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 Cassia
County – In the 1890s a range war erupted
between cattleman and sheepherders in the vast lands of Cassia County. Not to be deterred, the richer cattlemen brought in hired gun
slingers, including Jackson Lee Davis, better known as Diamond Field
Jack. Before it was over, two sheepherders had been shot and
Diamond Jack was sentenced to hang for murder. Later a man by the name
of James E. Bower confessed to the killing and Jack was let go, moving
onto
Nevada
where he made his fortune in gold mining. Today, it is said that
during the range war, both cattlemen and sheepherders alike, cached
their valuables in the area around Deep Creek and Shoshone Creek.
Salmon Dam -
In 1888, an
outlaw acting alone robbed the Jarbridge-Idaho
stage near the site of present-day Salmon Dam. The bandit was
quickly overtaken and killed by a posse but the gold was not found. Many believe that the outlaw buried the strongbox somewhere on the
east side of Brown's Bench, a large flat mesa, about 15 miles west of Rogerson,
Idaho.
Wallace-Kellogg - Sometime around the
year 1900, a bank was robbed in the Wallace-Kellogg area and the
bandits made off with some $80,000. Hiding out from the
authorities overnight, they were said to have buried their cache
somewhere in the four-mile stretch between Huettner and Post Falls. However, with the posse on their tails, they were captured the next
morning. The authorities could not find the stolen loot and
presumably the bandits were hanged. To this day, it has never
been recovered.
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 Priest
Lake - In 1888, after successfully
prospecting in the area of Priest Lake, a prospector named Zak
Stoneman was headed to cash in his gold when his mules died after
eating poisoned weeds. Burying three burro loads of gold in the
area north of the Priest River and 3-4 miles below Priest Lake, he
continued his journey. However, when he returned to recover his
buried cache he was never able to find the right location. According to the legend it is still buried somewhere in this area.
Boise County - Close to 3,000,000 troy
ounces of gold have been removed from the gravels of the Bose Basin and
according to treasure hunters there is plenty more to be found. Hotspots would include the many watercourses through the area and gravel
arroyos northeast of Boise, near Idaho City.
McCammon,
Bannock County - In 1865, 300 pounds of gold was stolen
during a stagecoach robbery. The bandits were said to have buried
the loot about ¾ mile north of McCammon at a spot now called Robber’s
Roost. With the posse hot on their trail, the robbers fled but were
quickly caught up with and in the ensuing gunfight, they were killed. The stolen gold has never been recovered.
Lewis & Clark Trail
- During the years of 1805 and 1806, the
Lewis and
Clark traveled through
Idaho
documenting the territory and meeting with
Native
Americans along the trail. Along the way they distributed some
55 Washington Season medals to the
Indian
Chiefs as peace offerings. Due to the lack of tools and artisans in
this country, these medals were actually made in Birmingham, England. In July of 1798 some 326 medals were received by the presidency, each
individually engraved in solid silver. Very rare and worth a
fortune, only a few of these are accounted for today. Many believe
that several of these medals can be found along the
Idaho
expedition path through present day cities of Lewiston, Spaulding,
Orofino, and others.
Boise County -
Near the
Nevada
state line at Rye Flats, a shipment of newly-minted gold coins, still in
their original wrappers is said to have been hidden in a metal box. Inside an above ground cave, the coins were worth $40,000 at the time they
were stolen. Allegedly, the bandits never returned for the stolen
loot.
Idaho County -
About five miles southwest of White Bird, along the Salmon River, is a
place called Robber's Gulch. More than a century ago,
outlaws held up a freight wagon carry some $75,000 in miner's gold and
hid it here among the rocks before heading toward the rough Seven Devils
area. But the unlucky robbers would not live to return for their
stolen cache, as a posse caught up with them in the mountains and every
last one of them was shot before anyone thought to ask about the
whereabouts of the stolen loot. To date, the gold has never been
found.
Wallace - Butch
Cassidy and his
outlaw
gang allegedly buried some of their loot north of the old stage road
between Spokane Falls,
Washington
and Wallace,
Idaho. The cache was said to have bee buried along a creek on
the wedge of a beaver dam.
Updated:
June, 2008 |
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Great American Bars and Saloons
 By
Kathy Weiser
Owner/Editor of Legends of America
Kathy Weiser's first venture into the publishing world takes you into the
many watering holes of America's past, particularly the numerous
saloons
that sprouted up during our nation's
Wild West
days. This great
photographic review displays hundreds of
vintage photographs from
California
to
Arizona, the mining camps of
Colorado, all the way to New
York and its turbulent days of
Prohibition.
Hardcover, 2006, 224 Pages.
Signed by the author!!
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Please report
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LEGENDS