A Secret in El Paso

[Hal Croves]

Remember President Diaz was responsible for providing the map, funding for the search, and was friends with both the land owner and Berson.

This may simply be coincidence, but if one starts to study the story, the landscape, and those involved, this simple pattern becomes something more.

 

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[Hal Croves]

Alright, here is a little more about the general location and the landowner, H. M. Mundy.

http://www.genealogymagazine.com/herbertmmundy.html

his brother JJ:
http://www.genealogymagazine.com/johnjmundy.html

 

[Hal Croves]

This article is dated January 13th. Keep in mind that January 13th, 1899 was a Friday.

 

[Hal Croves]

Obviously, Mundy Park (it's shape) was intentional. The fact that it closely resembles the Star of David, I would argue, is no coincidence and if you are thinking that the design is a modern work, think again. Mundy Park dates to the time of the subdivision.

1912/1914

 

[Hal Croves]

I am now going to share the story as it was written so, you can come to your own conclusions. Read the articles carefully and pay attention to the details. Remember, Berson's past must be weighed against his reported discovery. After you have read the story, and have formed an opinion, I will post one last critical piece of evidence that will leave you scratching your head.

 

[Hal Croves]

More:

 

[Hal Croves]

Read this article very carefully. Here is the testimony of a local (A.G. Foster) which supports Berson's claims.

 

[Hal Croves]

Here is the actual article that Foster presented to Mundy. This was two years BEFORE the discovery. "The overlying seams of earth indicate that they had been untouched since some primeval torrent had swept-over and covered them".

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Hal, your thread caught my eye, because I've detected around El Paso a few times in my travels. And I applaud you for all the hard work you did on bringing this story to the present, and following through with each meticulous lead.

However, in-so-far as it might point to a "treasure", I think you are reading way too much into it. As gollum already pointed out: "aztec" origins was routinely pinned on all sort of indian cliff type dwellings. Yet the SW USA indians that built them, could be our typical SW indians who had no refined metals . Versus the history of the types Aztecs in deep Mexico who did work with gold.

And even all the clippings you've dug up, .... if you ask me, they certainly paint this Dr. Berson fellow as a guy who was *perhaps* prone to dreaming, exaggeration, mysticisms, etc....

And no, I do not see "conspiracies" at the eventual faded historical mention. Ie.: how it was eventually forgotten, dismissed, etc.... To me that just means that it was exactly as I'm saying: ho hum indian ruins. Not some "conspiracy" to erase a revision of history, or secreted treasures, etc....

And "tunnels" under cities as old as El Paso are also nothing spectacular. In ANY old town district, there's bound to be "tunnels" that connected buildings under streets, etc....

But ...... I must say, your thread was a fun read ! Sorry to be such a kill-joy skeptic about the conclusions it merits though.

 

[Hal Croves]

Tom in CA,

First, thank you for taking the time to post. While I agree with your thoughts on Berson and any revisionist conspiracy, I do see something here worth exploring. In my mind, if there was a conspiracy, it was simply greed driven. If you read the local papers 1900-1910/17, Mundy Heights property was prime real estate. An archeological dig would have jeopardize development and in turn, any potential profit. So, a conspiracy need not be some attempt to alter history... like the attempt made by the church to destroy Aztec records (who knows what was lost). It could be that Mundy just chose an easier path to wealth.

Mundys father I believe passed a few months after the story broke and J.J. Stewart (Mundy's architect and property manager) was almost killed when a construction site beam fell and split his head open. Bad luck.

As far as the site possibly being Aztec, this would seem to make sense as the map came from archives in Mexico City. Diaz, Berson, and Mundy thought that the temple belonged to the Aztecs. Unfortunately, we don't know yet which map Berson was using. We may never know.

But you and Gullom are correct in the generalization of archeological sites. If the ruins of some lost temple is there, it would be impossible to know who built it until it was relocated and examined by professionals.

