Frank L. Fish, Treasure Hunter.............

[Melbeta]

Frank L. Fish, came from Oklahoma I believe, was born in the 1920s, died in his museum in Gold Country, under stand circumstances. Stories say he committed sucide, by a shooting in the mouth. Other storeies said he died from shotgun blast in the back. So which story is true? I do not know. His friends said he would not commit sucide. So that leaves his death floating in limbo...I have done an early study, and one thing I can say about him is he was a early metal detector user, and he led an very interesting life! Here is one story, about Frank L. Fish, covers his early life...Written by a young man, who treasure hunted with Frank Fish and met him when the young man was 21 years old. Very interesting story...
MELBETA.
The Footsteps of Fish.doc
Then there is the story by Ben Traywick, author, who knew Fish intimately. Ben said Fish would never kill himself. I got it, read it yourself...
The Footsteps of Fish.doc
Now that is two documents, regarding Frank L. Fish. I got a lot of photos on him, and I enhanced them for better clarity. Fascinating man he was...
MELBETA
Now Fish gathered early stories, and from those early stories, I put together an California Treasure Story booklet. I intended to print and sell copies, but so far, have no done that. But here it is, ready to print into a booklet... It is a read only booklet, but one can drool over this story booklet...
California Buried Treasure_S_NP_001.PDF

[Melbeta]

Back in the 1950s, I went to work for Bradford Robinson Printing and Publishing Co, learned to run printing presses, and also learned how to take old photographs, and enhance them for extreme clarity. Here is Frank Fish, standing back in time, in front of the building that housed his museum, and the beautiful interesting relics and coins, guns, etc... So you see, it is indicitive how I can enhance old photos...
MELBETA

[Melbeta]

Now back in the past, I was employed by the National Park Service, a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and I was a Park Ranger, and a Historian. I lectured on History and on Geology. And since I could contact the U.S. Governement, and request certain rare books, for my research and writing, here would come carton after carton. I opened the cartons, and inside were RARE copies, of vintage booklets and old leather bound books, and they were free to me, and they never charged me even freight. Now back then, they were old rare paper Printed copies. Shipped free to me. But today, no longer a govt employee, so I research and get digital copies.

So today, I go into the Natl Forest area, tell them I used to room with Edward Abbey, is deceased now, but they loved him in the Natl forests you see. But we roomed together back in 1961, in the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. He left, went to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, as a Fire Ranger, so he had more time to write his hard bound books. But here in Colorado, I get special attention in the Natl Forest parks when I use Ed Abbey's name!!! Do a search on his name, he was like the BEATLIES.....

Not to change the subject now, but here is the front cover, of an California large sized government booklet, which I can read and speak about early California Gold Rush days, with old folio maps as well. I have this old digital map folio in my old hands... I am going to shrink the front page down to a size that I can stick into this article, for your viewing...Now this map folio, was printed back in the year of 1900, of the California Gold Mining District. It has historic material text, along with old maps. It is called Mother Lode District Folio, and has historic text, along with historic maps. So if anyone has some specific questions, I might be able to answer those questions. Now on Colo and Nebr, I am loaded with govt folios, digital form, some are in paper print though. So any questions on gold mining places??? Back in the old days, I built a 12' foot sluice, built like they used them in California gold areas, and tested it here in Colorado. Wrote a booklet, "Panning Gold", it became an rare book now.
MELBETA

[ivconic]

I can't believe I'm the only one who enjoys your posts Melbeta! But just to give you an incentive and to be aware that someone is following all of this
here I am writing a post of support, so you can continue.
Know that your experiences are very valuable and appreciated and definitely belong in this forum.
Such and similar stories, collected in one place: will mean a lot to someone one day.
Because when it comes to metal detectors... it should actually be about people first.
Because if you remove the human from the "equation" and only the metal detector remains; what essentially remains?
A ridiculous pile of stupid and utterly unintelligent electronics.
If we could do a statistical analysis on a global scale... we are very few and far between.
Our number can hardly be expressed in per million.
But what still brings us to the surface and makes us visible; are just such human stories.
There are some who spend their whole lives in delusion, believing that the metal detector is a device that is an important factor in the whole story.
I sincerely regret such. They wasted their lives in ignorance.
Because the whole story revolves around man, spirit, enthusiasm, a child's desire for adventure and the need for adrenaline.
And of course with many very interesting human stories. Blockbuster films could even be made on the basis of some of them.
So what you are doing here on the forum is, in my humble opinion; a very important component in the whole story.
Keep it up, you have my support and attention. And I believe that over time more and more of them will understand the importance of such topics.
In any case, know one thing; everything you leave here of yourself: stays here forever.
Best regards and keep up the good work!

