Joshua9900
Greenie
- Apr 4, 2019
- 17
- 43
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Here is the story as we have come to know it:
In 1662, Governor Diego de Penalosa led 80 Spanish and one thousand Indian warriors to the northeast to investigate reports of French intrusion into Spanish territory. While on this campaign, he learned “of the Lake of Copalla, where the richest mines of Moqtegsuma (Montezuma) are located, from which mines the gold stones the Governor bought.” While on his way back to Santa Fe, he was arrested on charges of “unrestrained language against the priests and blasphemy.” He was brought back to Santa Fe in chains and imprisoned for 32 months. He was banished to Spain and forbidden from returning to the New World. Governor Penalosa approached the French monarch and gave a detailed account of the riches in “Teguayo.” He offered his assistance in leading an expedition to this land by establishing a military fort in the east and marching across the continent to the lands in the west. The French monarch considered this offer, but ultimately, they didn’t trust a man who would turn his back on his king and serve another; the French decided to send Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle instead.
In 1684, at the tender age of 13, Jean L’Archeveque, accompanied by Pierre Meusnier from Paris and Jacques Grollet, joined Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle on his expedition in pursuit of the Mississippi Delta. After getting lost, their journey took an unexpected turn when they landed at Lavaca Bay, Texas. Tragedy struck in 1687 when a mutiny led to an ambush, resulting in the murder of Sieur de La Salle. Sensing imminent danger, L'Archeveque, Grollet, and Meusnier escaped and sought refuge with the Teyas Indians. In 1689, they were ransomed by the Spanish, who discovered them during an expedition into Texas in search of the rumored French intrusions into their territory. Both L'Archeveque and Grollet were sent to Spain, where there was an official inquisition into their involvement in Sieur de La Salle's murder. Cleared of any involvement in La Salle's demise, L'Archeveque and Grollet returned to Paso del Norte in 1692, where they joined General Vagas's army to help reclaim the province, which they had lost during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. As a Captain, Juan Archibeque (who changed his name to conform to Spanish society) continued his military service while residing in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
While Archibeque and Grollet pursued a military career, Meusnier pursued a career in trading and bartering with the Native Americans. He invited Archibeque to join his venture. Because Archibeque was now a high-ranking military official, he could travel into Ute territory without obtaining a license from the governor. This allowed him access to a massive trade network that no one else had access to. The Utes and Archibeque formed a great relationship, probably because Archibeque traded horses and guns, which was illegal. In 1704, the Utes led Archibeque to a mine and cache illegally operated before the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The Utes allowed Archibeque to bring a small contingent of men who mined every summer. The mining operation by Archibeque was illegal and not sanctioned by the crown; because of this, he had to keep it quiet. We know that Archibeque maintained his contact with the French, and in 1715, a group of Frenchmen came to the fair in Taos and asked around to look for Archibeque. This created a stir among the upper class, who believed Archibeque was secretly working for the French. An investigation was launched, and ultimately, nothing could be proven against Archibeque.
In August 1720, Archibeque embarked on an expedition to the Arkansas River with Commandant Don Pedro de Villazur. Sent by Governor Valverde to investigate rumors of French settlements in present-day eastern Colorado and Nebraska, their target was El Cuartelejo, a fort constructed by Kiowa, Jicarilla Apache, and Pueblo Indians. Despite learning of the Frenchmen's departure upon their arrival, Villazur's expedition proceeded into the South Platte Valley near Fort Morgan. Ignoring warnings about the nearby presence of Pawnees and the group they sought, Villazur set up camp. Tragedy struck at dawn on August 16, 1720, as a surprise attack claimed the lives of most expedition members, including Villazur and Archibeque. Sergeant Felipe de Tamaris, one of the few survivors, recounted the ordeal. Archibeque's loyal servant, Sanchez, despite sustaining multiple wounds, stayed by his master's side until his final breath before fleeing on Archibeque's horse. Ironically, according to Tamaris and Sanchez’s account, Jean L'Archeveque, also known as Juan de Archibeque, fell victim to Frenchmen wanted for questioning regarding La Salle's murder. L'Archeveque had confided in Sanchez about one of the assailants being a survivor of La Salle's earlier expedition, adding a tragic twist to his untimely demise.
