Gold on the Pecos! True?
George Waldrip, John's father, had what was called "wandering feet." In other words, he did not hesitate to leave the family to shift for itself while he pursued other interests. When the family was living near Roswell, George decided to do some prospecting for gold in the Pecos River between Santa Fe and Las Vegas. He apparently went up the Pecos some distance and hit some signs of gold along the bank of the river. The digging was difficult and the winter was cold so after working for a few months he decided he had enough dust to justify the time he had put in so he got ready to depart. However, he could not find his horse which had wandered away during the winter.
Not to be discouraged, George went to the camp of another prospector and made a deal with him. He would trade his claim for the man's horse which was a large roan and would probably fill the bill. At any rate the deal was made and George departed on his way home. A few miles down the river the roan horse balked and refused to go another step. After beating and much coaxing George gave up. He was very angry and frustrated so he led the horse back to the prospectors camp where he gave him back to the man. This did not seem to be fair so George beat the man up and then gave him both the horse and the claim.
This tale should have ended there but it doesn't. The mine that George traded for the horse that he didn't get, finally produced millions of dollars in gold and at one time its overhead tram way was the longest one of its kind in the whole world. George Waldrip almost struck it rich but his impatience prevented him from it.
TRUE?
The incidents described here are treasured family stories handed down in the Waldrip family. The "Lone Rider" was the grandfather of John Waldrip and the cap-and-ball pistol given to the wife became a part of the house-hold treasures in John Waldrip's home as long as he lived. That pistol belonged to Grandfather Rhodes whose disappearance was never solved but the authenticity of the disappearance and the Indian attack was never questioned in our household. Many times we examined the old pistol and speculated about the surprise of the Indians when Gramp Rhodes stood up and cut loose on them. This pistol is now in the home of Melvin Waldrip in Phoenix. Melvin is the son of Floyd Waldrip and the grand son of John.
As for the accuracy of the Pecos Gold story, there will always be some doubters. We do know that George Waldrip was very reluctant to talk about his experiences that did not turn out to his advantage. The Pecos mine is still active after all these years and there is no other deposit of gold in the area so the yarn probably has some basis in fact.