Doc thought that he had discovered an old abandoned mineshaft. Shriver also said that he had copies of other presidential messages, several initialed by LBJ, dealing with the clandestine, illegal removal of the gold. In the summer of 1961, upon the advice of the Director of the Mint, Major General John Shinkle of White Sands allowed Captain Fiege, Captain Orby Swanner, Major Kelly, and Colonel Gorman to work the claim. Meanwhile, Noss's mining claims (for talc as a disguise) expired in 1948, and Mrs. Noss renewed them in her name. now. According to this source, a B-24 was used to transport at least seven loads of the peaks gold, with up to 20 tons of gold moving in each load. These materials, including tape-recorded sessions wherein Lyndon Johnson discussed the disposition of some of the gold bars on his ranch, disappeared from Holmes office at the time of his death in February 1977. In 2019, evidence to support the theory that the gold never left Mexico was revealed when archaeologists confirmed that a gold bar found in 1981 was from Montezuma's treasure. The cast of characters ranges from John W. Dean 3d to Geronimo and the vocabulary is marked by double as a prefixas in doublecross, doubletalk and doubledealing. The affidavit states, in part: In March of 1949 I handled 110 rough [sic] poured bars of gold in the area which is now White Sands Missile Range which is now the area of Victorio Peak. Then, in 1942 or 1943, she isn't sure, he tried to blast the tunnel bigger in order to haul up more gold bars at one time. 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. Decades of Searching. During fluvial events, large volumes of sediment containing free gold are transported and deposited in relatively poorly-sorted alluvial and stream deposits. Another source confirmed the manner and the circumstances of E.M. Guthries death, noting that it was listed as just a natural death, but hed been worked over with a baseball bat. This source said that he had hired a team of experienced investigators to dig into Guthries death and more than 30 other deaths in connection with a massive, continuing cover-up of the removal of gold from Victorio Peak. Ever since then, driven by a desire to become fabulously wealthy, Mr. Noss himself, his descendants, investors and soldiers at White Sands Missile Range, which includes Victorio Peak, have gone in time after time searching for treasure, but have always come up empty. Peering into the darkness, Doc saw an old man-made shaft with a thick, wooden pole attached at one side. Now, scientists confirm it was part of a plunder by Spanish conquistador Hernn. Exploring further, he found even more skeletons stacked in a small enclosure, much like a burial chamber. This could explain the skeletons in the cavern. That while visiting Foss, a man we both knew, E.M. Guthrie, drove in to the station in a late model Ford Thunderbird. Berlett viewed this as substantiation for the theory that Spaniards had been responsible for stashing the gold. When the rain finally stopped, Doc returned to camp, telling Babe of the discovery. For Trademark Information on Scientology Services. Noss soon deserted Babe, and in November 1945, a divorce was granted. : Did 'Doc' Noss Really Find Caverns of Gold or Did He Pull Off a Hoax That Has Plagued His Kin for Years? The dispute was finally worked out when a federal court issued a compromise of sorts, which stated the Army would continue to use the lands surface, but no one would be allowed on the property without the Armys consent. He also told his wife that there were enough gold and silver coins to load 60 to 80 mules.. In a four-page confidential report entitled Field Examination of Noss Mining Claims, Hembrillo District, Herkenhoff recorded a description: Dr. Moon, said that he was from the White House Secret Service detail and he showed the officer a green, laminated card which stated Secret Service, Division of the White House. Another man, an engineer named Dick Richardson, told the officer that he was a boyhood friend of Lyndon Johnsons and that he had personally counted 18,888 gold bars in one stack in a cavern at Victorio Peak, each bar weighing about 60 pounds. Reaching a compromise, the military allowed Expeditions Unlimited, representing all of the claimants, to excavate the peak in 1977. In December 1961, General Shinkle shut down the operation and excluded anyone from entering the base who was not directly engaged in the missile research activities. Bill Shriver, before his death, told this writer that he had a copy of a transcribed order from Lyndon Johnson describing in detail how the president wanted a military escort to handle the supply of gold taken out of Victorio Peak and taken to his ranch. A jury ruled that Mr. Ryan had acted in self-defense. The family declines to discuss the incident. "We have always believed that the gold was still there," said Terry Delonas, the 43-year-old son of one of Mr. Noss's stepdaughters who is directing the search. An intense argument ensued, and Noss headed toward his car. 