About 45 minutes southwest of Las Vegas, just past the sleepy little community or "ghost town" of present day Nelson, Nev., lies the Techatticup Mine.

"Techatticup" a Paiute term meaning "I'm hungry" was uttered by a Paiute guide as he led the first prospectors to the site of the mine. It is not known if the prospectors ever fed their hungry guide as the exact details were never recorded.

The mine is located in Eldorado Canyon, which has a storied history. Over three millennia, anecdotes, tales and truth have gathered and to this day the echoes of murder, mystery, love and drama still reverberate with in the walls of the lonely canyon, making Eldorado Canyon quite possibly the single most storied area in the entire wild west.

The ancient Puebloan Indians made it their home some 3000 years past. After the ancients moved on the Paiute and Mojave tribes assumed the rights to call the canyon their home.

Spaniards in search of gold, founded a small settlement in the 1700's and named it Eldorado. The settlement was set at the mouth of the canyon near the Colorado River. The mother lode of gold somehow went unnoticed by the Spaniards. They did find silver though, albeit not in high enough quantities to keep them there. So the Spaniards soon moved on, dragging with them, their dreams of prosperity, leaving only the name, Eldorado.

The canyon was once part of Mexico, but was appropriated by the United States during the Mexican American War in 1847. After its appropriation, the canyon and surrounding area was in the midst of a three way tug of war between New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada. It was part of the New Mexico territory until 1863, when ownership was transferred to the territory of Arizona and finally in 1868 congress bequeathed the area to Nevada. This was to the chagrin of the Arizona residents, which is apparent in J. Ross Brown's book, Resources of the Pacific Slope, 1869 "This part of Arizona has, by a vote of Congress, been set off to the State of Nevada, but its inhabitants protest against the change, and the legislature of Arizona has unanimously memorialized Congress to reconsider its vote." writes Brown.

There are reports of the area being mined when the canyon belonged to Mexico, however other than anecdotal references, there is no proof. So we must fall back on what is known about mining in the area and that is sometime in the 1850's, about 100 years after the Spaniards, Francis X. Aubrey first prospected the canyon noting its potential after spotting flakes of gold in his pan. 

As the steamboats left, they carried the secret of Eldorado Canyon with them and with each and every subsequent return the steamboats brought more and more prospectors. Many of these new arrivals were Civil War deserters from both the Union and Confederate armies. As the isolated canyon was extremely hard to reach, these deserters saw the canyon as a prime place to hide out.

The fact that it was a difficult place to reach is evident by the preferred route from the canyon to the state capitol of Carson City. Travelers would follow the river south from Nelson's Landing at the mouth of the canyon, then head back up the pacific coast to San Francisco and then double back east again, overland to Carson City rather than heading across miles and miles of trackless desert.

Eldorado canyon was soon bustling with about 500 people, compared to the 40 residents in what would eventually become Las Vegas. Over the years, two towns popped up in the Eldorado Canyon. The first of which was Eldorado (which now sits at the bottom of the Colorado River from the effects of Davis Damn which was completed in the mid-1950's) and later Nelson.

The Techatticup Mine along with the Gettysburg Mine were the first two mines ever patented in Nevada. Along with these two mines, several others dotted the hills of the canyon, including the Golden Empire, Swabe, Duncan, Wall Street, Solar and Rand mines, making Eldorado Canyon one of the earliest and richest mining districts in the state of Nevada.

The area soon developed a reputation as being rowdy and lawless. Disagreements and gunfights over gold, claim jumping, women and plain old greed was commonplace and killings were almost a daily occurrence.

The closest sheriff was in Pioche, Nev., some 200 miles away, but most lawmen flat-out refused to set foot in the rowdy canyon. This lack of official law enforcement set off a rash of vigilante justice, where problems were usually settled and buried in a shallow grave long before the sheriff could even saddle his horse for the 200 mile ride.

In 1861, prospectors discovered the Salvage Vein, a rich vertically stacked ribbon of gold that ran through a steep ridge high up on the south side of the canyon, approximately 5 miles from the banks of the Colorado River.

Through a chain of alleged dubious deals and killings, several miners working the ribbon of gold bearing quarts, teamed up to create the Techatticup Mine.

To get at the vein, the miners started at the top and cut their way down, chasing the rusty stained white gold bearing quartz deeper and deeper into the hillside. When the ore was played out in one tunnel, the miners would simply blast a new tunnel just below the old tunnel. This practice went on and on until there were no less than twelve tiers of tunnels. With every new tunnel blast the miners would drag out the broken rock to be pulverized and treated with cyanide to separate the gold.

The temperature in the tunnels was a cool and agreeable 70 degrees, compared to the triple digit temperatures which was, and is, commonplace in this area of the country. To escape the blazing desert heat, many of the miners simply slept in the tunnels.

The conditions were hard for the miners and it wasn't long before Northern and Southern sympathizers amongst the Techatticup's workforce began to rub each other the wrong way. Effectively splitting manpower into two factions, these opposing factions caused strife and bitterness, severely affecting the mines production. It wasn't long before strife and bitterness turned into lawlessness and wanton killings. This rash of killings and lawlessness forced the hand of the federal government, who soon sent federal troops to break up the factions before more blood could be shed.

