Mine of Lost Souls

I first heard of the Mine Of Lost Souls from Arlo McDaniel back in the early 1950s. McDaniel was a traveling man, playing guitar with a western hand. While in New Mexico he learned of the mine from an elderly Mexican gentleman who said that as a small boy he had gone into the northern mountains with a mining party which included both his father and grandfather. They went to a rich silver mine located in a wild canyon somewhere in Ute Indian country. Work at the mine went routinely for most of the summer and the miners smelted and cast many heavy bars of nearly pure silver. Each day more of those bars would be cached in a pit dug beneath the floor of a small cabin they built. As summer turned to fall, the Indians began to become troublesome, running off their pack animals and attacking anyone who wandered far from camp.

One day while all the men were working at the mine and smelter, the young boy and his grandfather climbed high above their camp into a steep canyon where they picked ripe chokecherries. As they returned to camp near dusk they heard screams and yelling and saw below them the end of a terrible battle in which all of their comrades were being slaughtered. Bodies of miners lay scattered on the ground and their cabin was afire. In fear that the Indians might find them, the old man and his grandson hid until long alter dark. At the first light of dawn they dragged the boy's father into the mine tunnel and closed its entry by pulling down the' portal timbers to keep wild animals away. The old man wept that no priest was on hand to administer the last rites of the church, to save the souls of his son and the others who had been killed. Ever afterwards that rich silver mine in the Uinta Mountains was known as the Mine Of Lost Souls.

The old man who told his tale to McDaniel recalled the terrible journey he and his grandfather made after they fled from the mountains. They survived on wild berries and seeds during their long flight to Santa Fe. The grandfather died not long after they reached safety and the boy was left alone, but he always hoped that one day he might return to the place where his father's body lay in a forgotten mine tunnel. He hoped to have a priest say the words of the dead for his father. He also remembered the cache of heavy silver bars which still lay hidden where the cabin was burned. But Indian hostilities only became worse as the boy grew into a man and in time he had a family of his own to care for. The years passed until the boy became an old man, the old man who told his tale to McDaniel. Although nearly a century had passed, he still remembered the quiet mountain canyon and his father's grave, and the old mine and the cache of silver bars still hidden there. The old Mexican told McDaniel that the place where the mine was located was marked by a high promontory of land, where two small creeks came together. One of those creeks sank from sight in a swirling sink hole, only to surface again a little further down canyon. Close to that sink hole there was a cavern where he had lived with his father and grandfather, and just downstream from that cave there was a natural stone bridge or arch spanning a steep side gulch. Although he was too old and infirm to make the long journey north to that hallowed place, the old man who as a boy had played atop that stone arch gave McDaniel a map which had been made by his grandfather. (See Map T) It was his hope that his father's grave might be found so that a priest could say the Holy Words for him, and for the other miners who had died at the Mine Of Lost Souls.--Faded Footprints, pg. 165

The old man who told his tale to McDaniel recalled the terrible journey he and his grandfather made after they fled from the mountains. They survived on wild berries and seeds during their long flight to Santa Fe. The grandfather died not long after they reached safety and the boy was left alone, but he always hoped that one day he might return to the place where his father's body lay in a forgotten mine tunnel. He hoped to have a priest say the words of the dead for his father. He also remembered the cache of heavy silver bars which still lay hidden where the cabin was burned. But Indian hostilities only became worse as the boy grew into a man and in time he had a family of his own to care for. The years passed until the boy became an old man, the old man who told his tale to McDaniel. Although nearly a century had passed, he still remembered the quiet mountain canyon and his father's grave, and the old mine and the cache of silver bars still hidden there. The old Mexican told McDaniel that the place where the mine was located was marked by a high promontory of land, where two small creeks came together. One of those creeks sank from sight in a swirling sink hole, only to surface again a little further down canyon. Close to that sink hole there was a cavern where he had lived with his father and grandfather, and just downstream from that cave there was a natural stone bridge or arch spanning a steep side gulch. Although he was too old and infirm to make the long journey north to that hallowed place, the old man who as a boy had played atop that stone arch gave McDaniel a map which had been made by his grandfather. (See Map T) It was his hope that his father's grave might be found so that a priest could say the Holy Words for him, and for the other miners who had died at the Mine Of Lost Souls.--Faded Footprints, pg. 165

The Mine Of Lost Souls

By William Schaefermeyer, Sr.

