Treasure Mountain, CO - Lost Frenchmens Gold

[Crow]

Here is The Antonito Ledger, July 21, 1927 much talked about in a earlier part of the thread.

Note The Virgil family was related to Antonio Leblanc's wife

The paper claims Antonio's father no longer had the map.

Crow

 

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[Crow]

Another thing to understand what was going on at the time.

Newspapers once called the Penitente community “a ‘secret’ and ‘strange mountain cult’ enacted by ‘swart hot-eyed Mexicans and half-breeds’ that needed to be exposed” (The Sacred World of the Penitentes by Alberto Lopez Pulido, page 26). Outsiders saw Penitentes as a secretive cult employing deviant practices. The Penitentes were a Catholic order of men (frowned on by the Vatican) that formed and flourished in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries as Spanish missions in the Southwest declined. And the Penitentes did engage in some startling and arguably brutal rituals (at least by today’s American standards).

During Holy Week, they publicly whipped themselves with Disciplinas, whips made from Yucca stalks. They bound bundles of cacti to their bare backs or were bound to heavy wooden crosses as they walked through the Stations of the Cross. As for rituals that went on behind closed doors, a novice received three Ave Maria cuts on his back to show that he was a genuine Penitente. A man who had wronged his family, community or fellow Penitentes might receive a flogging or be made to crawl back and forth with bare hands and knees on pebbles and stones.

The Penitentes were also extremely secretive. A member would be punished for revealing information. While these painful practices alienated a few members, for the majority of Penitentes, they served as a kind of social glue, much as violence has been included in other cultural coming-of-age rituals and rituals of inclusion from time immemorial.

The Penitentes also were a source of clout and political power for Hispanics. Hispanics in the Southwest faced pressure and discrimination from outsiders. Protestant ministers in the San Luis Valley saw Penitentes as rivals for church membership. Newcomers wanted the land that Hispanics lived on. If a member faced trouble in the community, he could ask his Penitente brothers for help. He might receive legal support, food, or other aid. The Penitentes gave the Church money for funeral expenses. The Penitentes also partnered with the Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos, a union of Hispanic workers, to bring protection and aid to members. The Penitentes still exist today.

I confess I had never heard of them? until I read the 1913 newspaper story of the cult? Below

We have question was Antonio Leblanc part of this religious sect?

If so was connected to the 1913 treasure hunt?

Crow

 

[Crow]

One thing for sure there was many people making claims from around this time. The Rocky Mountain News (Daily), Volume 53, Number 280, October 6, 1912 below

SPANISH TREASURE LOCATED NEAR SALIDA, SAYS OLD MINER

Special to The News. SALIDA. Colo., Oct. s.—ls there a Spanish treasure buried in the mountains somewhere near Salida? Certain prospectors in this vicinity are of the opinion that there Is. Indeed, Thomas Summers of Nathrop, who has prospected the hills In Chaffee county for more than thirty years, states that he can lay his hands upon this treasure within three months’ time.

And he offers to go into partnership with any man who will furnish him with sufficient ‘grubstake" to last during the expedition. The treasure is said to be composed of vast numbers of precious stones and many bags of gold. The persistence and seriousness of Summers in appealing his case has of late caused people to the matter serious thought.

Summers has been trying to locate the treasure for two years, and has found certain charts and sketches which locate the exact spot. When the time came for him to go forth on his expedition. deeds to property prevented his worklng the land. "The deeds must first be bought, and I have no money,’’ he states.

“I will form a company with any one, and will go halves with the treasure. All I need Is money enough to buy these deeds.” The one point made by Summers, which has caused several of his friends to make notice, is the claim that charts have been found. It is known that he has shown charts to a few of his most intimate friends.

In these maps there is mention of a mountain bearing a human face. When translated from the Spanish, the description reads: “Measurement Is taken from the face of the Spanish princess, which is a face in this mountain. resembling the countenance of the beautiful royal highess.” To the few people whom he has taken into his confidence.

Summers is known to have secretly shown a picture, recently photographed of a human face carved in the rocks. The face he himself claims to have photographed while prospecting near the base of Mount Princeton, fourteen miles northwest of Salida.

