By: George A Slovitsky

The Legend: On a windy day, with his obligations to the stockholders completed, the mining
superintendent mounted up and headed back to the mine. Somewhere along the way, he was
caught in blinding sandstorm. The superintendent became lost and wandered aimlessly for
several days until he came upon a wind protected ledge. After the storm blew itself out and the
man got to his feet, he noticed the ledge was quartz rock sprinkled with flecks gold. The
superintendent broke off as much as of the ore as he dared to carry and put it in his saddlebags.
In order to find the spot again, he wrote down a description of the surrounding countryside,
marking the mine's location by placing his coat and two six-shooters on top of the ledge, before
starting back to the mine. When his horse showed up at the mine without him, a search party was
quickly organized and set out to find him. A few days later, his dead body was found in the
desert. When the ore was assayed, it had a values in excess of $25,000 to the ton.
Behind the Legend: One bright spring day, in 1893, the superintendent of the Planet Mine
mounted his horse and left the mine to escort eastern stockholders to the stage station in
Quartzsite, Ariz. In those days, hostile Indian war parties still roamed the west. Neither whites
nor Indians were immune from such attacks, especially those whites seeking gold and those
small groups of Indians living along the Colorado River.
Leaving the stockholders at the station, he was on his way back to the Planet when he was
caught in a blinding sandstorm so intense, it blocked out sunlight. Both him and his horse
became lost in the storm and wandered aimlessly for days. When further travel became pointless,
he stopped to rest by a ledge of rock, protruding from the sand that offered some protection from
the storm. Shortly thereafter, the storm blew itself out and the superintendent got to his feet,
hoping to find his way back to the Planet Mine, and to have the strength to do so. He had not had
anything to eat or drink since leaving Quartzsite. As he prepared to leave, he took a good look at
the ledge which had provided him with shelter and noticed it was quartz rock sprinkled with
flakes gold. Knowing mining as he did, the superintendent broke off as much of the ore as he
dared to carry and placed the samples in his saddlebags. In order to find the spot in the future, he
wrote down a description of the surrounding countryside and marked the mine's location by
placing his coat and two six-shooters on top of the ledge.
The superintendent climbed into the saddle, barely able to do so, and headed his horse in what
he believed was the direction of the Planet Mine. Going without any food or water during the
storm had left the superintendent in such weakened condition, he could barely hold on to the
saddle. When his horse showed up at the Planet Mine without him, a search was quickly
organized and set out to find him. Several days later, his body was found in the desert near
present day Bouse. Inside his saddlebags, the search party found the ore samples which he had
removed from the ridge, along with detailed notes as to its location. When the ore was assayed, it
showed values in excess of $25,000 to the ton. Many of the miners from the Planet tried over the
years to find the gold ledge using the direction the superintendent had written down, but none
ever found the ledge. To this day, the Lost Six-Shooter Mine has remained lost.
My Notes: The Planet Mine was Arizona's first copper mine. It was discovered in 1863, by a
man named Hyland near Planet Peak in the Buckskin Mountains of western Arizona. The Planet
Mine is one of many mines in the area which is located in the Santa Maria mining district. Many
of the mines in this district carried gold, silver, as well as copper, including: the Argus and

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Maryland Group, the Clara, the Mineral Hill Group, the Planet, the Swansea, the Revenue
Group, and the Signal Group of mines. The Santa Maria is a small district, as mining districts go,
surrounded by better known districts such as the Harquahala, the Weaver, and the Cienega
districts.
The Lost Six-Shooter Mine, is supposedly located somewhere between the Planet Mine and
Quartzsite, Ariz. The area covered between Quartzsite and Bouse, where the superintendent's
body was recovered, is not very large by today's standards. Its 25 miles by road from Bouse to
Quartzsite and about 26 miles to Swansea and the old Planet Mine, all located in La Paz County,
Ariz. Somewhere between Quartzsite, and the old copper mining camp of Planet, which is about
15 miles northeast of Parker on the (Bill) Williams River, in Yuma County.
According to geologists at the Arizona Bureau of Mines, the Planet District, has produced very
little gold and what little was produced was combined with copper ores.
The question lost mine hunters always ask whenever they gather to discuss the Lost Six-
Shooter Mine is: could the superintendent have become so lost and confused he wandered around
for days in a circle? If so, could he have missed the Planet Mine entirely, heading further north or
east or could he have wandered far to the northwest only to later turn back and head south to die
at Bouse, could he have found rich gold ore in what's known as the Planet District. No match has
been made with the samples retrieved by the posse from the superintendent's saddlebags. Old-
timers, who always have an explanation for such things, say the ledge was covered with sand.
So the Lost Six-Shooter Mine remains, to this day, lost!
There is a Lost Six-Shooter Mine story with the location being in California and two 'lost six-
shooter mines in Arizona; one is a gold mine, the other silver, there is very little supporting facts.
There are a couple of details to this story which do not ring true. Anyone living in the desert, as
the mine superintendent had, would never discard his coat if he expected to spend a night in the
desert, nor would anyone leave their gun to mark a ledge. The superintendent left two. Good
Luck and Happy Hunting!!!