Following the death of Juan Archibeque (Jean L'Archeveque), his two sons took over the family trading and gold mining business. His biological son Agustin de Archibeque married Manuela Trujillo in 1729. Their son was Antonio Domingo Archibeque. He married Casilda Gonzales on April 6, 1750. They had two sons, Juan Domingo, born January 6, 1751, and Agustin Antonio, born June 20, 1753. In 1749, Governor Tomas Cachupin was appointed and took on a new philosophy regarding relationships with the Utes. Rather than continue to make it illegal to trade with the Utes or to enter their territory, he sought a peace treaty with the Ute Nation. The chiefs, miners, and traders agreed upon terms to enter the country legally. Agustin de Archibeque recognized this as his opportunity to expand his mining business.
The Archibeque family’s issue was that you had to have a permit to mine. They had been mining for many years without one; if you did not have one, there were severe consequences, including imprisonment and forfeiture of all your property. The family needed to pay the required king's fifth, which was also a significant issue. Fortunately for the Archibeque family, Frenchmen Jacques Bellecount and Jean Petitjean came to Sante Fe with Pierre Mallet when he returned in 1748. Jacques Bellecount is a mining engineer trained in Paris. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that a mining engineer showed up and joined the Archibeque family’s endeavor; I suspect the French government sent him. Jacques Bellecount reached out to his contacts in New Orleans. He informed them that the Archibeque family wanted to partner with the French monarch to secretly mine gold in the northern reaches of the New Mexico territory and secretly move it to Canada (it could not be taken to New Orleans because there were too many Spanish spies). The gold would be stored in a vault until it could be retrieved. The issue the French had was they did not have treasure galleons like the Spanish did. Large quantities of gold would need to be stored until smaller ships could move it. It could take several trips across the Atlantic to move the gold. So, the French government sent 250-300 troops to meet with the Archibeque family in 1751.
The 250-300 Frenchmen joined the Archibeque family and, along with hundreds of Pueblo slaves, began a massive mining operation at La Mine de La Ventana. The central vault was expanded, and two additional vaults were added. The two additional vaults were called the “Southern Vault” and the “Most Southern Vault”. The mining continued for five years, with regular trips to store gold in Canada. But even with those regular trips, they were mining more gold than they could move. During the entire French expedition, the Ute Indians were not happy that such a large force of men was in their country.
To make matters worse, the French were rude and disrespectful to the Utes. They often bartered with them and ripped them off. It all came to a head in 1756 when the French disregarded a Ute warning not to enter the Pagosa Hot Springs, as this was a sacred place to the Utes. In the fall, the French left the Pagosa Hot Springs and headed to their lower camp for winter. The Utes attacked, and a fierce battle was fought. Ultimately, most of the Frenchmen were killed, a handful made it to New Orleans, and roughly 15 made it to Canada. The French never moved their gold in the winter and left it in the secured caches.
Several members of the Archibeque crew were injured and killed in the Ute attack. They elected not to pursue mining for a few years. Eventually, one of the Archibeque family members contacted the Ute chiefs and apologized for inviting the French. He gave them horses and guns as a peace offering and asked permission to mine again. They agreed if it was no more than a handful of men. The mine was operated from 1750 to 1756 with the French government's assistance. Following the French massacre, the mine was operated by the Archbeque family up to 1770 with the help of four men. Toribio Hernandez - a Spaniard from Santa Fe; Felicito Garcia - a Spaniard from Santa Fe; Jacques Bellecount - a Frenchman who came with Pierre Mallet; and Jean Petitjean - who also came with Pierre Mallet. They mined gold for several years, storing even more gold in the caches. They only brought back enough gold to get them through the year; they were also scared of being discovered, which almost happened in 1768. Governor Tomas Cachupin had heard reports of sizeable illegal mining operations in the northern territories and sent Father Juan Maria de Rivera on two separate expeditions to investigate.
Fortunately for the Archibeque family, he missed them by about 20 miles.
