Lost Gold and Silver Mines of the Southwest

by Eugene L. Conrotto

The Lost Mine of Coconino … The Desert Queen … Dutch Oven Mine … Lost Treasure of Sonoyta … Vampire Bat Gold … Indian Emerald Mine … John Clark Silver Mine — fabulous riches waiting to be found in the mountains and deserts of the American West.
Pack up your pick and shovel, stake yourself to some grub, saddle up the mule, and head for the backcountry to make your fortune. It’s possible with this handy, picturesque guide to the long-lost mines, rich veins of ore, silver lodes, buried treasure, and other bonanzas reputedly there for the finding.
All are described, including fascinating anecdotes about the nature of the treasure, its general locale, and other information. Each description is also accompanied by a map of the region. Treasure hunters, armchair adventurers, and anyone intrigued by legends of fabulous riches waiting for a lucky finder will welcome this authentic compilation of fact and lore.

Genres: History

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 1996

Reviews

[Fredrick Danysh]

This work on lost mines of the American Southwest is based on century old articles and interviews. The short articles are accompanied by period maps. The table of contents does not put the names of the mines in alphabetical order so locating information about a particular mine is a little difficult. The information discussed is scanty.

[Candida]

Full of legends tall tales, and "I wonder if that could be true?" stories of lost mines in the desert. This is a well written collection of stories.

[John Nelson]

The American Southwest is, or at least used to be, rife with tales of miners who wandered in from the desert telling of fabulously rich ore deposits and lost treasure troves, only to be unable to locate the riches when they mounted an expedition to bring the wealth in. This book collects a series of such tales which appeared in a magazine called Desert during the 1940s and 1950s. Disappointingly, however, the stories are on the level of what would appear today as clickbait - silly, patently false stories containing no real information. I would advise readers to let these stories fall into the graveyard of defunct magazine, along with the magazine itself.

[Stephen]

This is a collection of lost mine stories taken from past issues of Desert Magazine. This has been a fun read that draws you into the mysteries of the past.