Blue Bucket Mine
The Lost Blue Bucket Mine is a well known lost mine located near John Day in Oregon.
However, there are also reports of a Blue Bucket Mine in the Black Rock Desert.[1]
Drago tells a story about how in October 1845 40 wagons were led by Captain Elisha Sowers who got lost in the Black Rock area while looking for the Applegate Cutoff As they went along, children threw rocks into the blue buckets attached to the wagons. After the wagon party arrived in Yreka, the rocks were found to be gold. Drago mentions a prospector named Peter Organ who said he knew where the gold was. Organ was associated with Hardin City.[2]
There are a number of problems with Drago's story.
- The Applegates started their journey to develop the trail on June 25, 1846.[3] So, the October 1845 date is implausible.
- No references were found for Captain Elisha Sowers, though there was an Elisha Sowers who was born in Kentucky in about 1816 and who was registered to vote in Guinda, California in the 1890s.
References
- ↑ "Lost Bonanzas; Tales of the Legendary Lost Mines of the American West," Harry Sinclair Drago, pp 157-166. 1966.
- ↑ "Prospector Finds Rich Ore Near Harden City," Reno Evening Gazette, February 2, 1938, p. 7.
- ↑ "Brown's Political History of Oregon: Provisional Government," J. Henry Brown, p. 292, 1892.