Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1914-03-19
THE BREYfOGLE MINE

PkS6o
about the Breyfogle mine and many
efforts have been made to find it,.
AS a contribution to the history of
that elusive property, j.. A. Della
meter writing about Death Valley
in the Clark County Review gives
the following:
Now there was me incident that
happened while those immigrants
were still in the valley Of death
that has caused many deaths since.
am now speaking of the old Brey-
fogle mine, with its legends and It's
elusive locality. Breyfogle in one
of his searches for food, Travelled
all of one day and night, when COM
ing to a spring and being almos:
exhausted he drank his fill of water
and lay down to sleep. In the
morning he discovered that he was
in a small valley where there was
an abundance of grass and some
juniper brush, and going onto the
spring for a drink he saw what he
believed Was gold quartz lying
in the spring, evidently HAVING fall
en- from a ledge about 10 feet
above the spring. He filed a large
bandanna handkerchief with this
quartz and Carried it with him I'M
til he ret Irned to camp but being
lost, it was about three days before
he arrived there.
Breyfogle was a PENNSYLVANIA
D%utchman and could scarcely speak
English, end being of a suspicious
nature he kept his secret until he
reached San RernaI dino, where he
sud his gold and Immediately Sc
cured an outfit and returned to
death valley to search for the Ell
dorado. But alas! he was doomed
20 disappointment, and when his
finances ran low he secured some
assistance and returned again, I'm
til finally being uDatle to secure
more ali he hunted alone. Finally
in a fight with Indians in 1872
while Panamint was in active OPP
GRAFTON, a rifle hall broke his leg
below the knee; and this wonder
full man crawled IL miles down a
wash and came to the old Pana-
mint road, where he was found, |
believe, by a freigbter by the name
OF Barney Carter, and taken to q
hospital IN San Bsrnardino, where
he died two years later. never
having fully recovered from the
fearful ordeal.
This legend or incident has lured
many a man to his death, and the
writer of this article has scar ched
fur the hidden Eldorado, end in
one instance found where FIVE men
had built for themselves a fort of
rocks against a cliff and their re-
mains were still there where they
had been killed presumably by In
dams. Judge Mills, of Phoebe, with
B~reyfogle and four other men were
compelled to cut their animals
loose and flee for their lives when
attacked by several hundred In
dams, and the remains of their
wagon can yet be seen about Is
miles up the old salt wash near
what is known as Butte Valley,
where they were piloted by Brey-
foale and where B~reyfogle was sf-
terward shot. And God alone knows
how many have persisted looking for
this mythical mine. There have
been many instances Of man and
animal that have persisted in the
valley and have mummified
One instance when a ell-known
man by the name of William Shad-
ley who died near old Salt Marsh
and lay 28 days before he was
found by searcbers. When found
he weighed only about 100 pounds
and was dried up until there was
no odor from his body and his fea-
lures, though drawn, looked quite
natural. His wife and daughter
aan LIE l. AIAallAa c.. D.