Arizona republican., 1922-04-12
OLD TRADITIONS OF THE
LOST MINES OF The WEST
By JOHN l. RIGGS

Peg Leg Smith was an argonaut
in the gold rush in '49 and in hunt
ing for game one day he picked up
three little nuggets of gold and put
them in his shot pouch and carried
them with him. Later, after losing
the front sight of his rifle, he made
new bead Of one of the "Gunsight"
mine.
BoyfoeIe Mine
Once man named Boyfogle and
a companion passed the Vegas ranch,
now Las Vegas, Nevada. on a pros
pecting trip in the early sixties.
Boyfogle returned to the ranch later
in almost a perishing condition from
thirst, hunger and fractured skull.
but bringing some specimens of very
rich silver ore. On leaving the ranch,
Boyfogle also left a sample of the
ore, which has been seen and de-
scribed by many prospectors as a
pale yellow carbonate ore full of
black suiphides and horn silver.
Boyfogie was never right in the
head after that blow he received
from the Indians, yet he was repeat
edly staked by different parties to
hunt his lost mine He could never
even find a. place that even looked
like the district in which he found
his ore samples. Although it could
not be Unidentified, think the "lost"
mine was finally found, but the story
is too long to be used here.
Boyfogle says he and his partner
camped at q small spring just under
| the summit of a steep mountain
where three Indians came to them
and told OF mine about three miles
| away. Boyfogle went with the Indi-
ans to get samples and left his COM
| panion in camp. On his return an
Indian walking behind him felled
| him with a heavy blow and he re-
turned TO consciousness some time in
\ the night have with a badly beaten
| head and fractured skull. The
Indians having left him for dead,
| Boyfogle found his old camp only to
| finI that his partner had been killed
and their effects all stolen. Boy
fogie then began his three day jour-
ney to Vegas ranch without food.
1t is believed that Boyfogle found
| the camp again twenty years later,
as axe marks and human bones were
| discovered along with partly
burned pack saddle, a partly burned
shovel and some battered wreckage
/ OF cooking utensils. Three miles from
| the spot there Is a once famous mine
/ RARA1NAAA9 O&E tttok AVOACQ INV tA4S
| specimens discovered by Boyfogle.
Billy Sanders Digginqs
In another instance the writer and
| another miner were the finders of a
lost placer mine OF much local repute
known as the Lost Billy Sanders dig
| gings. Billy Sanders found a ten
/ dollar nugget in a creek bank once
/ and spent 20 years looking for the
| place aftefward. Yet strange to say
| the diggings turned out to be very
lean. averaging only about one dol
lar and fifty cents per day for labor
Niger Ben Mine
Rich Hill in Yavapai county. Ari-
zona, was shown to Mr.. Peabler by q
Pima Indian but he had to make tht
second trip owing to a peculiar trait
in Indian nature before he could
find the gold 1t was Immensely
rich but just pocket. Peabier tool
fortune from it. This is just .
prelude to the Lost Nigger Ben mine
PeabIer later had in his ranch II
Peabler valley a colored man by tbs
| name Of Ben. An Indian told BeI
that there was a richer Hill than Ricl
hill. known as the Big Antelope b.
the natives. (The Indians callet
Rich hill. Little Antelope.l
Ben engaged the Indian to pilo
him to the new hill. Arriving a
| Sycamore Springs. the Indian tol'