http://www.nps.gov/deva/historyculture/death-valley-scotty.htm

Scott left the Wild West Show after a disagreement with Buffalo Bill in 1902 and began a new profession that brought him even more fame and riches - gold prospecting. He convinced several wealthy businessmen that he had a claim to a fabulous gold mine in Death Valley. Scotty agreed to split the all profits, provided they first offer money to extract the ore. Over the next few years, Scotty apparently had little luck prospecting in Death Valley. After receiving no results from the fabled gold mine, all of his investors felt that they had been conned and began to back out of their investments.