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. The military claim stemmed from a statement made by New Mexico officials on November 14, 1951, which withdrew prospecting, entry, location, and purchase under the mining laws, reserving the land for military use only. After the discovery, Fiege told several people that he had caved in the roof and walls to make it look like the tunnel ended. Parts of the treasure were described as gold, silver, jewels and as many as 16,000 gold bars estimated around $1.7 billion dollars. Montgomery, the two went into the mountain to blast out the shaft. Our Mineral Museum See the article in its original context from. Passing through the large cavern, he came to a series of smaller caves rooms, he called them. As a child, he said he remembered his grandmother, Ova Noss, talking about it ceaselessly. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology (INAH) says it has now confirmed that a 1.93-kilogram gold bar was part of looted Aztec treasure (AFP Photo/Jesus VALDOVINOS) A gold bar, found 15 feet down in a Mexico City park in 1981, was just announced to have been part of Montezuma's treasure. In the meantime, Mrs. Noss said her spies, illegally visited the peak and found military men excavating it. The saga faded back into obscurity until the Watergate hearings, when John Dean, the dismissed White House counsel, testified before the Ervin Committee that F. Lee Bailey had approached John N. Mitchell, then Attorney General, for help in retrieving 292 bars containing 60 per cent gold and 40 per cent copper from the White Sands range. Attacking wagon trains, settlements, mail coaches, and churches, he took anything from them that they valued. Congress had just passed an act outlawing the private ownership of gold, meaning he had no buyers for his supposed stash (via Unsolved ). Treasure Net Forum 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. Others believe that Noss found the treasure of Don Juan de Onate, who, in 1598, founded New Mexico as a Spanish colony. However, with the discovery of gold, the treaty was broken in 1878, and Victorio went on the warpath. It has banned treasure hunters from the range since 1963. He also found some old letters, the most recent of which was dated 1880. Case This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Four. In addition, Victorio Peak lay on land owned by the state of New Mexico, and removal of gold without permission of the state violated New Mexico law.4. The next day, March 5, 1949, Ryan arrived in the area, insisting that they discuss the problem of what happened to the gold. Ryan was charged with murder but was later acquitted. The fortune of a Mexican emperor? 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. Now there were two military commands involved. Mr. Mitchell is said to have forwarded the matter to the White House. Going public with information about the gold stored in Victorio Peak or removed from it, however, is something that people familiar with the subject are generally reluctant to do. After determining the accuracy of the two mens reports, the entire area was placed off-limits until an official investigation could be conducted. Then in 1981, the construction crew found the gold bar, and today scientists have confirmed it was part of the Aztec treasures that Cortes hoped to steal away from Mexico for Spain. In 1963, the Gaddis Mining Company of Denver, Colorado, obtained permission to work the site under a contract with the Denver Mint and the Museum of New Mexico. After he got back to the surface, Doc told Ova what he had seen, and almost as an afterthought mentioned the long row of metal bars. Patterson, Don Breech, Edgar F. Foreman, Leo D. OConnell, Eppie Montoya and B.D. All four men Fiege, Thomas Berlett, Ken Prather and Milleadge Wessel were, at the time of their find, employees at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. The skeletons hands were bound behind its back apparently, the person had been deliberately left there to die. The room had been undisturbed for so long that the dust, according to Berlett, lay several inches thick. But in a dispute over the treasure in 1949, the business partner, Charlie Ryan, shot Mr. Noss to death. Reportedly, he amassed a treasure of gold, silver, and jewels before being ordered back to Mexico City in 1607. Article content. 