Lost Spanish mines & caches?

[treasurejack]

1) In recent months I’ve been doing a lot of reading and research on the Indian revolt of 1860, primarily the impact it had on the Spanish mines and missionaries all along the Old Spanish Trail. To date it is believed that there are still countless lost mines in these areas as well as many hidden caches of church items, the Indians thus hiding these locations with the hope that the Spanish would not return, or if they did, that they would never be able to find them again. As it happened, such was the case and many of these mines and caches still lay undiscovered today.

2) Also in recent months I have been reading about and likewise researching the efforts of the many people still searching for these lost mines and caches, and quite honestly, I feel I must be missing something?

Question: Since much of this land is now inside National Forest boundaries, what’s the point in hunting for something you will never be able to legally lay your hands on? From what I have ascertained, even if you find one of these lost mines or caches you can’t legally lay claim to it. In fact, you can’t even remove it, or even the rocks and debris that have been keeping it concealed. Yes, there is a difference between “artifacts” and “minerals”, but from what I have gathered, if there are any “artifacts” inside the lost mine then you have in fact, according to what I have read, “disturbed a historic site or item.” So am I missing something here? Not wishing to poop on anybody’s party, but honestly, with all of the lost mine and lost cache hunting that I hear and read about on this site I simply feel I must be missing something, or that perhaps I have interpreted these laws wrong. If so, can someone please clear up my obvious confusion. Thanks.