Lost Adams Diggings facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Adams Diggings, New Mexico
|
|
|---|---|
 Adams Diggings, New Mexico
Location in New Mexico
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| County | Catron |
| Population
(2000)
|
|
| • Total | 0 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT |
| Area code(s) | 575 |
The Lost Adams Diggings is a famous treasure story from the 1860s. It tells about a secret canyon in western New Mexico that was supposedly filled with lots of gold. Many people have searched for this hidden treasure for over a hundred years!
The Legend of the Lost Gold
The story begins with a man named Adams, whose first name is not known. He was born in New York in 1829. In 1864, Adams was traveling from Los Angeles to Tucson. After his wagon was attacked, he drove his horses towards Sacaton, Arizona.
In Sacaton, Adams met a group of 21 miners led by John Brewer. They were looking for gold. A young Pima-Mexican guide joined them. He promised to lead them to a valley of gold. He said he had seen gold nuggets "larger than your coins."
The guide had seen these large gold nuggets in 1862. He was on an expedition with Apaches in western New Mexico. He knew about silver and turquoise but did not know how valuable gold was. The miners agreed to pay him with a horse, a saddle, a weapon, and some gold.
Adams joined the group, sharing his horses and leadership with Brewer. On August 20, the 22 men and their guide set out. They followed the White River into the White Mountains. Then they entered western New Mexico.
The guide pointed to two mountains shaped like sugar loaves. He said the gold canyon was at the foot of those peaks. Adams believed they could see the San Francisco Mountains from there. The miners entered a narrow canyon through a spot Adams called "the Little Door." It was so narrow they had to enter one by one.
They went down a Z-shaped trail into the canyon. At the bottom, there was a spring with a small waterfall. Within days, the group found a huge amount of gold nuggets. They hid the gold in an old corn-grinding basin left by ancient Indians.
The young guide left the first night after being paid. He warned the group not to stay long. He said the canyon was an Apache campsite. The next day, Apache Chief Nana and 30 warriors appeared. The chief told them not to go above the falls.
Some men started building a cabin. They hid some gold under the cabin's fireplace stone. The miners kept digging for gold until their supplies ran out. Brewer and five others left to buy more supplies at Old Fort Wingate. This fort was west of modern Grants.
After Brewer's group left, some miners secretly searched above the falls. They came back with even bigger gold nuggets. Adams warned them, but they kept the gold.
Nine days passed, and Brewer's party did not return. Adams worried about them. He and another miner, Davidson, climbed out of the canyon. They found five bodies on the trail, but Brewer was not among them. They rushed back to camp.
It was too late. A large group of Indians had reached the camp. They had killed the remaining miners. The cabin was on fire, making the fireplace stone too hot to move. Thirteen days later, a military patrol found Adams and Davidson.
After recovering, Adams settled in California. When the Apache Wars ended, he tried many times to find the gold canyon. He searched for years, but he never found it again. However, his search inspired many others to join the hunt.
In 1949, an 83-year-old man named Robert W. "Bob" Lewis said he knew Adams. Lewis claimed he and Adams searched for the gold together in 1889. This was 25 years after the attack. Lewis later claimed he found the skeletons and Adams' cabin in 1918. This was 35 miles northwest of Magdalena, New Mexico.
Lewis said everything was there, just as Adams had described. But the gold was gone. He later found out a local sheepherder had found it. The sheepherder supposedly received $20,000 for the gold. He used the money to buy a ranch in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Where Could the Gold Be?
For many years, the Zuni Mountains were thought to be the most likely spot for the diggings. Thousands of gold seekers searched this area. They also searched other parts of southwestern New Mexico before World War II. The Adams Diggings became the most sought-after gold in the country.
During the Great Depression, many people searched for the gold. Between 1895 and 1930, large logging towns grew in the Zuni Mountains. Loggers knew about the Adams legend. Rumors of gold were so common that the U.S. government sent geologists to check. They found no gold.
In the 1950s, people searched the area again for uranium. This was during the uranium boom near Grants, New Mexico. Eventually, people stopped thinking the Zuni Mountains held the Adams gold. The story of the Adams Diggings became less popular. The Lost Dutchman Mine became America's most famous lost gold mine.
Geologists believe the Adams Diggings could only be in the southwestern part of New Mexico. Adams himself spent most of his life searching near Reserve, New Mexico. This area was known for gold. It had several small gold rushes. Rich gold was found at Silver City and Pinos Altos.
Many mountain ranges in this region are still wild and empty. Minerals and signs of old mining are found everywhere. Local stories say the gold is near the Black River, the Gila River, or the Prieto River. Spanish legends point to the Blue Mountains. Many mining camps in this region were thought to be the Adams Diggings. But each one turned out to have less gold than hoped.
The Datils and Gallinas Mountains are also considered possible locations. Dick French, in his book Four Days from Fort Wingate, suggests this area. A newer book by Dick French, Return to the Lost Adams Diggings: The Paul A. Hale Story, came out in 2014. It uses historical facts and maps to show this area might be the right spot. It even suggests Spanish activity there in the 1600s.
Another possible location was found in eastern Arizona near Clifton. Don Fingado found a site there with features Adams described. However, no gold has been found there.
Some people think the gold is on the Zuni or Navajo reservations. But laws make it hard to search for minerals in these areas.
The most popular ideas for the gold's location are mentioned above. If the gold truly exists, it is likely in the southwest part of New Mexico or nearby areas in Arizona. Jack Purcell's book, The Lost Adams Diggings: Myth, Mystery, and Madness, explores the story in detail. Purcell believes the gold exists, perhaps south of Quemado, New Mexico. Maybe the gold will be found someday. But for many, the legend is slowly fading away.
The Story Lives On
The many stories about the Lost Adams Diggings have inspired people to search for lost Apache gold. The legend has provided ideas for many folk tales, stories, and books. These tales are filled with ideas of hidden treasures, secret canyons, and gold "somewhere out there."
Another supposed Indian name for the mine was "Sno-Ta-Hay." This means "there it lies," suggesting gold could be picked up easily. Chief Nana supposedly used this name when he warned Adams' group.
J. Frank Dobie wrote about the Lost Adams Diggings in his book "Apache Gold and Yaqui Silver." He called it the greatest "lost mine" story in U.S. history. So much mail was sent to western New Mexico in the 1930s that a new post office was created. It was called "Lost Adams Diggings, NM." This post office has since closed.
The 1963 novel MacKenna's Gold by Heck Allen is based on the Adams legend. This novel was made into a movie in 1969, also called Mackenna's Gold. Many other books have been written about or inspired by the diggings. The legend was also shown on a 1991 episode of Unsolved Mysteries.
