MINE SHAFT TREASURE

jeff of pa

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aquadood

Tenderfoot
Apr 16, 2006
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I live within spitting distance of the Tumacacori Mountains and the Tumacacori Mission. Yes the story goes the Jesuits hid their treasure just before they were expelled. I will post some pics later in the week of the mission and the area.
 

Gypsy Heart

Gold Member
Nov 29, 2005
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Ozarks
Tuscon Weekly DECEMBER 5, 2002:


Fifty-five miles southwest of Tucson, Ruby Road winds through the rugged Atascosa, Cerro Colorado and Pajarito mountains. It may seem like just another dusty, washboard way through granite, scrub mesquite and dry washes, but it is also a journey into the past of abandoned mines and speculative history that has unearthed stories promising a wealth of missing and hidden treasure.
In his book Lost Mines and Buried Treasures Along the Old Frontier, longtime Arivaca resident and prospector John D. Mitchell describes with conviction the people and events that led to sites of silver and gold still waiting to be rediscovered. Many of these lost riches he attributes to the mining by Jesuit priests from the Tumacacori mission.

In one tale, Mitchell quotes a Spanish document, "La Purisma Concepcion mine was located four leagues (about 12 miles) south of the Tumacacori mission." Mitchell goes on to state there is a "mass of evidence to indicate that this old mine is located in the narrow pass between the west end of the Pajarito mountains and El Ruido."

He adds to the story a Nogales saloonkeeper who later grubstaked an oldtimer to search for gold and silver from the abandoned mine. Six weeks later, the prospector returned to the saloon with two silver-loaded burros. Alas, after a night of celebration, the old timer was found dead from exposure and the mine remained a mystery.

Mitchell's account concludes that Jesuit padres at Tumacacori worked multiple gold and silver mines near the mission until 1767, when King Charles III expelled the Jesuits and sent them on a long, hot walk to the coast, where they were shipped back to Europe. Some have speculated that the king's motives stemmed from a tiff over padres who failed to send a proper 15 percent cut of all silver mined to the crown.

This rift between Charles and missionaries served as the basis for yet another story, the lost treasure of Carreta Canyon. Legend has it that the mountains south of Arivaca hold a lode of abandoned and undiscovered silver. According to Mitchell's book, one of these deposits is somewhere in the Atascosa Mountains that flank Ruby Road to the east. Mitchell reports that during the Pima Indian uprising of 1751, Jesuit padres fled Tumacacori with a cart full of silver.

Supposedly, they stashed their treasures in a silver mine in the area referred to as Carreta Canyon, which is probably what is now called Peck Canyon, and covered the entrance with a heavy wooden door. The missionaries escaped to the coast but were never able to return for their fortune. Mitchell concluded, "The contents of the old carreta (cart) from Tumacacori and the eight jack loads of treasure from the Altar mission are still stored away in the old tunnel up there in the hills near the head of Carreta Canyon, guarded by the skeleton of the old Opata ..."

These are not the only accounts of lost riches in the area, and Mitchell's book is hardly the only source of these tales. Books such as Hinton's Handbook of Arizona, along with a variety of ghost town publications and treasure Internet sites also perpetuate the legends of lost treasure.

Arizona has a history of valuable ore, ranked in the top 10 for gold and silver production for in the United States during the 1800s, and there is no doubt that silver and gold exist in the mountains south of Arivaca. So why not stop pumping the slot machines and tear up those lottery tickets? If early retirement is your dream, but you're not a CEO, why not pack a mule with shovels, pick axes and maps and head for the hills to garner your riches?

Before you rush out, you may want to consider those who doubt the existence of these treasures and even dispute whether the Jesuits were mining the earth instead of souls.

For Mary Kasulaitis, a resident of Arivaca and local librarian, the idea of lost treasures is all bunk perpetuated by Mitchell, who she believes was a better storyteller than prospector. "A lot of those stories go back to John Mitchell. The man was a storyteller; he made people believers. People just decide if they read this, it must be true."

