nations for ad makeup from sketches, etc., are avail-able on request. About RMPTH RMPTH is an independent nonprofit hobbyist social club, open to anyone interested in prospecting, detect-ing or treasure hunting. Its purpose is to provide an educational and social forum of mutual benefit for members. RMPTH holds a monthly meeting and con-ducts various field outings, as well as offers special presentations and seminars. Active participants have voting privileges. The monthly newsletter, The News, is readily available on the Internet. Annual dues are $25 payable in June. Applicants joining in any month other than June pay partial dues of $2 per month for months remaining prior to following June plus $1.

CLUB MEMBERS TAKE NOTE

Club Hats, Shirts, Jackets, & Patches are again available. See Paul Mayhak at the club meetings to purchase your club items!

We will be running a 50/50 Drawing at each club meeting. At the end of each

meeting Tom will split the pot 50/50 and a lucky member will go home with more money than they came with.!

The remaining 50% goes to the club treasury.

Page 3 The News, July 2014

can show proof of discovery either (1) by December 31, 1983, or (2) on the date of designation as wilderness by Congress. Mining claims can be located on those minerals reserved under the Stock Raising Homestead Act of 1916 (SRHA). The surface is fee, but the minerals are public domain. There are specific regulations governing the claiming of SRHA minerals - refer to the SRHA section. Types of Claims Two Types of Mining Claims: Lode Claims - Deposits subject to lode claims include classic veins or lodes having well-defined boundaries. They also include other rock in-place bearing valuable

minerals and may be broad zones of mineralized rock. Examples in-clude quartz or other veins bearing gold or other metallic minerals and large volume, but low-grade dis-seminated gold deposits. Descrip-tions are by metes and bounds sur-veys beginning at the discovery point on the claim and including a reference to natural objects or per-manent monuments. Federal stat-ute limits their size to a maximum of 1500 feet in length, and a maxi-mum width of 600 feet (300 feet on either side of the vein). Placer Claims - Placer claims are defined as "...including all forms of deposit, excepting veins of quartz, or other rock in-place." In other words every deposit, not located with a lode claim, should be appro-priated by a placer location. Placer

claims, where practicable, are located by legal subdivi-sion (aliquot part and complete lots). The maximum size is 20 acres per locator, and the maximum for an asso-ciation placer is 160 acres for 8 or more locators. The maximum size in Alaska is 40 acres. The maximum size for a corporation is 20 acres per claim. Corporations may not locate association placers unless they are in as-sociation with other locators or corporations as co-locators. Two Other Types of Mineral Entries: Mill Sites - A mill site must be located on "non-mineral land" and must be noncontiguous to the lode or placer with which it is associated. Its purpose is to support a lode or placer mining operation. A mill site must include the erection of a mill or reduction works and/or may in-clude other uses in support of a mining operation. De-scriptions are by metes and bounds if on unsurveyed land and by legal subdivision if on surveyed land

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Where Can a Claim be Located? There are Federally administered land in 19 states where you may locate a mining claim or site. These states are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colo-rado, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. In these states, the BLM manages the surface of public land and the Forest Service manages the surface of National For-est System (NFS) land. The BLM is responsible for the subsurface on both public and NFS land. Only public domain minerals are locatable minerals (those minerals that have never left federal ownership). Reconveyed minerals are considered public domain min-erals under the mining laws. Min-ing claims cannot be staked on ac-quired minerals; a prospecting per-mit (43 CFR 3500) is required to prospect for acquired minerals. Mining claims can be located on open public land administered by another federal agency (most com-monly on Forest Service land). You may prospect and locate claims and sites on public and NFS land open to mineral entry. Claims may not be located in areas closed to mineral entry by a special act of Congress, regulation, or public land order. These areas are said to be "withdrawn" from mineral entry. Areas withdrawn from location of mining claims include: National Parks, National Monuments, Indian reservations, most reclamation projects under the Bureau of Reclama-tion, military reservations, scientific testing areas, most wildlife protection areas managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service etc. Land withdrawn for power de-velopment may be subject to mining entry and claim lo-cation only under certain conditions. Mining claims may not be located on land that has been: designated by Congress as part of the National Wilder-ness Preservation System, designated as a wild portion of a Wild and Scenic River, or withdrawn by Congress for study as a Wild and Scenic River. There is usually a ¼-mile buffer zone withdrawn from location of mining claims on either side of a river while the river is being studied for inclusion in the Wild and Scenic River System. Additions to the National Wilder-ness Preservation System are withdrawn to mining claim location at the time of designation by Congress. Mining activities are permitted only on those mining claims that

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Page 4 The News, July 2014

Pilots Motto: Maintain thine airspeed lest the ground come up and smite thee.

TREASURE HUNTER’S CODE OF ETHICS

I WILL respect private property and do no treasure hunting without the owner's permission. I WILL fill all excavations. I WILL appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources, wildlife, and private property. I WILL use thoughtfulness, consideration, and courtesy at all times. I WILL build fires in designated or safe places only. I WILL leave gates as found. I WILL remove and properly dispose of any trash that I find. I WILL NOT litter. I WILL NOT destroy property, buildings, or what is left of ghost towns and deserted structures. I WILL NOT tamper with signs, structural facilities, or equipment.

