Final Tiburon Island Mexico Thomas Grindell Expedition 1905

The Tiburón Island Tragedy, also known as the Grindell expedition, occurred in 1905 when three members of a small American

gold prospecting Gold prospecting is the act of searching for new gold deposits. Methods used vary with the type of deposit sought and the resources of the prospector. Although traditionally a commercial activity, in some developed countries placer gold prospe ...

expedition, led by Thomas F. Grindell, went missing in the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizona ...

near

Tiburón Island Tiburón Island is the largest island in the Gulf of California and the largest island in Mexico, with an area of . It was made a nature reserve in 1963 by President Adolfo López Mateos. Etymology is Spanish for 'shark'. Although the Seri nam ...

(lit. "Shark Island"). At the time, Tiburón was inhabited by the

Seri Seri or SERI may refer to: People *Jean Michaël Seri, an Ivorian professional footballer Places *Seri Yek-e Zarruk, Iran *Seri, Bheri, Nepal *Seri, Karnali, Nepal *Seri, Mahakali, Nepal *Seri, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India Oth ...

natives, nonetheless, Jack Hoffman, the only American survivor, testified that they were not responsible for the expeditioners' deaths. The expedition, which expected to return by August 1905, consisted of Grindell, who was an educator and former clerk for the

Arizona Supreme Court The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. Sitting in the Supreme Court building in downtown Phoenix, the court consists of a chief justice, a vice chief justice, and five associate justices. Each justice i ...

, Gus Olinder Ralls, D. Ingram and Hoffman, as well as their Papago guide, Dolores Valenzuela. The members of the expedition are believed to have perished from starvation and thirst based on Hoffman's report that Grindell had a single donkey carry all the water through the Sonora. When the equipment they were carrying to purify the water failed, Valenzuela split from the group, while the four men decided to continue and sought a boat to carry them to Tiburón. Hoffman spent four months alone, travelling 150 miles from Tiburón to

Guaymas Guaymas () is a city in Guaymas Municipality, in the southwest part of the state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. The city is south of the state capital of Hermosillo, and from the U.S. border. The municipality is located on the Gulf of Califo ...

, arriving "naked ndblackened by the sun. Another expedition, led by Edward P. Grindell, who was Thomas's brother and wrote a piece based on his experience, set off to find the remains of the expeditioners. Then-governor , approved Edward Grindell's quest, who recruited twelve Papago scouts to search for Valenzuela, who was reportedly "afraid of the government," since it was considered an offense for "a guide

o return O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

without guiding

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people back safely." The first clue appeared at Coyote Springs,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, followed by a campsite at one place "and another campsite farther in." They uncovered artefacts from the expedition, including a book on marine science belonging to one of the expeditioners, as well as the pack animal's corpses. Additionally, the

Arizona Rangers The Arizona Rangers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, noncommissioned civilian auxiliary that supports law enforcement in the US, state of Arizona. In 2002, the modern-day Arizona Rangers were officially recognized by the State of Arizona when the Leg ...

fruitlessly joined in the search, since "they had fought with Thomas Grindell with the

Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...

." On Monday, 25 December 1906 Thomas Grindell's corpse was found and it was confirmed that he had died from dehydration. As Thomas's body was discovered, Edward could collect insurance, however, this did not occur, due to the cost of the expedition ultimately outweighing the insurance money. Valenzuela's body was never located, leaving Hoffman, as the sole confirmed survivor.

References

External links

''The Lost Explorers: The Mystery of a Vanished Expedition''
(1907) by Edward P. Grindell {{Arizona Rangers 1905 in Arizona Territory 1905 in Mexico American frontier Arizona Rangers Conflicts in 1905 History of Arizona History of Mexico Tiburón Island Yaqui tribe