This story is of a strange and mysterious gold mine, and cavern which is supposed to he in the vicinity of Dry Fork. The story is founded on truth and not on fiction or Indian legend. and its parts were related to me, by men I can vouch for.

Fred Reynolds Sr. was at my home one day and in the course of our conversation I told him a some of my prospecting adventures in the -Uinta -mountains. Mr.' Reynolds seemed interested and said: "Let me tell you something." This is what he related:

FRED REYNOLDS' STORY

One day I was over at Roosevelt and had occasion to exchange greetings with a group of men on the sidewalk. One of the men said to me: "Fred, do you know anything about the Dry Fork country?" I explained that I did--that I had lived there for a good many years, had herded sheep in the country and had hiked the area thoroughly. Another of the men then asked me if I knew of a gold mine in the vicinity and I replied that I did not. They then asked me if there was a natural bridge near Dry Fork, and I replied that there was and that I had had my picture taken on a horse atop the bridge. I was then asked if there was a cave near the natural bridge and then after I had told them yes, I asked how they knew about the area.

One of the men then showed me a map and indicated that all the features mentioned were shown. The map had marks to indicate a gold mine, but it was old and many of the original markings were defaced through age and handling.

I gave little more thought to the incident until some time later when I was herding sheep on Dry Fork, and a small boy came to me and said that there was a big hole under a cliff nearby and that he had nearly fallen in while picking wild cherries. I investigated and found the hole, which opened into a cave, and was reminded of the map, as the cave was not far from the natural bridge.

Of course Mr. Reynolds' story interested me greatly, and although he explained that he found no gold. I was determined to investigate the story further. Mr. Reynolds told me to look for a Mr. #$@# in Roosevelt if I cared to get more details.

One of my sons and I -went to Roosevelt in search of Mr. #$@# and when we found him he said that he knew nothing about if except that a Mr. Mitchell, who worked at the gilsonite mines at Fort Duchesne, had a map and told a fascinating story.

We found Mr. Mitchell at his home and questioned him "Yes," he said, "I brought the story up from New Mexico." And he related the following:

Mr. Mitchell's Story :

Some years ago I and my companion were traveling in New Mexico and as we were traveling along I suggested that inasmuch as it was getting late we should find a place to stay all night.

We saw a Mexican Hogan nearby and stopped and asked for a night's lodging--offering to pay.

We were admitted.

In the evening we became the center of a small group of Mexican people and explained to them that we were on our way to our homes near the Uinta mountains.

A very old Mexican. woman sitting among the others flared noticeably when we mentioned the Uinta mountains and raised her hands to exclaim; "Oh, the Uintas, the Uintas,"; and she turned to us and said I tell you something."

The Mexican Woman's Story :

Very long ago when I was a young girl I, with some of my people made a long journey to the far-off Uintas. We traveled, over the Escalante trail Near the end of our journey we came into a large stream (perhaps Ashley Creek) and we followed the stream into the mountains. We lived in a cave and each day traveled to a tunnel where we mined gold. (At this point she motioned with her hands to indicate a slope or pitch downward) and described with gestures the Sawtooth Fountain and a number of great pine trees.)

Once we saw Indians watching us and we were afraid of them, so we moved from the: cave to the tunnel. One day we took our gold and traveled far away to a little town called; Spanish Fork, where is seen a lake far off, to sell our gold.

American men attempted to follow us back to the mine but we hid from them and made our way back to the mine.

One day, my husband and I went out hunting and when we returned all of our people were dead. The Indians had killed, them.

We were terribly afraid, so we put all our dead people in the tunnel, did some masonry work to wall up the opening and after covering the place with brush hurried away with all the gold we could carry.

We traveled at night and slept in the daytime until we arrived in Mexico. Mr. Mitchell's Continued, the Mexican; woman then gave me a map showing the I location of the gold mine, with trails. a cave, a natural , bridge and a grove of big pines. Upon my return to the Uinta Basin I, of course, began a search for the gold mine.

The map indicated that Dry Fork was the vicinity of the mine. There seemed no mistake about it, but my search has been fruitless.

I asked Mr. Mitchell if I might see the map, and he said that he had recently let it out of his hands, believing that he himself, was finished with the search for the mine. He said that it had passed through many hands and that it was now worn and probably illegible.

I then suggested to Mr. Mitchell that there probably were many men now looking for the mine. He sad that such was true but that no one had found it as far as he knew.

On another occasion I visited Mr. Mitchell and urged him to tell me again his story. He did so: and it was the identical story he related before.