A tradition, once current among prospectors throughout this section, but still told occasionally by miners who located here years ago,relates of the burying of a large treasure by a band of Spaniards who came to this state over two hundred years ago.

Note interest that local tradition at least in 1912 burying of a large treasure by a band of Spaniards who came to this state over two hundred years ago.
( Regardless of summers claim which now jewels appear in the story. Was his words or add by the reporter to sex up the story?)

Crow

 

[Crow]

SEEKS FABULOUS TREASURE UNDER CHALK MOUNTAIN

Cave at Base of Mt. Princeton Believed to Hold Chests of Gold and Jewels Worth Millions. MOON MUST SHINE RIGHT Said Its Rays Will Point Golden Path of Wealth to Lucky Searcher. Special to The News. BUENA VISTA, Colo.,

April 5 — Somewhere at the base of Mount Princeton, eight miles southwest of Buena Vista, where the chalk cliffs stand as mighty sentinels, in the Chalk । Creek canon, there IIes burled a Spanish treasure of fabulous richness, said ।to be approximately S80000000. stored away behind the mighty walls of one of the many winding secret channels, which penetrate that particular section. and reach far Into the bowels of this massive mountain.

It Is said these chests of gold are guarded by human skulls with strange and weird figures of stone. According to the man who is now in quest of this Spanish treasure, there are old wooden chests with rusted locks and worm-eaten covers, bulging in many places with gold nuggets running in yellow streams from the rotten sides.

They lay on the floor of the cave once used by the Spaniards as their hiding places from the roving bands of Indians, or when too closely pursued by enemies of other Kinds. (•rent Golden Nugget*. । Nuggets as large or larger than the largest Klondike nugget, and precious stones, and coins so rare that their worth can never be estimated.

This Is the dream of Thomas A. Summers of Nathrop, a few miles south of Buena Vista. He has been working on the secret of the old mountain for several years, and it was only recently that his strange mission became known. ’He has worked alone, confiding in nobody.

Little attention was paid to him. and. in fact, he let it become generally believed that he was simply prospecting. With dim and thumb-worn drawing*, to which he Is constantly referring, he believes he will again be In possession of the $80,000.000.

According to his story, there are certain skulls and figures of animals carved on the face of the cliffs, which are to be seen only when the full moon shines at a certain angle overhead, which will lead him to the entrance of the cave.

Thousands of caverns. There are thousands of these small caverns in the chalk cliff at that point. Just at what period of the year, month or week It Is that the rays of the moon will reach the certain spot on the cliff. Is a mystery he is trying to solve.

It is possible that the cavern in which the Spaniards cached their fabulous riches is burled by tons of rock and debris, washed down from the mountain sides. Summers is not the only man who has looked for the buried treasure.

Some years ago a man came from the East with drawings and sketches, through which he hoped to locate the lost treasure. He worked several years, finally giving up the quest.

We have Thomas Summers again?

We have to ask ourselves what is the connection to the cult searching for treasure. Did he made a deal with Penitente community? Did he supply information to them for a price?
And is there a connection to later Antonio Leblanc story in the 1920s?
Is Thomas Summers just deluded person engaging on mythical treasure quest?

Or is there some thing with his story?

Is he just a con artist trying to scam money?

Is he and his story just reporters invention and Thomas summers do not exist?

Crow

 

[Crow]

It was very hard to read but Thomas Summer was recorded in 1885 Colorado Census. He was from Germany.

Thomas Summer
Gender Male
Race White
Age 38
Marital Status Single
Birth Date abt 1847
Birth Place Germany
Residence Year 1885
Residence Place Clear Creek, Colorado, USA
Relation to Head of Household Boarder

So perhaps this answers one question at least?

Crow

 

[Crow]

My conclusion at this stage. I have no opinion either way a veracity of story. There unanswered questions for and against the story. It appear there was tradition of Spanish treasure stories in south west and occasional French ones or combined. But each story are tainted by truths and half truths.. if the story is real i do would rely too much on exact details in retelling.

