El Capitan Mountain (Smokeys home) Aztec Gold?

[goldseeker7]

I talked to an old feller back in the 70's that told me about a deer hunt he had been on in the 40's. They had camped at the bottom of the Capitan near an old log flume that came down the mountain from the top from back when the area was logged.
On the 2nd day he had hunted up the mountain for the morning, and sat down to rest & lunch overlooking a draw. To his surprise, he noticed something that looked like a big top half of a bowling ball sticking out of the dirt. After digging with a stick, he saw eyes and ears and realized that it was a stone statue. He remembered it had it's hands up by it's head in like fists. He laughed and said it looked like a "Mad Bullfrog". He said it would have been about 3 feet tall. He recalled they gave up the hunt to try to get the thing dug up with the intention of bringing it down the mountain.
He told me they later figured it was from Chinese that worked on the railroad, and forgot about it.
If someone followed the Rio Grande, turned north on the Pecos, and west up the River from Capitan
I've heard stories about maybe Aztec or some early tribe hiding Gold in Capitan.
1 - Does anyone know the Aztec legend/story?
2 - Does anyone know where the old log flume came down the mountain?

 

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[lostcauses]

"Aztec legend" A lot of them in that area.
As for the flume beeing it was a loging area there were more than one.

 

[cptbild]

Goldseeker7:

When you say "Turned north at the Pecos" Are you talking about
Where The Pecos and The Rio Grande meet in West Texas, near the Mexico Border?

 

[goldseeker7]

There is an old story about Montezuma nephew who disagreed with him about appeasing the Spanish and took off with a hoard of stuff and headed north. With no horses or carts it is hard to imagine, but they did have an abundance of slaves.
If anyone found the Rio Grande, they could follow it up to the Pecos and on to South Colorado or turn at a tributary, like near Roswell up to the Capitan.
The other possibility is that there were the Ancient Ones, the fathers of the Anasazi, Chaco, who went south and later became what is called Aztec..
At any rate I believe it's possible that there is something in the Capitans that is not of Chinese railroad workers. That stone statue was found there, it was real. Many people around Hobbs NM saw it.
There was a 2nd one found as well by others later on, but I don't have any of those details.
Statues were placed sometimes as spiritual warrior guards. In that setting, usually in a triangle of threes around a special place; cave or other. This place was discribed to me as a small boxed Canyon of sorts, on a higher point near it's end.

 

[cptbil]

G.7
I remember reading in one of my "references" about a guy who DID! find a cave/tunnel, or whatever
It had the usual gold items in it
But!
What caugt my attention ....
It also had a lot of Gemstones
That sounds like it came from somewhere other than The New Mexico Area

 

[goldseeker7]

Hey CBil
Yeah I talked to this guy who found the thing back when. I recorded the conversation as he was getting sick at the time. Listened to it again when I wrote this. He swore he could go back there, as all do. Others confirmed he found that Statue. I was talking to people about anything treasure to try to find out more about the stuff over there. Thats when I first began to make the possible connection with ancient metal-smith peoples; like the Aztec were... living in ancient New Mexico..
Probably 88-89.
G7

 

[ClonedSIM]

I had a pretty bad skiing accident on El Capitan a few years ago. Wonder if the statue made me fall??

 

[cptbil]

G.7
Well!
Doc & I can make this our first stop
We can come up from Texas to Carlsbad then up to El Capitan
We can meet you somewhere near there
Or!
We can meet in Las Cruces and schedule this for a later date ?

 

[goldseeker7]

If you stop in Capitan and ask to talk to the oldest living ole son-of-a-gun from there, he might could tell yall where the main flume was in the 40's-50's. Ed (the guy) told me it was right up towards Old El Capitan Peak mountain. Ed was from Hobbs. There was others who found one same area, but from Lovington. (NM)
1/2 the way up, look for a smaller but obvious canyon/draw. A flatter spot someplace you would stop, set down and watch for deer to come into. He had to dig it up in softer soil so it had to be a place that filled in over time and not eroded.. The flume would be behind you a short distance. Look for some rock outcrops in the draw. It made like a long verticle triangled area.

 

[Dave45]

I was there in Sept. wished I had read this then, another trip

 

[cptbil]

Dave45
Doc & I are in Corpus Christi ...
We're preparing to leave for "Out West"
in a couple of weeks
Where are you located?
Maybe we could swing by and have a "chat & "

 

[cptbild]

Dave45
Are You still around ?
Doc & I are still " Spinning Wheels"!
He is in Florida right now taking care of some legal matters
Then, He's heading up to NC to help a friend with his new gold mine
BUT!
We are hoping to get on the road when the weather cools off a bit
Around Sept ?
What's your situation look like?

 

[al-nm]

kind of makes you wonder why a place like that where in deer season you see hunters ever ten feet and you have to dodge drunks bullets that no one else has seen this stuff. but if your bored while out there run up above ruidoso on the river above bonito lake. also supposed to be about 100 bars of pure silver. they were supposedly found in the river by a camper. he only carried back one because he didnt know what it really was til he was back home from a camping trip. i also know of a old mine at the end of that road going up from the lake. there is a horse rental place at the end of the road we rode horse on up to the top of the mountain where timberline ended. the mine was on the left even had a antique lantern hanging on one of the posts outside the entrance. and no we didnt go inside. at the time i was younger and had what is now the wife with me. wasnt treasure i was interested in then lol.

