Jar of Questions - Part 8
What is the most interesting story you've heard or told and is it true?
Yes its true. This story was told to me by Harold Hogel who I + Joan home teach to and they live on Clement Street across from Davids house. And Harold + his wife Janet have 3 children Dennis, Betty Jo + Heidi and the story happened up in the 4 Peaks area.
Harold and some of his friends had looked forward to going deer hunting together for some time and as the day before deer season started they made last minute preperation to leave even though Harold felt like he was coming down with the flue. He was determined to go enyway and he hoped he would feel better the next morning when the seasoned started and hes dreams of a nice big buck. So off they went to Four Peaks and the area they had packed + scouted out. The set up camp and went to bed. They awake next morning early before day lite, ate a quick breakfeast, and prepared to head out. Harold though had woke up sick as a dog and was feeling worse every minute but was determined to go enyway. He grabbed his gun + a handfull of shells and put them in his coat pocket. And so as to not ruine the day for the others he decided to head down + out into a rockie area with little side canyons and the rest went on farther to where they had all intended to go. When Harold got to where he decided to go he was really feeling weak from the flue + really sick so he set down next to this big boulder and layed back against it and watched the sun come up and enjoyed feeling the rays of the sun against him as the sun came up. And as he closed his eyes enjoying the sun he heard a noise and looked down the wash. He seen a nice big buck and he thought a moment about even if he got it how would he be able to carry it back to camp. But he quickly thought he would wait and get his friends to help him later that night So weakly he grabbed his rifle and dug some bullets out of his pocket and started to load his rifle. Then in disguset he realized he had grabbed the wrong bullets so he took one bullet and forced it into the chamber and with some effort closed the gun. He raised the rifle + it fired and the deer dropped and then he set there a while to gain his strength and to make sure the deer died and didn't run off. The shell was jammed in the rifle and he couldn't eject it so he was trying to pry it out with his knife finally getting it out. After a short rest he went down to where the deer was and cleaned it out the best he could and then set down in a shady spot and layed back and went to sleep on the side of a side canyon or wash. When he awoke he started out feeling a little better and set up and looked around and knew his friends would not return until nite fall or evening. He set there thinking about the predicament he was in and started rubbing his hands in the sand and over this flat rocks that was by him. To his amazement + surprise letters of a name started showing up! He wiped it all off and found it to look like a head stone and it had B.J. Fuller 1889 and the start of a 19 and no more. He thought that was strange and his couriousity got him and so he got up and started looking farther down the rocky side canyon and found a mine shaft back into the side of the canyon. The front area had rock + dirt from digging and was dumped around like a mine would look. He sized it up to be a mercury mine. Part of it was walled in with a door so it could be closed and he went in. The outter part of the mine shaft had been turned into living quarter for the 2 miners for as his eyes adjusted to the light and he looked around the room he could see the skeleton on a bunk bed they had made, one more bunk lay empty and only the mundane of thing ness to live was in the room which was part of the mine shaft with the shaft going on back from there. The room held the vales of mercury and the acid and other thing ness to extract the mercury from the raw ore. What Harold decided is that extracting the mercury in the closeness of the mine shaft the miners had inhaled the fumes over a period of time and the first miner died and was then buried up the wash and the 2nd miner did this and tryed to make a head stone for B.J. Fuller but became to sick to finish and got on his bunk and eventually died. When Harold didn't know, but long enough ago to have nothing left but the skeleton. Harold looked around but there was no identification except for what was on the headstone. Harold left things as they were except 3 vials of pure mercury sealed. He worked his way up to where they had dropped him off and gone back and pulled the buck up almost to the road when they came and get him in the Jeep and they loaded the buck and headed for home. Harold said one vial of mercury got broke open on the way home and the other 2 sealed vials he sold for $300.00. He said he went to the register of mine claims in Phx and Globe but there was no name of B.J. Fuller listed in eny claims in Phoenix or Globe. He also returned to the area a number of times and tried to find the mine shaft but could not. He figured a cave in or a earth shake had changed the area. Later Harold took up ownership of the mine on the ridge north of 4 Peaks Mountain where we have taken our family and the scouts from Explorer Post 50 4th Ward LDS Church every Good Friday weekend every year and climb to the top of 4 Peaks and down and then go south over to the amethyst mine and partake of the good spring water thats there. Also Mr Storie that owned the mine said we could take pieces of amethyst out of the slag pule and take them home. We have some of those pieces in our fireplace in our home at 421 N Clemenet Mesa and also a few pieces came from Mr Stories rock shop in Scottsdale. I retold this story to the boys + fathers at the father + son outting in March of 1998 which was held at the Cottonwood Ranch just west of 4 Peaks and its one of the ward outtings that I am in charge of for Westwood Ward now 10/2003. I'm also the Hogels home teachers and there a great family. They are good neighbors. Harold says the story is true and he still would like to find that mercury mine + head stone. He knows its there, but where?
(Harold + Heidi have went camping with us on ward family outings + father daughter outtings.)
