Time Machine: 100 years ago, long lost treasure map leads to discovery of gold near Minturn
Eagle Eye/Vail Daily archive
30 years ago
Sept. 1, 1994
New rules from the Colorado Wildlife Commission went into effect, setting limits on the hunting of marmots and jackrabbits.
Quoting Todd Malmsbury, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Vail Trail reported that marmots and jackrabbits were previously being killed in unlimited numbers any time of the year without the hunters using the meat or fur.
Wildlife officials want to “get away from the policy of killing and letting them lie” because it is “not consistent with the ethics of hunting,” Malmsbury said.
During hearings held in August, people said that the animals shouldn’t be used as moving targets, with their carcasses often left lying along roads and trails, the Vail Trail reported.
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The new rules allowed hunters to take up to 10 whitetail or blacktail jackrabbits per day from Sept 1 through Feb 28; and the limit on marmots would be two per day during a season that runs from July 15 to Oct. 15.
The commission also closed the public hunting seasons for porcupines, pocket gophers, rock squirrels and 13-lined ground squirrels, the Trail reported.
50 years ago
Sept. 3, 1974
The creation of the Eagles Nest Wilderness area could hamper the exploration of a major mining district in the Gore Range, the Eagle Eye newspaper reported.
Quoting State Geologist John Rold of the Colorado Geological Survey, the Eagle Eye reported that a large fault ran between the perimeter of two wilderness proposals for the Gore Range area. The larger wilderness proposal came from citizens while the smaller wilderness proposal had been floated by the U.S. Forest Service and endorsed by lumbering interests.
“I think there is a reasonable probability that there is a major mining district along that fault,” Rold said. “The mining could mean a considerable amount to Eagle County and the community.”
Rold said the chances of finding a workable strike along the base of the Gore Range are about one in 10, the Eagle Eye reported.
“That’s pretty darn good for any mineral prospect,” Rold said.
Although mining is permitted in the provisions of the Wilderness Act, from a practical standpoint no major mine is likely to develop within a formerly designated Wilderness Area, Rold said.
Paul Hauk with the U.S. Forest Service said the Forest Service’s proposal will remain as it stands, while members of Wilderness Workshop accused the Forest Service of offering “wilderness on the rocks” by confining the majority of the wilderness to areas above timberline.
80 years ago
Sept. 8, 1944
Sgt. Henry Schroeder of Gypsum was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds received in action in France in July.
“Since that time Sgt. Schroeder has been confined to a hospital in England, and writes his wife in Gypsum that he is getting along in fine shape,” the Eagle Valley Enterprise reported. “The war department sent the award to the sergeant’s wife, Ruby, at Gypsum last week.”
90 years ago
August 31, 1934
The Polar Star group of mines on New York Mountain in Eagle County were set to be “thoroughly exploited” by Leadville mining man Paul Hahnewald, the Eagle Valley Enterprise reported, after Hahnewald received a lease on the property.
“All obstacles have finally been removed to the consummation of the deal, and Mr. Hahnewald and his associates are now preparing to start work developing the property,” the Enterprise reported.
“In addition to the Polar Star group a large number of other claims have also been taken into the deal and a large acreage of mineral land is controlled by the syndicate promoted by Mr. Hahnewald,” the Enterprise reported. “Charles Hemberger will be in charge of the operations at the mine and has been up at Fulford this week getting things in shape to start work so soon as he gets the word to go ahead.”
If expectations are realized in the preliminary work, when the next summer season opened “it may see a large force at work with a mill reducing the ore located in Fulford and not on New York mountain,” the Enterprise reported.
100 years ago
August 29, 1924
A trunk that had been sitting untouched for 30 years was discovered to contain a map pointing out a valuable gold mine near Minturn, the Eagle Valley Enterprise reported.
The trunk belonged to Edwin Osborne, whose father left it for him before he died.
“Young Edwin, when his father died, was six years old, and it appears that the papers were placed in a trunk for his safekeeping when he would become grown enough to be interested in its contents,” the Enterprise reported. “Edwin was sent to relatives in Arizona where he lived for 15 years. The trunk was sent to other relatives who live in Canon City … About a year ago Edwin came back to Leadville, and proceeded to collect his belongings, including the trunk which had been in possession of relatives for thirty years.
“Perusing the contents of the trunk this spring he found a chart with detailed directions for locating the buried treasure. He broached the matter to Hugo Mitchell, and both took in their confidence James Fyfe, the Leadville assayer, and later Thomas Ryan became a member of the party. All four started out with an auto on their search, and they say that the map proved accurate in every detail. However, it took a day of close and hard searching to discover the spot. All are enthusiastic over the possibilities and the likelihood for obtaining a fortune from the site. They declare that it contains vast quantities of loose gold as well as rich ore.”
