David K
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Classic Old Baja Book from 1951 (Las Flores shown)
Max Miller is also the author of 'The Land Where Time Stands Still'.
Great photo of an osprey feeding the chicks!
Here is the back cover:
The map shows the area covered by the book and the beginning is about the founding of San Diego.
From inside, a photo I found most interesting...
That's Dick Daggett at the Las Flores jail, which is unchanged. However, the railroad barn that was once at Las Flores is cool to see, as it is
vanished long ago (my first visit was in 1976, and it wasn't there, then.. or at least with tracks leading to the adobe ruins that were there).
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Jack Swords
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Interesting photo of the "jail", David. Also the other building is interesting too. We followed the narrow gauge track (mound) up to the canyon and
hiked up to the mine. Any idea where the second building was located relative to the mine? Still lots of mining debris around. Thanks for posting.
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David K
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Quote: Originally posted by Jack Swords  | | Interesting photo of the "jail", David. Also the other building is interesting too. We followed the narrow gauge track (mound) up to the canyon and
hiked up to the mine. Any idea where the second building was located relative to the mine? Still lots of mining debris around. Thanks for posting.
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Hola Jack,
After reading the book, it is pretty clear they did not venture past Las Flores town area.
Dick Daggett took Max to see where the saloon was and there were only broken bottles. The jail was between the town and the saloon, so any workers who
were intoxicated spent the night in the jail... grabbed as they walked past it going back to town to sleep.
The building is called a mill in the caption, but interesting that it looks like a train garage.
The railroad line is interesting to follow 5+ miles south from the jail to the terminal platform where the tram bucket line came down the mountainside
from the San Juan mine, 4,000 feet + up the mountain!
Here are some of my photos or the railroad bed, and the platform....
Las Flores Railroad 1895-1910
The next day, Doc (Dr. Abraham Vazquez) and I followed the Las Flores railroad bed five miles to its terminal. There, over two million dollars in gold
and silver ore was loaded.
Where the ore buckets dumped into the train cars.
The giant turn-around wheel for the 2.5 mile wire rope tram was where Doc is now standing.
This large stone platform is not visible from the Jeep trail.
Park near N28°44.44' W113°32.77' and walk north.
Last time I went to the platform, April, 2003:
Operated over 100 years ago, this narrow gauge train brought
gold and silver ore from the cable tram to the town of Las Flores, 5 miles away. Photo at the south terminal.
Last time I walked around Las Flores, Jan., 2009:
Railroad line by jail.
Railroad line north of jail, see it in the distance, on the left.
Grave of Dick Daggett, west of jail.
To see the terminal platform, continue south from Las Flores on the graded road (east of jail) for 2.4 miles where the graded road makes a bend
towards the left (top of the climb). The old road onto the platform continues straight. About 3 miles from the graded road the old road curves right
and ends. The platform is off to the right (north) before the end of the road. A trail continues east into the canyon where the tram line ran from San
Juan. Hike up to the mountain top possible. Before the tramline was installed, mules brought the ore down the mountain.
An idea of the area:
More in my article: http://www.bajabound.com/bajaadventures/bajatravel/las_flore...
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güéribo
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Just returned from Baja--visited Las Flores. Had a great discussion with the delegado of Bahía de los Ángeles about the history of the town. His
grandfather worked at the San Juan mine and Las Flores. He said that although everyone refers to the brick building as "the jail," his grandfather
said it was actually used to secure dynamite.
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4x4abc
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here is some silver (in the original container) that I got out of the building when it was still intact - lotsa laboratory stuff inside at the time.
Have more artifacts, will have to look for them.
Harald Pietschmann
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David K
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The jail was used to store equipment by newer prospectors who worked the tilings after Las Flores was abandoned (because of the Mexican Revolution,
not because the silver or gold ran out). It was primarily a gold mine but advertised as a silver mine to ward off higher fees or taxes, from what I
understand or recall being told years ago.
The San Juan Mine, 4,000 feet up and 7 or so miles south, should still have plenty to give...?
Anyway, Dick Daggett told the story often about locking up drunks in the jail... So, while it may have stored the ore between shipments or dynamite,
it did serve as a jail, too.
