On the trails leading to the abandoned Lost Horse Mine in Joshua Tree National Park, people tell of a ghost that supposedly haunts the place – the spirit of a miner who starved to death while searching for lost gold.
Hidden deep in the wilderness of Joshua Tree National Park, the Lost Horse Mine is a relic of a bygone era of gun-toting cowboys, horse thieves, and gold rushes, where the landscape was once covered in more than 300 mining concessions.
Joshua Tree National Park, located in southeastern California, is a immense desert landscape known for its rugged rock formations and iconic Joshua trees. Spanning nearly 800,000 acres, the park encompasses two distinct desert ecosystems: the Mojave and Colorado deserts. Rich in cultural history, Joshua Tree also preserves evidence of past civilizations, including Native American petroglyphs and remnants of 19th-century gold mining.
The Lost Horse Mine
This historic gold mine is nestled atop the San Bernardino Mountains amid cacti, yuccas and wildflowers, between Lost Horse Valley to the west and Pleasant Valley to the east, about 15 miles north of the Riverside County city of Indio.
The Lost Horse Mine Trail winds through the rugged, barren Mojave Desert, leading adventurers to the decayed remains of a once-thriving gold mine. The Lost Horse Mine was one of the few successful mines in the San Bernardino Mountains from 1894 until 1931, when it closed for good. This was due to the sizzling summer climate, lack of water and lumber sources, and the great distance from everything that made it challenging to transport and operate the mine.
The man who started it was a man named Johnny Lang and three accomplices. The name Lost Horse comes from a story from 1890 when Johnny Lang encountered two bandits who threatened him after stealing his horses.
The Legend of the Lost Gold
However, the journey is not just a step back in time, but also an encounter with the supernatural. According to local legend, the mine is haunted by the ghost of a miner who met a tragic end in a horrific accident. His restless spirit is said to wander the area, constantly searching for his missing gold. Who was this miner? Although not all ghost stories mention his name, the story of Johnny Lang and his end is certainly haunting.
After the Lost Horse Mine ceased operations, Johnny Lang returned to the site around 1923. According to the story, Lang hid stolen amalgam on the mill grounds, which he was unable to recover when he was banished from the mill. When he returned, he hoped to find it, but continued searching without much success.
He occasionally sold “pure gold bars” to local rancher Bill Keys. Maybe he did find some? But it couldn't have been much, if anything, because his condition in his final days was deplorable. Bill Keys' son Willis recalled seeing an undernourished Lang visiting their ranch one day, running his fingers over the teeth of a butcher's saw, looking for any sign of fresh meat. It was also said that he walked everywhere because he had eaten his horse.
In January 1925, Lang left a note on his cabin door saying he was going for supplies. Bill Keys found his body two months later, with only a diminutive piece of bacon wrapped in wax paper. Lang was buried where he was found, but the stories of his hidden gold continued and he never got a chance to rest in peace. Some believed the map to his cache was buried with him, which led to his body being dug up twice. The second time, his skull was stolen, but the gold is still missing.
Lang's Lost Gold Still Haunts the Lost Horse Mine
While hiking the trail, the scorching desert heat can be suddenly pierced by an inexplicable chilly wind that sends shivers down your spine. This bone-chilling sensation is often reported by those who dare to walk the trail, a stark contrast to the typical desert climate.
Strange sounds also plague the area. Some hikers swear they hear the unmistakable sound of pickaxes striking rock, an unsettling echo of the Lost Horse Mine’s bustling past despite the surrounding silence. Could this be the ghost of Johnny Lang, searching for his gold?
Unexplained movements and shadowy figures are a common sight for those who brave the trail at dusk or dawn. It is as if the spectral miner is not content with solitude and wishes to make his presence known to all who venture near his domain.
References:
Johnny Lang and the Mine of Lost Horses
3 Haunted Trails to Try in Joshua Tree National Park – WKNDR
Lost Horse Mine – Joshua Tree National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Image Source: Pixabay.com