Gold Glossary Ore - Any natural combination of minerals. Especially one from which a metal or metals can be profitably extracted. Commonly a mixture of one or more of the following: quartz, gold, copper, silver, sulfur, iron, and nickel.

Find of the Month Winners

June, 2014 Most Valuable Coin: Mike Mahaffey - 1944D Dime Oldest Coin: Ken Wesley - 1841 Seated Dime Largest Raw Gold: No Entry Most Raw Gold: No Entry Best Bottle: Ray Hettinger - Antique Blue Bottle Best Jewelry: Mike Mahaffey - Silver Ring Most Unique Find (Excavated): Tom Warne - U.P.R.R. Railroad Switch Lock Most Unique Find (Non-Excavated): SMAUG - Lighter Rock, Gem, Mineral & Fossil: Ray McGehee - Turtle Shell

Hey, where’s the Gold?

Page 5 The News, July 2014

Property Wanted For Detector Hunt

RMPTH is looking for private property on which to hold an organized club detector hunt. Obviously, it would be most ideal if this property is known to have seen some

past historical activity. If you have such property or know of someone who does, please contact Rick

Mattingly to plan a club field outing event.

Mineral Specimen Identification As part of their community outreach, Metropolitan State College of Denver, Dep. of Earth & Atmospheric Science, Professional Services Division offers FREE MINERAL SPECIMEN IDENTIFICATION. Participants will aid in the education of future Geoscientists! Details and specimen submittal forms with instructions can be downloaded from: SPECIAL OFFER FREE MINERAL SPECIMEN http://college.earthscienceeducation.net/MINPET/MINID.pdf

Refreshment Volunteers July — David Longmore August —Ray Hettinger September — Heidi Short October — Barb Schuldt November — Sam Banulis

RMPTH Diamond Hunt Cancelled Rick Mattingly June 24, 2014, 10:21 AM

I t is with much frustration that I must inform you that the Diamond Hunt Outing, scheduled for this very week-end (June 27-29), has been cancelled once again due to

governmental obstacles. Last year this outing was canceled due a massive road closure in the area to supposedly assist in cutting and removing beetle kill from the area. This year the cancellation is the result of mysteriously locked gates in the area which blocks us from reaching our destination. I spent several hours on the phone attempting to locate the agency responsible for the locked gates. I fi-nally ended up with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Divi-sion which did claim responsibility for the gates in ques-tion. However, the office personnel had no explanation for the reason the gates were locked and were unsure of which field employee to contact. I was left with the explanation that the office would contact the proper employee and then have them contact me directly with information. I have yet to receive a response. Being that we have only a few days remaining to resolve the issue one way or another I see no alternative but to cancel the outing this weekend as an official group event. Please feel free to attempt the outing on your own by finding an-other route in to the location, perhaps from the south? Please alert any other RMPTH members that you know re-garding this decision in the event that they do not receive this message. It is becoming almost impossible to plan an event on public lands due to the entanglement of government agencies in-volved and their unexplained acts of blocking access to THEIR lands for one reason or another .... or none. I refer you to a coincidental editorial at the bottom of this message copied from the Fort Collins Coloradoan on June 22 which hits the nail on the head of this issue. So Sorry, Rick Mattingly Frustrated Newsletter Editor and Webmaster Rocky Mountain Prospectors and Treasure Hunters Club

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Page 6 The News, July 2014

What was the last date that coins were silver? This answer refers only to U.S. coins Cents - NEVER made of silver. 1943 cents look silver but are steel. Nickels - always made of nickel and copper except during WW2, when they had a small amount of silver Dimes, Quarters - 90% silver, 10% nickel up till 1964. Copper-nickel in 1965 and later. Half dollars - 90% silver, 10% nickel up till 1964. 40% silver, 60% nickel from 1965-69. Copper-nickel in 1971 and later. Dollars - 90% silver, 10% nickel up till 1935. Coinage sus-pended till 1971. Copper-nickel from 1971 to 1999, manga-nese-brass in 2000 and later. Current products from the U. S. Mint including proof sets and Silver American Eagles have silver. These aren't intended for circulation and cost more than face value but could still, if you were dumb enough, be used at face value for purchases. So technically the U. S. still makes silver coins. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_last_date_that_coins_were_silver

Salida, Colorado

S alida, Colorado, was an important agricultural, supply, and railroad center for the surround-ing mining districts. Several smelters were lo-

cated at Salida to service nearby mines. Most mining activities had ceased by the 1970's and Salidas economy suffered like many mining towns of the era. However, by the early nineties, artists had moved into town, renovated buildings into galleries, and created a new local economy. Today, Salida is an interesting town that blends 19th century architecture with modern art and outdoor recreation. westernmin-inghistory.com