I am as skeptical as you are regarding treasure. But records? If they are there, and there is a slight chance that they are, then some organized effort should be made to recover them.

Again, never apologize for being skeptical. Skeptics keep those prone to flights of fancy grounded.

One would think that in the following months and years that Berson's folly in Mundy's Heights would have been written about. I have yet to locate any such article.

However years later (1908), Berson's work is noted in this article:

 

[Hal Croves]

Artifacts were uncovered. The question is, what became of them?

Tom in CA,
One more thing. I have read that in the Franklin Mountains only small deposits of tin are found and that it was mined unsuccessfully. If you dig, there are also early reports of sites that were found in El Paso that were thought to have been used to process ore.

I feel that the Aztec reach and influence was far greater than most of us understand.

 

[Hal Croves]

It seems that the remaining Aztecs, or what was left of them anyway, lived not too far from El Paso in modern times. Here is the sad story of their demise at the hands of Mexican forces in 1892.

 

[Hal Croves]

I am far from an expert, but I think that individualizing, compartmentalizing, Native people in this region, in the distant past is an unrealistic exercise as there exists a common link in the form of language.

It's clear that various nomadic groups merged, married, mixed, and organized to form a greater, more distinct group of people today called the Aztecs. They left mysterious Aztlan for central Mexico during a period of unusually dry weather that, by chance, followed a catastrophic, Pacific storm. This is simply my belief, not a proven fact.



The Great Drought
States Dr. Benjamin Rea in his work The Roots of the American Indian --
The tribes furthest south in Mexico, the Aztecs, departed from a place in the north called Chicomoztoc, according to their own legends. We believe that they came from the region that is today Texas-Oklahoma-New Mexico, and it is from this region we come across a NETWORK OF CANALS that were used for irrigation. The employment of irrigation made possible the development of their agricultural system, which continued to be their means of support until some CATASTROPHIC EVENT forced them to migrate further south. What could have happened to make them undertake an exodus of that magnitude? A horrible invasion by enemy forces? An epidemic? Could a DROUGHT have forced this departure? -- Ehud, p. 67.
The traditions of the Wyandotte Indians indicate that a precursor to a great drought, a mighty storm from off the Pacific Ocean, ravaged the southwestern United States and the homeland of the Aztec ancestors --
It seems that many centuries ago the inhabitants of America, who constructed the towns and cities throughout the Mississippi Valley, had to flee TOWARD THE SOUTHWEST because a very powerful enemy army was approaching. Many centuries past, and one day an Indian messenger returned with alarming news from these exiled tribes. He related that a beast [a devastating storm] had disembarked on the coast and devastated everything that he found in his way. He destroyed with thunder and lightning. Nothing, it seemed, could stop his advance. -- Ibid., pp. 64-65.
The result of this devastating storm was famine -- to be followed by a long period of drought.
We can find incontrovertible proof that a great drought took place in the very region where these tribes existed -- a drought so severe that the region became a virtual desert. People that were always used to living near the water simply could not adjust to the arid conditions that prevailed.
The most acceptable date, and there are several, for the arrival of the tribes at Anahuac [Valley of Mexico] is 1193 A.D. in the last part of the twelfth century. Can we find any record of an extreme drought that occurred during these years?" Rea goes on to say, "Again, we can answer in the affirmative. This time, however, the record is not written in books, but in the tree-rings of those trees that were in existence at that time." (Ibid., p. 67.)
In 1956, in the United States, there occurred a drought of crises proportions. Government agencies in Texas searched through the ancient records left behind by the Spanish for any clues for a previous drought to equal the one in 1956. They even consulted the Indian legends and found, along with evidence supplied by tree-rings (the science of dendochronology) that there was -- and it occurred some six centuries earlier!
A Pasadena, California newspaper -- The Independent -- carried the following article on October 22, 1956:
Tucson, Arizona, October 22, 1956 (Associated Press) -- A scientist who has conducted a study of tree rings says that the present drought is the worst in over 750 years.
Dr. Edmund Schulman of the University of Arizona arrived at this conclusion after carefully examining thousands of trees that were selected with this purpose in mind...The trees produced a ring each year, explained Dr. Schulman. He commented further that broad rings are formed in years where there is an abundance of rain and narrow rings when there is a dry spell.
This occurred in Arizona -- an area that is normally arid.
If we take the time given by the Arizona scientist (750 years), we can calculate approximately when the Aztec ancestors began their march from the U.S. Southwest toward Tenochtitlan. If we take the drought of 1956 and subtract 750 from that date, we arrive at the year 1206 -- very close to the year given in works such as Aztecs of Mexico by G. C. Valliant and Stokvis' Manuel and the commonly accepted year of 1193 for the arrival of the Aztecs in Mexico.
The great migration of the Aztecs from Aztlan is recorded by Carlos Pereyra in his work Breve Historia de America that was taken from the Historia de las Indias de Nueva Espana by Diego Duran --
One day the priest, Coauhtloquetzqui, mindful of the information and warning from his god, realized that he had to inform his people of what he had seen and heard in his dreams. He ordered a convocation of all the people, the men and the women, the old men and women and even the children. And informing them about his dream and all that had taken place, he continued in this manner:
"You must know, my children, that this very night appeared unto me our god, Vitzilopochtli, and he told me that you should always remember what happened when we arrived at the hill named Chapoltepec, how Copil, his nephew was already there, having decided to make war against us, and how by his order and persuasion the nations surrounded us, and they killed our captain and leader and our god and king Vitziliuitli, driving us out of that place; who also gave the order for us to kill him, and we should take his heart, putting it in the place that he told us, I myself threw it among the reeds where it finally came to rest on a rock, and according to the revelation that this very night he gave me, he says from this heart has been born a cactus in the heart of this stone, so pretty and copious that a beautiful eagle makes its nest therein.
"This is the place that he tells us to search for, and, once we find it, we shall have great good fortune because this is the place where we will settle and become a great people....He tells us to name this place TENOCHTITLAN, in order to identify the city that is to become the queen and goddess and rule over all the land, and where we will receive all other rulers and where they will have to come to pay their respects to our supreme greatness."
Having heard the words of Cauhtloquetzqui, they humbled themselves before their gods and gave thanks to god..., they went out in search of the prophesied eagle and, after wandering from one place to another, they finally found the cactus and on top of it the eagle with wings extended toward the rays of the sun, taking in the heat of the sun and the freshness of the morning, and in its claws was a gallant bird with handsome radiant feathers.
After a arduous journey from the dry lands of the Southwest, these tribes arrived at their final destination. This is the very place the Spanish conquistadors met them several centuries later.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Hal, I gave more thought to your research points now. Your analysis of all the data, no doubt, brings in all the relevant psychology involved. That's to be expected. Ie.: on how persons might have "colored" things, and the extent to which something might be there, based on intentions, back-ground starting clues to those people, etc.... I understand that.

But figure out what "psychology" clues might also be a deterent to the story as well. For example: Consider when someone goes out looking for something. Like the good doctor in your story came a long way to dig/study, and had been commissioned by higher authorities over him, right ? No doubt, after all that expended energy, time, hopes, etc.... YOU CAN HARDLY FAULT him for ... uh ... wanting to find something. I mean, he's got to justify his trip. And like all of us, when we get excited about some potential, we tend to see confirmations in every sneeze or rock, etc.... That's known in psychology as "confirmation bias". Example: Those that go out into the desert looking for UFO's in the night sky, will swear to you that they've seen them, blah blah. Or how about the story of the guy who spent years looking for Big Foot, trekking around the moutains/forests. Well lo & behold, he finally gets footage. That footage later turned out to be de-bunked as a hoax. But ..... after so many years, of people scoffing at the guy, I guess he was driven to justify his time, satisfy his backers, or whatever. Not saying your doctor did that, but ..... just saying, terms like "artifact" might be the ho-hum American southwest indian stuff (rock bowls, mortars, arrow heads, beads, etc...). Ok, so what?

