"Fargo"
—Spanish, adaptation from the Portuguese 'Farto', meaning "Plentiful".
Located in the N2NE4 Sec. 25 T9S R2W SBM, the Fargo[1] mine is low on the southern slope of Hiriart Mountain, about 2.5 miles east northeast of Pala. The working are in the Fargo[2] dike which strikes northward, dips about 37 degrees west, and outcrops for several thousand feet along the southeast slope of the mountain. Early reports mention the mine as a source of tourmaline and quartz.
The deposit was located by Marion M. Sickler on January 1st of 1904, and was developed by several open cuts (MS 5391A). Prior to the date of the Fargo location, the surrounding vacant public lands were temporarily withdrawn and removed from mineral entry under the United States land and mineral laws pursuant to Secretarial Order dated January 24, 1903. This order was a temporary withdrawal pending acquisition of all private inholdings, including valid existing rights, for the benefit of the Pala Tribe, under Indian tract allotment pursuant to the Act of January 12, 1891.
On August 27th, 1938, Marion M. Sickler deeded the mine to his son Fred for 1 dollar and 'love and affection'. Fred eventually sold the mine to George Ashley in 1947, whom subsequently sold the mine to Norman E. Dawson in 1948.
In the early 1990's the Secretary of the Interior, through the delegation to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), investigated the bona fides of the mining claim to determine any encumbrance of an allotment application (trust patent) filed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on behalf of the Pala Tribe on June 19, 1980. The claim was adjudicated and in 1992 it was declared invalid from the beginning, or void ab initio. The land is now managed for the benefit of the Pala Band of Mission Indians by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
Footnotes:
1. The first use of 'Fargo' is noted in the Cantabria province of Spain; said to be a topographical name originally derived from the Spanish word varga, which is a dialectical word used in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula for a slope or fenced pasture land which becomes waterlogged in winter (i.e.: fertile ground, place of abundance; land of plenty).
2. There is undeniable duality of namesake regarding the claim, given the popular association of Western mineral wealth and Fargo et al. William George Fargo (1818-1881) was one of the founders of the shipping and banking organization of Wells, Fargo & Company, a group that dominated shipping and banking throughout the California Motherlode during the latter half of the 19th Century. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Fargo]
References:
Jahns, R. H. and Wright, L. A. 1951. Gem and Lithium-bearing pegmatites of the Pala District, San Diego County, California. California Division of Mines special report 7A: 72 p.
Kunz, G. F. 1905. Gems, jeweler's materials, and ornamental stones of California. California State Mining Bureau bulletin 37.
Todd, W. R. & Waiwood, R. M. 1996. Mineral Report: Validity Examination of the Katerina Lode; Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of the Interior, Oct. 30; 71 p., maps/plats, photos, legal/technical data.
Weber, F. H. 1963. Geology and mineral resources of San Diego County, California. California Division of Mines and Geology, County Report 3: p. 102; illus., maps.
Wheeler, H. V. 1917. Field notes of the survey of the mining claims of Marion M. Sickler, known as the El Molino, Fargo, Hiriart, K. C. Naylor, and Vanderberg Lodes; and El Molino Mill Site; in Sec 24-25, T9S, R2W, SBM. USDI, Surveyor General's Office, Mineral Survey No. 5391A-B: 1 plat.
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Map Reference: 33°22'15"N , 117°2'15"W
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