New Mexico treasure recovery of enormous size circa 1913...additional info?

[Randy Bradford]

Found this in the National Prospector's Gazette Volume 6, Issue 6. It's part of a letter written that had to be redacted due to length (over 22 pages) before being published in the NPG. Just curious if anyone has any additional information about this story. The man providing it offers a significant level of detail but no idea about how he came by such precise information.

"The largest treasure ever found in the Americas was probably the one found in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico in 1913. A little more than 8,664,000 ounces of bullion and coarse raw gold was taken from this location to El Paso where it was shipped by rail to Arlington, Virginia. It was stored in the basement of a haberdashery and in a storeroom of a restaurant. 22,000 pounds was placed in the haberdashery and this caused the floor and one of the walls to crack. There was almost 19,000 pounds stacked in the restaurant and this caused the floor to crack and some of the plumbing to break. A steamship magnate bought nearly 10 tons of this gold and it was shipped to San Francisco in one boxcar and this shipment was waybilled as "household goods." A bed and a vanity chest plus some chairs and a bicycle were included in the shipment and three horses were, too, shipped in the car. A man who was later to become an Oklahoma oil millionaire went along as a caretaker for the horses. He never knew what a bountiful cargo he nursed until later years. The shipping magnate turned over $2,500,000 of a $3,600,000 purchase price and never paid another cent. Some of this gold could still be buried under or near his mansion near the Skyline Drive south of San Francisco but it is more likely that what was not immediately shipped to China was taken south to Monterrey, Santa Barbara, or Pasadena.

Ring any bells folks?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Treasure of Victoria Peak - Grab it through Amazon!

[bigscoop]

Stories like these are probably best taken with a grain of salt, the allure of the west and all of its alleged riches spawning countless tales of treasure, both lost and recovered.

 

[sdcfia]

Found this in the National Prospector's Gazette Volume 6, Issue 6. It's part of a letter written that had to be redacted due to length (over 22 pages) before being published in the NPG. Just curious if anyone has any additional information about this story. The man providing it offers a significant level of detail but no idea about how he came by such precise information.

"The largest treasure ever found in the Americas was probably the one found in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico in 1913. A little more than 8,664,000 ounces of bullion and coarse raw gold was taken from this location to El Paso where it was shipped by rail to Arlington, Virginia. It was stored in the basement of a haberdashery and in a storeroom of a restaurant. 22,000 pounds was placed in the haberdashery and this caused the floor and one of the walls to crack. There was almost 19,000 pounds stacked in the restaurant and this caused the floor to crack and some of the plumbing to break. A steamship magnate bought nearly 10 tons of this gold and it was shipped to San Francisco in one boxcar and this shipment was waybilled as "household goods." A bed and a vanity chest plus some chairs and a bicycle were included in the shipment and three horses were, too, shipped in the car. A man who was later to become an Oklahoma oil millionaire went along as a caretaker for the horses. He never knew what a bountiful cargo he nursed until later years. The shipping magnate turned over $2,500,000 of a $3,600,000 purchase price and never paid another cent. Some of this gold could still be buried under or near his mansion near the Skyline Drive south of San Francisco but it is more likely that what was not immediately shipped to China was taken south to Monterrey, Santa Barbara, or Pasadena.

Ring any bells folks?

Due to the content of the summary (22,000 pounds went here, 19,000 pounds went there, millionaires were involved, it happened in 1913), it sounds like a typical KGC cover story - if you believe in such things. More detail about the recovery location would be interesting, as "Sacramento Mountains" hardly narrows it down.

 

[Randy Bradford]

I hadn't considered the possible of a KGC cover story. I just saw a guy with some pretty specific details about a large recovery. When I read things sometimes its hard to tell what's interesting and what's something everyone already knows about. Finding that sweet spot in the middle where it's not completely obscure but not common knowledge is always my goal.

 

[mdog]

Found this in the National Prospector's Gazette Volume 6, Issue 6. It's part of a letter written that had to be redacted due to length (over 22 pages) before being published in the NPG. Just curious if anyone has any additional information about this story. The man providing it offers a significant level of detail but no idea about how he came by such precise information.