Kasulaitis has heard her share of treasure stories. She grew up hearing stories of her grandfather's years of unsuccessful searches for treasure. Now she doubts the treasures exist. "My grandfather prospected all over this country. He covered every inch from Arivaca to Nogales and found nothing. Maybe there was something, but if it did exist, it has been found. Why would anyone tell?"

She also warns of people who arrive with high hopes but little preparation, expecting to walk into wealth. "There's minerals out there, but if you think you're the first person to look, you're stupid. Come prepared with topo maps, prospecting maps and claim documents."

Others question whether the Jesuits were ever involved in mining. Donald Garate, a park ranger at Tumacacori, is another doubter.

Garate acknowledges that the missionaries were able to amass significant amounts of silver, but attributes that to the fact that they were well educated, shrewd businessman who earned healthy profits from the sale of cattle and crops. Garate said most of the treasure stories were early 20th-century romanticism of the frontier West.

He also doubts that treasure was hidden before the Jesuits were ousted in 1767. According to Garate, not only was the expulsion motivated by political reasons rather than King Charles' wrath over being shortchanged on kickbacks, "The priests were arrested the night before they were expelled without warning. There's no way they would have had time to hide treasure."

While modern historians seem certain the missionaries had no interest in the pursuit of silver, The History of Arizona 1884 from Wallace W. Elliot and Co. states that "in 1710 there were eight missions in a flourishing condition within the Territory of Arizona. They possessed herds of cattle, sheep, and horses, cultivated a large area of land, which yielded cereals, fruits, and vegetables. Many rich silver mines near the missions were worked extensively, and, with the rude reduction facilities at hand produced large quantities of the precious metals. This was the most prosperous era in the history of Arizona missions."

Elliot also cites a Spanish work entitled Apostolic Labors of the Society of Jesus that gives an the following account of silver and gold in the Santa Ritas: "In the year 1769 a region of virgin silver was discovered ... on a mountain ridge which hath been named by its discovers Santa Rita."

The Apostolic source goes on to state that troops were sent by the commander of the Presidio of Altar, and the treasure was seized as property of the Crown. Later, the king gave the decree that the silver pertained to his royal patrimony and that the mines should be worked for his benefit.

The discovery is two years after the expulsion of Jesuits, but Franciscan priests were back working the missions by 1768. In addition, Elliot notes, "There are mines of gold, silver and copper which have been worked 200 years by the Spaniards and Indians in their own rude style."

Prospectors and dreamers continue to scour the area.

George Volker, claims director for Tucson Desert Gold Diggers, a local prospectors club, believes that missionaries did mine the area but perhaps left inaccurate records, their accounting practices a mystery. He says there was a significant amount of valuable ore in the area during their occupation, and silver prices of that era made it very profitable. According to Volker, silver fetched what today would be equivalent to $9 an ounce during the 18th century, compared to the current rate of about $4.50 an ounce.

Volker said he and most club members are just hobbyists who enjoy the search. "We are strictly recreational; we are not out to make money," he said. "We have 20 claims in the area, but none would produce enough to make a living."
 

lgadbois

Sr. Member
Mar 20, 2003
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John Mitchell admitted that his story of Carreta Canyon was a work of fiction. The story of a cowboy spotting an iron door makes the reader want to believe this tale, but it was a literary invention. Many of the stories in the two treasure books he published were fictional stories. Several of the stories were based on the mines that are listed in the Molina document.

The Molina Derroterro is not the original source of the contained information. The original source document was constructed and written differently, and contained information not included in the Molina. A possible source document may have been authorized by a man named Ortiz. There were many copies of the Molina, and they were not exactly the same. The one owned by Gil Proctor of the Pete Kitchen Ranch in Nogales was different from the copy owned by Milton F. Rose. Gil Proctor may have obtained his copy from Juan Bustamente, an old Indian miner from the Nogales area. Rose did not say where he got his copy. Rose did say that he had loaned his copy with the map to Mitchell when he was writing his first book.

