Arizona republican., 1899-12-11
RICH HILL DISCOVERY
Intere sting Details CT Inc Fist Find
ing of Gold in Arizona.

An Arizona weekly recently pub
lished a lengthy article on Prescott,
Yavapai county, and of the territory
at large, which contained a few facts,
but many more inaccuracies.
The paper says: Navajo Springs
has claim as the first capital, be
cause the proclamation was issued
there in 1893" and later the governor
camped in Chino valley, and when the
great gold find was made on Rich Hill
the governor broke camp in Chino val
ley, on the recommendation of Cen
eral Carleton, and located the seat Of
| government in Prescott in May, 1863 -
IN the foregoing excerpt there are q
few facts, but more fiction than facts.
Governor John n. Goodwin and party
We're en- route to Fort Whipple, then
already established at Chino valley,
and merely LAY over" one day at
Navajo Springs, and 1.-THE proclama-
ton issued there" simply because the
governor presumed his party to have
crossed to the west side of the 109th
meridian, the proclamation being q
| bit of factious buncombe on the
part of the governor, as there were no
! inhabitants to reach by proclamation,
aside from the governors own party.
The governor camped in Chino
valley because that was his objective
point after leaving Santa Fe, n. n.
The great gold find" of Rich Hill
mentioned in this paper was made at
( least a year before Governor Good
wins party pressed on into Arizona,
although it says its discovery was
made subsequent to the arrival of the
governor in Chino valley.
| Rich Hill was discovered by the
Jack Swilling party, who We're guided
to Antelope creek, at the foot of the
! hill, by a Pima Indian. Swilling had
previously learned, through Indian
| sources, that placer gold could be
/ found in large quantities somewhere in
that neighborhood, and after much
dicl3ering and persuasion and a prom
! ise of absolute secrecy, he finally sue
/ ceeded, and one Indian, who for the
| consideration of five ponies and fifty
/ silver dollars, agreed to guide the
! party to within Shooting distance" of
{ the gold.
: For some reason, occult or otherwise,
ali Indians are superstitious about
gold and never will take a white man
/ to the exact spot where gold is to be
found SO it was with Jacks Indian.
/ He guided the party to the foot of
Rich Hill, near Antelope creek, and
when asked, Where is the gold %
simply replied by gestures, indicating
! that it was in that locality. But be
ing pressed for more definite informa-
ton the Indian in an affrighted man
ner pointed to the top Of the hill,
which is nothing but high fiat table
like rock, and said You viii find what
up there The idea of finding placer
gold on the surface of a high fiat rock
was prepOsteroUs to those old placer
miners, and so much so to the Swilling
party that a proposition was at once
offered to hang the Indian then and
there for bringing them on a fools
| Grand" But SwillinS. who was the
leader Of the party, and withal one Of
the bravest men that ever lived. pat
his veto on the hanging proposition
and thus saved the Indians life. That
night the Spdian pulled his freight,
fearing a nsideration in his case
and returI.y the villages on the
I'll The Forming a majority