"The largest treasure ever found in the Americas was probably the one found in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico in 1913. A little more than 8,664,000 ounces of bullion and coarse raw gold was taken from this location to El Paso where it was shipped by rail to Arlington, Virginia. It was stored in the basement of a haberdashery and in a storeroom of a restaurant. 22,000 pounds was placed in the haberdashery and this caused the floor and one of the walls to crack. There was almost 19,000 pounds stacked in the restaurant and this caused the floor to crack and some of the plumbing to break. A steamship magnate bought nearly 10 tons of this gold and it was shipped to San Francisco in one boxcar and this shipment was waybilled as "household goods." A bed and a vanity chest plus some chairs and a bicycle were included in the shipment and three horses were, too, shipped in the car. A man who was later to become an Oklahoma oil millionaire went along as a caretaker for the horses. He never knew what a bountiful cargo he nursed until later years. The shipping magnate turned over $2,500,000 of a $3,600,000 purchase price and never paid another cent. Some of this gold could still be buried under or near his mansion near the Skyline Drive south of San Francisco but it is more likely that what was not immediately shipped to China was taken south to Monterrey, Santa Barbara, or Pasadena.

Ring any bells folks?

Yeah, that's right on that LUE longitude, right?

 

[Randy Bradford]

Yeah, that's right on that LUE longitude, right?

Close, I've not heard of any LUE caches that far South though. However, most of the LUE caches were raw gold and bullion so that fits as well. Intriguing possibility...

 

[mdog]

Capitan Peak is just NE of the Sacramento Mountains and there might be a treasure legend associated with that peak. Also, Capitan Peak is a lot closer to the LUE longitude.

I agree with Sdcfia that your manuscript is a coded organization story. It would be nice to see the rest of it.

 

[Randy Bradford]

Sorta weird, the entire letter started out being about the LUE and his belief that the treasure was from the Aztecs or the Mayans, then he slips this bit of info in right in the middle of his point and then goes back to talking about the Aztecs. Let me see what I can do about posting everything that was printed, but as I said, even that was only a portion of what he sent Karl at the NPG.

 

[mdog]

Sorta weird, the entire letter started out being about the LUE and his belief that the treasure was from the Aztecs or the Mayans, then he slips this bit of info in right in the middle of his point and then goes back to talking about the Aztecs. Let me see what I can do about posting everything that was printed, but as I said, even that was only a portion of what he sent Karl at the NPG.

It seems to me that the Capitan Peak legend was about Aztec gold. Maybe this story was the source of the legend.

 

[Randy Bradford]

Dear Mr. Miller: I have read several of the stories relating to the LUE Treasure with a lot of interest and humor. One fact is particularly obvious to me I suspect that it is as obvious to others: it is the failures who chose to try to disprove that they are failures. I would like to add fuel to the fire or put in my two-bits worth for whatever it is worth to anybody who could be interested.

I am of the opm10n that the LUE is not Spanish-derived as fostered by Mr. von Mueller and others but that it is either Mayan, lncan, or more likely Aztec and I might advance the well-grounded suspicion that a good deal of it came from the 400 Taos placers, that some of it came from the Sangre de Cristo and present Mosquito ranges, and that the original deposits came up from Central America. Your attention is directed to the English translation of “Montezuma” and to the English translation of Acapulco and you will determine that the treasures of these two cultures were sent north. If you use your imagination as you well must do if you are to divine the unwritten facts and plumb the depths of these great wealths, you can discern a possible movement of these treasures to a point that might be as far north as Castle mountain in Alberta. People just don't read their history and they are not aware of the peculiar meanderings of various cultures throughout most of the Americas.

