gollum
Gold Member
- Jan 2, 2006
- 6,770
- 7,720
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab SD2200D (Modded)/ Whites GMT 24k / Fisher FX-3 / Fisher Gold Bug II / Fisher Gemini / Schiebel MIMID / Falcon MD-20
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Ha ha, no, Doc was probably not a man to trust. IMO, he was so public about his "Victorio Peak discovery" because, being a scammer, he wanted the information out there. IMO, even though there was only a staged discovery at VP, Doc was clever enough to convince plenty of folks about the gold. That all ended with Charlie Ryan. With the dust settled, we've heard a lot about Doc from a lot of different people, but we really don't know what his mission was for sure, vis-a-vis the Caballos and Victorio Peak, and likely never will. Doc's descendants can't be relied on to provide much insight about what his biggest secrets were. After all, they weren't there - except for Ova, and she was obviously in the dark too.
People tend to use "KGC" as a label that, historically, includes not only the Civil War secret CSA operatives and their minions up to ca 1910, but also other powerful industrialists, bankers, military folks, upper-echelon "religious" (Mormons? Jesuits?), and other world stage manipulators - probably European based at the top levels. Some say the group is still active today. IMO, most of what we know about the organization in the US is likely disinformation. After all, it's a secret. Noss, if involved, would likely be labeled as a "minion", maybe a true loose cannon, maybe an affected loose cannon. Not a decision maker, but one who followed orders. Same for Douthit.
That's very insightful, Oro. The Franciscans were first in the North American game with Marcos de Niza in 1539. He and his radical actions are still shrouded in mystery, suggesting deceptions of some degree in southern NM. The Franciscan and/or Spanish gold and silver mines allegedly worked in the Sangre de Christos and elsewhere in northern NM have become "quiet legends" following the 1680 Revolt, although their richness was reputedly radical. In addition, we have a number of southern CO gold legends that would have been under the Spanish/Franciscan control (if not the French Jesuits). When the Spanish and Franciscans finally returned to NM in 1692 after being run out by the natives, their mining efforts never resumed to any great extent. The whereabouts of all the gold and silver mined prior to 1680 is not well explained. Logistically, the Franciscans would have had easy access to the Caballos, as the site was a stop on the way back to Chihuahua. The Spanish involvement, if any, is unexplained.
Padre LaRue was reportedly a rogue Franciscan, even though his actual presence in NM's Lower Rio Grande Valley in the very late 1700s is disputed. The cloudy links between the alleged LaRue mine, the Caballo/Organ gold, and the Franciscans remain undefined. [I have a working model to explain these links, but I'm still working on it]
Buddy, I guess we will have to agree to disagree on Doc Noss. There was absolutely a treasure under Victorio Peak. NO WAY Doc could have hauled in excess of 300 bars from the Caballos to VP, stash them in the caves, then haul them up to the surface? No way. Besides Bennie Samaniego was given a bar and the famous Suit of Armor. Doc told him to tell people whenever they asked, that they came from a cave in the Caballos (not The San Andres). If the bars actually did come from the Caballos, why in God's Name would he be sending people to look in the very place they came from? Doesn't make a bit of sense. Then, we have the testimony of Capt. William "Orby" Swanner. He swore that he personally witnessed the US Government flatbed approximately ninety-three million troy ounces of gold from under VP. When he told his story to the Noss Family, the Government went to great lengths to impugn his character. They went as far as to say he was never even there. In reply, Swanner told the Noss's that if they ever gained access to the lower caverns, they would find his name sooted onto one of the walls (he used a carbon arc lantern). When the Noss's did get there, they found "ORBY SWANNER 7 Oct 1961 US ARMY 02206135 CAPT" exactly where Capt Swanner told them it would be.
I personally believe that Doc found a treasure under VP just like he said he did. Once he got burned when he tried to legally claim the area and again when he took bars to the mint in 1939 (I believe), he went looking for Willie's Cave. He may have found either that or a different treasure cave in the Caballos.
Mike