Dutchman, this is interesting on several counts. For one thing, it would seem to validate an alleged Knights Templar/Masonic connection to several treasure legends in the New World – connections that would have bypassed the King’s share and thus remained "undocumented". This might explain rumors of a shadowy group of European professionals who exploited rich mines in the Southwest but escaped the usual paper trail through Santa Fe and/or Mexico. I wouldn’t be too surprised if some of these people were French/Franciscan either. The petroglyph symbols you mentioned also sound familiar.

Are you saying that these Europeans located and worked mines after they arrived, then cached the proceeds at the Midwestern site, or were the caches near the mines? Or are the caches being sought the church loot they brought with them? While the Mississippi Valley had a significant number of mines, they were predominantly lead deposits and maybe a little silver – nothing major. It seems more likely the mines may have been further west – an idea backed by the "Mexican connection" you mentioned and the fact that Fisher’s people are/were interested in projects in New Mexico (not Victorio Peak) and Utah and maybe elsewhere. Fisher believed that the Atocha’s gold and emerald cargo originated in North America.

• Re: Tell us more Dutchman 18:16:14 3/11/2001 (0)