Evolution of the Detectorist Thanks to Paul Mayhak

Telma Gold Mine and Stock Certificate Salida, Colorado

Page 7 The News, July 2014

Stagecoach Robbery In Colorado Posted on July 2, 2013 by Johnny Walker

T he only public transportation before 1869 was the stagecoach, and most areas were served by the interconnecting stage lines. Naturally they

were an obvious and tempting target for outlaws, es-pecially those who were just getting breaking into the bandito business. In 1869, when the transcontinental railroad was completed, the stagecoach was the only form of public transpor-tation available. The stagecoach system re-mained the best way to travel most of the re-mote areas in the Rocky Mountain west into the early 1900?s. Since many of the local mining companies transported their pay-rolls by stagecoach, criminals had a pretty good chance of riding away with gold dust, gold bars, and gold coins after robbing a stagecoach. These valuables were usually stored under the stagecoach driver’s seat in a strong box. Holly-wood writers to the contrary, irre-gardless of the value of the strong box, bandits would nearly always take money, jewelry, watches, or any other valuables from the pas-sengers. As a stagecoach traveled along a trail or road far away from any town or stage station, robbers, highwaymen, road agents, bandits could come out of their carefully selected ambush spots and hiding places, point their guns at the driver, order

him to stop, then they would demand that he throw down the strong box. The bandits would then divide up the loot (most stagecoach strongboxes weighed between 100 and 150 pounds when filled) and then ride away. In 1879, the stagecoach line in Leadville Colorado started having a lot of trouble with robberies. The stage would sometimes carry gold shipments between Leadville and Buena Vista, Colorado. Somehow, a lone gunman seemed to always know when there would be gold on the stage, even though this informa-tion was a closely held secret and only known to the local head of the stage line and the Sheriff’s deputies.

The stagecoach com-pany decided to catch the thief by planting false information among the staff and a few of the sheriff’s deputies. As had been expected the masked road agent came out of hiding to ambush the stage. Sev-eral of the guards that had been hidden inside the stagecoach jumped out and shot the robber. When they pulled off the robber’s mask, they dis-

covered that it was the wife of one of the deputies! The deputy was so shocked and embar-rassed, he buried her beside the trail where she was killed instead of bringing her body back to town. Her headstone can be seen from the highway a few miles south of Leadville: My Wife Jane Kirkham died March 7, 1879 Aged 38 years, 3 months, 7 days

http://clearcreekprospecting.com/stagecoach-and-train-robbery-in-colorado/

At least once per year, some group of scientists will become very excited and announce that: * The universe is even bigger than they

thought! * There are even more subatomic particles than they thought! * Whatever they announced last year about global warming is wrong.

Page 8 The News, July 2014

(described the same as placer claims). The maximum size! is 5 acres. Tunnel Sites - A tunnel site is a subsurface right-of-way under Federal land open to mineral entry. It is used for access to lode mining claims or to explore for blind or undiscovered veins, lodes, or ledges not currently claimed or known to exist on the surface. A tunnel site can be up to 3,000 feet in length. Who Can Stake a Claim? United States citizens who have reached the age of dis-cretion, under the law of the state of residence; or legal immigrants who have declared their intention to become a citizen; or a corporation organized under the laws of any state may locate a mining claim. The government considers a corporation the same as a U.S. citizen. An agent may locate a mining claim on behalf of a claim-ant. A claimant may hold any number of claims or sites. Recording a Mining Claim To record your mining claim, file with the BLM State Office: A copy of the Notice of Location or Location Certificate (which was or will be filed with the respective County Recorder), a map or narrative showing the location of the claim, and a filing fee of $170 per claim to the appro-priate BLM office. If the Location Notice or Location Certificate is not re-ceived or postmarked within the 90-day filing period, the Notice or Certificate will not be accepted and will be re-turned to you without further action. BLM does not require the claim information to be on any specific form, nor does BLM produce or distribute a form for such purpose. Local printing companies or sta-tionery stores are typical sources for forms. The form submitted to BLM must include: Date of location Name and address of the owner(s)

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Before You Buy That Metal Detector Handbook Check:

http://www.mdhtalk.org/articles/before-you-buy-hb/before-you-buy-handbook.pdf

Name of the claim/site Type of claim/site The acreage claimed A description of the parcel on the ground (township, range, section, quarter section, and/or a metes and bounds description) A location map is required, if the legal description given can not be plotted onto a Master Title Plat. Recordation fees for new claims: Location Fee = $30.00/claim Maintenance Fee = $125.00/claim Service Charge = $15.00/claim All monies are due at the time of filing. (A claim will not be accepted unless the payment of the maintenance and locations fees is submitted; the service charge portion is a curable defect.) The initial $125 maintenance fee is due for the assess-ment year in which the claim is located (not recorded). This fee is not prorated. Upon meeting the filing requirements, each claim is as-signed a serial number. After adjudication of the filing has been completed, the claimant will receive notification from BLM acknowledging the claim and its assigned se-rial number. If a claimant requests a copy of the date stamped certifi-cates of location, cost recovery fees apply (.13 per page). For more information or to find the requirements for your state, please visit the Bureau of Land Management website: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en.html