The mine changed hands within the Archibeque family. By 1767, Antonio Domingo de Archibeque was 43 years old and running the mining operation. Antonio ignored the treaty his father (Agustin de Archibeque) had made with the Utes to keep the operation small. The operation grew to include several dozen men and many slaves. The Utes again got angry and told the miners not to return the following year. The miners ignored the warnings, and after three years of demanding they not return, the Utes decided it was time to act. In the fall of 1770, they attacked and killed most of the miners. Antonio Domingo de Archibeque was killed at the mine along with Torbio Hernandez. Jacques Bellecount survived and took all the paperwork, maps, and manuscripts back to Paris, where they were filed with the French Government. Jean Petitjean was uninjured in the attack and made it back to Sante Fe. Villalpondo was a Spaniard from Taos who was unharmed and made it back to Santa Fe. Felicito Garcia was severely injured and made it back to Santa Fe, where he died a short time later. Before Felicio died, he gave his son a detailed account and a map. His eldest son was wealthy from his family’s gold mining ventures and didn’t think it was wise to test his luck with the Utes. This ended Garcia’s involvement in the mine. There is a record of one of the descendants sharing a map with some people in the SLV in 1915, including giving a copy to Thomas Summers, who had some newspaper articles written about him in the 1920s searching for the mine.
Fast forward to 1799, the Louisianan Territory is now under Spanish rule. It had been secretly ceded to them following the French defeat of the French and Indian War in 1767. France did not want Great Britain to have the territory, so they gave it to the Spanish. In 1799, Napolean was wagging a global war and needed funds. He knows about the vast mineral resources in the Louisianan Territory and northern New Mexico country. An explorer named Louis de Villmont had made a trip out west two years previously and reported the finding of Gold. Napolean is also told there are documents in the archives that show where a large mine and three caches filled with gold are located. Napoleon sent 2,000 troops from his Egypt campaign and plans to send more. The 2,000 troops are on their way to New Orleans when they receive word there is a slave revolt in Haiti, now called The Haitian Revolution. This is a big problem because Haiti was like the gas station for voyages to the New World. All the ships would stop there and resupply before carrying on. Two hundred troops continued to New Orleans while the remainder headed to Haiti to help quash the revolt. Unfortunately for those men, the slaves were more of a match than they anticipated, and the French were finally defeated in 1804; Haiti declared its sovereignty a year later. The 200 troops land in New Orleans and are sent to Fort Arkansas, or Arkansas Post as some refer it, far enough away from the busy New Orleans port. They did this so the troops could hunker down and not draw unwanted attention until it was time to leave for the expedition. The fort's commandant is Louis de Villmont’s brother, Don Carlos de Villmont. This makes it very convenient to hide the troops and gather supplies without the Spanish officials knowing. The Villmont family and their service to the French, Spanish, and Americans is incredible. They were double agents for the French while serving the Spanish in high-ranking positions. They then sold their knowledge to the Americans after the Louisiana Purchase.
In early March 1799, the expedition was equipped and ready to leave New Orleans. The expedition consisted of:
Two hundred twenty fully equipped armed soldiers mounted on horses.
Thirty guides, scouts, and hunters mounted on horses and led 20 extra horses.
Eighty miners, assayers, doctors, surveyors, and veterinarians all mounted on horses leading pack mules.
Ten-pack mules loaded with camping equipment.
Ten-pack mules loaded with dried food.
Five-pack mules loaded with extra guns, parts, and ammunition.
Three-pack mules loaded with winter clothing and replacements.
Two mules empty for replacements.
Twenty-five-pack mules are loaded with mining equipment, including tools, roasting furnaces, surveyors and assayers' equipment and instruments, doctors' and veterinarians' equipment, and medicine.
A total of 60 mules, 350 horses, and 350 men.
I won’t get into all the specifics on which route they took to get to the mountains or where they found gold; I will include all that when I one day finish my book. While the 1751-1756 expedition primarily focused on the La Ventana mine, the 1799-1803 expedition spread and mined everywhere. They had mining operations that extended most of the southern part of the Colorado Rockies. They found the 3-caches and used them to store the gold they mined in spring and summer. I don’t know if they ever mined La Ventana; I have some information that suggests they did not.
In September 1803, word came that Napoleon was selling the Louisiana territory to the United States for $11,250,000, and they were to return to New Orleans. The group knew they could not move this much gold and decided to leave the past few years' accumulation in the cache vaults until another expedition could be mounted. They decided to take 3 1/3 tons of gold with them. On September 18, 1803, the group was heading to Hayden Pass when an overwhelmingly large group of warriors attacked them; the survivors estimated there were over 1,000. Most of the soldiers were in the front of the caravan and held off the attackers while the rest fled with the gold. The soldiers who were protecting the civilians attempted to help the other soldiers in the battle, and ultimately, all the soldiers were killed. While the Utes gathered horses, guns, and supplies from the dead, the civilians fled down a well-known trail. They eventually made it to an area they were familiar with and camped. They knew they could not get away with their lives and gold, so they buried the gold in a rockslide near their camp. On the morning of September 20, 1803, the gold was placed in a cistern dug at the base of the rockslide. The men all fled and were hunted down, and most of them were killed. One man made it to Taos, where he shared the story with a Spanish priest before dying; two more men made it back to French territory and on to New Orleans.
This brings us to the 19th century. There have been claims of numerous expeditions to look for the caches and mine. I don’t doubt there were several. However, there is only one that I have found that has historical documentation to support it. From my information, the French government sent five men from California to Santa Fe. The men hired Bernando Sanchez as a guide. The only name we have found for any group member other than Sanchez is Carven (unknown if first or last name). They found the gold in the rockslide and loaded 1,000 pounds, all they could carry with the horses they brought. They went downriver and found a suitable camping location at the confluence of two Rivers. While Sanchez was away getting supplies, Ute warriors attacked the group, and two of the men died right away. The remaining three men held off the Utes until nightfall. They hid the gold and fled the area as fast as they could. A few days later, there was another battle, and another man was killed. The last two survivors made it to Taos; one of the men was arrested (unknown what for), and the other fled and made it to Fort Leavenworth. The survivor was Carven, who recanted his story to a local historian in New Orleans years later. Carven never returned to France and, as far as we can tell, never attempted to retrieve any of the gold. We do have a detailed account of where they hid the gold and believe we have found that location based on signs they left and geographical features. The gold left in the rockslide was taken out slowly over many years by Mexican sheepherders in the 1920s. There is historical documentation of this that I will include later when I have time to dig more into my notes.
In 1662, Governor Diego de Penalosa led 80 Spanish and one thousand Indian warriors to the northeast to investigate reports of French intrusion into Spanish territory. While on this campaign, he learned “of the Lake of Copalla, where the richest mines of Moqtegsuma (Montezuma) are located, from which mines the gold stones the Governor bought.” While on his way back to Santa Fe, he was arrested on charges of “unrestrained language against the priests and blasphemy.” He was brought back to Santa Fe in chains and imprisoned for 32 months. He was banished to Spain and forbidden from returning to the New World. Governor Penalosa approached the French monarch and gave a detailed account of the riches in “Teguayo.” He offered his assistance in leading an expedition to this land by establishing a military fort in the east and marching across the continent to the lands in the west. The French monarch considered this offer, but ultimately, they didn’t trust a man who would turn his back on his king and serve another; the French decided to send Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle instead.
In 1684, at the tender age of 13, Jean L’Archeveque, accompanied by Pierre Meusnier from Paris and Jacques Grollet, joined Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle on his expedition in pursuit of the Mississippi Delta. After getting lost, their journey took an unexpected turn when they landed at Lavaca Bay, Texas. Tragedy struck in 1687 when a mutiny led to an ambush, resulting in the murder of Sieur de La Salle. Sensing imminent danger, L'Archeveque, Grollet, and Meusnier escaped and sought refuge with the Teyas Indians. In 1689, they were ransomed by the Spanish, who discovered them during an expedition into Texas in search of the rumored French intrusions into their territory. Both L'Archeveque and Grollet were sent to Spain, where there was an official inquisition into their involvement in Sieur de La Salle's murder. Cleared of any involvement in La Salle's demise, L'Archeveque and Grollet returned to Paso del Norte in 1692, where they joined General Vagas's army to help reclaim the province, which they had lost during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. As a Captain, Juan Archibeque (who changed his name to conform to Spanish society) continued his military service while residing in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
While Archibeque and Grollet pursued a military career, Meusnier pursued a career in trading and bartering with the Native Americans. He invited Archibeque to join his venture. Because Archibeque was now a high-ranking military official, he could travel into Ute territory without obtaining a license from the governor. This allowed him access to a massive trade network that no one else had access to. The Utes and Archibeque formed a great relationship, probably because Archibeque traded horses and guns, which was illegal. In 1704, the Utes led Archibeque to a mine and cache illegally operated before the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The Utes allowed Archibeque to bring a small contingent of men who mined every summer. The mining operation by Archibeque was illegal and not sanctioned by the crown; because of this, he had to keep it quiet. We know that Archibeque maintained his contact with the French, and in 1715, a group of Frenchmen came to the fair in Taos and asked around to look for Archibeque. This created a stir among the upper class, who believed Archibeque was secretly working for the French. An investigation was launched, and ultimately, nothing could be proven against Archibeque.
In August 1720, Archibeque embarked on an expedition to the Arkansas River with Commandant Don Pedro de Villazur. Sent by Governor Valverde to investigate rumors of French settlements in present-day eastern Colorado and Nebraska, their target was El Cuartelejo, a fort constructed by Kiowa, Jicarilla Apache, and Pueblo Indians. Despite learning of the Frenchmen's departure upon their arrival, Villazur's expedition proceeded into the South Platte Valley near Fort Morgan. Ignoring warnings about the nearby presence of Pawnees and the group they sought, Villazur set up camp. Tragedy struck at dawn on August 16, 1720, as a surprise attack claimed the lives of most expedition members, including Villazur and Archibeque. Sergeant Felipe de Tamaris, one of the few survivors, recounted the ordeal. Archibeque's loyal servant, Sanchez, despite sustaining multiple wounds, stayed by his master's side until his final breath before fleeing on Archibeque's horse. Ironically, according to Tamaris and Sanchez’s account, Jean L'Archeveque, also known as Juan de Archibeque, fell victim to Frenchmen wanted for questioning regarding La Salle's murder. L'Archeveque had confided in Sanchez about one of the assailants being a survivor of La Salle's earlier expedition, adding a tragic twist to his untimely demise.
Following the death of Juan Archibeque (Jean L'Archeveque), his two sons took over the family trading and gold mining business. His biological son Agustin de Archibeque married Manuela Trujillo in 1729. Their son was Antonio Domingo Archibeque. He married Casilda Gonzales on April 6, 1750. They had two sons, Juan Domingo, born January 6, 1751, and Agustin Antonio, born June 20, 1753. In 1749, Governor Tomas Cachupin was appointed and took on a new philosophy regarding relationships with the Utes. Rather than continue to make it illegal to trade with the Utes or to enter their territory, he sought a peace treaty with the Ute Nation. The chiefs, miners, and traders agreed upon terms to enter the country legally. Agustin de Archibeque recognized this as his opportunity to expand his mining business.
The Archibeque family’s issue was that you had to have a permit to mine. They had been mining for many years without one; if you did not have one, there were severe consequences, including imprisonment and forfeiture of all your property. The family needed to pay the required king's fifth, which was also a significant issue. Fortunately for the Archibeque family, Frenchmen Jacques Bellecount and Jean Petitjean came to Sante Fe with Pierre Mallet when he returned in 1748. Jacques Bellecount is a mining engineer trained in Paris. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that a mining engineer showed up and joined the Archibeque family’s endeavor; I suspect the French government sent him. Jacques Bellecount reached out to his contacts in New Orleans. He informed them that the Archibeque family wanted to partner with the French monarch to secretly mine gold in the northern reaches of the New Mexico territory and secretly move it to Canada (it could not be taken to New Orleans because there were too many Spanish spies). The gold would be stored in a vault until it could be retrieved. The issue the French had was they did not have treasure galleons like the Spanish did. Large quantities of gold would need to be stored until smaller ships could move it. It could take several trips across the Atlantic to move the gold. So, the French government sent 250-300 troops to meet with the Archibeque family in 1751.
The 250-300 Frenchmen joined the Archibeque family and, along with hundreds of Pueblo slaves, began a massive mining operation at La Mine de La Ventana. The central vault was expanded, and two additional vaults were added. The two additional vaults were called the “Southern Vault” and the “Most Southern Vault”. The mining continued for five years, with regular trips to store gold in Canada. But even with those regular trips, they were mining more gold than they could move. During the entire French expedition, the Ute Indians were not happy that such a large force of men was in their country.
