Mr. Noss, a traveling doctor who was known for a hot temper and an appetite for liquor, claimed that the cache consisted of Spanish artifacts and Wells Fargo chests, along with the gold. It would also explain the presence of the Wells Fargo bags, packsaddles, letters, and other artifacts dating to Victorios time. See the article in its original context from. Many people believe the search points to the area of the four corners. The three men had been on a hunting party when McDonald, who reportedly had imbibed several cans of beer, began talking freely about a huge stash of gold. Mr. Noss's ex-wife was barred from searching in the 1950's, when the Army extended the White Sands borders to include Victorio Peak. Among the artifacts, Doc is reported to have retrieved documents dated 1797, which he buried in the desert in a Wells Fargo chest along with various other treasures. Lindgren, W., Graton, L.C., and Gordon, C.H., 1910, The ore deposits of New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 68, 361 p. McLemore, V.T., 1994, Placer gold deposits in New Mexico: McLemore, V.T., Dunbar, N., Heizler, L., and Heizler, M., 2014, Geology and mineral deposits of the Orogrande mining district, Jarilla Mountains, Otero County, New Mexico: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 65, p. 247-259. He said I'll get F.D.R. The sources of this threat, according to the man who relayed the threat to Scott, were two agents of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. At one time, he brought out a crown, which contained 243 diamonds and one pigeon-blood ruby. Attacking wagon trains, settlements, mail coaches, and churches, he took anything from them that they valued. The gold concentrates by gravity in incised stream valleys and alluvial fans in deeply weathered highlands. After 35 years of localized dispute, the Great White Sands Missile Range Lost Gold Treasure Affair has blossomed into a national mystery. On August 5, Fiege and his party returned to Victorio Peak, accompanied by the commander of the Missile Range, a secret service agent, and 14 military police. Reaching down, he could not budge it, but after digging around the rock, he got his hands under it. Before leaving, both men had observed an old wooden cross on one of the walls. ", According to the family, Mr. Noss took some gold bars when he found the cavern in 1937, and planned to return for the rest. But the legend of the hidden gold was fueled again during the Watergate hearings in 1973. Victorio knew how much the white man valued gold and had little use for it himself; he amassed vast amounts of treasure by attacking the white settlers. Victorio used the entire Hembrillo Basin as his stronghold, refusing to live on the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona, where the government wanted to banish him. The daughter of another man, Harvey Snow, died from a gunshot wound in the head after Snow had disregarded repeated warnings in regard to the peak. A jury ruled that Mr. Ryan had acted in self-defense. Decades of Searching. Porter subsequently brought the gold bar to the close friend, who was an Army major. However, disputing the military claim, New Mexico officials stated that they leased only the lands surface to the military. November 16, 2015. Doc was trying to obey the law but they grabbed our gold, Mrs. Noss said, He blew up. You just couldn't trust anybody and still can't, she said. 7 Louisiana Ghost Towns Hidden Deep in the Bayou. Only four districts have each yielded more than 100,000 oz of placer gold production: Elizabethtown-Baldy (DIS019), Hillsboro (DIS197), Old Placers (DIS187), and New Placers (DIS186). But the matter would not rest. Estimates vary on the number of bars removed, ranging up to 350 or so. White Sands is the nation's largest military installation, about the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined. In 1963, the Army allowed a group of searchers, including Mrs. Noss, to search for the gold. From that moment onward, every attempt of Babes to clear the rubble from the plugged shaft met with a military escort out of the area. In 1828, large placer deposits were found in the Ortiz Mountains in Santa Fe County (Old Placers district, DIS187), which began one of the earliest gold rushes in the western United States. After the discovery, Fiege told several people that he had caved in the roof and walls to make it look like the tunnel ended. It is one of the most celebrated legends of buried treasure in the history of the American West, a thriller that includes a gunfight, nuclear weapons and the Watergate hearings. The Army, which runs the missile range, required the searchers to put up $150,000 to cover the cost of environmental assessments, as well as increased security forces. New Mexico does not have a sales tax. Subsequently, he also filed several mining claims on and around Victorio Peak and a treasure trove claim. Some were sold on the black market, some were stolen but others remained hidden during the next seven years when Doc and a bevy of partners attempted to dig back into the caverns, she asserted. Within moments he found more skeletons, most of them bound and secured to stakes like the first. Reportedly, he amassed a treasure of gold, silver, and jewels before being ordered back to Mexico City in 1607. According to the security guard, Johnson and Connally headed a team which brought in sophisticated excavation equipment to remove gold from the peak, the most modern Ive ever seen, he said. The Lost Padre Gold Mine in New Mexico. Searching with 15 people at a time to try to determine the size of the cave, the group in a few weeks plans to start drilling 6-inch holes several hundred feet deep into the areas where the soundings show the cave is. Discovered by a . Ryan hinted that if Noss did not reveal the whereabouts of the gold, Doc would not live to enjoy it. As the years passed, Babe Noss held onto her claim at Victorio Peak, occasionally hiring men to help her clear the shaft. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. But in August, the Army turned him down, saying he deserves no more favored treatment than some 300 others who ask each year for permission to enter the missile range to search. But the expedition soon went broke, and the Army declared that it would allow no more searches. Passing through the large cavern, he came to a series of smaller caves rooms, he called them. As Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH . Lucky Gold Miners hit it Big in Downieville. Mr. Mitchell is said to have forwarded the matter to the White House. The soldiers, Airman First Class Thomas Berlett and Captain Leonard V. Fiege said they had found approximately 100 gold bars weighing between 40 and 80 pounds each in a small cavern. The family declines to discuss the incident. A gold bar found in a Mexico City park in 1981 was part of the Aztec treasure looted by Hernan Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors 500 years ago, a new study says. A source interviewed in Mexico stated that it was common knowledge in the towns of Jimenez and Camargo that Johnsons 110,000-acre ranch in Chihuahua served as a storage area for a very large amount of gold flown in by a four-engine, propeller-driven aircraft in the late 1960s. Doc mentioned nothing of his find to the group, choosing instead to return to the site a couple of days later with Ova. The gold, Porters friend stated breathlessly, ran in a tremendous stack along one side of the cavern stretching for approximately 200 yards. A gold bar found in a Mexico City park in 1981 was part of the Aztec treasure looted by Hernan Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors 500 years ago, a new study says. It was on Nov. 7, we had 11 families on a hunting trip and I was doing the cooking, she said in an interview at her daughter's home in Clovis, N. M. She said her husband, called Doc, had come back, to the camp that night and secretly told her of lowering himself with ropes down a crevice on Victoria Peak into caverns laden with coins, jewelry, guns, swords, letters, 27 human skeletons, and hundreds of metal bars that turned out to be gold. I was just a kid, about 13 or 14 years old, he told this writer. Bill Shriver, an international dealer in precious metals who proved very helpful in the initial stages of this investigation until his death, brought the total still higher. By James P. Sterba Special to The New York Times. There were 110 gold bars moved that night, according to an affidavit obtained by this writer and sworn to by Jolley. After some discussion, the men decided that Porter should take the bar to a close friend of his who worked in the provost marshals office in nearby Fort Bliss, Texas. The peak is riddled with a network of tunnels. Porter and his friends were amused at his story and McDonald, to prove that what he was saying was true, took the two other hunters on a moonlit drive to Victorio Peak. Later, Fiege would take a lie detector test, which would allow Fiege back on the missile range. The 1.93-kilogram bar was found . It could finally solve the mystery. Parts of the treasure were described as gold, silver, jewels and as many as 16,000 gold bars estimated around $1.7 billion dollars. That after he had been beaten to death, according to the information I received, his body was put back into his car, the car was doused with kerosene or gasoline, and then set aflame.. This was one of Apache Chief Victorios hideouts and was the site of a battle in 1880 between Victorios warriors and the U.S. Army Ninth Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers.. The gold bar had disappeared without a trace. Acquitted on grounds of selfdefense, Mr. Ryan testified that Doc had promised him 51 bars of gold in return for his $27,000 investment. Rare Gold Nuggets. We all dream of stumbling onto a map or riddle that will lead us on an adventure to find a treasure of glittering gold and jewels, but most of those tales only exist in bedtime stories and movies. Although a suitable path fit for wagons couldn't be found, traces of gold were found somewhere close to Silver City to the north. During fluvial events, large volumes of sediment containing free gold are transported and deposited in relatively poorly-sorted alluvial and stream deposits. When the rain finally stopped, Doc returned to camp, telling Babe of the discovery. Immediately reporting the activity to Babe Noss, Babe contacted Oscar Jordan with the New Mexico State Land Office, who, in turn, contacted the Judge Advocates Office at White Sands. Trace element analysis of placer gold can be used as a valuable exploration tool in order to determine the original deposit source and locating lode gold deposits. They insisted they were photographed, finger printed, harassed and not al lowed to go near the search area. Forrest . Where they the plunder of Spanish conquistadores who had conquered the Aztecs? 