Another thing: While we all tend to consider newspaper clippings to be "gospel truth", yet......... you have to go back further, and ask: Where did that newspaper writer get his information? From the whimsical fallible people he talked to. And they are subject to their own opinions, interpretations, etc.....

Let me give you an example: Let's say that someone writes a treasure story, complete with faded newspaper clippings, much like you have. And the clipping they include in their article, is a newspaper article of the time-period (1880s), detailing a stage-coach robbery. The article might, of course, tell of how "$10,000 in gold coins were stolen". And would go on to say " Bandits seen heading west along the river. Posse caught them the next day in the canyon, and shot them all dead in a shootout. No loot with with the dead bandits."

Ok, when you or I read those above quotes from the period newspaper clipping, we will, of course, chart the route the bandits took from the robbery location, to where they were killed the next day. And .... obviously, the loot will have been buried somewhere in-between those 2 fixed points, right ? Because, afterall, newspapers don't lie, and it clearly said the loot wasn't there. And likewise, no other newspapers from then, till now, tell of it being found. Therefore, logically IT MUST STILL BE THERE!

But do such a train of data points necessarily lead to such a conclusion? No. Not when you think of all the other factors that could have occurred. Like when you go back further, and ask: "what was the source of the reporter's story data?" Obviously, he asks. That info came to him from the sherrif. Perhaps he interviewed members of the posse involved in the shootout. Perhaps he interviewed the bank who is now submitting an insurance claim to get covered for their lost shipment ? Don't you see how many weak links there are so far?

a) what if the posse DID in fact find all the loot with the dead bandits. If they pocketed it for themselves, they'd simply tell the authorities back in town: "shucks, there was no money on them. I guess they must've stashed it".

b) what if there was no money whatsoever on that stage, and it's just an insurance claim so that the stage Co or bank or whatever can capitalize ?

c) what if someone ..... in the ensuing years ....... actually already found it. Well, gee, do you think they're going to make a newspaper story heralding that? So the mere fact of silence, does not mean it was never recovered.

This is just the tip of the ice-berg. Newspapers are fallible. Words like "artifact" and "Aztec" can be construed in too many ways. Over-active imaginations can spin a story (well intentioned & sincere mind you) to another, such that ......... in the end, it's "sure-fire-iron-clad proof", when ... in fact .... it's just silly indian stuff. In the next post, I'll give you an example of HOW EASILY human nature does such things, in a true story local to me.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

example of how minds easily embellish anything treasure related:

~10 yrs. ago, there was an old-town sidewalk tearout, in a city about 30 minutes from me. The workers would take out about a half block of sidewalk, and lay the new cement, all in the same day. This was because they didn't want the store-front proprietors in this downtown shopping district, to have no front sidewalks for over-night periods. So the tearout and re-install would be done in such a way, that naked earth was only exposed for a few hours. Then the next day, they would progress to the next half block, and repeat. And so on and so forth, till the entire 5 block length, both sides of the street were done.

So in order for my friend to detect where they'd torn out the walks, he had to hunt WHILE they were working. He would furiously hunt during their lunch hour, to get as many signals as he could, before they returned to work for phase II, which was to lay down the new cement. He got seateds, barbers, tokens, etc.... and was having a fun time at it As the days progressed, the workers began to take interest in what he was doing. And each day, they would ask him what he'd found. He'd show them the day's finds, and ... even pass out IH's and V nickels (if he knew they weren't key-dates), as ... uh .... "bribes" haha.

One day, my friend dug some sort of antique owl shaped lapel-pin pendant thing. It was gold colored, and had some sort of red jewels for the eyes. When it came time for the workers came over to see what that day's take had been, she showed them the coins. Then he showed them the owl pendant thing. He mused "it might be gold" (because it was gold colored). And then told them "the eyes look like rubies". And then surmised the age as could be 1800s (as that was the date on most of the coins he was finding). They were all spell-bound, and passed it around for each to handle and look at.

That night, my friend sorted his finds. He cleaned up the owl thing. Turned out it was just gold plated, not real gold. And the eyes were just cheap glass chips. Nothing valuable, not "rubies", etc... Just junk 1920s costume jewelry. So he chucked it in the trash and forgot about it.

The next day, my friend was out there again, doing his thing. Only this day, he could see a heavy-equipment worker who kept on looking at him funny. Like, the operator was studying my friend from a distance, trying to get up his courage to come over and talk to him I guess. Eventually the worker came over and asked what my friend had found. My friend recognized that this was a new worker, who had not been on that job-site prior to this. And this particular day, he had found nothing good. So he told the worker that he had found nothing of interest, no coins, etc...

At that, the worker started telling my friend that...... the day before ........ a guy had been there with a metal detector, and found "gold and silver, gold coins, silver dollars, etc...." At first my friend was shocked and wondered "gee, did someone else come here after I left, and found gold ?" So he pressed the worker for information. As the worker told the story, he let out a clue: A gold item was described as "gold owl". As soon as my friend heard the word "owl", he busted out laughing. Because he knew then, that the worker was talking about HIM ! And it turned out, that he was getting his information from the other workers, earlier that morning, in water-cooler conversation talk.

He explained to the worker that a) the owl was not gold, not that old, not emeralds or rubies, and not valuable. b) no, there had been no "gold coins" found, nor "silver dollars", etc.... Just a few seated dimes and a single quarter or half, a few IH's and early Wheaties, etc... When the worker heard this, he adamantly disagreed. He assumed that it must be someone different then. Because he had heard it "first hand", that there was ancient coins, gold, silver, etc.... being turned up. So he wouldn't believe my friend, that ...... in fact .... this was not true. He kept figuring that it must be another hunter who'd arrived later.

Now, think of it: Let's say that the local newspaper had interviewed that worker. And the worker spills this story to the reporter. And then 100 yrs. goes by, and you or I pick up that article and read it. Here's the factoids that would come out:

a) The worker was a duly appointed authorized person, allowed to be inside the yellow barricades.

b) he had seen "with his own eyes" the coins (because another worker showed him a merc, or a V-nickel, or whatever).

c) he is a credible source, since he is an authorized worker on the crew who had the contract to be there, digging, etc.....

d) If you go to that city 100 yrs. from now, after reading that story, asking "can I please tear out the sidewalks so I can look for gold and silver?". Let's say that the city refuses, and says "no". Well now, that *CERTAINLY* smells of a coverup. Most certainly the city knows what's there, and doesn't want anyone else to get ahold of the goodies. So they down-play it, claim there's no gold and silver, etc... Hmmm, pretty sneaky of them, eh? I smell a conspiracy, don't you ?

 

[Hal Croves]

Tom in CA,


I see the point that you are making and I actually do understand the psychology of greed and paranoia. It seems that this is a part of human nature and treasure hunting. Berson, as I wrote was a rascal and I don't doubt that he enjoyed the 12 months leading up to his discovery in El Paso (funded by Diaz) but don't you think that there would have been ramifications for Berson's blunder?


No follow up story? No criticism in the press exposing Berson and his past? A reporter from the paper went to the site to confirm the story and claimed that "it was just as described".


A masonry foundation of massive block, inscribed with symbols, a key-stone. These are architectural elements, not just the primitive tools and charcoal pits from nomadic people.


And Berson was not working alone. He had a crew. If there was fraud, everyone on that crew would have had to have been involved. And how do you keep a dozen men from talking at the local watering hole?


