Why grave robbers stole this gold miner’s skull in Joshua Tree in 1983

Johnny Lang’s Fatal Gold Theft at Lost Horse Mine

Johnny Lang fled to Lost Horse Valley in 1890 after gunmen killed his brother back in New Mexico. When his horses went missing, he tracked them to the McHaney Gang, known cattle thieves who held him at gunpoint.

There he met “Dutch” Frank, who sold Lang a gold claim for $1,000. The mine boomed, pulling out gold worth $5 million today.

But Lang had tricks up his sleeve. He stole half the gold during night shifts until his partner caught him red-handed with a private eye. In 1925, Lang vanished with a note saying he’d “be back soon.”

Three months later, someone found his body on the road to town. The gold he stole? Still missing.

The ruins of Lost Horse Mine stand today in Joshua Tree National Park, where visitors can see the massive stamp mill that once crushed ore while pondering where Lang might have hidden his stolen treasure.

Johnny and His Dad Fled a Deadly Shootout

Johnny Lang and his dad drove their cattle into Lost Horse Valley in 1890 after a bloody gunfight in New Mexico. Johnny’s brother and six cowboys got shot dead, forcing the family to leave everything behind.

The Langs camped in the valley when the area only had cattle and a few Native American camps. This violent start pushed them from cattle work toward a future with gold, lies, and danger.

Their Horses Vanished in the Desert Night

One morning the Langs woke up to find their horses missing. Johnny tracked them to the McHaney brothers’ camp at the Oasis of Mara.

These McHaneys weren’t just troublemakers but known cattle thieves hiding stolen animals in the area since the late 1880s.

When Johnny showed up asking questions, they pointed guns at him, denied having his horses, and told him to leave fast. This bad meeting led to an unexpected chance.

A Scared Prospector Wanted Out

At the thieves’ camp, Johnny met “Dutch” Frank Diebold who looked worried. Frank had found rich gold but was too scared to dig it up.

He had good reason to worry. The McHaneys had already killed another gold hunter named Frank James, forcing him at gunpoint to sign over his Desert Queen Mine before shooting him.

Dutch Frank wanted to sell his claim and run away with his life, giving Johnny a chance to switch from cows to mining.

The Deal That Started It All

Johnny and his father paid Dutch Frank $1,000 for the mining rights in 1890, naming it Lost Horse Mine after their missing horses that led to this lucky find. They weren’t foolish about the dangers.

Knowing the McHaney Gang might target them next, Johnny brought in three partners for safety.

The four men made everything legal by filing their mining claim in December 1893, starting what became one of the best mines in what later became Joshua Tree National Park.

Getting Gold Was Backbreaking Work

The partners built a two-stamp mill several miles from the mine where they could find water. This meant they had to load ore into wheelbarrows and push it all that way, making every day tough.

Despite these problems, the mine started making good amounts of gold.

The far-off location made everything harder, from getting supplies to breaking down ore, but the gold they found kept them going through all the hard times.

A Rich Rancher Changed Everything

J.D. Ryan, a wealthy Montana rancher, bought out Johnny’s three partners in 1895, bringing big money into the work.

Ryan found a steam-powered ten-stamp mill near the Colorado River, took it apart, and hauled it piece by piece to the mine. He built a 3.5-mile pipeline from his ranch wells to power the mill, going up 750 feet.

The 850-pound stamps crushed ore 24 hours a day, with their loud noise filling the valley, turning the small job into a real money-maker.

Gold Production Numbers Didn’t Add Up

From 1894 to 1931, the mine made over 9,000 ounces of gold and 16,000 ounces of silver, worth about $5 million today. Johnny ran the night shift while Ryan’s men worked days.

Ryan saw something odd: the day shift always made baseball-sized gold clumps while Lang’s night shift only turned in golf ball-sized amounts.

The gap was too big to ignore, and Ryan grew more worried as the pattern went on without any good reason.

The Secret Midnight Gold Thief

Ryan hired a private eye to watch the night shift without Johnny knowing. The detective caught Johnny sneaking away from the mine with loaded burros during his shifts.

More checking showed Lang kept half the gold mix for himself during cleaning. When Ryan faced Johnny with all the proof of his stealing, the game was up.

Johnny had run his own private gold business right under everyone’s noses for years.

Sell Your Share or Go to Prison

Ryan gave Johnny two options: sell his part for $12,000 or face theft charges.

Johnny took the money and stayed out of jail, leaving with a nice payment on top of all the gold he’d already stolen.

He moved to a nearby canyon that locals started calling Johnny Lang Canyon and kept looking for gold on his own.

In 1905, the mine hit a fault line and lost the gold vein forever, ending its best years just as Johnny had said it might.

The Old Miner Left a Short Note

Johnny moved back into the empty Lost Horse Mine cookhouse during the years the mine sat unused.

Between 1917 and 1925, he often sold large amounts of pure gold to rancher Bill Keys, totaling about $18,000, though nobody knew where this gold came from.

In January 1925, the 75-year-old left a simple note saying “Gone for grub. Be back soon” and headed for town.

Three months later, Keys found Johnny’s dried-up body wrapped in a canvas sleeping bag along the road.

Treasure Hunters Dug Up His Grave

Keys buried Johnny where he found him, but word spread about the old miner’s secret gold stash.

In 1983, grave robbers attacked the site in darkness, stealing pieces of Johnny’s remains including his skull.

The thieves were never caught, almost certainly looking for clues to where Johnny might have hidden his fortune.

For decades, treasure hunters have combed the area around Lost Horse Mine searching for the gold Johnny stole, but his secret died with him, leaving only stories of the cattle rustler turned gold thief who outsmarted everyone until the very end.

Visiting Joshua Tree National Park, California

You can hike to Lost Horse Mine on a 4-mile round trip trail with 550 feet of climbing. The trailhead is down a 1-mile dirt road off Keys View Road, but big RVs can’t make it.

Parking fills up fast, so get there before 9 AM during busy times. You’ll need a $30 park pass that’s good for seven days.

The old mill site is fenced off for safety, so stay outside the barriers.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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