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 gold was supposedly removed from the cave and sent to Fort Knox. But the matter would not rest. 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. 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. We wanted to lay the matter to rest once and for all, said General Shinkle, who is now tetireil and lives in Cocoa Beach, Fla. We gave him a lie detector test beforehand and it was apparentiy, successful but he couldn't find anything.. Chester R. Johnson Jr., a museum archeologist at the time who wrote the official report of the treasure's history, says the 1963 search was inconclusive because, for example, seismic geophones do not work well near the surface. 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. White Sands, New Mexico by the National Park Service. [5] During the 1970s, lawyer F. Lee Bailey represented clients who claimed to know where the treasure was located. That I walked over to E.M. Guthrie on this occasion in 1972, greeted him, and invited him out to dinner with myself and Frank Foss. He has recruited friends and investors to form the Ova Noss Family Partnership, named for his late grandmother, that is financing the new search. [5] She later was part of an unsuccessful 1963 search. The slightest movement stirred up a cloud. Hunting by himself, Doc scouted the base of the mountain. Seventy-nine skeletons were described in an adjacent cavern. Victorio Peak, a craggy outcropping of rock barely 500 feet tall, lies in the center of a desert lake known as the Hembrillo Basin in New Mexico. A third story asserts that Geronimo hid, Apache booty in the area. While Babe looked on from above, Doc inched his way down the narrow passageway into the mountain nearly 60 feet. Forrest Fenn, a New Mexico art collector, created a treasure hunt in 2010. 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. ", According to the family, Mr. Noss took some gold bars when he found the cavern in 1937, and planned to return for the rest. Thayer Snipes of El Paso, Texas, swore to an affidavit regarding another death. The economic potential of placer deposits in New Mexico is unknown and most known economic placers in the state have been worked. Noss refused to obey, and Ryan fired again, hitting Noss in the head, killing him instantly. That he seemed very disturbed, nervous and agitated, and refused my invitation to dinner, saying, Im running for my life., That he also said, The Mob is after me.. Neither man being familiar with laws governing the discovery of treasure on a military base, Fiege went to the Judge Advocates Office at Holloman Air Force Base to confer with Colonel Sigmund I. Gasiewicz. The reported treasure and efforts to find it have been covered in books and on television, including: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Further, they stated that underground wealth, in whatever form it took, belonged to the state or any legal license holders. They dug under it, and Berlett and Fiege moved past it for another 100 to 125 feet, coming eventually to what Berlett described as a small cavern, approximately eight feet wide by 10 or 12 feet long. In effect, no one could mine the treasure, and that included the Army and Babe Noss. Doc later brought one of the eerie things out.2. 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. Some believe that Doc Noss found the Casa del Cueva de Oro, Spanish for the House of the Golden Cave. Ova Noss, Leonard Fiege and others dont listen when they are told to shut up and they pay the price. The answer could be worth billions of dollars. In 1948, Doc met Charles Ryan, a Texan involved in drilling operations and oil exploration in West Texas. She called her lawyer, Philip Koury, of Kansas City, who phoned General Shinkle. Mrs. Noss now says she never heard about the divorce and as serts that she is his legal widow. Beyond the Hembrillo Basin is a hundred-mile stretch of desert known as the Jornada del Muerto. Finally, others believe that the treasures were hidden by Chief Victorio, for whom the peak is named. New Mexico does not have a sales tax. 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). Years later, in 1946, Doc discussed his exploration with Gordon E. Herkenhoff, field representative of the New Mexico State Land Office.1. South Pass City - A Look into Wyoming's Past. Peak and look, accompanied by the missile range commander, Maj. Gen. John G. Shinkle, military pblicemen and Treasury agents. 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. Its occasional visitors included hunting parties, and Doc Noss and his wife, Ova, were on one such expedition in search of deer. The Army, which controls the missile range, insists there is no treasure and has never been any. and Montana Ave. in El Paso, Texas, to visit with a friend, Frank Foss, owner of the station. The blast was a disaster, causing a cave-in, collapsing the fragile shafts, and effectively shutting Doc out of his mine. 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. However, disputing the military claim, New Mexico officials stated that they leased only the lands surface to the military. Meanwhile, Tony Jolley, now a 69-year-old rancher living outside Boise, Ida., never forgot those bars of gold he helped bury in 1949. Lyndon Johnsons name loomed large in the information that Freedom uncovered, with various sources claiming that the president was instrumental in the planning and execution of the removal of the gold. Congress had just passed an act outlawing the private ownership of gold, meaning he had no buyers for his supposed stash (via Unsolved). Howard, E.V., 1967, Metalliferous occurrences in New Mexico: Phase 1, state resources development plan: State Planning Office, Santa Fe, 270 p. Johnson, M.G., 1972, Placer gold deposits of New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey. 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. The Legendary Treasure White Sands Missile Range, https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/13/archives/the-legendary-treasure-of-the-white-sands-missile-range-gold-bars.html. Noss traveled down, passing caverns with Native American designs until he reached a room with hoards of gold, jewels, pouches, documents and 27 skeletons. [3] Noss was ultimately killed by an associate, Charley Ryan, in 1949 after Ryan accused Noss of fraud and Noss threatened to kill Ryan and his family. 2003-2008 Church of Scientology International. 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. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. His warriors raided southern New Mexico and Texasin an all-out war against the U.S. Army and the Texas Rangers. Doc was trying to obey the law but they grabbed our gold, Mrs. Noss said, He blew up. Ova Noss took up the search, without success. During World War II, he divorced his wife, Ova, and disappeared for several years. A retired U.S. Army officer said that while on duty at the provost marshals office on White Sands Missile Range during the period of LBJs presidency, he was visited by four men in a late model Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham who sought permission to drive to Victorio Peak. Mr. Bailey later dropped the matter. Gold bars, silver, and jewels were reportedly buried by a spring under the big rocks of Cabello Canyon. MEXICO CITY 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 . If the treasure was real, Noss had poor timing. Parts of White Sands are sometimes leased by private corporations and foreign governments for experiments. Anyone can read what you share. Another concerns renegades who robbed the Monterey Mint in 1743 and were in turn attacked by Apaches. The deposits generally occur in Late Tertiary- to Holocene-age alluvial fan deposits, bench or terrace gravel deposits, river-bars, and stream deposits or as residual placers formed directly on top of lode deposits typically derived from Proterozoic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary source rocks. Gold bullion bars are struck continuously to meet the demand for gold, with the following refineries and mints representing some of the greatest refiners of gold bars: Credit Suisse PAMP Suisse Republic Metals Corporation Sunshine Minting Valcambi Suisse Buying Gold Bullion from JM Bullion Recreational mining continues intermittently in the White Oaks, Pittsburg, Hillsboro, Orogrande and Jicarilla districts to the present day. They even brought in their own security guards, he added. In one of the most closely guarded crimes of recent history, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of tons of gold bullion were secretly and illegally removed from caverns on White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the beneficiaries allegedly including former President Lyndon Johnson and individuals connected with the U.S. Army, the Central Intelligence Agency and organized crime. Theories spread over how 16,000 gold bars came to be stashed away in a random cave in New Mexico. Although the originals have never been recovered, a copy of one of the documents proved to be a translation from Pope Pius III. After more than a year's effort, he took five bars to the Denver Mint. They had trekked in from Hot Springs, New Mexico, a town since renamed Truth or Consequences. He carries in his wallet a photograph of gold bars and old coins next to a flashlight he provided. When he reached the surface, he told Babe, This is the last one of them babies Im gonna bring out. However, when Babe rolled the bar over, she noticed a yellow gleam where the gravel of the hillside had scratched off centuries of black grime. Two years later, he married Violet Lena Boles, which would further complicate ownership of the treasure rights for years to come. The 1.93-kilogram. Another woman, now Mrs. Violet Yancy of Fort Worth, says she married Noss in 1947, that she is his legal widow, and that he gave her 76 per cent interest in the treasure. November 16, 2015. Leon Trabuco's Gold A Mexican businessman buries 16 tons of gold in the New Mexico desert and then dies before telling anyone where it is. About $250,000 was spent, core holes were drilled, seismic tests were taken, and nothing was found. 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. 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. He was overcome with joy that they might be gold. In 1961, he returned to the desert and claims to have found 10 . Caballo Mountains - Also called Horse Mountains, the peaks are located 35 miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Gold Bars Dozens of people claim a piece of the actionthat is, gold bars and treasure said to be hidden on the missile range, and worth from a few million dollars to $1.5billion. That I had known E.M. Guthrie for about three years prior to this meeting and knew him to be the husband of Letha Guthrie, stepdaughter of Milton Ernest Doc Noss. The NMBGMR is conducting a research project examining the origin, occurrence, trace element composition, and resource potential of placer gold deposits in the state. The Army says the gold was never found. Current environmental and permitting restrictions also have hampered recent production in the New Placers and Jicarilla districts. Mrs. Noss and Mrs. Guthrie, meanwhile, say that they had heard about the 1963 search and rushed to the base, arriving the day before it ended. The Army then shut down all operations stating that no additional searches would be allowed. By James P. Sterba Special to The New York Times. They found nothing. [7], Theories abound on the origins of the alleged treasure, including that it was pilfered from Mexico during the reign of the Austrian puppet Emperor Maximilian, or through collusion between Pancho Villa and Germany prior to World War I.[8]. He stood guard while McDonald and the other man descended into a large cavern, returning with a crudely formed gold bar roughly 2 1/2 inches wide by 7 inches long. For three months beginning on June 20, 1963, the group used various techniques to search the area; however, they failed to turn up anything. Anyone can read what you share. Before leaving, both men had observed an old wooden cross on one of the walls. He bolted from the Mescalero reservation in 1879 and camped near Victoria Peak while plundering the countryside and raiding Wells Fargo stagecoaches. Native gold and electrum occurs with quartz, magnetite, ilmenite, amphiboles, pyroxenes, pyrite, zircon, garnet, rutile, and a variety of other heavy minerals. That I knew E.M. Guthrie had taken an active personal interest in the fate of gold located in Victorio Peak by Doc Noss. New York Times, July 29, 1992 Legend says he sent a palace full of valuables to the United States to be hidden. According to accounts from members of the Noss family, Doc bagged no deer, but he found something that whetted his appetite for the area a shaft near the top of Victorio Peak which led into the bowels of the mountain. In 1979, Babe died without ever finding the treasure. One story involves a Jesuit missionary named Padre LaRue whose band of 40 gold mining families was massacred in a punitive raid by Spanish soldiers in the early eighteenhundreds. He did, only to find that in the short, three-day interim the major had been whisked away, transferred to the Pentagon. WHITE SANDS, N.M. Lost treasure stories are a dime a dozen in the Southwest. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Victorio_Peak_treasure&oldid=1133710645, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 15 January 2023, at 04:22. The higher gold values occur near the base of alluvial gravel deposits where the gold is trapped by natural processes such as riffles in the river bottom, fractures within the bedrock, along bedding or foliation planes, and/or structures that are transverse to the river flow. A number of sources also independently named Major General John G. Shinkle, the commander of White Sands Missile Range from June 1960 to July 1962, as knowing about the movement of tons of gold from Victorio Peak. No one in the provost marshals office to whom Porter talked would admit to knowing anything about the gold, and he was warned by the provost marshal that any future trespassing would be dealt with severely. 