What about the 1500 people, some who paid money to see the ruins? How do you explain the fact that so many people witnessed the exposed ruins yet, no one challenged what they saw?


Then you have to explain why President Diaz, J.J. Stewart, H.M. Mundy, and several other highly intelligent and successful Freemasons were duped. I am not saying that Berson wasn't capable of such a scam, only that there would have been some type of backlash against Berson in the end. That doesn't seem to have happened. Or, I simply have not yet found an example of it.


As far as conspiracy, most men are incapable of organizing, executing, and keeping secret some history altering conspiracy. It's not as grand as all that. It comes down to simple greed and land, and always wanting more.

 

[Hal Croves]

According to Dr. Schulman, through his study of tree ring growth patterns, the SouthWest experienced a catastrophic drought in the year 1206.


About Dr. Schulman:
"Tree Ring Research
The Bristlecone pine became famous in scientific circles through the work of Dr. Edmund Schulman (1908-1958) of the University of Arizona. His dendrochronological studies spanned almost thirty years, of which the last five were spent mostly in the White Mountains.1 Through the study of annual growth rings of these trees, a fairly precise method of absolute dating has been obtained. So far, this amazing record from the Bristlecone pines only applies to the southwestern portion of the United States and has become useful also to the field of archaeology where ancient roof beams have been more accurately dated using the tree-ring growth records."


Lets now talk about accepted facts.


If we look at records from around the world, we find that 1206 was a year of widespread famine. Several natural events occurred in 1206 that would have been considered omens or a sign of divine intervention. There is a report of a 7 hour obscuration in Spain in February 1206 but, it may actually have been February of 1207 or, there may have been two. Widespread famine, drought, seven hours of blackness, all in the year 1206. There is one obvious answer that would explain obscuration, drought, and famine.


That would be a volcanic eruption.


In 1206, Hekla, a volcano in Iceland erupted and it didn't stop until the spring of 1207.


I believe that Dr. Schulmans work confirms Hekla's widespread climatic effects felt across the globe, including the American SouthWest. Look at the weather records for 1207. Unprecedented cold, devastating storms, death in Europe, famine in Asia.


1206 may have been the start of a great migration of people south, from today's American Southwest (perhaps beyond), into central Mexico. I don't believe that they were all one people from one unified group. The move must have attracted other groups who were also looking for stability and understood the concept of safety in numbers. They coalesced, grew strong, and became the Aztecs.


Aztalan became a memory and in time, other nomadic groups filtered in and became a local identity. It must have been this way for as long as people have been migrating into South and Central America. One people displacing or absorbing the other. Thousands of waves, each coming in their own time and each slightly unique to the other.


Anyway, if Berson's Aztec Temple of Priests did exist, and I think that there is a fair chance that it did, my belief is that it was destroyed in or around 1206, by an unprecedented flood and that the inhabitants, who live in and around the temple, were after decimated by disease and famine.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Hal, I'm cracking a big smile as I read your two replies. Thinking that ..... in the example I gave you of my friend's sidewalk tearout, SO TOO would the same types/sounding evidences come out, for those studying this 100 yrs. from now. Like the tree ring research thing (that you're using to show the migration away of those with fabulous riches), would probably take on a flavor like this: The fellow 100 yrs. from now, researching those const. workers, would like-wise come up with historical citations of a rich property/shop owner, who had his shop along that frontage, who was "known to have died with un-explained wealth never accounted for !!" (thus most certainly he buried it under the sidewalks!)

And so everything you're pointing to now as proofs, I can easily see those types evidences/proofs evolving from those researching my sidewalk demo. story. And Hal: That distortion of facts occurred in a SINGLE NIGHT. Go figure what 100 yrs. can do to a story.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

humorous story #2 example:

One time I was working an oldtown demolition tearout about 15 yrs. ago, in a city in our county. I can't remember what all I found in that demolition site, but ......... as I was hunting it, the following occurred: A fellow was walking down the street, and stopped to watch what I was doing. After a bit, he struck up conversation with me, and told me that a few years earlier, there had been a similar old-town demolition in that downtown district of that city, and that an md'r had scored handfuls of silver coins, silver dollars, etc....