I cannot comment about books written as do not know if there is valid references and not some one just passing on a good story.

Anyway I hope it rattled a few clues out. Old Crow badly needs to roost as his eyes are hanging out of head.

Crow

 

[sdcfia]

Yeah, Crow, it's a rabbit hole all right. If the Penitentes are involved, verification of any facts about their secrets becomes a fool's errand. They're a spooky, guilt-ridden Catholic cult, essentially, and still very secretive even today in many villages around the Sangre de Cristo region. Everybody but themselves are outsiders.

Newspaper articles about old prospectors with mystery maps are common to all treasure legends in the West and likewise are only useful as campfire tales, bar talk and fun reading, IMO, unless you're somehow privy to proprietary details, which is extremely unlikely. The best "map story" I've heard originated in the Santa Rita del Cobre region. Even if certain names and places keep popping up in the Treasure Mountain print stories to indicate a loose end to follow, like LeBlanc, Summers, et al, then what? "LeBlanc", indicating French heritage, at least seems to tally with the "Treasure Mountain Legend". And the family has a local history in the area.

The San Luis Valley, with its many weird old blood lines, treasure legends, and other batshit crazy aspects, adds mystery. Treasure Mountain also seems to creep into LUE legend territory too, but let's let that sleeping dog remain snoozing here. "Spanish"? Spanish here, Spanish there, Spanish everywhere, it seems. "Utes"? Watch out for those guys too.

Bottom line so far for me: I still tend to favor the story of the French expedition from the eastern direction. Whether or not the true scope and details of the events have survived, we don't know.

 

[markmar]

If there would be any Spanish treasure buried in Colorado, then would be only what Antonio de Espejo and his party have carried out from Utah ( Uinta Mountains ) in the late 1588. Of course the history says Espejo died in 1585 in Cuba, but a Spanish map says something else.
This map was obtained from an old Native, maybe Ute, which had it from his ancestors. He said his ancestors killed a Spanish party hundreds of years ago, while were coming from Utah and were heading to NM, and found this map on them. Nothing about gold.
Look at the signature on the map.

 

[Joshua9900]

someone at work here was trimming down their stuff and had some books for which I said sure I would take. like out of a movie one day moving these books one fell open to a map of treasure stories. living in Del Norte CO I found the closest one called Lost Frenchmen Gold. so I jumped in...

my first doubt comes from where. i am fully vested in the notion that 200/300 men and 300/400 horses came into colorado as early as around 1790. I don't want to talk gold. i want to talk about the trace of this very large group in Co. That many people is a huge party for the period. just imagine the support needed for that adventure. reading here that they brought mercury with them. so from metallurgists to doctors to chefs... all of this has to have left trash and history where they camped. read some say they hung around as long as 3 years. well that is a stationary camp., a semi perma settlement. imagine the stables to house 300+ horses. i read they would escape the cold winters and head to Taos for the winter (this is conjecture as I would say that trip alone is harsh from Gunnison to Taos by horse). anyway where did this massive group stay and why for example is that camp site not a historical monument? "Here in 1789 the French..." should be on a plaque. i cannot fathom that it has not been found, evidenced, and made historic. Pike's Stockade is just some made up location, not even archeologists can find anything on that... but the largest party to ever enter western US pre1800 is just legend?

imho find the trail of human footprints first and foremost. i have found zero evidence of any french presence near wolf creek and what is called treasure mountain and treasure falls near me. not a single horse shoe or button. impossible to have that many europeans in theater and not leave a single iota of an artifact. jump over to Crested Butte farther north. Yule and other history very much implies a french presence in that area. no where in any local museum is a section reserved for "French Finds". no traces anywhere. again nothing to do with the gold, just want to find where the french camped at. I post here because I cannot find any historical items found in colorado near the San Luis Valley. this writing is more of a thought dump but also read I think a Yule found what the believe is french housing near Treasury Mt. That makes a lot more sense than around here...

finally, I am amused by this notion of hiding gold in someone else's back yard. its egotistical. the Ute knew every corner of this area so the idea europeans could hide something, like in a cave is ludicrous. altho not into gold, anywhere the french went would immediately be investigated. so you cant bury and hide anything in indian country is what I am saying. imagine me trying to bury something in your yard, I don't care how clever I think I am. "Hey why is this giant boulder now in front of this cave?". the treasure map and that lore is something I am avoiding. so much conjecture and lies apply to that side. skip that, so where the hell did the hundreds of french camp?

tldr: any and all searches on french lost treasure need to focus around the Gunnison areas and not the San Luis Valley versions. where did the French camp?

