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IN SEARCH OF ARIZONA GOLD In the Spring of 1861, Joseph Walker was 62 years old. At a time when most men his age were thinking about retirement, Walker was thinking about exploring an area that had interested him for more than twenty years. George Lount had reminded Walker of the trip he made with Jack Ralston many years ago. In fact, Lount and Walker had started this very same trip back in 1858, but had abandon their plans after they were attacked by Indians and Lount's brother was killed. By the Winter of 1860, the Mohave Indians along the Colorado River had made peace, and again Walker and Lount were readying their plans to search for Arizona gold. This search for gold would be the last expedition that Joseph Walker would undertake in his long career of exploration and discovery. Of all the numerous discoveries in which Walker was a participant, this last adventure would stand out as one of the most memorable and productive of all. The expedition took place during the start of the Civil War and both sides wanted the riches that laid buried in New Mexico Territory. The territory consisted of the present states of New Mexico, Arizona and the southern tip of Nevada. This area was governed by officials at Santa Fe. But, the fact was that the southern region was at the mercy of the Apache, the northern section was overrun with Navajo raiding parties, and the eastern edge was guarded by the now peaceful Mohave and cunning Hualapai tribes. Walker, in his early quest for beaver, had skirted most of the territory and on occasion had explored the streams and creeks of a small section of the interior. On one trip in the late 1830s, Walker and his men, while searching for water, discovered what appeared to be yellow pebbles. Many stories and versions have appeared about the pebbles that Jack Ralston found that day. And it was this early discovery that finally led to the organized effort in search of the Arizona gold. 
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