Page 9 The News, July 2014

6/23/14 To: RMPTH Board From: rmattco@hotmail.com on behalf of Richard Mattingly (rickmatt@q.com) Sent: Mon 6/23/14 11:36 AM To: RMPTH Board Well, it would seem that we can't catch a break from the government agents. Last Saturday Dave Longmore and friends drove the route to the Diamond Hunt site scheduled for this weekend. About a mile or so from the location they ran into a locked gate! They happened to find a Forest Service employee in the area along the road and asked about the locked gate. This guy stated that he wasn't sure what agency was respon-sible for that gate or why it would be locked. I have spent this entire morning trying to track down the government jackasses responsible. I finally tracked it down to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife. I spoke with a lady there who located the gate on their mapping but she didn't know who locked it or why. I am now waiting for a call from whoever they determine to be responsible. I can only imag-ine the ridiculous excuse I'm going to hear ..... they saw a tire track in the road, they saw a yellow bellied sap sucker in the area, and so forth. It is getting to the point where you cannot plan an event any-where in the forest on public lands because roads are being bull-dozed shut or locked gates mysteriously appear. Coincidentally, in Sunday's Coloradoan I see an editorial by Jack Brinkhoff on this exact issue. Jack's family lived for years in the Manhattan area and were constantly at odds with the "government servants of the people" who harassed them to no end. I have copied Jack's comments below. I will have to make a decision on this event by tomorrow to get email notices out to the members in time. I'll hold my breath until I get that mystic call from the "government ser-vant of the people" responsible for this pain in the butt. Rick Mattingly

=========================== "JACK BRINKHOFF SOAPBOX: FOREST SERVICE Forest Service should be land stewards, not dictators “Caring for the Land and Serving People:” That is in the title on the home page of the U.S. For­est Service. In a June 17 Soap­box submitted by the district rang­er, Kevin Atchley, he feels com­pelled to justify the U.S. Forest Ser­vice’s ac-tions of land grab, and clos­ing down more recreation areas. In the most recent project called Elk­horn Project, the scope

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(Continued on page 15)

Page 10 The News, July 2014

Calendar of Events

MAP TO THE MEETING PLACE Pulliam Community Building

545 Cleveland Avenue, Loveland, Colorado

Directions: The Pulliam Community Building is situated on the west side of Cleveland Avenue in Loveland,

Colorado. Park at the rear of the building (west side). Entry to the meeting room is from the doorway on the south side of the building (not the main entrance on Cleveland Avenue!).

July Meeting Wednesday, July 2nd. We will meet at the Pulliam Building in downtown Loveland at 6:00PM. Refer to the adjoining map for directions. Meeting Agenda 6:00 - 7:00 Social Hour & Finds Program 7:00 - 7:30 Business, Announcements & Find of the Month Program 7:30 - 7:45 Break 7:45 - 8:15 Gold Panning & Sluicing Video 8:15 - 9:00 "Open Forum Q&A” By attending members. Bring your questions and answers regard-ing anything club related!

Visit RMPTH On The Internet At http://rmpth.com

RMPTH DUES

RMPTH is an unincorpo-rated Social Club with

no income generated. All expenses are covered by $25 annual dues. Mem-bers are requested to

consider minor donations at each monthly meeting to cover refreshments.

Page 11 The News, July 2014

July 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 RMPTH Finds Program & Social 6:00P RMPTH Meeting 7:00P

3 4 Independence Day

5

6 7 8 9 10 RMPTH Board Meeting 6:00P

11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Eldora Ski Resort Detector Outing

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Clear Creek Gold Outing

27 28 29 30 31

August 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

3 4 5 6 RMPTH Finds Program & Social 6:00P RMPTH Meeting 7:00P

7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 RMPTH Board Meeting 6:00P

15 16 Off-Road Detector Outing

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Vic’s Gold Panning Outing

31

Page 12 The News, July 2014

RMPTH Field Outing Statement

NOTE: The Coordinators and participants stay in touch and continue to review and plan upcoming presentations and outings for the year on a monthly basis. Our editor Rick Mattingly needs timely event information for each

issue of The News. Please get information about any par-ticular event to him by the 15th of the month to meet the

printing deadline for the next issue.

Planned trips, outings, activities, and meeting programs are in the newsletter and on line at the clubs website.

Planning is a work in progress and additional outings and activities are added and sometimes deleted on an ongo-

ing basis. Events planned in the upcoming month are emphasized to the attendees at the monthly meetings. Contact the Presentations Coordinators or Editor if you have any suggestions or ideas throughout the year for

fieldtrips, outings, and programs.

The best made plans may change at the last minute due to the illness of the Trail Boss, weather, land access, ve-hicles breaking down, wrong meeting sites, etc. Please

be understanding of extenuating circumstances and con-tact the coordinator or Trail Boss of a specific event if there is any question of an event being cancelled or

changed at the last minute.

Victor, Colorado Train Robbery During the summer of 1897, four men hijacked five iron chests of gold bullion from a moving train 10 miles south of Victor, Co. The train was on its regular run from the Victor stamp mill to Denver, Co. The four train robbers were killed shortly thereafter in a running gunfight with pursuing lawmen, but none of the gold was re-covered. Posse members made a rough search of the area at the time, but there was no sign of the stolen gold. For years afterward, prospec-tors and treasure hunters searched for the hidden loot, but it has never been reported found. Thanks to Gold Prospectors of Colorado

Paul Mayhak (right) presents Tom Warne with 3 Ounce Silver Bar Prize from the latest Treasure Hunt. Tom put all the clues together and uncovered the hidden target to win

this beauty! Way to go Tom, and thanks to Paul for coordinating this hunt.

Watch What You Say

When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting to me that I

should get it fixed. But, somehow I always had something else to take care of - the

truck, the car, fishing - always something more important to me.

Finally, she thought of a clever way to make her point. When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing

scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house.

I was gone only a few minutes. When I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. "When

you finish cutting the grass," I said, "you might as well sweep the sidewalk."

The doctors say I will walk again, but I will

always have a limp.

Page 13 The News, July 2014

The Stagecoach Robbery By K. Wills

A s I have explained many times to many treasure hunters, doing research in your local library can be an excellent treasure hunting tool. Also, most

of the time, you will become side-tracked on to another possible treasure or site every time you go to the library for research. In 1983 or was it 1984, I found myself looking to track down a ghost town in Wood County in the town of Winnsboro Library on a cold Winter morning. What bet-ter to do when it is too cold to hunt outside, but to do some research on other places to hunt in the future. After some three hours of unsuccessful book searching, I tried the micro-film of the county's newspapers. I found that in the 1930s and 40's the local Historical Society were doing many articles in the newspapers on old sites around the county, this built my hopes up in finding the ghost town I was looking for. It wasn't long until I ran across an article about an old late 1800's stagecoach robbery within the county. More searching in the 1957 newspaper, I found another article about the same stagecoach robbery, but this time it was focus around the discovery of one of the three bags of newly minted Silver Dollars found. Believe it or not, they were found by a road construction crew that year when they were widening highway 11. The article told of 1500 newly minted 1882CC Morgan Silver Dollars on its way to a bank in one of the nearby counties. Three bags of 500 each of the Silver Dollars were being carried in the coach's strong box. Some ten miles back, the coach drive spotted the mask robbers pursuing him. He knew he couldn't out run them for long, so he tried to get ahead of them enough to hide the three bags of Silver Dollars along the trail. How-ever, in his attempt, the driver was fatally wounded. He did get ahead of them enough and he decided to still hide the three bags. He open the strong box (it didn't say how, for the company usually held the only key to their stage line strong boxes), and made his way to hide the three bags before the robbers caught up to him and fin-ished him off. continued on the next post, The newspa-per article did say that the robbers got so frustrated looking for where the driver may have hidden the money, that they argued and fought each other to where one was killed and another seriously wounded. The article indi-cated there were three robbers in all. The article also told of the construction crew filling their hats with bright shiny Silver Dollars.

Some researching of the old records in the abstract of-fice and I was able to locate the exact stretch of road they were working on in the 1950's where they broke open and spread a bag for these Silver Dollars. Even with this much information, it was still some three miles of road. So I went to one of the oldest looking houses along that stretch of road and ask if they knew who was the oldest living person that had live their most of their life. They directed me to an 88 year old man about a mile away. I went to his home, only to find out he was in the hospital and had been for 2 weeks. However his wife did call me when he was able to come home so we could talk about this small piece of history. His name was Ed and one of the nicess fellows you'll ever meet. It was hard for him to stay on the question I was asking, so he called his son-in-law and had him take me to a spot some 2 miles out of town and 100 years off the highway. At this point, Ed's son-in-law showed me an old red rock headstone, telling me that it was the actual headstone of the coach drive from the 1880's. His father-in-law (Ed) had found it many years ago when he was a kid squirrel hunting with his father and grandfather. They told him of the story about the coach. Wow, what a moment, it really got you thinking. Boy if the drive could only talk to me now and tell me where the Silver Dollars are hidden, my search would be over. The funny thing about all this, was that I seriously never thought I would have a chance to find the hidden loot, but the more I read and talked with Ed, the more excited I got and amazed at how everything was falling into place. After seeing the headstone of the coach driver, I immedi-ately ask Ed's son-in-law if he knew who the owner of the property was that we were standing on. His answer was what I had hope for; it was a relative's land. He drove me to their front door and I was able to gain permission to metal detect the property without having to make any agreements to share what I find. As a matter of fact, the relatives told me I could keep anything I find, for they didn't believe in the story in the first place. Well you can guess where I was hunting for the next two weeks, but I never found a single Silver Dollar. There was just too many questions unanswered and too many acres to cover to find the loot. So I went back to my research notes, re-read them and looked for anything I might of missed the first time. Any possible clue to nar-row down the field of search would help. It was then that I did find a single sentence about an "well" that belong to an old way-station on the trail, abandoned some years back before the robbery. In the mentioning of the site was the spot of where the driver and one of the hold-up man's bodies were discovered. However, who knows how far away they might of buried the driver from where he was found. It was fairly known that in such events, the