Besides hostilities between each other, the white prospectors had to deal with the threat of Indian attacks from the surrounding tribes who quickly grew tired of the intruding miners presence. To protect the miners, a contingent of about 50 soldiers were sent from Fort Mojave to establish Camp El Dorado, which was in operation from January 15th, 1865 to August 24th, 1867.

Two renegade Indians by the names of Arvote and Queho, though not working together, were particularly troublesome in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The two solo renegade Indians were responsible for twenty eight killings between them as they ran rampant through the canyon.

Arvote is said to have killed 5 early settlers, while Queho is said to have terrorized the area murdering 23 people in the early 1900's. Queho holds the nefarious distinction as being Nevada's first serial killer. As such, Queho was hunted down relentlessly, though he was never caught.

In 1940, skeletal remains thought to be that of Queho was found in a cave in the Eldorado canyon. With the discovery, the community was finally able to put Queho's dreadful rampage behind them, some 21 years after his last murder - that of Maude Douglas, near the Techatticup mine in 1919.

In 1905, a few months before Las Vegas sprang up, the town of Nelson was laid out. Named after a local miner, Charles Nelson who in 1897, was murdered by the renegade Indian Ahvote.

During this time the town of Nelson had a post office and even boasted a newspaper, "The Eldorado Canyon Miner", though it only ran for about three months before going out of business.

In 1920, prohibition (or rather the lack of its enforcement) in Clark County, Nev. was hugely responsible for Nelson's Landing being one of the busiest and most important ports on the Colorado River. In most areas, prohibition was strictly enforced and moonshine and bootleg liquor sold for astronomical price of $50.00 a gallon, compared to only $1.00 a gallon in Clark County, Nev. This created a brisk trade along the river as bootleggers, moonshiners and runners made steep profits running their illegal liquor across the Colorado River for sale in Arizona.

During the same era, preparation work for the eventual erection of Hoover Dam began and Nelson's Landing was the base of operation for dozens of surveyors looking for a suitable location to build the dam. The surveyors chose Black Canyon, a few miles north of Eldorado Canyon as the eventual construction site.

In 1936, the newly completed Hoover Dam made Nelson's Landing an extremely prosperous resort area with excellent fishing and river tours of the dam. Nelson's landing was fully equipped for tourists, offering cabins, boats, gasoline and food.

All the while, the Techatticup mine remained in operation until 1945. In total, the Techatticup mine produced more than $2,500,000 in gold, silver, copper and lead. During its 100 years of operation, the entire Nelson Mining District yielded more than $500,000,000 in ore.

As the United States entered WWII, the Techatticup mine faded away and soon lay abandoned. Along with the mine, the town of Nelson too faded into obscurity, though there were still and are still to this day residents who call the "ghost town" home.

In 1974, a 40' wall of water and debris from torrential mountain rains came roaring down five main channels of the canyon, all of which converge on Nelson's landing, killing 9 people and destroying much of the village, while washing the entire landing into Lake Mohave.

For 50 years the Techatticup Mine and its few remaining buildings sat abandoned and weather beaten until the mine and 50 acres of surrounding land was purchased by Tony and Bobbie Werly in 1994.

The Werly's turned the main dining hall used by the miners into a store and museum that is plum full of old relics, pictures and other historic memorabilia of the mines era.

Visitors are welcome to walk around the property and museum and take pictures free of charge. For a fee, the more adventurous visitors can pick up mine tours as well as horseback and all terrain vehicle (ATV) tours of the area.

Nelson and Techatticup Mine are surrounded by public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and in the Spring, the area affords breathtaking views of desert wildflowers. Visitors are also treated to beautiful views of teddy bear cholla (cactus) and rare geologic formations which can be viewed year round. You may even catch a glimpse of big horn sheep or wild burros who are often times seen roaming the hills.

To get to Techatticup Mine, follow I-95 south of Boulder City to Nevada Highway 165. Take Nevada Highway 165, which runs right through Eldorado Canyon for about 11 miles. The road will wind and climb before it finally descends through desert hills as you reach the "ghost town" of Nelson.

Just before entering Nelson, the keen-eyed visitor will notice a graveyard off to the right of the road. The graveyard, provides the respectful visitor with an interesting opportunity to take photos or just reflect on the old town and its past residents. Be mindful that this is a place that demands respect and should be treated with reverence.

Further south along Nevada Highway 165, near the old Nelson's Landing is Park Service land and a paved road will take you within a half mile of the banks of the Colorado River and Lake Mohave. From there visitors are welcome to hike to the river's edge.

If you plan on hiking down to the river's edge, you will be hiking directly down the channel that carried that 40 foot wall of water to Nelson's Landing back in 1974. Use common sense and stay out of the channels if there is even a remote chance of rain. Also be mindful of the extreme temperatures which can and easily do hit triple digits daily during the warm months. Long story short bring water, wear a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen.

With these few precautions you can ensure a safe and exciting trip through Eldorado Canyon and with its abundant history and beauty, Eldorado is a sure jackpot with every spin of the wheel.