Yes its true. This story was told to me by Harold Hogel who I + Joan home teach to and they live on Clement Street across from Davids house. And Harold + his wife Janet have 3 children Dennis, Betty Jo + Heidi and the story happened up in the 4 Peaks area.
Harold and some of his friends had looked forward to going deer hunting together for some time and as the day before deer season started they made last minute preperation to leave even though Harold felt like he was coming down with the flue. He was determined to go enyway and he hoped he would feel better the next morning when the seasoned started and hes dreams of a nice big buck. So off they went to Four Peaks and the area they had packed + scouted out. The set up camp and went to bed. They awake next morning early before day lite, ate a quick breakfeast, and prepared to head out. Harold though had woke up sick as a dog and was feeling worse every minute but was determined to go enyway. He grabbed his gun + a handfull of shells and put them in his coat pocket. And so as to not ruine the day for the others he decided to head down + out into a rockie area with little side canyons and the rest went on farther to where they had all intended to go. When Harold got to where he decided to go he was really feeling weak from the flue + really sick so he set down next to this big boulder and layed back against it and watched the sun come up and enjoyed feeling the rays of the sun against him as the sun came up. And as he closed his eyes enjoying the sun he heard a noise and looked down the wash. He seen a nice big buck and he thought a moment about even if he got it how would he be able to carry it back to camp. But he quickly thought he would wait and get his friends to help him later that night So weakly he grabbed his rifle and dug some bullets out of his pocket and started to load his rifle. Then in disguset he realized he had grabbed the wrong bullets so he took one bullet and forced it into the chamber and with some effort closed the gun. He raised the rifle + it fired and the deer dropped and then he set there a while to gain his strength and to make sure the deer died and didn't run off. The shell was jammed in the rifle and he couldn't eject it so he was trying to pry it out with his knife finally getting it out. After a short rest he went down to where the deer was and cleaned it out the best he could and then set down in a shady spot and layed back and went to sleep on the side of a side canyon or wash. When he awoke he started out feeling a little better and set up and looked around and knew his friends would not return until nite fall or evening. He set there thinking about the predicament he was in and started rubbing his hands in the sand and over this flat rocks that was by him. To his amazement + surprise letters of a name started showing up! He wiped it all off and found it to look like a head stone and it had B.J. Fuller 1889 and the start of a 19 and no more. He thought that was strange and his couriousity got him and so he got up and started looking farther down the rocky side canyon and found a mine shaft back into the side of the canyon. The front area had rock + dirt from digging and was dumped around like a mine would look. He sized it up to be a mercury mine. Part of it was walled in with a door so it could be closed and he went in. The outter part of the mine shaft had been turned into living quarter for the 2 miners for as his eyes adjusted to the light and he looked around the room he could see the skeleton on a bunk bed they had made, one more bunk lay empty and only the mundane of thing ness to live was in the room which was part of the mine shaft with the shaft going on back from there. The room held the vales of mercury and the acid and other thing ness to extract the mercury from the raw ore. What Harold decided is that extracting the mercury in the closeness of the mine shaft the miners had inhaled the fumes over a period of time and the first miner died and was then buried up the wash and the 2nd miner did this and tryed to make a head stone for B.J. Fuller but became to sick to finish and got on his bunk and eventually died. When Harold didn't know, but long enough ago to have nothing left but the skeleton. Harold looked around but there was no identification except for what was on the headstone. Harold left things as they were except 3 vials of pure mercury sealed. He worked his way up to where they had dropped him off and gone back and pulled the buck up almost to the road when they came and get him in the Jeep and they loaded the buck and headed for home. Harold said one vial of mercury got broke open on the way home and the other 2 sealed vials he sold for $300.00. He said he went to the register of mine claims in Phx and Globe but there was no name of B.J. Fuller listed in eny claims in Phoenix or Globe. He also returned to the area a number of times and tried to find the mine shaft but could not. He figured a cave in or a earth shake had changed the area. Later Harold took up ownership of the mine on the ridge north of 4 Peaks Mountain where we have taken our family and the scouts from Explorer Post 50 4th Ward LDS Church every Good Friday weekend every year and climb to the top of 4 Peaks and down and then go south over to the amethyst mine and partake of the good spring water thats there. Also Mr Storie that owned the mine said we could take pieces of amethyst out of the slag pule and take them home. We have some of those pieces in our fireplace in our home at 421 N Clemenet Mesa and also a few pieces came from Mr Stories rock shop in Scottsdale. I retold this story to the boys + fathers at the father + son outting in March of 1998 which was held at the Cottonwood Ranch just west of 4 Peaks and its one of the ward outtings that I am in charge of for Westwood Ward now 10/2003. I'm also the Hogels home teachers and there a great family. They are good neighbors. Harold says the story is true and he still would like to find that mercury mine + head stone. He knows its there, but where?
(Harold + Heidi have went camping with us on ward family outings + father daughter outtings.)
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| Four Peaks Amethyst Mine |
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