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Page 14 The News, July 2014

bodies of those killed would be buried where or very close to where they were found. Taking this into account and the general direction of the stagecoach trail from where it came to where it should of been going, I judged it to be some 300 to 500 yards that possibly could be the area the driver hide the three bags of loot. To take it even another step further, in the 1950's they found the first of the Silver Dollars while widening the highway. Thus it was reasonable to think that in that early of days there would be few metal detectors to search the area that the loot was found, so shouldn't there be some Sil-ver Dollars left on the shoulder of the highway? Well, it was a long shot, but it seemed to be the easier of the two possible places to start, the shoulder of the high-way. So three days the first week I got to hunt the shoul-der only to find much road trash. However, on the fol-lowing week (fifth day of hunting the shoulders) my luck turned for the best …. a beautiful 1882 CC Silver Dollar from about 8 inches deep. Folks I got to tell you I must of sat on the side of the highway for an hour, just han-dling and looking that Silver Dollar over. It must of been from the mint, for every edge was sharp and well de-fined. I just couldn't believe it, I'm actually holding his-tory in my hands, Wow! I took the Silver Dollar and headed back to my truck, leaving the hole I found the coin in well marked. I wrapped the Silver Dollar in tissue paper and hid it in my truck, then moved my truck much closer to where I hade found the coin just off the highway shoulder. Not wasting any time, I went right back to hunting the area. It wasn't until two days later I found my second 1882 CC Silver Dollar not a foot from the black top of the highway. Imagine how many of the dollars are under the paved road, it makes me sick to think about it. Even today I drive over that very spot once or twice a year, each time think of the Silver Dollars under me. After many weeks of searching the highway's shoulders, I moved straight into a relative’s property just over their fence and in line with where I had found the two Silver Dollars. Some three or four weeks went by, no luck at all. I was beginning to think that hunting the highway shoulder would be my best chance to find another coin or two. Until I found what looked to be a hand dug "well" some 10 foot in diameter. Not far from the "well" I dis-covered what seem to be hundreds of homemade bricks just under the folded over grass. Could this be the old stage stop mentioned in that one sentence I found in the research? Looking back from the possible stage stop towards the direction of where the stage was coming from (since the driver's body was found at this spot, if the article is true) I started 50 foot sweeps of the area in that direction. On the second day at that spot (51 days of searching thus far) I continued my wide sweeps, staying within a close

(Continued from page 13) pattern so not to miss any estimated size of a bag of sil-ver. A sudden loud yet deep target rang out on my detec-tor. My first thought, it's another plow point, for I have dug several on this property so far. It did show some size to the target according to my detector. I looked up at the sky and said "please Lord, let it be", then back my shovel up to give it plenty of room so not to scratch and coins I might find. After about 10 inches deep, I felt something as I brought it out of the hole. There in the sunlight of the mid afternoon, several bright shiny Silver Dollars fell off my shovel blade as I clear the hole. "Dear God" I said, I've been blessed. The more I dug (very care-fully) the more shining Silver Dollars I saw. Something I still dream about to this day! I must of dug a three foot diameter hole down to two foot deep. Total count, 150 Silver Dollars exactly all dated 1882 CC, not another signal in the hole. I ran to my truck and grab a box of Kleenex tissue and ran back to where I had left my detector, shovel and the Silver Dol-lars stacked on the ground. I spent nearly an hour wrap-ping each dollar with tissue and placing it in the tissue box and when it was full, into my pouch. My wife and I had the best time brushing away the dirt and looking over each of the Silver Dollars as we put them up for a trip to our safety deposit box in the morn-ing at the bank. I can't explain why there were only 150 Silver Dollars in that bag? Of course the bag had been eaten away over the years being buried. Maybe the research wasn't all that accurate? I have gone back many times over many years and have found nothing else. Was there really that much money lost? Did the remaining robber find one of the bags buried by the coach driver? Was the story off by the time it was printed in the newspaper by the historical society? Were there six bags of coins instead of three bags reported in the article? Who knows, we may never know. It does go to show you that many gaps are filled in when history is reported years later. Ten years ago, I sold the silver dollars I had found there for a down payment on the very house I live in today. I sold them each for $100.00 a piece. However, I kept just one of the 1882 CC Silver Dollars so to remind me of a dream come true. Your dream is out there, will you ever make it come true? Keith Wills The Treasure Spot Forum http://www.ballistic.com/~dsmith/tsforum/dcboard.cgi

Page 15 The News, July 2014

Gold Glossary Pack train - Pack trains were used to transport the bare ne-cessities to miners and loggers in the 19th century. They usu-ally consisted of 5 or more horses or mules and a few men.

Symbol: AU Atomic Number: 79

Atomic Weight: 196.967 Melting Point: 1063° (1945° F)

Specific Gravity: 19.2 MOH’s Scale of Hardness:

2.5 - 3

Karat

24K = 100% Pure Gold 18K = 75% Pure Gold 14K = 58% Pure Gold 10K = 42% Pure Gold

Troy Weights

1 grain = 0.0648 grams

24 grains = 1 penny weight (DWT) = 1.552 grams

20 DWT = 1 ounce = 480 grains = 31.10 grams

Gold Facts

YOUR ADVERTISEMENT COULD BE HERE! Call Rick Mattingly at 970-613-8968 or rickmatt@q.com