I don’t share a lot of information on these public sites but I have mentioned in previous posts my family has searched for this treasure for 4-generations. It is very real but there are so many versions and misinformation that make it hard to separate fact from fiction. If you know where to research, and have the ability to have boots on the ground searching, you can find most of this story is true. The French camp was concealed by the Utes after the massacre. It is located at the base of a mountain which is where they did most of their mining. The camp was flooded by building a dam in a nearby river. Here is a Google Earth screen shot. You can see the walls under the water. I have stood on the banks of this pond and if the conditions are right you can still see the walls. This is an incredibly remote area with no known structures anywhere. It takes 5-6 hours to hike to it. If you hike the mountain you can find their mines. Over the last 5-years I found where they hide the gold before the massacre. It is just as described in the journals we have. The gold is now gone, the majority of it was moved and cached in another spot further south in October 1851. What was left behind was taken by Mexican sheepherders in the 1920’s.

This has been a fun journey for my family. We no longer try to prove if the story is real or possible. We don’t search for camps or mines, they are all there if you want to find them. We are now following the 1851 trail, and it is just as exciting.

I hope this forum and this discussion helps to spark interest in other younger would be treasure hunters. I fear that this world is getting smaller and this next generation will have lost the excitement of adventure that man has gravitated to since the inception of our existence.

 

[sdcfia]

If the Frenchs' gold is gone and your people have located their original sites, then why not reveal the pond and empty cache locations? A GE aerial with waypoints and coordinates for example. Presumably, you have hopes for the alleged relocated cache and want to keep the locations of the original sites a secret. If true, that makes sense, but all you're providing to searchers is that they've been looking in the wrong places. They already know that.

 

[GirlWithWolf]

I hope this forum and this discussion helps to spark interest in other younger would be treasure hunters. I fear that this world is getting smaller and this next generation will have lost the excitement of adventure that man has gravitated to since the inception of our existence.

The forum and discussions do spark interest and will hopefully keep the adventures alive.

 

[cyzak]

If the Frenchs' gold is gone and your people have located their original sites, then why not reveal the pond and empty cache locations? A GE aerial with waypoints and coordinates for example. Presumably, you have hopes for the alleged relocated cache and want to keep the locations of the original sites a secret. If true, that makes sense, but all you're providing to searchers is that they've been looking in the wrong places. They already know that.

Lol, always trying to walk on the backs of others aren’t you SDCFIA.We have absolutely nothing to prove to anybody. It’s out there. Go find it yourself.

 

[sdcfia]

Lol, always trying to walk on the backs of others aren’t you SDCFIA.We have absolutely nothing to prove to anybody. It’s out there. Go find it yourself.

Ha ha, if nothing else zak, you're consistent. If you have nothing to prove, why are you constantly insinuating, without any verification, your string of successes? By the way, if you want, I'll give you a genuine target to look for south of Montrose, just off the Ouray highway. All boxed up and ready to go.

 

[cyzak]

Ha ha, if nothing else zak, you're consistent. If you have nothing to prove, why are you constantly insinuating, without any verification, your string of successes? By the way, if you want, I'll give you a genuine target to look for south of Montrose, just off the Ouray highway. All boxed up and ready to go.

Let me bring you up to speed on that one. My father knew the person who personally bought that gold from the miner’s. He would actually meet that guy in Colona Colorado and others in Silverton and Ouray. But never at the man's house because he was a shifter underground mine boss and getting caught would mean losing a pretty good job so the ore was never kept at the house. The ore It is under the reservoir now.