The story is basically a tale of cross and double-cross amoung thieves. What takes place (as per most of the stories) is a massive gold/silver heist of Monterrey, Mexico, in 1881 by a Mexican gang at the behest of American outlaws from s.e. Arizona. The Mexicans took the loot to Arizona and were ambushed and killed by the outlaws in Skeleton Canyon. Two of the outlaws were left with the treasure while the remainder went north to double-cross their boss, Curly Bill Brocious, who was in on it. The other two, Zwing Hunt and Billy Grounds, buried the treasure near a "Davis Mountain", effectively double-crossing everyone else, went carousing in Tombstone, and were eventually killed off by lawmen after being fingered in a murder. Hunt left a burial location description with his brother before he died, but the stories leave the impression that the treasure is still in Skeleton Canyon, and they usually end with "there's no such place as Davis Mountain anywhere near Skeleton Canyon".

Several other stories give a date of the incident as happening in 1891, and at least one, "Coronado's Children", has the burial site in the Davis Mountains of Texas.

The facts of this story are these: Monterrey was never robbed in 1881, or at any time of the degree given in the stories. A check of records from banks, universities, libraries, newspapers, government and law agencies in Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado reveal absolutely nothing.

The burial description in the stories has Davis Mountain, a good view of the New Mexico flatlands to the east, a canyon about a 1-1/2 miles to the west of the mountain, a north-running stream with a small waterfall, and a pair of nearby springs. This description matches the area just to the north of Portal, Arizona...not Skeleton Canyon in the Peloncillos.

Hunt, Grounds, Brocious, the Clantons, and others listed in the stories actually existed, and they were involved in ambush/killing/cattle rustling operations over a great part of s.e. Arizona, including Skeleton Canyon, but their behavior implies unorganized, opportunist thuggery and bullying, much like street gangs today. Also, being the vicious man that he was, Curly Bill Brocious would have engaged in reprisals against his cronies assuming they had double-crossed him about the treasure. They also had a serious other problem to deal with at that time: the arrival of the Earp brothers in Tombstone in 1880.

Billy Grounds' grave marker in Boot Hill Cemetery, Tombstone, Arizona, gives a date of death as "1882", ruling out the late dates said in some stories.

My opinion is that a band of smugglers were ambushed and killed in Skeleton Canyon, and the outlaws did get a large amount of cash, but not the kind in the stories.

As to the Confederate Underground, I did not see evidence yet of the hiding of large amounts of treasure by them, but one must take into account that the Confederacy could barely import the items needed to exist and fight, and even what they did bring in cost a fortune. Inflation was also ridiculously high (400%).

• Re:Dumb on Skeleton Canyon Here? (long Post) Old Indian 09:02:22 7/04/99 (0)