called out for the closure of 25 miles of “unau­thorized” routes, meaning any-thing from a permanent closure or just gated so they could still utilize the road but prohibit the general public. In his Soapbox, Atchley states that the Forest Service did not con­struct these roads, which is a valid point. However, at the time these roads were constructed for the pur­pose of logging, they seemed to get by just fine for the past 50 years with no one maintaining them. I have been witness to the closure of mile after mile of road, and whole areas being closed off permanently. If one travels down the Boy Scout road, about 4 miles from the asphalt off the Red Feather Lakes Road, you will notice a sign hanging on a locked gate that reads “road tempo­rarily closed.” This gate was locked and the sign hung eight years ago. When asked about what temporary meant to the Forest Service, I was asked to show Atchley where the road was located on the map. Upon providing one of their “new” maps, it was discovered that the road that was temporarily closed no longer existed on the new map. Hmmm. I would have loved to participate in the objection period that allows folks to express their concerns for the decisions of one individual for the fate of all the folks wanting to recreate, hunt or just be able to ac­cess the woods via other means than horseback or hiking, but I was told that I missed that by about a month. I was informed that no letters of comment were submitted; however, the decision notice and finding of no significant impact that was released claims that there were 13 letters submitted. If one clicks on the link that would show these letters, it states there are no comments. Part of the scope of work being proposed on the Elkhorn Project al­lows the Forest Service to construct a new road that will allow them to sell more Christmas trees. What a shame that we can justify closing roads to the gen-eral public while al­lowing them to carve out new roads for that purpose. In his letter he states that we have 830 miles of “unauthorized” roads to en-joy. I only wish this was the case. A good portion of these “unauthorized” roads sit behind locked gates. One road in particular, Seven Mile, usually opens in early June; however, they have decided that because the stream came out of its banks and ran down the road in an area, they may not open it at all this year. I had the chance to get in and see for myself the devastating impact the creek had on the road, and dis­covered all that had happened was the washing away of fines, and leav­ing larger rocks exposed for the road bed. This road has been rough and a 4-wheel drive road for the past 20-plus years; I believe that is why folks go into those areas. I appreciate that the past couple of years have taken a toll on certain areas, and I support closing side roads where people have gone off trail, but the land grabs and closing of areas and removing the roads from the maps has got to stop. Please be stewards of our lands, and not dictators. Jack Brinkhoff of Wellington grew up recreating and hunting in the areas mentioned above. He and others have started a Facebook page: Citizens for Outdoor Recreation and Trails. Fort Collins Coloradoan 06/22/14"

(Continued from page 9)

Page 16 The News, July 2014

All mistakes and misspellings were

intentionally made so that you could have the

pleasure of finding them.

Trading Post

About Trading Post

The News runs classified ads in Trading Post for three consecutive issues. Trading Post ads

for topic related items up to 10 lines (or 70 words) long are free. To place an ad in Trading Post contact Rick Mattingly at (970) 613-8968

evenings or e-mail at: rickmatt@q.com

Commercial Advertising Specifications

(Monthly Donation Rate) Full Page (8 1/2" X 7") $30 Half Page (3 1/4" X 7") $20 One Third Page (3" X 4") $15 Business Card (2 3/4" X 1 1/2") $ 5

Ads must be received by the 15th of the preceding month. Contact Rick Mattingly for in-

formation on this service at (970) 613-6968 evenings or e-mail at:

rickmatt@q.com.

Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum Golden, Colorado

Contact us: 303-273-3815 or

geomuseum@mines.edu

Identification of specimens is performed between 10 a.m. and noon, Tuesdays and

Thursdays.

FOR SALE: Whites MXT. Lightly used. Price includes fab-ric carrying case. Asking $400.00. Call 303 747 2305 or e-mail edmaiedwards@aol.com WANTED: By NRA Card Holding Law Abiding Private Citizen. Colt S&W Ruger Taurus .357 Wheel Gun/Revolver for Home/Personal Defense. If you have a Collector’s Item, Please keep it. I’m looking for a gun to shoot/Not display. LMK what ya got. Thanks. 970.222.2323 FOR SALE: Jewelers propane/oxygen torch, many cabo-chons, beads and tools. Contact Ann at (970) 6667-3705. FOR SALE: A "MUST HAVE" T-Shirt for every Prospector and Treasure Hunter. Quality 100% cotton tees. See and order from: http://BestBlackandGold.com. FOR SALE: Minelab SD2200 Gold Nugget Metal Detector: 10-1/2" Mono Super Coil, 10-1/2" SD Series Super Coil, two batteries w/wall & car charger, headphones, backpack, waist battery pack, signal enhancer, extra lower stem, in-struction booklet & video, carry case. Ready to go for the gold. New Price: $1625. Contact Paul at (970) 482-7846. FOR SALE: 5HP pump motor, Gold King 3" Hi-banker with dredge attachment w/adjustable stand, Gold Grabber Hi-banker, 125 feet hose, Rock net and steel cable, misc. fit-tings and valves & large metal bucket. Prefer to sell all to-gether for $1,350 but negotiable. Call Eric Stickland at (303) 833-6848 or estick@live.com. WANTED: Used lapidary equipment. Call Kathie 970-221-1623 WANTED: Federal or state duck stamps; mint or used. Con-tact John Hart at (307) 778-3993.

NOTE: Purchase arrangements are between the buyer and

seller only and involves no financial benefit to RMPTH.