 

[Dave45]

I too was supposed to make a trip out west this spring but work didnt permit got a lot on my plate it will be the fall before I can even think about it, I have to schedule my fun around work and not working an 8 to 5 for someone else makes it hard.
Capt give me a holler in the fall.
Dave

 

[desertmoons]

This little story always makes go hmmmm......


3-19-37. 670 words INTERVIEW

Rufus M. Dunnahoo

(Age Eighty-eight Years) Oldest Roswell Pioneer
Geronimo's Band Indians Stole Teams Horses.

"We hadn't been at Seven Rivers long when Geronimo's Apaches came and stole all the teams-32head of their horses.

"I bought the old Beckwith Ranche and had my horses in a five foot high and two foot thick, adobe corral, near the house so the Indians didn't get mine. Indians Disappeared in Cave

Another time Geronimo and sixteen other Indians broke out of the Mescalero Reservation one day, and the soldiers after them tho'ught they had them safe in a cave about two and a half miles east, a little north of Fort Stanton, two hundred yards from the Bonito River. The soldiers tho'ught to starve the Indians out, but the Indians never came back, so the soldiers tracked them thro'ugh the cave down a river about 14 miles.

The Indians went thro'ugh the cave to south side of Capitan Mountains and stole a bunch of horses and drove them on down this far,. They camped right where the New Mexico Military Institute is located now. I think Pat Garrett and a posse captured the Indians over in the Portales country.

"The cave tho'se Indians and soldiers went in is not as large or as beautiful as Carlsbad Caverns. There is one big room. An underground river flows thro'ugh all of the cave.

 

[BenThereDoneThat]

This little story always makes go hmmmm......


3-19-37. 670 words INTERVIEW

Rufus M. Dunnahoo

(Age Eighty-eight Years) Oldest Roswell Pioneer
Geronimo's Band Indians Stole Teams Horses.

I know this story, and obtained the keys for this cave back when i was growing up in that area..(25 years ago)..some tight spaces to squeeze into to get through the cave ! we didn't go too far in as we were not prepared for a long trek but i cant imagine how they navigated the system
Also part of the story was there have been old canoe's and a few other things recovered out of these caves.

Another story: There was this family that lived in an old run down house just off the road out of Lincoln going towards Capitan, poor family but the father would go up into the Capitan Mtns and bring back 1 old rifle in brand new condition to sale whenever he needed money, Story was he found a stash of these old rifles that the Indians hide after a raid. Possibly one could get more info from the museums there in Lincoln as i think they may have purchased some of these.

 

[wildrider]

I had a pretty bad skiing accident on El Capitan a few years ago. Wonder if the statue made me fall??

I ain't messin around there. Last time I was through there, it rained and the tarantulas were eveywhere on the road. I almost hit a deputy head-on while trying to dodge a few. I hate spiders. It was a real pretty place though. I thought about retiring there, but that was before I saw all them 8 leggers.

 

[Shtrider728]

I would like to give it a try.After I become gainfully employed and get my head above water again....

 

[mrmagoo560]

This little story always makes go hmmmm......


3-19-37. 670 words INTERVIEW

Rufus M. Dunnahoo

(Age Eighty-eight Years) Oldest Roswell Pioneer
Geronimo's Band Indians Stole Teams Horses.

"We hadn't been at Seven Rivers long when Geronimo's Apaches came and stole all the teams-32head of their horses.

"I bought the old Beckwith Ranche and had my horses in a five foot high and two foot thick, adobe corral, near the house so the Indians didn't get mine. Indians Disappeared in Cave

Another time Geronimo and sixteen other Indians broke out of the Mescalero Reservation one day, and the soldiers after them tho'ught they had them safe in a cave about two and a half miles east, a little north of Fort Stanton, two hundred yards from the Bonito River. The soldiers tho'ught to starve the Indians out, but the Indians never came back, so the soldiers tracked them thro'ugh the cave down a river about 14 miles.

The Indians went thro'ugh the cave to south side of Capitan Mountains and stole a bunch of horses and drove them on down this far,. They camped right where the New Mexico Military Institute is located now. I think Pat Garrett and a posse captured the Indians over in the Portales country.

"The cave tho'se Indians and soldiers went in is not as large or as beautiful as Carlsbad Caverns. There is one big room. An underground river flows thro'ugh all of the cave.

The cave you are talking about is the Fort Stanton cave and is controlled by The B.L.M. out of the Roswell office.There isn't any really big room,it is mostly low tight belly crawling for very long distances.There several locked gates in this cave to controll access to different and more risky parts of the cave.It is for the most part,just one long,muddy crawl thru a single passage.

 

[k9tvs]

Legend is true

The cave you are talking about is the Fort Stanton cave and is controlled by The B.L.M. out of the Roswell office.There isn't any really big room,it is mostly low tight belly crawling for very long distances.There several locked gates in this cave to controll access to different and more risky parts of the cave.It is for the most part,just one long,muddy crawl thru a single passage.

Actually they uncovered a passage to "snowy River" in Stanton Cave!!!!!!! Looks like the legend is true!

Snowy River Cave - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia