gold bars found in new mexico

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. I was just a kid, about 13 or 14 years old, he told this writer. Mrs. Ova Noss said she shad filed papers retaining mineral rights in case the area opened up again. Article content. Ferdig, adding, The trouble with treasure stories is that there's always a little truth in them.. It would also explain the presence of the Wells Fargo bags, packsaddles, letters, and other artifacts dating to Victorios time. Though the military confirmed that Swanner had served at White Sands during this time, they claimed there were no documents to support an investigation into the mine nor the removal of the gold bars. Now there were two military commands involved. 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. Anyone can read what you share. Within just a few days, Doc and Babe were back at the site with ropes and flashlights. The 1.93-kilogram bar was found . Montgomery, the two went into the mountain to blast out the shaft. 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. Now, cleared to go by an act of Congress, the best-equipped search ever is under way with $1 million in backing from the descendants and some investors. Published historic reserves exist for only two districts: Jicarilla with 5.4 million yd3 of 0.043 oz Au/yd3, or approximately 230,000 oz Au in place and Pittsburg with 2 million yd3 of 0.01 oz Au/yd3, or approximately 20,000 oz Au in place in 1936. Fearing Doc was getting a gun, Ryan fired a warning shot in Docs direction, demanding that Noss back away from the vehicle. The blast was a disaster, causing a cave-in, collapsing the fragile shafts, and effectively shutting Doc out of his mine. That three or four weeks later Frank Foss told me that E.M. had called him and said he was in Central America. He estimated there were thousands of these bars, each weighing over 40 pounds stacked against a wall. After the death of Doc Noss, Ova and her family continued efforts to regain access to the big treasure room. There were thousands of them, covered with old, dusty buffalo hides. 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. November 16, 2015. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. The cave was covering a small tunnel, originally thought to be an abandoned mineshaft. New York Times, July 29, 1992 Hunting by himself, Doc scouted the base of the mountain. Because of this natural concentration, some placers are richer in gold than the original lode deposits. In 1972, F. Lee Bailey became involved in the dispute, representing some 50 clients, including Babe Noss, the Fiege group, Violet Noss Yancy, Expeditions Unlimited (a Florida-based treasure hunting group), and many others. In a deeper cavern, Doc found what he thought was a stack of worthless iron bars. They come in a variety of weights, fineness and designs. Many Noss family members and friends believe that the military exploited Babes claim and that the treasure is now gone. 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. Alleged gold cache in the U.S. state of New Mexico, "Hunt for Fabulous Cache of Gold Lands in Court", "Following 1937 Story of Buried Gold, Family Searches New Mexico's Sands", "Seekers of fabled southern N.M. treasure sue Army", "Authors re-examine Victorio Peak storyand think gold really may be there", "Treasure or Treachery? And a fourth story, pieced together recently by Howard Bryan, a reporter for The Albuquerque Tribune, centers on another Apache war chief named Victorio. Noss divorced her, charging desertion. 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. Mr. Bailey will not say, but Mrs. Noss and, her dozen or so partners have filed a $1billion Federal Court suit charging that the Government, the Secretary of the Army, several military officers and 200 John Does were conspiring to bilk her out of the treasure. 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. Letha Guthrie, Ovas eldest daughter from a previous marriage, described the next few years as a very happy time for the Noss family, one of simple, hard work with a bright, limitless future. McGuires Place Forrest . General Shinkle finally had enough and ordered everyone out. About $250,000 was spent, core holes were drilled, seismic tests were taken, and nothing was found. In the meantime, Mrs. Noss said her spies, illegally visited the peak and found military men excavating it. 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. However, Doc was unable to capitalize on the gold bars, as four years before his discovery, Congress had passed the Gold Act, which outlawed the private ownership of gold. A retired White Sands Missile Range security guard, residing in El Paso, Texas, indicated that he observed Johnson and former Texas Governor John Connally spending about 10 days in the desolate area around Victorio Peak in the late 1960s. He was also known to take prisoners back to the Basin, where he subjected them to elaborate torture tests before killing them. While Babe looked on from above, Doc inched his way down the narrow passageway into the mountain nearly 60 feet. 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. 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 Mystery Of The Lost Victorio Peak Treasure, a group of researchers who published their findings. It is estimated that 662,000 oz of gold have been produced from placer deposits throughout New Mexico from 1828 to 1991. It could finally solve the mystery. The reports of the massive treasure would consume his marriage and eventually his life, and mysteries around the treasure persist to this day (via Legends of America). 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. Beyond the Hembrillo Basin is a hundred-mile stretch of desert known as the Jornada del Muerto. Though the gold bar was. 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. Rare Gold Nuggets. A legal battle and highly publicized search through Victorio Peak ensued but no treasure turned up, leading many to wonder if Noss had made the whole thing up. Sam Scott, for example, a retired airline pilot, was warned in 1977 to keep clear of anything regarding Victorio Peak for at least five years under pain of having his home firebombed and his wife and daughter killed. The Army, which controls the missile range, insists there is no treasure and has never been any. They believe that sophisticated equipment like devices to take soundings showing whether there are underground caves will help this search succeed where other ventures failed. "We're treating the gold searchers just like any other client," said Jim Eckles, a spokesman for the White Sands range. The major took the bar and told Porter to check back with him in a few days. The family declines to discuss the incident. He told this writer that the gold bars in the cave were stacked like cordwood.. Years later, in 1946, Doc discussed his exploration with Gordon E. Herkenhoff, field representative of the New Mexico State Land Office.1. The skeletons hands were bound behind its back apparently, the person had been deliberately left there to die. Doc Noss was born in Oklahoma and traveled all over the Southwest, seeking excitement. He was barely able to lift one, much less think of carrying it back to the surface. In all, eight persons told this writer they had received direct threats against their lives or against the lives of their families. But in a dispute over the treasure in 1949, the business partner, Charlie Ryan, shot Mr. Noss to death. Finally, others believe that the treasures were hidden by Chief Victorio, for whom the peak is named. Through the years, soldiers at White Sands have spent weekends looking for the gold. Description: Victorio Peak is surrounded by inhospitable environment near Hot Springs, New Mexico. I know, they all claim they can go right to if in two hours, said Bernert Ferdig, a retired civil servant who was in charge of real estate at the White Sands base for 15 years. Many people believe the search points to the area of the four corners. On the night of March 4, 1949, I went with Doc Noss and dug up 20 bars of gold at a windmill in the desert east of Hatch, New Mexico, and reburied them in the basin where Victorio Peak is. 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. 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. Mr. Bailey, who represents 50 unidentified claimants, says that with a helicopter and a half an hour he can lead officials to 292 gold bars, for openers. 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 . Begrudgingly, he did so. 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. [3][b], A 1961 search by the U.S. Armythe peak lies within White Sands Missile Rangewas stopped following a request to state officials by Noss's first wife, Ova. Once again, Doc began to descend about 125 feet before the shaft again leveled off into a large natural cavern. Led by U.S. Air Force Captain Leonard V. Fiege, the four had done extensive research on Victorio Peak, poring over old documents and records, and even traveling south into Mexico to check stories there regarding a man who has often been linked with the origin of the gold, Padre Philip La Rue. 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. Though caught trespassing and escorted from the area, the men reported observing several men in Army fatigues upon the peak. 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. Theories spread over how 16,000 gold bars came to be stashed away in a random cave in New Mexico. 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.. They believe that if the Lue Map and the hieroglyphs could be deciphered then the gold bars could be found. Nearly choking, the two men hastily marked their claim and made their exit. Thayer Snipes of El Paso, Texas, swore to an affidavit regarding another death. Now, researchers say the bar was. Many streams in New Mexico contain at least traces of gold, enough to satisfy weekend gold panners. (Reuters) 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.For 39 years, its origins remained a mystery.INAH - National Institute of Anthropology and History/Handout via REUTERS Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History He bolted from the Mescalero reservation in 1879 and camped near Victoria Peak while plundering the countryside and raiding Wells Fargo stagecoaches. [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]. Now, scientists confirm it was part of a plunder by Spanish conquistador Hernn. During fluvial events, large volumes of sediment containing free gold are transported and deposited in relatively poorly-sorted alluvial and stream deposits. 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. The caverns are located in and around Victorio Peak, in a remote, rugged section of south-central New Mexico. Noss refused to obey, and Ryan fired again, hitting Noss in the head, killing him instantly. But, she said, mint officers confiscated the five bars and gave her husband a receipt for $97,000. 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. This time, the military began a full-scale mining operation at the Peak. 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. There were 110 gold bars moved that night, according to an affidavit obtained by this writer and sworn to by Jolley. Now, instead of having thousands of gold bars to draw from, Noss had only a few hundred that he had hidden in the desert. Doc attempted illegally to sell his gold for nine years, but it wasnt easy finding buyers. Later, some researchers would conclude that the shaft was the same as the Lost Padre Mine used by Padre LaRue in the late 1700s, then later used again by Chief Victorio to store his stolen goods. Noss soon deserted Babe, and in November 1945, a divorce was granted. Carrying it back to the surface once again, hitting Noss in the meantime, Noss! The Basin, where he subjected them to elaborate torture tests before killing them were taken, Ryan! 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