Looking for other treasure legends...

CT Danny:

KIDD'S TREASURE

Captain Kidd is the most ubiquitous gentleman in history. If his earnings in the gentle craft of piracy were frugally husbanded, he has possibly left some pots of money in holes in the ground between Key West and Halifax. The belief that large deposits of gold were made at Gardiner's Island, Dunderberg, Cro' Nest, New York City, Coney Island, Ipswich, the marshes back of Boston, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Isles of Shoals, Money Island, Ocean Beach, the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, and elsewhere has caused reckless expenditure of actual wealth in recovering doubloons and guineas that disappointed backers of these enterprises are beginning to look upon--no, not to look upon, but to think about--as visionary. A hope of getting something for nothing has been the impetus to these industries, and interest in the subject is now and then revived by reports of the discovery--usually by a farmer ploughing near the shore--of an iron kettle with a handful of gold and silver coins in it, the same having doubtless been buried for purposes of concealment during
the wars of 1776 and 1812.

Charles Island, near Milford, Connecticut, was dug into, one night, by a company from that town that had learned of Kidd's visit to it--and what could Kidd be doing ashore unless he was burying money? The lid of an iron chest had been uncovered when the figure of a headless man came bounding out of the air, and the work was discontinued right then. The figure leaped into the pit that had been dug, and blue flames poured out of it. When the diggers returned, their spades and picks were gone and the ground was smooth.

A Spanish Galleon


A Spanish galleon, the Saints Joseph and Helena, making from Havana to Cadiz in 1753 was carried from her course by adverse winds and tossed against a reef, near New London, Connecticut, receiving injuries that compelled her to run into that port for repairs. To reach her broken ribs more easily her freight was put on shore in charge of the collector of the port, but when it was desired to ship the cargo again, behold! the quarter part of it had disappeared, none could say how. New London got a bad name from this robbery, and the governor, though besought by the assembly to make good the shortage, failed to do so, and lost his place at the next election. It was reputed that some of the treasure was buried on the shore by the robbers. In 1827 a woman who was understood to have the power of seership published a vision to a couple of young blades, who had paid for it, to the effect that hidden under one of the grass-grown wharves was a box of dollars. By the aid of a crystal pebble she received this really valuable information, but the pebble was not clear enough to reveal the exact place of the box. She could see, however, that the dollars were packed edgewise. When New London was sound asleep the young men stole out and by lantern-light began their work. They had dug to water-level when they reached an iron chest, and they stooped to lift it-but, to their amazement, the iron was too hot to handle! Now they heard deep growls, and a giant dog peered at them from the pit-mouth; red eyes flashed at them from the darkness; a wild-goose, with eyes of blazing green, hovered and screamed above them. Though the witch had promised them safety, nothing appeared to ward off the fantastic shapes that began to crowd about them. Too terrified to work longer they sprang out and made away, and when-taking courage from the sunshine--they renewed the search, next day, the iron chest had vanished.

Myths and Legends of Our Own Land; Volume 9. – As to Buried Treasure and Storied Waters, Cliffs, and Mountains, by Charles M. Skinner [1896]

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo
 

CT Danny:

Admitting that post wasn't 100% serious (although Thomas Penfield or Michael Paul Henson would have happily quoted that source), the treasure yarns were in Connecticut.

Weren't they?

All the best,

~The Old Bookaroo
 

CT Danny:

The author said it was. I haven't researched those stories myself - I'm here on the other Coast. You requested CT treasure stories and I tried to accomodate your request by coming up with a couple (source included).

Whether they are true or not is up to the reader to decide for her- or himself.

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo
 

Thank for your the information that you e mail me. Many people have information on bury treasures in Connecticut that was never publish, and that is what I am looking for. [email protected]
 

My GGG-uncle Theophilus Powell was in a wagon train on the Oregon Trail, and a couple of boys looking for lost cattle found the "Blue Bucket Mine". I'm kind of surprised there isn't a forum here for it.
 

Vam:

The good news is you don't have to actually visit the ground to enjoy the story.

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo
 

CT Danny:

There are many treasure stories, yarns and legends. I'm glad you enjoyed some of the tales I've been able to re-tell here. While they are entertaining (judging by the comments and number of views, and the simple fact that I enjoyed reading them before reprinting them here) they probably won't really help anyone find anything.

If you read books such as Waybillls to El Dorado by "Karl von Mueller" (still in print and a bargain at about ten bucks - I highly recommend purchasing a copy while they are still available!) you will read stories that can help you find treasure.

Use these stories as a blueprint for your own area. There's treasure in every part of the United States (the entire world, for that matter). They key is to have a plan and then follow it!

Some years back, when Karl's Treasure Hunter's Manual #6 and #7 were still in print, I urged treasure hunters to buy them and study them. #6 went out of print - and I still recommended people buy #7 while it remained affordable.

The Owl Hooter's Manual can certainly help people through these tough times, as well.

Bottom Line: If you read the right kind of treasure story, you can draw a blueprint for your own success! Every story Karl told was for a reason. And it wasn't just entertainment!


Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo
 

I read in an old TH er Mag. a long time ago, about some lost church artifacts in the area of Yava AZ. As the story goes, the Spaniards were mining on Burro Creek in North Central Arizona. They were using the local Indians, probably Yavapai, as slave labor. The Indians revolted and killed the miners but the priest and a few nuns escaped. They packed up all the Church relics on a couple of Burros and were making their way south to Mexico when the Indians caught up to them, and killed all but one of the Nuns. She was held captive for a while and escaped, or was rescued. The Church relics were loaded on the Burros and the packs were never found. The Indians probably ate the Burros but would have no use for the packs. The ambush was supposed to have happened near what is now the small community of Yava Arizona.
The old Hillside mine is on Burro Creek, and it is said that it had been mined by the Spaniards in years gone by. And if I were leading a Burro or two and traveling with a couple of ladies, the easiest trail to take south would indeed be somewhere in the area of Yava.
I was wondering if anyone has heard of this story, and can add anything to it? Thanks, and waiting for some replies.
 

Okay, I got a story to tell. Back in the mid or late 80's I was on my way to Phoenix and stopped in at a little Bar in Morristown on hi way 93. There was a old gent there talking to the bartender about treasure hunting around the Castle Hot Springs area. This prompted the bartender to tell this story about his Dad and an old Bask sheep hearder.
I don't think anyone has ever written anything about this story cuz only a few people really know anything about it.
The bartender reached behind the bar on the shelf and picked up an old piece of metal, and dropped it on the bar in front on the old gent and asked if he had ever seen anything like it. The piece was in the shape of a bar about one and a half inch wide three quarters of an inch thick and six or seven inch's long. It had a cross stamped in it, with some other marks I couldn't make out. And it was pretty heavy. The old gent said "it looks like a silver bar to me". The bartender said "yep, that's exactly what it is".
He went on to say that when his Dad owned the bar several years before, that this old Bask sheepherder came in one day to have a beer or two and showed the Dad the bar and asked if knew what it was. Dad said "naw, not for sure, but its pretty interesting and I'll give ya a beer for it".
Dad served up that beer and started asking questions about where he had found it. Pretty soon the shepherded pulled out another bar and said he wanted another beer. This happened three times and the sheepherder said that's all he had with him, but he knew where there were allot of them.
Now to the meat of the story. The old bask was tending sheep in the area of the Santa Maria River west of hi way 93 between Date Creek and the Santa Maria.
One day while rounding up his sheep he went into an old cave or mine tunnel to cool off. In the tunnel he said was a stack of these bars stacked like cordwood in the middle of the floor and quit a ways back. He apparently gave the Dad a little more info cuz he looked for several years but never found the cave. He sold two of the bars and kept the on for a conversation piece.
I made a couple of trips into the area and I found a lot of caves, but no evidence of silver bars. There are a lot of diggings back in that country, but it is a big area.
An old prospector Friend of mine told me he found an old Spanish breast plate around an old arras ta. And the hilt of an old sword. He stashed them under a mesquite tree and intended to go back after them, but never did. His Burro was loaded down with samples or he would have brought them out that trip. He also told me of too caves he found that were right next to each other. One was a big one and the other you could turn a freight train around in. He said the floor was covered in bat guano up to three feet thick, and he could see the rims of Indian pots around the edges of the cave.
I have also looked for these, with no luck.
I have pretty much kept these tales to myself as I have wanted to look some more but I can't hike around like I used too. Maybe someone else has heard about the silver bars. If so let me know and I will tell you where not to look. As for the caves, well I don't know. Don't think old Bill would feed me a line of bull, but you never know. He passed away about fifteen years ago, and his wife passed last year. Guess he won't be looking anymore either.
 

LECTRICHEART said:
Okay, I got a story to tell. Back in the mid or late 80's I was on my way to Phoenix and stopped in at a little Bar in Morristown on hi way 93. There was a old gent there talking to the bartender about treasure hunting around the Castle Hot Springs area. This prompted the bartender to tell this story about his Dad and an old Bask sheep hearder.
I don't think anyone has ever written anything about this story cuz only a few people really know anything about it.
The bartender reached behind the bar on the shelf and picked up an old piece of metal, and dropped it on the bar in front on the old gent and asked if he had ever seen anything like it. The piece was in the shape of a bar about one and a half inch wide three quarters of an inch thick and six or seven inch's long. It had a cross stamped in it, with some other marks I couldn't make out. And it was pretty heavy. The old gent said "it looks like a silver bar to me". The bartender said "yep, that's exactly what it is".
He went on to say that when his Dad owned the bar several years before, that this old Bask sheepherder came in one day to have a beer or two and showed the Dad the bar and asked if knew what it was. Dad said "naw, not for sure, but its pretty interesting and I'll give ya a beer for it".
Dad served up that beer and started asking questions about where he had found it. Pretty soon the shepherded pulled out another bar and said he wanted another beer. This happened three times and the sheepherder said that's all he had with him, but he knew where there were allot of them.
Now to the meat of the story. The old bask was tending sheep in the area of the Santa Maria River west of hi way 93 between Date Creek and the Santa Maria.
One day while rounding up his sheep he went into an old cave or mine tunnel to cool off. In the tunnel he said was a stack of these bars stacked like cordwood in the middle of the floor and quit a ways back. He apparently gave the Dad a little more info cuz he looked for several years but never found the cave. He sold two of the bars and kept the on for a conversation piece.
I made a couple of trips into the area and I found a lot of caves, but no evidence of silver bars. There are a lot of diggings back in that country, but it is a big area.
An old prospector Friend of mine told me he found an old Spanish breast plate around an old arras ta. And the hilt of an old sword. He stashed them under a mesquite tree and intended to go back after them, but never did. His Burro was loaded down with samples or he would have brought them out that trip. He also told me of too caves he found that were right next to each other. One was a big one and the other you could turn a freight train around in. He said the floor was covered in bat guano up to three feet thick, and he could see the rims of Indian pots around the edges of the cave.
I have also looked for these, with no luck.
I have pretty much kept these tales to myself as I have wanted to look some more but I can't hike around like I used too. Maybe someone else has heard about the silver bars. If so let me know and I will tell you where not to look. As for the caves, well I don't know. Don't think old Bill would feed me a line of bull, but you never know. He passed away about fifteen years ago, and his wife passed last year. Guess he won't be looking anymore either.

That was some pretty expensive beer, don't you think?
 

Perhaps the Lost Hawkins Mine in Siskiyou County California would make interesting fodder for the site.
 

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