The largest treasure ever found in the Americas was probably the one found in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico in 1913. A little more than 8,664,000 ounces of bullion and coarse raw gold was taken from this location to El Paso where it was shipped by rail to Arlington, Virginia. It was stored in the basement of a haberdashery and in a storeroom of a restaurant. 22,000 pounds was placed in the haberdashery and this caused the floor and one of the walls to crack. There was almost 19,000 pounds stacked in the restaurant and this caused the floor to crack and some of the plumbing to break. A steamship magnate bought nearly 10 tons of this gold and it was shipped to San Francisco in one boxcar and this shipment was waybilled as "household goods." A bed and a vanity chest plus some chairs and a bicycle were included in the shipment and three horses were, too, shipped in the car. A man who was later to become an Oklahoma oil millionaire went along as a caretaker for the horses. He never knew what a bountiful cargo he nursed until later years. The shipping magnate turned over $2,500,000 of a $3,600,000 purchase price and never paid another cent. Some of this gold could still be buried under or near his mansion near the Skyline Drive south of San Francisco but it is more likely that what was not immediately shipped to China was taken south to Monterrey, Santa Barbara, or Pasadena. I am enclosing copies of the bills of lading, receipts and personal notes relating to this transaction. All of this was done very quietly, and as far as I know one of the men is still alive and lives in Tulsa in very poor health. His name is Hamilton and he is as hard to find as a needle in a haystack and it is easier to get in to see the president of the United States than it is to get a word with Mr. Hamilton.

Lest anybody let the facts get out of focus regarding the Aztecs and their wonderful history, I would point out that according to Francisco Xavier Clavijero, an accomplished and respected Mexican historian, the Aztecs drifted down across the Colorado river to Anahuac and Tollan and established an entirely new culture. Archeologists are mystified by the range and extent of their influence. Evidence of Aztec culture, you know, has been found in Canada. The Aztecs were artisans and engineers. They probably introduced slave labor to the Americas in agriculture and mining. They consumed slaves in the same magnitude that we now use coal. They were probably the first and only hardrock miners in the Americas, but they were skilled placer miners, too. Their cultural influence on the western Indians is self-evident and as late as today numerous Indians use ancient rites and ceremonials that are obviously and distinctly Aztecan.

In ending I will say that if you find the missing padre, you will find the right tomb. Can you see my beacon? Lloyd B. Beauchamp, Inglewood, Calif.

Note: This is a small part of a 21 page letter from Mr. Beauchamp. It is unfortunate that we do not have room for his entire letter. What is particularly important in Mr. Beauchamp's letter is the evidence of his unusual awareness of ancient American history. I suspect that he attributes all Indian culture to the Aztecs and this certainly is not true, but their influence has never been properly placed in focus by American historians, and it probably never will be. It is certainly far greater than we have believed, and it has influenced a greater part of the world than we have ever have been taught. All in all, his complete letter would make a nice small booklet if he would allow us to publish it.

This long discourse has been to reaffirm the fact that when you hear it in or from Segundo, "you'd better believe it.” Customers often go elsewhere to pick up a special deal, but they always come back to the Treasure Capitol of the World and to people who have been active in this field for years and who have been successful for just as many years. Sometimes our comments and answers disappoint people, sometimes we hurt their feelings unintentionally, and sometimes we give the freeloaders and parasites the bums-rush, but nobody can honestly accuse us of being dishonest, misleading them, or edging over toward their pocketbooks. We use the lowest cost advertising in the world, our customers, and it pays off for us. The entire treasure and prospecting field gets more for their money from Exanimo and NPG than anyplace else in the world and we invite anybody anywhere to prove otherwise. We will be glad to publish the facts, both pro and con, with respect to this.

 

[sdcfia]

It seems to me that the Capitan Peak legend was about Aztec gold. Maybe this story was the source of the legend.

It's hard to get any info on this one. It's alleged to be an Aztec treasure. I'm not sure where this tale surfaced, or when. UFO-types also claim that there's a cavern entrance near Capitan Peak with a stone staircase leading down into the mountain from the surface. The Capitan Range is north of the Sacramento Mountains, but maybe it's close enough for the story. I guess if it's a KGC cache, the clues may be hidden within an Aztec treasure story. By the way, the Capitans were where they rescued Smokey the Bear during a fire.