To make matters worse, the French were rude and disrespectful to the Utes. They often bartered with them and ripped them off. It all came to a head in 1756 when the French disregarded a Ute warning not to enter the Pagosa Hot Springs, as this was a sacred place to the Utes. In the fall, the French left the Pagosa Hot Springs and headed to their lower camp for winter. The Utes attacked, and a fierce battle was fought. Ultimately, most of the Frenchmen were killed, a handful made it to New Orleans, and roughly 15 made it to Canada. The French never moved their gold in the winter and left it in the secured caches.
Several members of the Archibeque crew were injured and killed in the Ute attack. They elected not to pursue mining for a few years. Eventually, one of the Archibeque family members contacted the Ute chiefs and apologized for inviting the French. He gave them horses and guns as a peace offering and asked permission to mine again. They agreed if it was no more than a handful of men. The mine was operated from 1750 to 1756 with the French government's assistance. Following the French massacre, the mine was operated by the Archbeque family up to 1770 with the help of four men. Toribio Hernandez - a Spaniard from Santa Fe; Felicito Garcia - a Spaniard from Santa Fe; Jacques Bellecount - a Frenchman who came with Pierre Mallet; and Jean Petitjean - who also came with Pierre Mallet. They mined gold for several years, storing even more gold in the caches. They only brought back enough gold to get them through the year; they were also scared of being discovered, which almost happened in 1768. Governor Tomas Cachupin had heard reports of sizeable illegal mining operations in the northern territories and sent Father Juan Maria de Rivera on two separate expeditions to investigate.
Fortunately for the Archibeque family, he missed them by about 20 miles.
The mine changed hands within the Archibeque family. By 1767, Antonio Domingo de Archibeque was 43 years old and running the mining operation. Antonio ignored the treaty his father (Agustin de Archibeque) had made with the Utes to keep the operation small. The operation grew to include several dozen men and many slaves. The Utes again got angry and told the miners not to return the following year. The miners ignored the warnings, and after three years of demanding they not return, the Utes decided it was time to act. In the fall of 1770, they attacked and killed most of the miners. Antonio Domingo de Archibeque was killed at the mine along with Torbio Hernandez. Jacques Bellecount survived and took all the paperwork, maps, and manuscripts back to Paris, where they were filed with the French Government. Jean Petitjean was uninjured in the attack and made it back to Sante Fe. Villalpondo was a Spaniard from Taos who was unharmed and made it back to Santa Fe. Felicito Garcia was severely injured and made it back to Santa Fe, where he died a short time later. Before Felicio died, he gave his son a detailed account and a map. His eldest son was wealthy from his family’s gold mining ventures and didn’t think it was wise to test his luck with the Utes. This ended Garcia’s involvement in the mine. There is a record of one of the descendants sharing a map with some people in the SLV in 1915, including giving a copy to Thomas Summers, who had some newspaper articles written about him in the 1920s searching for the mine.
Fast forward to 1799, the Louisianan Territory is now under Spanish rule. It had been secretly ceded to them following the French defeat of the French and Indian War in 1767. France did not want Great Britain to have the territory, so they gave it to the Spanish. In 1799, Napolean was wagging a global war and needed funds. He knows about the vast mineral resources in the Louisianan Territory and northern New Mexico country. An explorer named Louis de Villmont had made a trip out west two years previously and reported the finding of Gold. Napolean is also told there are documents in the archives that show where a large mine and three caches filled with gold are located. Napoleon sent 2,000 troops from his Egypt campaign and plans to send more. The 2,000 troops are on their way to New Orleans when they receive word there is a slave revolt in Haiti, now called The Haitian Revolution. This is a big problem because Haiti was like the gas station for voyages to the New World. All the ships would stop there and resupply before carrying on. Two hundred troops continued to New Orleans while the remainder headed to Haiti to help quash the revolt. Unfortunately for those men, the slaves were more of a match than they anticipated, and the French were finally defeated in 1804; Haiti declared its sovereignty a year later. The 200 troops land in New Orleans and are sent to Fort Arkansas, or Arkansas Post as some refer it, far enough away from the busy New Orleans port. They did this so the troops could hunker down and not draw unwanted attention until it was time to leave for the expedition. The fort's commandant is Louis de Villmont’s brother, Don Carlos de Villmont. This makes it very convenient to hide the troops and gather supplies without the Spanish officials knowing. The Villmont family and their service to the French, Spanish, and Americans is incredible. They were double agents for the French while serving the Spanish in high-ranking positions. They then sold their knowledge to the Americans after the Louisiana Purchase.