[Carl-NC]

I also enjoy these posts. I have Frank Fish's book "Buried Treasure and Lost Mines." In it he focuses on treasure lore primarily about miners, and mostly in California. I suspect at least some of these stories are bogus, but unlike a lot of other compilation books of buried treasure he avoids the obvious nonsense stories. And a lot of his accounts are based on talking to first-hand witnesses. So probably his book would be a good place to select a few treasures for further research.

[ivconic]

Looking at what Melbeta has posted; I can't blame myself enough for my personal laziness in collecting similar materials over the years.
There was so much.
I got into this hobby for completely different reasons and somewhere halfway I discovered my love for it.
Thousands of people, thousands of stories have passed through my workshop. Some of them I should have recorded and saved... and I didn't.
I would have very good material for a book today.
Carl it's good that you have similar material. One day you should make a retrospective of everything you have and make a unique document out of it.

[Melbeta]

Well, I came from another forum, where I built a reputation for my material, it takes some time to build a base for my material, in a new forum. I am well read, just not well received, at this moment of time, with postings. Frank Fish, was born in Kansas during an early time, was a very successful treasure hunter. He died mysteriously, but one never knows what happened there. In the material I post, if possible, I take the photos and enhance them into a far superior clear photo, which enhances the stories. Frank researched his targets very well, used primitive metal detectors, and found a heck of a lot of relics and valuables. The gold rush of 1849, not only brought hugh numbers of people to California, it helped I believe to populate the western part of America.

I found a new engraving on San Francisco during 1868, which I then enhanced into an neat artwork...Stuff like this, makes me keep digging for the history and the photos. Like I said earlier, I became a Printer's Devil back in 1954, learned to set type, met old time engravers who made such engravings. When I went metal detecting one day in the location where an old entire ghost town burned down, I began to pull up old engravings similiar to this, and I knew I found the site of the old town newspaper. Stuff like that, makes my mouth drool...
Melbeta

And a second old time engraving, which I also enhanced, was San Francisco a year later, in 1869. Look at the old sail shps anchored around the city...Ohhhhhh! And all we can do is look and read about the past. Then we take our detectors, and head out to see what we can find... Here is the 1869 engraving of the city a year later... People coming from everywhere!!! Hmmm! I selected Copy, then pasted them in place, then sent them on their way, and I am not sure they actually are in the post!

[Melbeta]

I am going to try to upload those two beautiful engravingsfrom 1868 and 1869 again. Not sure why they are just a small square now...
MELBETA

[Melbeta]

And if we were there in 1849 to 1860, and we would have seen, with our own eyes of today, this scene of some of the miners, shoveling ore and material, into old sluice boxes back then....That is how I take old photos and old engravings, and enhance them so I can look and see what they are doing back in those gold placer mining days.... MELBETA

[ivconic]

I can see them, I first click on the thumbnail and then refresh the page and photos becomes visible nice.

[ivconic]

You can watch a good part of such history in a very nicely romanticized film "How the West Was Won", (1962)
With a large constellation of the most famous actors.
Among them is Karl Malden aka Mladen Sekulovich, my compatriot.
A phenomenal film. In one part, the gold rush is also mentioned.
And there's a part of the movie that deals with that.
I don't want to spoil your watching of the movie, be sure to find it and watch it.

[ivconic]

Just a teaser!
With just few words Karl said it all!!!

[Melbeta]

I can see them, I first click on the thumbnail and then refresh the page and photos becomes visible nice.

You can watch a good part of such history in a very nicely romanticized film "How the West Was Won", (1962)
With a large constellation of the most famous actors.
Among them is Karl Malden aka Mladen Sekulovich, my compatriot.
A phenomenal film. In one part, the gold rush is also mentioned.
And there's a part of the movie that deals with that.
I don't want to spoil your watching of the movie, be sure to find it and watch it.

Uncle John, was in the movies business in Hollywood. He is on the right side in the above photo, that was the movie set for THE RIFLEMAN, which is Chuck Conners, the star of the Rifleman series, and was Uncle John's best friend before he died of cancer. So do a search for the name of JOHN CROMWELL DUTTON, and be ready to be amazed... Uncle John did a lot of famous movies before he retired. HE is 97 now and lives in Wyoming near some of the relatives.
MELBETA

[Melbeta]

Just a teaser!
With just few words Karl said it all!!!

John Cromwell Dutton, knew Karl in Hollywood, so did you know KARL as well from where you live now??? Lets see, you are in that country across the Mediterrean from Italy, right?
MELBETA

[Melbeta]

I have an enhanced photo of Sutter's MILL, date of 1848, which was before they found gold in the stream there. That guy is purportedly a photo of Sutter himself in front of Sutters Mill.
I also somewhere in my files, have a painting of this same Sutter's Mill building, if one can call it a building.