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Paulina
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Las Flores was made busy again back in 1995 when the tailings were reworked at the location near the old jail. At that time there was an original
adobe building with four standing walls that was being used for the mining office. The doors on the jail were rebuilt as it was used again for secure
storage. I visited the operations a few times with Herman.
It was cool back in the day to be able to walk around Las Flores and see the old equipment from the original mining operations. Most of it was still
there in the 90s. It is unfortunate that a few years later it wasn't viewed as historical treasure and was allowed to be stripped of its history and
sold for the price of scrap iron.
P>*)))>{
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Paulina
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The platform David mentioned, photo taken about a year ago.
The view looking down the valley from the platform. The clearing in the valley is the Las Flores town site.
The remains of the adobe building that was reused as the mining office.
[URL=http://s97.photobucket.com/user/paulinaydern/media/image.jpg1.jpg.html]
[/URL]
In the background the red sand is visible where once was one of the giant cyanide ponds used to work the tailings.
[URL=http://s97.photobucket.com/user/paulinaydern/media/image.jpg2.jpg.html]
[/URL]
P>*)))>{
p.s. The one Las Flores mystery I have yet to solve is the location of the second cemetery, somewhere on the other side of the road. I was there once
many years ago and have yet to be able to find it again.
[Edited on 15-11-2015 by Paulina]
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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4x4abc
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great pictures, Paulina!
Harald Pietschmann
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rts551
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| Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc | here is some silver (in the original container) that I got out of the building when it was still intact - lotsa laboratory stuff inside at the time.
Have more artifacts, will have to look for them.
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Wouldn't it be nice if this was donated to the museum in Bahia de Los Angeles.
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4x4abc
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it's already promised to a museum in San Diego
I have given all my Baja finds to places that need them more than I do
however, if the flask were already in a museum, you would not be able to see it here
museums tend to horde thousands of artifacts until (maybe) some intern sheds some light on accidental finds
underfunded and understaffed museums hide their stuff jealously
Harald Pietschmann
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rts551
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| Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc | it's already promised to a museum in San Diego
I have given all my Baja finds to places that need them more than I do
however, if the flask were already in a museum, you would not be able to see it here
museums tend to horde thousands of artifacts until (maybe) some intern sheds some light on accidental finds
underfunded and understaffed museums hide their stuff jealously |
I did not know that about museums. but isn't it illegal to take artifacts out of the country? I know someone who was arrested, fined and deported
for removing arrowheads and other Indian artifacts (buckets of them).
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David K
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Ralph, Harald lives in La Paz.
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David K
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| Quote: Originally posted by Paulina | The platform David mentioned, photo taken about a year ago.
P>*)))>{
p.s. The one Las Flores mystery I have yet to solve is the location of the second cemetery, somewhere on the other side of the road. I was there once
many years ago and have yet to be able to find it again.
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Thank you, Paulina!
I recall in 2003 when my daughter Sarah and I searched for the other cemetery. Even though we did not find it, it was just another one of those Baja
mysteries that create the excitement and drive to go back south!
The story you told me (I believe related to you by Herman Hill?) back then was there were two classes, in Mexico, even after death... The high class
of Las Flores was buried near the town and the workers had their own graveyard, farther away.
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rts551
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I know. I did not post anything about him since INAH might be interested in someone removing artifacts and/or sending them to San Diego.
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David K
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INAH is so underfunded in Baja, they knowingly cannot even protect all the 250-year-old mission sites or stop farmers from plowing them up... Someone
who picked up some bottle that is maybe 100 years old is not going to be prosecuted (even if removing 'trash' was a crime), in my opinion.
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rts551
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| Quote: Originally posted by David K | | INAH is so underfunded in Baja, they knowingly cannot even protect all the 250-year-old mission sites or stop farmers from plowing them up... Someone
who picked up some bottle that is maybe 100 years old is not going to be prosecuted (even if removing 'trash' was a crime), in my opinion.
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Curious conclusion....and an old bottle with silver in it I would not consider to be trash.
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güéribo
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Loved the photos, Paulina. Do you have any more?
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