There has been a lot of speculation about the Molina document. Some have said that it was the waybill owned by General Conde. There was an exploration party out of Mexico City about 1813 that used the Molina, or a similar document, as a guide to find some of the old Spanish mines near Tumacacori. The mine the exploration party was most interested in locating was the Old Sopori. The mine shaft a short distance south of the old Sopori Ranch is not the location of the Old Sopori Mine. The Old Sopori could have been the Cerro Colorado, or across the valley to the west, or it could have been the mine that has been known as the Tumacacori Mine.

I have some theories of my own. I think the map is an actual treasure map for the Virgin de Guadalupe/Tumacacori Mine. I believe this because there have been at least three bullion recoveries at or near the Tumacacori Mine. For anyone that is familiar with the area, the description of the mine locations in the Molina don't agree with the actual geography west of the mission. The Molina directions do fit some of the antiqua mines found in the rich load areas east of the St Cruz River. On some of the old maps there are references to more than one San Roman Spring. It is very likely that the Molina was written to be sold, or to be used as a vehicle for raising money for a mining expedition.

The map is easy enough to understand. It is really three maps in one. It shows the general area with relative distances to other mines, it shows a map of the immediate area of the mine, and it shows a layout of the caches that were made outside the mine. The enormous tailing pile in front of the old mine is proof that the mine was worked by many people for many years. It could be that the mine was played out and the use was changed to a depository for bullion from other mine locations.

Gary Don Oliver still has rights to the Tumacacori Mine site. He thinks he may have located the entrance to the main shaft. He still has hopes to open the tunnel and see if there is anything inside. He has spent most of his adult life on this project. I wish him good luck!
 

cptbil

Bronze Member
Mar 27, 2003
1,402
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Az/NM/Ca/Nv/Tx
I wonder if I should file "Mining and Treasure Trove Claims" ... As did "Gary"
with the Virgin of Guadalupe Mine?
::) On The Pure Conception Mine? ;D

Nah!
Then everyone would know where it is! ::)

Me'n Doc & Bugs 'n Aragron, will just sneak in there and extract ALL! of the silver bars ::)
 

cptbil

Bronze Member
Mar 27, 2003
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Az/NM/Ca/Nv/Tx
Time is getting close to the day when
Doc & I will be heading out to see if I have found this mine!
March '08 is the date we'll be on the road..
But! First! :o
We have a stop to check on The West Texas Gun Cache along our way ,
Then,
Hopefully, We'll beable to film the "Lights of Marfa" ! ;D
That for centuries have been seen but never explained.. :-\
The Discovery Channel run a show on/about them.
They actually set cameras etc , but never could explain what was going on! ::)
We'll be camped where we can get a good view of them!
 

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jeff of pa

jeff of pa

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Since aquadood Forgot Here are Pics of the Mission
Good Luck on your Trip Bil !
Get some Pics of the Lights.

JEFF

!4062_1East View - Tumacacori Mission; Tumacacori National Monument near Nogales (or Tucson), ...jpg
!fad0_1TUMACACORI MISSION CHURCH, Tumacacori, AZ.jpg
!TUMACACORI KINO MISSION TUCSON CUDES POSTCARD.jpg
!Tumacacori National Monument; Oldest Mission in USA; L.L. Cook Co. Real Photo Postcard; 1930\...jpg
 

cptbil

Bronze Member
Mar 27, 2003
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Az/NM/Ca/Nv/Tx
I have read and still have, a book, actually a diary, of an oldtimer, who back in the 1880's explored the Mission.
He was shown, a hidden room and an underground escape route from the Mission over to the SanCruz River
This was a common feature of the missions.
He mentioned not going in to the escape route/tunnel because he didn't trust it!
And,
He! Didn't want to try to go that far underground
I wonder if the Park Service knows about his room/route?
 

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