Subsequently Delameter made several vain efforts to locate the property, but like most lost mines it continues to be lost. But for years it was good bait for a grubstake and served both the convincing liar and the honest prospector.
Nearly all old timers had a version of the Lost Breyfogle differing in details but all agreeing on the chocolate quartz and its richness.
That Breyfogle really lost a valuable mine there can be little doubt, but since he is authentically traced from the northern end of Death Valley to the southern, and since the chocolate quartz is found in many places of that area, one who cares to look for it must cover a large territory.
One mine that had never been found turned up in a way as amazing as most of them are lost.
At Pioche, Nevada, an assayer was suspected of giving greater values to samples than they merited. It is known as the “come on.”
In order to trap the suspect, a prospector broke off a piece of old grindstone and ordered an assay. “If he gives that any value, it’s proof enough he’s a crook,” he told his friends.
Proof of guilt came with the assayer’s report. The grindstone was incredibly rich in silver, it said.
“We’ve got the goods on him now,” the outraged prospector announced and it was decided to give the assayer a coat of tar and feathers. Wiser counsel was accepted, however, and it was decided to give him no more business. The fellow was faced with the alternative of starving or leaving the country, when he learned the reason of the boycott. Conscious of no error in his work, he made another and more careful assay. This time the samples yielded even higher values.
It was agreed by all mining engineers of that day that rock like the samples never carried silver or gold. But the assayer knew his furnace hadn’t lied and he couldn’t believe grindstone makers were mixing silver with sand to make the stones. So he traced the grindstone to the quarry it came from. The result was the Silver King, one of the richest silver mines.
THE LOST GUNSIGHT. The first lost mine in Death Valley, preceding that of Breyfogle’s by four or five years, was the Gunsight.