Customer Reviews

The Lost Adams Diggings: Myth, Mystery and Madness

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The last reviewer found the book to be 'bunkum' without reading it. Causes me to wonder why he bothered to review a book he hasn't read.

He/she chose my book to provide an uneducated opinion of the entire concept of lost gold mines and gold that hasn't been found yet. He/she might be right, though a(n increasingly small) number of people believe he's wrong. Technology has allowed a lot of the 'lost' ones to be found over the past few years.

Meanwhile, interest in chasing that sort of dream has certainly waned. The chances are slight that unlocated mines will be the source of any heart attacks for the few geezers left tromping into the canyons to search.

This book would certainly give new leads someone who wants to search for the Adams. Most of the surviving searchers have already bought it. However, that's only a piece of what the book is about.

The Lost Adams Diggings - Myth, Mystery and Madness is a study of a legend and the men who believed in it at a time when men were still inclined to believe in such things, just as the name suggests. It's a study of how the legend began, how it slid through a century-and-a-half, how it was transformed by lies in the beginning and information that wasn't available until much later (and even then not available to everyone who searched).

The book inevitably follows a lot of trails through the Civil War years of New Mexico and Arizona. It's the time when it all began.

I don't recommend that anyone search for the Lost Adams Diggings unless you just need an adventure in your life. If you buy this book I hope you'll do it because you want to learn some history, puzzle over some mystery, shake your head over the things men give their lives for.

I gave a couple of decades of mine in this search. That story is part of the book. I don't care if you choose to believe the legend is bunkum after you've read it, but I do hope you enjoy the read.

After having read Jack Purcel's book on the "Adams Diggins", it made me want to rig up the ole backpack and hit the hills. Jack weaves the different versions of the stories together in a way that makes sense out of the obscure and dim trails of the Adams party and those who sought the riches that lay in a mysterious New Mexico canyon. It's more than a "Lost Treasure Story". Jack's meticulous research of the persons and places gives us a view of the early history on New Mexico and those hardy folks who risked life and limb on the dangerous frontier. I believe that the Lost Adam's Diggins does exist and Jack Purcel knows more about it than any other person and he shares his insight and knowledge with clarity and humor. I recommend this book to all those who think beyond the asphalt!

I am amazed and delighted in the way Jack Purcell brings his well documented history and legend of the `Adams Diggings' to life. The historical accounts of people and times involved throughout this book and the unique way Mr. Purcell tells the whole story. He definitely brings the Wild West back alive through time. As a reader, you will enjoy the stories told of the tragedies, dreams, and personal lives, of Jacob Snively, Adams, and Brewer. You will read about many others who found their fortune in gold, searched their whole lives for it in vain, or knew where it was and told no one keeping it safe for themselves; all taking place in the trecherous regions of the South West. Pack your trail bag, because you will learn the secrets of where to look for the Adams Diggings, and where they aren't. Adventure, and the American Spirit of Freedom are not for the weak of heart, please read this book with caution.

Gayle Adams Peterson

Shipwreck hunter, and Author of :

Safe Harbor : One Girls Dream of Freedom.

Growing up, I heard the story of the Adams' Digging from my father and found it mildly interesting, but forgettable. Another story of lost gold in the Southwest. This book brings the story to life and makes it unforgettable.

A large portion of the book concerns itself with stories passed down related to the diggings. The author provides important footnotes to clarify the narratives and to point out statements inconsistent with actual geography or historical records. It is a fine and thorough collection of tales, but the book truly shines when the author brings them all together in the context of the events of the times (circa 1857-68). Far from a story of some men decimated for mining Apache gold, it becomes the tale of a motley group of Union and Confederate soldiers, a pair of possible LDS fugitives from the Mountain Meadows Massacre, a horse thief, their enigmatic half-Mexican guide and the secret which they all took to their graves.

The book uses military correspondences, census records, news articles (and the lack thereof) to narrow the answers to the well-conceived questions that the author raises, but in the end the reader is left with a mystery more interesting than the lost gold itself: how did such an unlikely bunch come together on this fateful journey?

The book is perfect for those into the Old West and Civil War aficionados will find interesting facts about little-known aspects of the war in the Southwestern United States. The final chapters also contains useful tips for those who would seek the lost Adams diggings.

I haven't read this book, but it seems like a travellers tall tale, aka. tour-guide history to amuse city slickers. Better to rent City Slickers.

Some facts to ponder:

--gold in the natural state, as in free Au nuggets, was depleted by prehistoric man. So if gold nuggets exist, why didn't the Apache themselves pick it up? Do we really need crusty old miners? That said, if you're talking sluicing gold using heavy industrial equipment, including mercury/ quicksilver, that's a different story. But the idea of old english-speaking miners finding gold nuggets lying around is ludicrous

--if there's gold in them thar hills, somebody would have found it, not unlike Suiter Mill (CA '49ers); Virginia City (Ag), NV; Klondyke gold fields, even (and especially) South Africa, where the gold is a mile below the surface. Point being: real gold is like money, it attacts real people. "Lost gold" only attracts readers (gullible readers) and tourists.

I give the book two stars since the author knows what he is talking about: spinning a yarn, even a plausible yarn. For that he gets credit.