In early March 1799, the expedition was equipped and ready to leave New Orleans. The expedition consisted of:
Two hundred twenty fully equipped armed soldiers mounted on horses.
Thirty guides, scouts, and hunters mounted on horses and led 20 extra horses.
Eighty miners, assayers, doctors, surveyors, and veterinarians all mounted on horses leading pack mules.
Ten-pack mules loaded with camping equipment.
Ten-pack mules loaded with dried food.
Five-pack mules loaded with extra guns, parts, and ammunition.
Three-pack mules loaded with winter clothing and replacements.
Two mules empty for replacements.
Twenty-five-pack mules are loaded with mining equipment, including tools, roasting furnaces, surveyors and assayers' equipment and instruments, doctors' and veterinarians' equipment, and medicine.
A total of 60 mules, 350 horses, and 350 men.
I won’t get into all the specifics on which route they took to get to the mountains or where they found gold; I will include all that when I one day finish my book. While the 1751-1756 expedition primarily focused on the La Ventana mine, the 1799-1803 expedition spread and mined everywhere. They had mining operations that extended most of the southern part of the Colorado Rockies. They found the 3-caches and used them to store the gold they mined in spring and summer. I don’t know if they ever mined La Ventana; I have some information that suggests they did not.
In September 1803, word came that Napoleon was selling the Louisiana territory to the United States for $11,250,000, and they were to return to New Orleans. The group knew they could not move this much gold and decided to leave the past few years' accumulation in the cache vaults until another expedition could be mounted. They decided to take 3 1/3 tons of gold with them. On September 18, 1803, the group was heading to Hayden Pass when an overwhelmingly large group of warriors attacked them; the survivors estimated there were over 1,000. Most of the soldiers were in the front of the caravan and held off the attackers while the rest fled with the gold. The soldiers who were protecting the civilians attempted to help the other soldiers in the battle, and ultimately, all the soldiers were killed. While the Utes gathered horses, guns, and supplies from the dead, the civilians fled down a well-known trail. They eventually made it to an area they were familiar with and camped. They knew they could not get away with their lives and gold, so they buried the gold in a rockslide near their camp. On the morning of September 20, 1803, the gold was placed in a cistern dug at the base of the rockslide. The men all fled and were hunted down, and most of them were killed. One man made it to Taos, where he shared the story with a Spanish priest before dying; two more men made it back to French territory and on to New Orleans.
This brings us to the 19th century. There have been claims of numerous expeditions to look for the caches and mine. I don’t doubt there were several. However, there is only one that I have found that has historical documentation to support it. From my information, the French government sent five men from California to Santa Fe. The men hired Bernando Sanchez as a guide. The only name we have found for any group member other than Sanchez is Carven (unknown if first or last name). They found the gold in the rockslide and loaded 1,000 pounds, all they could carry with the horses they brought. They went downriver and found a suitable camping location at the confluence of two Rivers. While Sanchez was away getting supplies, Ute warriors attacked the group, and two of the men died right away. The remaining three men held off the Utes until nightfall. They hid the gold and fled the area as fast as they could. A few days later, there was another battle, and another man was killed. The last two survivors made it to Taos; one of the men was arrested (unknown what for), and the other fled and made it to Fort Leavenworth. The survivor was Carven, who recanted his story to a local historian in New Orleans years later. Carven never returned to France and, as far as we can tell, never attempted to retrieve any of the gold. We do have a detailed account of where they hid the gold and believe we have found that location based on signs they left and geographical features. The gold left in the rockslide was taken out slowly over many years by Mexican sheepherders in the 1920s. There is historical documentation of this that I will include later when I have time to dig more into my notes.