 

[mdog]

It's hard to get any info on this one. It's alleged to be an Aztec treasure. I'm not sure where this tale surfaced, or when. UFO-types also claim that there's a cavern entrance near Capitan Peak with a stone staircase leading down into the mountain from the surface. The Capitan Range is north of the Sacramento Mountains, but maybe it's close enough for the story. I guess if it's a KGC cache, the clues may be hidden within an Aztec treasure story. By the way, the Capitans were where they rescued Smokey the Bear during a fire.

Last night I spent a couple hours looking for information about the Capitan Peak legend but I didn't have much luck.

You New Mexico folks have a rich history of strange events. I ran across one of the underground tunnel stories. I don't know if the stories are true but they are entertaining.

 

[sdcfia]

Last night I spent a couple hours looking for information about the Capitan Peak legend but I didn't have much luck.

You New Mexico folks have a rich history of strange events. I ran across one of the underground tunnel stories. I don't know if the stories are true but they are entertaining.

Yeah, they don't call it "The Land of Enchantment" just because of the scenery.

 

[piegrande]

As you know, Randy, I have not believed the Aztecs took large quantities of gold that far north. However, that is personal conjecture and I do not have proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

On the other hand, I have also theorized that different Emperors may have had large quantities of gold; that originally there was a lot of gold easily found, and after a few centuries gold became scarce. So, I sure don't have any reason to say there was not such an amount of gold.

However, on the crew of a car with ten tons of gold not knowing there was gold there, that is a different matter. Gold is very heavy. Ten tons are not that large. Visualize just how it would be moved on the car and how it would be moved off. I doubt anyone observing would fail to realize there was gold. That is my opinion, of course, and worth what you are paying for it.

The Aztecs were only in power a few short hundred years. They cut a wide swath through Mexico and further south, but that is a short time to also control territory as far north as Canada. There were hostile tribes through that entire region, and there are no Aztec documents reporting such a wide area, even though there are a lot of Aztec documents from that era.

 

[Randy Bradford]

Not making any assertions about the authenticity of the story, simply wondering if the story was one others had heard before or not. Without seeing the whole 22 page letter (which isn't beyond the realm of possibility but would take some doing) I couldn't speculate too much. It's not often you run across a story of gold of this magnitude where there isn't already 50 books written about it. Then again, found treasures don't get near the attention as the unfound ones do.

 

[sdcfia]

As you know, Randy, I have not believed the Aztecs took large quantities of gold that far north. However, that is personal conjecture and I do not have proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

I suspect that it is plausible that the Aztecs' primary source of gold was not in Mexico, but somewhere to the north, where their original homeland was, and where the Cibola legends pointed. The Spanish were certainly looking in that direction. If the Aztecs removed a bunch of treasure from Tenochtitlan after the Spanish conquest, it seems much more likely to me that they hid it somewhere else in Mexico instead of hauling it all the way to North America.

 

[sdcfia]

Not making any assertions about the authenticity of the story, simply wondering if the story was one others had heard before or not. Without seeing the whole 22 page letter (which isn't beyond the realm of possibility but would take some doing) I couldn't speculate too much. It's not often you run across a story of gold of this magnitude where there isn't already 50 books written about it. Then again, found treasures don't get near the attention as the unfound ones do.

Is it possible 8 million ounces of gold were hidden in New Mexico and recovered in 1913? Yes. Based on the article, do we have any evidence that such a recovery was made in the Sacramento Mountains, then moved to Virginia? No.

Obviously, it would be interesting to know more about Mr. Beauchamp for starters. Was he a real person? Same goes for the names of the California shipping magnate who received 10 tons of the gold and the names of the restaurant and haberdashery in Virginia where 9-1/2 and 11 tons were stored. Were they real? Mention was made of bills of lading, receipts and personal notes too. Without the entire 22 page document alluded to, no details can possibly be verified that would support the summary. Funny the Prospectors Gazette "didn't have room to print the entire story", even if in a serialized form. After all, it was billed as "the largest treasure ever found in the Americas"! For that reason, I'd say that this tale seems like just another sensational newspaper adventure tale. This one reminds me of the 1909 Phoenix Gazette Grand Canyon story. A possible coded message, yes. A true story, doubtful.

