Well CJ and BB you are the only two who have been posting lately, I for one have been just reading (or "lurking" as they say).
Blindbowman you mentioned a cross earlier - what type of cross was it, can you recall? It is important and a fair indicator of who/whom created it. Cactusjumper mentioned the "other" missionaries active in Spanish America, the Franciscans and Dominicans. The Franciscans are especially intriguing, as even though they had an agreement as to which areas were alloted to the Jesuits and which were for the Franciscans, the Franciscans did do some proselytizing in the Jesuits' assigned areas, including Arizona. The Jesuits are indeed mysterious and were accused of many evils but we should
also look at the Franciscans. Remember after the Jesuits were expelled in 1767, it was the Franciscans who conveniently "stepped in" and took over the area! Were they (Franciscans) active in Arizona prior to 1767? Absolutely! Look it up!
If you can find a copy of the 'Historical Atlas of Arizona" there is a map in it which shows the locations of some of the Franciscan missions, which were technically illegal and did not survive; also some of the routes of Franciscan friars who took to exploring the northern frontiers. I would sooner accept that some Franciscans had ventured into the Superstitions, than the Jesuits, just a personal bias however.
Not sure why Blindbowman took the symbols he found to be Nahuatl, or why to examine the stone maps with an eye to Nahuatl meanings. I realize that BB is in part
chasing legends, which does
not require the same levels of "proof" that it might take to get the history books changed, but I would like to know why, Blindbowman, you chose to turn to the language of the Aztecs? (Also, before you feel TOO sorry for those Aztecs, keep in mind that the fall of the Aztecs was due in large part to the massive assistance of the OTHER tribes which surrounded the Aztecs, whom had been held in subjection; the Aztecs were not a particularly "gentle" tribe or culture, and performed human sacrifice and ritual cannibalism on a scale un-seen in any other culture - sooo the Spanish arrival and conquest may have brought on still more evils but it ended something bloody and horrible in the extreme.)
All that said, I have friends who are Nideh (Apache, who I allow to hunt on our land) and Dineh (Navajo) and have great respect and interest for things Amerindian, even married a part-Seneca for that matter, however there is a great deal of rubbish of modern invention that is played around with all things Amerindian, one needs to use a good "screen" to sift through the modern garbage that is layered on top of (and becoming thoroughly intermixed in) truly historic and genuine important beliefs and cultural practices. Gold may not have had the level of importance to Amerindians that it had/has to Europeans, but it was important in other ways - remember "tears of the Sun" etc.
As to the odds of someone finding a cache of treasure in the Superstitions - well how would you define "treasure"? If you mean stacks of gold bars, I would place the odds pretty long, if you mean a lost, rich gold mine which is historically documented, then the odds are NOT so long. If it turned out to be within the Superstitions, then it could not be claimed as a mine, and gold ore is not claimable as "treasure trove" - but there are other legal ways. We tend to think of the government as being our virtual enemy, trying to stop or block us from finding and retrieving treasure or gold, however throughout history, when a find could be proven to exist, time and again the government HAS made special allowances for the treasure or gold etc to be retrieved, even on such un-likely places as within a secret missile base, or Fort Huachucha etc. The government insists on proof, and generally wants HALF, but still even so it is not that bad a deal and you would be able to keep your half legally. So don't look at those hoops to jump through and piles of red tape as an attempt to STOP you, it is an attempt to get you to PROVE IT EXISTS and they WILL generally allow you to retrieve it, when you have proved it exists.
Dave- egos butting heads? I don't think that is what we have been doing, I THINK we have been debating and discussing the stone maps and the legends surrounding them. Some posts have been a bit 'testy' but if we were really 'measuring swords' the discussion would not have survived to nine pages and 12000 hits. People are not entertained by arguments and name-calling after all, but ARE attracted to the exchange of information/lore/history/theories. I hope we can change your view of us!
Oroblanco