After my own investigation as a prospector, for I have examined the Dry Fork country personally, I believe that the gold mine is there. I have been over the trails which are nearly faded away, and have studied the geology of the area. The big stream is there, the cave and the natural bridge are there, the pine trees and Sawtooth mountain are there. But alas, the gold mine! Where is it?--A story from the Vernal Express, December 19, 1946

The location marked on the map above is about where the mine is commonly believed to be. It is all covered now and requires a lot of work to dig it out. I have heard that someone did dig into it once with a backhoe and found several skeletons at which point they covered it back up and left it alone in respect for the dead.


Two maps that are supposedly copies of the map the Mexican woman had with her when searching for the mine

Just around the base of the ridge from the C.B.R. tree, south and a little west of the tree, and on the right side of the road before the roads ends going up Dry Fork Canyon, there's the 'natural arch' (or Doughnut Rock, as some call it) which was marked upon the map of the old Mexican who was searching for his family's silver mine. It is in this area that the old silver mine is thought to be located and it is also generally accepted by historians to be the approximate location of the famous "Mine of Lost Souls", which was also once worked by the Spaniards.--Lost Gold of the Uintah, pg. 156

In the 1950's a very old Spanish lady came into the Uintah Basin searching for a mine. She looked for some time but was unable to find it so she gave her story to the Vernal Express. She said that she had been with a large group of miners in the Uinta Mountains where they were mining a very rich gold mine.

At the time she was a very young girl when one day she was out hunting with her uncle when the miners at the mine were attacked and killed by the Indians.

The Spaniards had made slaves of the Indians and forced them to dig the gold from the mines for them. The Indians rebelled and killed all of the miners but the young girl and her uncle.

After the Indians finished their bloody job and left the area, the young girl and her uncle came out of hiding and put their friends and relatives inside the tunnel of the mine and rocked up the entrance to the mine. After which by hiding in the day time and traveling at night and after much hardships they finally reached Mexico where the uncle died and when the young girl was in her old age she decided to look for the mine but when she was unable to find the mine she gave the Vernal Express the following description of the mine's location.

She said it was in a big Dark Canyon shaped like a horseshoe, timbered on the south and bare on the north with a natural bridge which was within 500 feet of the tunnel. She said it was near a low pass.

This description fits Dry Fork Canyon as shaped like a horseshoe fits as the canyon opens wide at the east end and nearly closes at the west and of course the natural bridge is there, so within 500 feet of the natural bridge is a very rich mine. Also the low pass fits as there is one just north of the sinks.

Aaron Daniels found an inscription on a ledge of Dry Fork which reads: It was Alvarez Deleon, and the date says Anno Domini 1669.

The spanish map in the story has a date of 1776 and shows both gold and silver mines as well as a cash.

This massacre probably happened at the same time that they burned Fort Robidoux and Fort Kit Carson.

One account tells that the Spanish lived in a cave near the natural bridge which is there. Another account says they had a cabin which the Utes burned and that they had a lot of gold bars under the floor which is probably still there. Both accounts are probably true as a large party would need more room than the cave.

Still another account is from a Spanish lady who is probably the same lady who gave a story to the vernal Express. The Mexican woman's story went as follows:

A very long time ago when I was a young girl, I with some of my people made a long journey to the far-off Uintas. We traveled over Escalante trail. Near the end of our journey we came to a large stream (perhaps Ashley Creek) and we followed the stream into the mountains.

We lived in a cave and each day traveled to a tunnel where we mined gold. (At this point she motioned with her hands to indicate a slope or pitch downward, and described with gestures the Sawtooth Mountain and a number of great pine trees.)

Once we saw Indians watching us and we were afraid of them, so we moved from the cave to a tunnel. One day we took our gold and traveled far away to a little town called Spanish Fork, where is seen a lake far off, to sell our gold. American men attempted to follow us back to the mine but we hid from them and made our way back to the mine.

One day my husband and I went out hunting and when we returned all of our people were dead. The Indians had killed them. We were terribly afraid, so we put all our dead people in the tunnel, did some masonary work to wall up the opening and after covering the place with brush hurried away with all the gold we could carry. We traveled at night and slept in the daytime until we arrived in Mexico.

Another account tells about a high promontory of land between two streams of water and also a sink where the water goes under ground. The high promontory of land divides Dry Fork and North Fork creeks and of course the sinks are there. The Sawtooth Mountain is just south of there.--Butch Cassidy, The Utes and the Gold Pages