 

[bigscoop]

It's interesting when we trace most of these treasure stories back to their roots, or earliest known sources. Nearly all of them getting their beginnings in the golden era of treasure tales, a time when such stories were popular with the public. No doubt most of them are just simple works of fiction designed to prey on human fantasies and to inspire the human imagination, even if they don't say so.

 

[somehiker]

I suspect that it is plausible that the Aztecs' primary source of gold was not in Mexico, but somewhere to the north, where their original homeland was, and where the Cibola legends pointed. The Spanish were certainly looking in that direction. If the Aztecs removed a bunch of treasure from Tenochtitlan after the Spanish conquest, it seems much more likely to me that they hid it somewhere else in Mexico instead of hauling it all the way to North America.

Such an project would have been easier the second time around.....

"Fray Diego Durán in his 'History of the Indies of New Spain' revealed that during the reign of Moctezuma I, the Mexica attempted to find Aztlan Chicomoztoc, the land of their forefathers, in order to send them riches and treasures. The royal historian, Cuauhcoatl, explained that Aztlan could be found surrounded by water, with a nearby hill called Culhuacan, which had caves where their ancestors had lived."
Cacao's journey to Aztlan. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298507193_Cacao's_journey_to_Aztlan [accessed Jun 13, 2017].

.... and easier still, if codices had been created for the records, around seventy years prior to 1520/21.

Journey to Aztlán, the Mythical Homeland of the Aztecs - Mexico Unexplained
Aztlan and the Origin of the Aztecs

There are other references as well, which mention as many as 60 Priests and other scribes, as well as 1000 warriors and porters assigned to this first entrada.

Regards:SH.

 

[sdcfia]

Such an project would have been easier the second time around.....

"Fray Diego Durán in his 'History of the Indies of New Spain' revealed that during the reign of Moctezuma I, the Mexica attempted to find Aztlan Chicomoztoc, the land of their forefathers, in order to send them riches and treasures. The royal historian, Cuauhcoatl, explained that Aztlan could be found surrounded by water, with a nearby hill called Culhuacan, which had caves where their ancestors had lived."
Cacao's journey to Aztlan. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298507193_Cacao's_journey_to_Aztlan [accessed Jun 13, 2017].

.... and easier still, if codices had been created for the records, around seventy years prior to 1520/21.

Journey to Aztlán, the Mythical Homeland of the Aztecs - Mexico Unexplained
Aztlan and the Origin of the Aztecs

There are other references as well, which mention as many as 60 Priests and other scribes, as well as 1000 warriors and porters assigned to this first entrada.

Regards:SH.

Duran's "codex" - actually his presentation of Mexica mythology collected decades after the conquest - is quite a read, but it's so drastically romanticized that it was only a curiosity for centuries until discovered by ethnologists. I wouldn't call the document outright fake news, but as your source Unexplainable.net states, "In Duran's version, Aztlan is a Garden of Eden where the people still live an idyllic existence and where neither disease and death is known." Many passages in the "codex" are similarly fantastical. Duran was a staunch native advocate and colored his Mexica history to emphasize their tragic fall from grace. That said, the question remains: is his Moctezuma I tale historical fact or just more poetic license? You won't find much if anything about it in most Moctezuma I material, but most folks who repeat the story reference Duran, including Mexico Unexplained, which leans towards the current La Raza political agenda - again, latter day staunch native advocates often playing fast and loose with historical facts.

Bottom line: first, where is the original Aztlan? The pueblo cultures claim it's in New Mexico, or Arizona. The guys in Utah firmly believe it's there. California is in the mix. One of the most convincing presentations I've seen place it in the middle or lower Mississippi Valley, maybe around Cahokia. Second, our crass curiosity asks, "Where'd the loot go?" Makes sense to me that it's still somewhere in Mexico. We'll probably never know.