The Truth Behind the Robinson Chest
Article Index
Page 4 of 5
Again I went through the chest and carefully copied the letter and list of items Robinson had inventoried in 1850. I suspected the strong winds would again topple the chest from its perch so I planned ahead and brought a small bottle of glue for this purpose. After dabbing some glue on the rim of the body of the chest, I closed the lid. Now if winds again toppled the chest from its perch, the contents would not spill on the ground and be blown away. I then took the canyon to the right of the sharp ridge.
Fortunately this canyon was free of major barriers and I was able to circumvent the two dry falls by traversing the right bank of the canyon. "Ghosts did not visit me" during the trek so I concluded this was not the canyon the destitute pioneers used after placing the trunk in the cave.
Smokey was waiting for me when I reached the road. After we parted on the summit, he again got stuck in the mud hole and spent a couple hours extricating the truck.
WILLIAM BYRON ROBINSON
After Mr. Freeman, I began looking into the background of William Robinson. Seemingly all that was known about him is he died somewhere in the Mojave Desert. I began tracking his roots and I discovered Robinson’s middle name was Byron. This was a significant discovery. One of Robinson’s traveling companions was a man by the name of William B. Roods (some times misspelled Rude or Rudes). Roods inscribed his name and the date 1849 on a large boulder along an Indian trail that joins Jayhawker Canyon with Cottonwood Canyon. Historians have always assumed the "WBR 1849" inscription at Jayhawker Spring was etched by Roods— such is not the case. Robinson is the ’49er who left his calling card at the spring.
WHICH WAY DID THEY GO?
Many years have passed since I discovered the trunk and preserved the artifacts from certain destruction by the harsh elements that prevail in the Panamints. I renewed my interest in the Jayhawker’s route with the intention of writing a book. In the course of my research I discovered one book already existed: John Southworth, Death Valley in ’49. I wish this book had been published when I discovered the chest because the chest is the important piece of evidence that validates the route Southworth deduced.
I may return to Pinto Peak and hike the Brier route as delineated in Southworth’s book. Possibly they too left some of their cherished possessions along the trail. If I can find a cooperative ranger to drive me to the summit of Pinto Peak, I will continue my field research.
