Back in 1862, Owens Valley was not quite as peaceful as it is today. White settlers were just moving in and starting up ranches. Prospectors were combing the hills in search of that elusive next big strike. The Paiute, Shoshone, and Kawaiisu people who lived here didn’t appreciate being forced off their lands and losing access to water and springs because of cattle. They led raids and ambushes against the newcomers to try and force them out. People were being murdered on both sides. The situation escalated and turned into what was later called the Paiute War.
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Lost Burro Mine
Bourke Lee wrote in the 1930s: "There is a Lost Burro Mine on almost every mountain." Prospectors spent so much time chasing their wandering burros through the desert hills that the animals became their best prospecting partners. The Lost Burro in the Cottonwood Mountains of northern Death Valley
Braden Cabin and the Berman Murders
Spend enough time around the warm springs in Saline Valley and someone will eventually mention "the Murder Cabin." The name has stuck for decades, carried by rumor and retold with increasing inaccuracy. The cabin in question once belonged to Roy "Red" Braden, a pistol-packing cinnabar prospector
Cyty's Mill
Just north of the well-known Keane Wonder Mine site lies Cyty's Mill, a smaller, seldom-visited mill site and cabin. A short hike along the base of the Funeral Mountains will lead you past scenic Keane Wonder Springs to John Cyty's 1910 cabin and mill, which processed