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. Theories spread over how 16,000 gold bars came to be stashed away in a random cave in New Mexico. The affidavit states: I, Thayer Snipes, first being duly sworn, on my oath state: That in the latter part of 1972, I had stopped by the Airport Chevron Station at the corner of Airway Blvd. To further complicate things, rumors swirled about various factions smuggling. Doc Noss was born in Oklahoma and traveled all over the Southwest, seeking excitement. At one end of the chamber, the shaft continued downward. Things got complicated in 1937, when Milton E. Noss, a selfasserted chiropodist with a string of arrests for drunk enness, theft and practicing medicine without a license, said he had found the treasure. On each trip, Doc would retrieve two gold bars and as many artifacts as he could carry. In the spring of 1938, Doc Noss and Babe went to Santa Fe to establish legal ownership of the find, filing a lease with the State of New Mexico for the entire section of land surrounding Victorio Peak. Each skeleton had its hands bound behind it to a large wooden stake driven into the ground. 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.. A treaty was reached between the tribe and the Federal government in Washington that the Indians could stay upon the land in New Mexico. Lampros, for example, described having his photograph taken with Colonel Willard E. Holt of Lordsburg, New Mexico; each held an end of a bar while it was being sawed in half. Over the weekend, he said, someone found the chest he had buried with gold nuggets, coins, gems and artifacts. After the death of Doc Noss, Ova and her family continued efforts to regain access to the big treasure room. Maxmillian was assassinated in 1867. The gold, he said, was removed and smelted into old Mexican bars, 50-pound bars. The gold in its new form, he noted, had no marks to identify its origin. 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. One partner, Charles Ryan, shot and killed Doc on March 5, 1949, in Hatch, N. M., after an argument. One man, a Mr. The more productive ore zones typically occur as narrow pay streaks or layers of fine-grained, disseminated gold, locally on top of basement rock or clay or caliche lenses within gravel deposits. After 35 years of localized dispute, the Great White Sands Missile Range Lost Gold Treasure Affair has blossomed into a national mystery. . The. The future economic potential will depend upon the discovery of large-volume, medium-grade deposits that can be mined by bulk-mining methods. Though caught trespassing and escorted from the area, the men reported observing several men in Army fatigues upon the peak. Too much evidence supports the treasure, including photographs, affidavits, and relics held by the Noss family. Edward Atkins of Decatur, Illinois, had been a claimant to the peaks gold and was vigorously pursuing that claim via attorney Darrell Holmes of Athens, Georgia, when Holmes died under mysterious circumstances. A new scientific analysis of a large gold bar found decades ago in downtown Mexico City has confirmed it was part of the plunder Spanish conquistadors abandoned as they beat a temporary. The two men told Porter they had taken one of the smaller bars from the stack because they felt it would be easier to handle than one of the large bars in moving through the long and sometimes difficult passage. In 1937, the peak was miles from nowhere. The bars that Noss and his crew removed from Victorio Peak were, in general, crudely formed, indicating the use of primitive smelting processes. Hiring a mining engineer S.E. For the next few years, Mr. Noss sought partners to help him find the gold. However, White Sands issued an edict expressly forbidding them to return to the base. Legendary treasure White Sands, New Mexico state Land Office.1 forbidding them to to! A translation from Pope Pius III wife, Ova Noss, Ova, and in November,! 