Page 17 The News, July 2014

WEEKEND & SMALL-SCALE MINER’S CODE OF ETHICS

I WILL respect other prospector’s claims and not work those claims without the owner’s permission I WILL have on-site all necessary permits and licenses I WILL build fires in designated or safe places only, and in accordance with current State and Federal guidelines I WILL be careful with fuels and motor oils and be cog-nizant of their potential destructive effect on the envi-ronment I WILL remove and properly dispose of all trash and debris that I find - I will not litter I WILL be thoughtful, considerate and courteous to those around me at all time I WILL appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources, wildlife, fisheries and private property, and respect all laws or ordinances governing prospecting and mining I WILL NOT remove stream bank material, destroy natural vegetation or woody debris dams, nor discharge excess silt into the waterways I WILL NOT refuel motorized equipment in the stream I WILL NOT allow oil from motorized equipment to drip onto the ground or into the water I WILL NOT prospect in areas closed to prospecting and mining

Offer Your Assistance To Any Of Our Program Coordinators A strikingly common-sense newspaper editorial

The Living Will While I was watching the final four games a couple of weekends ago, my wife and I got into a conversation about life and death, and the need for living wills. During the course of the conversation I told her that I never wanted to exist in a vegetative state, dependant on some ma-chine and taking fluids from a bottle. She got up, unplugged the TV and threw out all of my beer. Man -- sometimes it's tough being mar-ried to a smartass.

Page 18 The News, July 2014

Month Meeting Program Trip/Activity

January Battery Facts

By Batteries Plus No Trip/Activity Scheduled

February Found Explosives Safety By Rick Mattingly No Trip/Activity Scheduled

March Gold Wheel Recovery

By Darrel Koleber Colorado School of Mines Museum Tour Internet Research Clinic - Rick Mattingly

April Crack, Crevasse Prospecting

By Bryon Morgan

Prospecting & Detecting Clinic at Lions Park - Advertised and Open to the Public Phoenix Mine Tour Idaho Springs

May Geophysics and Excavation of Alonzo

Allen Cabin Site Near Allenspark By Heidi Short

Clear Creek Gold Outing ‘Let’s Go Gold Panning On The Arkansas’ Event – GPOC

June Metal Detecting

By Rick Mattingly & Paul Mayhak

Clear Creek Gold Outing Diamond Hunt Outing

State Annual Gold Panning Championships

July Wyoming Prospecting

By Wayne Sutherland—WSGS Eldora Ski Resort Detector Outing - Robert Crain

Clear Creek Gold Outing - Darrel Koleber

August The Great Diamond Hoax

By Rick Mattingly Off-Road Detector Outing Vic’s Gold Panning Outing

September Bottle Hunting

By Rick Mattingly

Annual Coin & Prize Hunt Fort Laramie Wyoming Tour

Denver Colorado Gem & Mineral Show

October Emergency Planning

By Light House Ready Grassland Detector Outing

November Annual “Show & Tell” &

Silent Auction No Trip/Activity Scheduled

December Annual Find of the Year Awards &

Christmas Party Flatirons Mineral Club & Model Train Show

Good Hunting in 2014!

Rocky Mountain Prospectors and Treasure Hunters Club 2014 Schedule of Events

Page 19 The News, July 2014

Let’s Go For The Gold !

Rocky Mountain Prospectors & Treasure Hunters

Contact List RMPTH Coordinators Home E-Mail

President Bud Yoder ———————– bydu812@yahoo.com

Interim Vice President Shane Manenti 1-970-590-9183 menentiwe2@msn.com

Treasurer Dick & Sharon French 1-970-482-2110 dickyf99@centurylink.net

Secretary Heidi Short 1-970-532-1167 heishort@gmail.com

The News Staff

Editor-in-Chief Rick Mattingly 1-970-613-8968 rickmatt@q.com

Internet Web Site

Web Master Rick Mattingly 1-970-613-8968 rickmatt@q.com

Volunteers/Coordinators

Finds Program Paul Mayhak Betsy Emond Joe Johnston

1-970-482-7846 1-970-218-0290 1-303-696-6950

pjmcolo@q.com bemond@fcgov.com cjoej1@peoplepc.com

Presentations Rick Mattingly 1-970-613-8968 rickmatt@q.com

Club Historian Barbara Schuldt 1-970-407-1336 ———————–

Club Meeting Greeter Barbara Schuldt 1-970-407-1336 ———————–

Club Librarian Joe Johnston 1-303-696-6950 cjoej1@peoplepc.com

Club Photo Librarian Heidi Short 1-970-532-1167 heishort@gmail.com

Panning Demos Bryan Morgan Darrell Koleber

1-970-416-0608 1-970-669-2599

brymorg@frii.com gutshot1016@yahoo.com

Meeting Setup Shane Menenti 1-970-590-9183 menentiwe2@msn.com

Door Prize Paul Mayhak Johnny Berndsen

1-970-482-7846 1-970-667-1006

pjmcolo@q.com ———————–

50/50 Drawing Woody Hogdon 1-970-667-5010 ftcolwoody@juno.com

Coin Raffle Shane Manenti 1-970-590-9183 menentiwe2@msn.com

General Information Contact: Rick Mattingly at 1-970-613-8968

Visit RMPTH on the Internet at: http://rmpth.com

JULY, 2014 ISSUE

The News Rocky Mountain Prospectors & Treasure Hunters Club

278 Sierra Vista Drive

Fort Collins, CO. 80524