Page 35 - the NOISE February 2014

on the Santa Fe Railroad (quite possibly the Perkinsville track — now the tourist train, the Verde Railway). More than a year later, he finally returned to Sycamore Canyon with a group in search of the site, but when nothing was found, they disbanded in disgust. He came back along, years later and had again apparently found the mine, but no- body would believe his stories. He never tried to work the mine, and lived for only a few short years after, but to a ripe old age.
A tall tale told by a visitor to the Mayhew Lodge — formerly owned by Bear Howard who built a small cabin there at the juncture of West Fork and Oak Creek — was that he had become terribly lost way up in the West Fork Canyon and traveled all the way to Sycamore Canyon where he sought shelter in a cave. The cave supposedly contained a Spanish sword and a leather-bound ledger book in which Bear How- ard had inscribed his name, and that there were very heavy gold bricks stacked along one wall.
Another account about the “Cave of the Spanish Sword” is that the opening was concealed by grape vines and shrubbery, and the find- ers sort of “fell into the cave” where a very rusty and aged Spanish sword was said to have been found along with the treasure of gold. This was supposedly somewhere deep in West Fork of Oak Creek or in the surrounding area. As always, the finder was terribly lost and in dire need of drinking water at the time of the find and was unable to lead anybody successfully back there again.
In 1886, the last of the Apache Indian holdouts surrendered to en- sure their survival Geronimo and his cohorts met with and agreed to surrender to Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles in Skeleton Canyon on the east side of the Piloncillo Mountains near the Mexican border.
Later on, under reservation life, Geronimo would use his bargaining skills to try to secure his release or escape from Fort Sill, Oklahoma by de- vising a plan to return to his beloved homelands by promising to reveal a fortune to any soldier who could afford him safe passage to an escape.
Well known as Geronimo, Goyahkla (said to mean, “one who yawns”), was born around 1829 near the Arizona/New Mexico border. Mexican soldiers gruesomely slaughtered his mother, wife and three of his children as well as many innocent tribal members in 1851, near Janos, Mexico. He and the other men had been in Janos trading goods, but returned to find the complete devastation of the attack.
From then on, evasive measures and hit and run tactics were the mainstay to staying alive. He became fearsome raider and secured sup- plies and protected his people and homelands. Goyahkla joined his forc- es with his brother Juh and other bands of Apaches, forming alliances with Cochise, Mangas Coloradas, and their warriors to extract revenge on the villagers of Arizpe, a Mexican town in northern Sonora, Mexico.
Goyahkla had allegedly been given a vision and heard a voice that told him that no gun could kill him. Their bullets would turn to dust and his arrows would be guided straight. So he was honored to lead the attack in front. To spare the gruesome details, according to legend, the forces of soldiers called out to protect the villagers, who bore the grunt of the attack, were heard to be calling out for Geronimo loudly during the battle. The Spanish word for Jerome is “Geronimo.” And as the Mexican soldiers were fighting for their lives, they were calling for assistance from St. Jerome to protect them. From that time on, Goyah- kla was known by all but his tribal members as “Geronimo.”
Geronimo led a small band of warriors from the 1850s up to 1886.
They ranged far and wide form the Superstition Mountains to the heart of Sonora, north to the Verde Valley country of Arizona and east into New Mexico Territory. They would often hole up in the lush and rugged country of Sycamore Canyon. There was abundant water and food to gather there and caves to be concealed with- in—some say they hid their loot from the raids all over the place. Sycamore Canyon is graced by abundant, reliable springs for the last three miles and has many trees and wild foods in the area, in- cluding yucca, prickly pear cactus, and the desert rats that nest in the cactus and survive upon it. Supposedly, roasted cactus rat was Goyakhla’s favorite food.
At one time, he may have learned about the gold caches, either by being told by tribal members or by actually discovering them himself. It was well known to arms traders and soldiers who supplied Geroni- mo and his band with weapons and ammunition that he traded them in pure gold chunks. Indeed, the lost gold could have funded his cam- paigns to try and defend his homelands and people from ruthless in- vaders.
Later in Geronimo’s life he used his cunning wisdom to devise a plan to be free from reservation life and return to Arizona by prom- ising to reveal to any Army soldier or officer who could afford him safe passage and escape the location of the fortune in gold waiting to be claimed. He was a sly, crafty fox, and it was a long time before anybody could take his offer seriously. One man who did, however, was court martialed after an Army officer at Fort Sill discovered the plot.
Geronimo later became a proficient farmer under reservation life. There was a famous photo of him during this time with his wife in a cornfield holding melons and squashes that they grew there. Goyahkla went to the happy hunting ground in 1909.
(Take notice that) there is also some confusion to the location of the actual Sycamore Canyon because there is another Sycamore Canyon located close to the Superstition Mountains, and may be the famous source known as the Lost Dutchman’s Mine, which is suppos- edly a rhyolite ledge rimmed with hematite containing ribbon sand clusters of gold in a 4 to 6 foot wide vein of rose quartz. This site has also been concealed by the efforts of the Apaches to avert any intru- sions by outsiders.
If yOu gO... no mining claims are honored and the destruction or removal of “cultural artifacts” is strictly forbidden in designated wilderness areas such as Sycamore Canyon, Arizona. However, hik- ing, sightseeing, backpacking and camping as well as creek dipping are safe and encouraged and allowed without any written permits. Awareness should be drawn to protect water sources from pollu- tion by human and dog waste, so bag it, or at least use the tidy “100 feet or more” away rule and cover it up or bury it 6 inches deep or more when possible. Fire safety is a must as well as awareness about creatures and plants with defenses. All water available could contain giardia and should always be treated with filtering, boiling and/or sterilization processes.
“Keep looking!” — RD
| Ranger Danger is a man of thunderous feet. ranger@thenoise.us
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