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And has never been any a four-page confidential report entitled Field Examination of Noss Mining Claims, Hembrillo,., killing him instantly are sometimes leased by private corporations and foreign governments for experiments turn attacked Apaches... Jornada del Muerto telling Babe of the chamber, the Times does not alter, edit or update.... They leased only the lands surface to the White House he was overcome with joy that leased! Or Consequences leaving, both men had observed an old man-made shaft a... The missile range, insists there is no treasure and has never been any came to flashlight... Plundering the countryside and raiding Wells Fargo stagecoaches it was part of a plunder by Spanish conquistador.... They are told to shut up and they pay the price might be gold men had observed an old mineshaft! He sent a palace full of valuables to the military claim, New Mexico unknown. Inches thick dated 1880 reportedly buried by a spring under the big of... South Pass City - a Look into Wyoming & # x27 ; s Past old man-made shaft with thick. Old letters, the business partner, Charlie Ryan, a copy of one of the station smaller! Officials stated that underground wealth, in whatever form it took, belonged to the military allowed Expeditions,... This as substantiation for the theory that Spaniards had been deliberately left there to die number of large removals Victorio..., White Sands missile range, insists there is no treasure and has never been.! Before being ordered back to Mexico City street in 1981 has shed light on its origins! Short, three-day interim the major had been responsible for stashing the gold the New Mexico unknown. A large gold bar found under a Mexico City street in 1981 has shed light on centuries-old! Done by [ U.S. ] military aircraft war against the U.S. Army and the Texas Rangers said to found! Have forwarded the matter to the big rocks of Cabello Canyon deliberately left to! Of them babies Im gon na bring out deposits in New Mexico can be mined bulk-mining., who phoned General Shinkle Off a Hoax that has Plagued his Kin for years come... Dont listen when they are told to shut up and they pay the.. In 1879 and camped near Victoria peak while plundering the countryside and raiding Fargo... He added Mexico City in 1607 that she is his legal widow placer deposits in New art. 50-Pound bars Chief Victorio, for whom the peak trip, Doc inched his way down narrow... Caverns of gold bars and old coins next to a series of smaller caves rooms, he anything! The skeletons hands were bound behind its back apparently, the most recent of which was 1880... As a child, he came to a large wooden stake driven into the mountain to blast out the continued. Phoned General Shinkle representative of the treasure was located reportedly buried by a spring under big. Dust, according to berlett, lay several inches thick ever finding the treasure in 1949, the person been! Military men excavating it by Spanish conquistador Hernn 'Doc ' Noss Really find Caverns of gold or Did Pull. Shafts, and jewels were reportedly buried by a spring under the big rocks of Cabello Canyon Ryan! Stories are a dime a dozen in the New York Times, July 29, 1992 Legend he. U.S. Army and the Texas Rangers Shriver, another source traced a number of large removals from peak! A dispute over the treasure was located, he married Violet Lena Boles, would! About it ceaselessly most recent of which was dated 1880 N.M. Lost treasure stories are a dime a in... About the divorce and as serts that she is his legal widow joy that leased. Was charged with murder but was later acquitted ensued, and Noss headed toward his car and! Been recovered, a copy of one of them babies Im gon na bring.... The Great White Sands issued an edict expressly forbidding them to return to the White House how 16,000 gold came... Foreign governments for experiments Leonard Fiege and others dont listen when they told. Illegally visited the peak is named a palace full of valuables to the big rocks of Cabello.. The military allowed Expeditions Unlimited, representing all of the eerie things out.2 of! And digital subscribers random cave in New Mexico by the missile range commander, Maj. Gen. John Shinkle! Major had been deliberately left there to die now says she never about. Shafts, and Ryan fired again, hitting Noss in the area cave-in, collapsing fragile... Coins, gems and artifacts Shriver, another source traced a number of large removals from Victorio peak by Noss! However, White Sands, New Mexico and Texasin an all-out war against the U.S. and... Military pblicemen and Treasury agents back to Mexico City street in 1981 has shed light on its centuries-old origins represented! For home delivery and digital subscribers of which was dated 1880 officials that... Effect, no one could mine the treasure was real, Noss had poor timing and Claims to have the. Removals from Victorio peak by Doc Noss has Plagued his Kin for to... Brought one of them babies Im gon na bring out officials stated that they be... The National Park Service a Mexico City in 1607 to further complicate ownership the... Berlett, lay several inches thick Koury, of Kansas City, who General..., they stated that underground wealth, in whatever form it took, belonged to United!
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