Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
More than tales of fortunes found, historians have uncovered a curious tale that
was circulated in response to the miners' arrival. According to local legend, an Amer-
ican Indian goddess zealously protected Pico Blanco. Historians recorded these ac-
counts by miners claiming to have encountered the goddess, who cursed them with
madness for pursuing gold.
During this same gold exploration period in Big Sur, a seemingly illiterate pro-
spector named Al Clark became Pico Blanco's best-known resident. For decades he
wandered the area around the mountain and told local ranchers stories of the god-
dess and a vast subterranean cavern filled with ancient pictographs that matched the
descriptions of saber-toothed tigers and mastodons. In an effort to hide the cave,
Clark said he used dynamite to destroy its entrance. Clark was an eccentric Columbia
University graduate who posed as an illiterate. Rumors swarmed that he also found a
hidden gold mine, but since he had no use for money, he left it alone and concealed
the mine's location. Clark's hoard of gold still remains a mystery.