Now mind you: I am RELIGIOUSLY observant of any old-town demolition project of any city within 50 miles of me. I study the contractor bid exchange websites, study the google-news hits, etc... for any hint of old-town demolition projects. So here I am, listening to this stranger tell me this story. And my first thought was "Cr*p, I must've missed a good demolition project!". So I pressed the guy for details, asking how he knew this (versus just someone who heard it from someone else, thus being susceptible to exaggeration). The fellow insisted that he had seen the coins with his own eyes, right there as the guy was digging them. My heart sank as I was furthered in my thinking that someone else scored good , and I'd missed out not knowing to take the short drive to this town. Drats.

As the fellow and I kept talking, my next questions were along the lines of "which buildings" or "which cross-streets was this demolition at?" And "how long ago was this?", etc.... The fellow said it was perhaps 5 yrs. earlier, and he pointed to location, just a half block up the street, where some new buildings had since been erected.

Oddly, I had worked that very site, 5 yrs. earlier, when THAT demolition had occurred. After some more chit-chat, I began to realize that this fellow was talking about me! And yes, I'd found a silver morgan on that job site, and a few seateds, barbers, V's, a few tokens etc..... But no, not "multiple silver dollars", and perhaps 10 or 15 coins tops ! (not "handfuls" as the fellow now recalled it). And I actually recalled some people watching me from the street, and asking me what luck I was having etc.... (so I must've shown the guy what I was finding).

So I told the guy that the person he was alluding to, was me. And that .... no ... the results were not *that* spectacular (but that yes, I had found a silver dollar, but only a single one). He just grunted acknowledgment , and then eventually walked off.

The reason I bring this up, is to illustrate to you how this fellow could, like you, spin all sorts of "proofs" (which, on the surface, would seem bullet-proof, etc...). Yet other explanations point in another direction.

I know exactly what you'll do next: You'll disbelieve everything I'm saying, and continue to believe a fortune in Aztec gold is more certainly there beneath urban El Paso. That's fine Such is the power of the story of treasure legends. The human mind wants SO hard to believe, that every sneeze or rock becomes rock-solid proof.

If you really want to immerse yourself in some hum-dinger fun reads (each with bullet-proof sure fire proofs): Just pick up any treasure magazine from the 1960s and '70s. They're plumb full of such lores and legends. Lost mines, stolen military payrolls, bandits who robbed stages, blah blah blah. Heck, throw in a few faded newspaper clippings, and then have a drawing of a miner posed next to his burro, and then ..... it must be gospel truth !

 

[Hal Croves]

Tom in CA,


I read and re-read your posts, especially your last one in which you used the word spin. Spin is a form of propaganda and typically, when used, one side of a story is presented while the backstory, the other truth is not. I did my best to discourage anyone reading this from believing any of the articles shared as "truth" until they learned about, and formed their own opinion of Berson. Like you, most reading this probably believe that Berson was an untrustworthy scoundrel but, for a few, there is alway the chance that important ruins were found. Its not a known thing, but it is entirely plausible and because of the internet, you now have the information to draw your own conclusions. Is that really "spin"?


The "treasure" that you are focused on is only a small part of this story. What we should be, what I am concerned with, is the chance of recovering a vault of historical records. Today, a small group of train professionals are able to determine (scientifically) what, if anything, is in under Mundy Heights without excavation. As a skeptic, wouldn't you want to be proven correct? As a seasoned treasure hunter, isn't there the tiniest part of your curiosity that hopes for something like the existence of an Aztec treasure?


Until we know what happened, with proof from several sources, or until a survey of the site is done, the possibility remains, spin or no spin.


Here Berson is advertising for a printing press, about the time of the birth of his son.