2003-2008 Church of Scientology International. What looked to be a piece of iron was a solid gold bar. is also on Facebook, New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources, Notice of Right to Inspect Public Records, Stephen Wells Bright Star Scholar Program, National Uranium Resource Evaluation database (NURE), Stacy Timmons interviewed for "Searchlight New Mexico" article, New paper published on the timing of small-volume eruptions and related volcanic hazards at Valles caldera. See the article in its original context from. The Army then shut down all operations stating that no additional searches would be allowed. The Victorio Peak treasure (also seen in print as the Treasure of Victorio Peak or Treasure of San Andres) describes a cache of gold reportedly found inside Victorio Peak in 1937 in southern New Mexico . In 1939, he hired a mining engineer to try to open a wider passage into Victorio Peak, but the attempt was disastrous and there was a massive cave-in. Doc returned with a gold bar, presented it to his wife, Babe, and the couple soon dedicated their lives to exploring Victorio Peak, living in a tent at the base of the mountain in search of treasure. Peering into the darkness, Doc saw an old man-made shaft with a thick, wooden pole attached at one side. Though caught trespassing and escorted from the area, the men reported observing several men in Army fatigues upon the peak. Two airmen from nearby Holloman Air Force Base would later say that they had found the gold cavern from another natural opening in the side of the peak. Mrs. Noss now says she never heard about the divorce and as serts that she is his legal widow. Jan 20, 2020 Ian Harvey. A new scientific analysis of a large gold bar found decades ago in downtown Mexico City reveals it was part of the plunder Spanish conquerors tried to carry away as they fled the Aztec capital . Another source, who asked to remain unidentified, stated that he had personally interviewed several men who had brought a large load of the peaks gold to Johnsons ranch. Word of the Doc Noss treasure spread, and keeping people out of the area was no easy chore. (1.93 kilograms), while digging for the construction of a central bank in Mexico City. An investigation by Freedom has probed the history of that region, particularly the nearly 49 years since gold bars were first found in that area in November 1937 by a man named Milton Ernest "Doc" Noss, as fascinating a character as ever held a six-gun. After much searching, he finally found a small iron bar to carry back through the narrow passageway. CNN Almost four decades ago, a gold bar was found on land that used to be Aztec ruins in Mexico. One man, a Mr. After three years they were given permission to go back to Victoria. A new chemical analysis of a large gold bar found under a Mexico City street in 1981 has shed light on its centuries-old origins. Sometime around the year 1830, travelers were trying to find a new way to reach California from the newly opened route of Santa Fe. After telling her what he had seen and shown her the loot, she insisted he go back into the mine for one of the iron bars. Yet, Doc trusted no one, not even his Babe, disappearing into the desert, hiding pieces of the treasure in places that he never revealed. Patterson, Don Breech, Edgar F. Foreman, Leo D. OConnell, Eppie Montoya and B.D. That about a month after that, I heard E.M. had been beaten to death in California. Noss soon deserted Babe, and in November 1945, a divorce was granted. The two decided to keep the discovery between themselves and return to inspect the shaft later. Near the bottom, he encountered a huge boulder hanging from the ceiling, almost blocking his way. Topic at Watergate Hearings. In all, eight persons told this writer they had received direct threats against their lives or against the lives of their families. Background research into the enormous wealth contained in the caverns of Victorio Peak revealed many eyewitness reports of the gold. There is evidence to indicate that many gold bars were removed from Victorio Peak a short time after Lynn Porter brought the bar to the Fort Bliss provost marshals office. Further, they stated that underground wealth, in whatever form it took, belonged to the state or any legal license holders. This was shortly before a much-publicized expedition, entitled Operation Goldfinder, took place at the site in March 1977. The actual movement of the gold in this last, largest shipment, Shriver said, was done by [U.S.] military aircraft. Independent of Shriver, another source traced a number of large removals from Victorio Peak. Ferdig, adding, The trouble with treasure stories is that there's always a little truth in them.. According to Atkins son, John, Holmes possessed key materials which were being used to press the Army into allowing Atkins and Holmes access to Victorio Peak. Mr. Bailey claimed that given a helicopter and a half-hour, he could find 292 gold bars. Two local ranch workers stumbled upon the search and notified Mrs. Noss. Neither the Denver Mint nor the Federal records center in Denver, which has copies of gold receints for that period, could find the Noss receipt, spokesmen there said. By this time, Babes story had spread across the nation, profiled in several magazines and newspapers. Mr. Koury asserted that the General first denied the search was on but admitted it later when sworn statements from the spies were produced. White Sands Missile Range, Legends, Ghosts, Myths and Mysteries Main Page, Byways & Historic Trails Great Drives in America, Soldiers and Officers in American History, Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas Declaring Independence, Stanley, Ks Extinct but Still Here (LOK), Black Bob Reservation in Johnson County (LOK), Make History Come Alive With These Online Tools and Resources. Six men who worked with Doc in removing the gold C.D. A narrow passage through rocks kept the bulky Porter from following the other two men into the depths of the peak. Reportedly the military was able to penetrate one of the caves and inventory the contents. A treaty was reached between the tribe and the Federal government in Washington that the Indians could stay upon the land in New Mexico. Now, instead of having thousands of gold bars to draw from, Noss had only a few hundred that he had hidden in the desert. In 1972, F. 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