Misc data and adventures of a Tayopa treasure hunter

[tintin_treasure]

I am in the process of tying up the last of my tasks in connection with my forthcoming trip and will relate a true story from the Gallic people across the English Channel.

In 2014, a mademoiselle from Normandy decided that she wanted an extension to her property. She hired a small firm of local builders.

So far so good.

The builders came in and started digging the foundations in preparation for the new building. There was three chaps in the team - 20, 23 and 40 years of age. The owner left them to it whilst she attended work and they started the project for which they were hired. One day, whilst using an excavator to dig the earth, the bucket hit a hard object. They stopped and decided to investigate believing they might have hit a stone Boulder or some old buried iron or metal...

Once they looked a little closer, they came across something that the owner had obviously wanted to remain buried until they came back for it..., it turns out that the incredulous building team had uncovered a wooden box with 16 kgs of gold ingots and 600 golden $20 33 gram coins dating to the 1920s.

This is one of those occasions where lawful people can easily do something unlawful...

They decided to keep quiet and keep their discovery a secret. As they were alone, they carefully ensured that they had retrieved all the cache and surreptitiously left the site early whilst leaving one of their number to 'play' along and carry on as normal. Over the next few months, they continued with their building work but we're in a quandary to dispose of their considerable hoard. They tried to reach out to various people they believed could help them to sell the gold without raising any suspicion. Sure enough they made contact with a precious metal dealer who said he'd 'work' with them. This dealer took some of the gold to test and found it to be bonafide. He then requested the rest after finding buyers across Europe.

They received about $1.2 million for their illicit find. One of the builders in a rush to use his new found wealth, banked €300,000 in quick and large succession into his account. Naturally this aroused the suspicion of the authorities and the builder was picked up and questioned. Not being used to this and being totally unaware as to what happens in such circumstances, he quickly spilled the beans on the co-conspirators.

When the property owner found out, she was totally shocked and in a twist of irony said to the police that her final words to the builders had been "If you find any treasure, let me know!"

True story from Normandy.

IP

Wow,,,IPU,,,,quite an amazing yarn which I read enjoying my lasagna lying on my bed....what amazes me is that we folks here were here on this forum in 2014 debating on wild legends while simple chaps on the ground who never even bothered about treasure legends strike gold while doing an ordinary job,,,,
TT

 

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[Crosse De Sign]

Well Crosse, you have gotten your wish. Judy (CWP ) has been banned for a year after you kept repeating "Judy" who you knew had been banned, so many times that our mod finally was forced to take action..However, she being bnned, does not leave you with cllean hands in the case of Judy, or Jodie, a different gal.

Well Don Jose,

I asked for some insulting posts made by her, to be deleted from my thread, prior to this incident,
and they were. Then when she came back and made some more, I requested the same again.
I didn't know how to report posts, so I used a PM, to request some more be deleted again.

That last time however, they were not deleted, so I asked her to stop. Instead, she did more,
and I PM'ed more. Nothing happened, so I quoted the posts that I was simply asking to be removed.
Yes, I did post her other user name, as you have now verified, that it was her.

But it was NOT my wish to get her banned, only to get the posts deleted.
A reasonable request I thought, especially considering the nature of the
posts, rather unnecessary, and definitely uncalled for...

Then bringing Jodie up, I have no idea why. There is no reason whatsoever,
to suggest that my posts, or conversations with her, were anything other
than, as you say, platonic... Can you explain what you meant?
...


~:Crosse:~

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

No end it now..... Crosse read my pm and pay close attention to it..

 

[audigger53]

Like finding a "large cache", don't say a thing.

 

[audigger53]

We were in my pickup and at 8500 feet in Jan. Snow tires and chains on the rear(2 wheel drive) on the way back small dip, but it had runoff from a spring, made a mistake and went slow. The chains went right through the multilayers of ice from the spring and dropped the truck to the frame. Took out the 3 ton hydraulic jack and found out they don't work at 30 degrees. Took 5/16 braded nylon rope and looped it around the frame and over to a good sized Pine and back to the truck. Used a pickaxe handle for a windless and when tight, Arnold (about 280) jumped on the rope after I used a rock hammer to channel the ice in front of the tires. and clear the frame. He bounced and I hit the gas and we came out. When back home I went to the junk yard and bought a crank up jack for the truck. LOL

 

[audigger53]

For safety we made sure the first 2 rounds were Snake/Rat shot. Other than snakes, in Arizona there are lots of bats and that means Rabies. That was why the "10 foot rule". If a wild animal is with in 10 feet of you, Stamp on the ground and yell. If it doesn't take off, kill it. Once it knows you are there, it's gone unless it is sick or Rabid. The snake shot in the face blinds it and it can't see you and the blood keeps it from smelling you, so you can now take your time to drop it.

 

[releventchair]

We were in my pickup and at 8500 feet in Jan. Snow tires and chains on the rear(2 wheel drive) on the way back small dip, but it had runoff from a spring, made a mistake and went slow. The chains went right through the multilayers of ice from the spring and dropped the truck to the frame. Took out the 3 ton hydraulic jack and found out they don't work at 30 degrees. Took 5/16 braded nylon rope and looped it around the frame and over to a good sized Pine and back to the truck. Used a pickaxe handle for a windless and when tight, Arnold (about 280) jumped on the rope after I used a rock hammer to channel the ice in front of the tires. and clear the frame. He bounced and I hit the gas and we came out. When back home I went to the junk yard and bought a crank up jack for the truck. LOL

Careful using a Spanish windlass.(Apparently you were , it would be worth noting in your account if the pick slapped you a couple few times).
I have had plenty of practice getting stuck in snow or ice.
Alas no pictures.
Slid sideways a couple times on a slope plowing snow and ended up surround by stumps. Fourwheel drive helped drive over a couple after digging the wheels clear a few times.

 

[audigger53]

Growing up in Florence, AZ and driving around in the desert(scrub anyway) learned to have 2 2X12's 2 feet long, for supporting the jack and some lengths of Mechanic's screen for traction in the sand. Learned not to drive in the dark fast on road's I didn't know. Did that much later in southern AZ. We stopped when it was getting dark after following a road up to a locked gate. Next morning after we ate breakfast and pickup everything, including garbage, this man came down the road on a dirt bike. He saw us and stopped and stomped over to us. "What are you doing here?" My brother answered, "Think we're out here commuting with Nature?" He looked at my brother, looked at me, looked at the pickup truck with shovel handles sticking out and a 50 gallon barrel tied dead center in the bed of the truck. Now both of us were wearing boots, levis, light blue shirts, and he had a colt.45 on and me a Lama .380. He looked at my brother again, looked at me and the truck and said, "No". "OK, you got us, we're prospectors." His scowl was gone from his face and he started backing up going, "I have 7 claims, 5 active. You don't want to be here. You want to be up in those mountains." After that we had a good conversation about the area. I may have posted that one before but it was funny to me then and still makes me smile.

 

[Oroblanco]

First congrats to Amy and her hubby! A future treasure hunter is on the way!

Next, sorry to see that CWP got banned, not sure I understand what happened but sorry it happened anyway.

Great stories amigos, keep 'em coming!

 

[Oroblanco]

But Senor Don Jose, we prefer to read an "Autobiography" rather than "Biography". Oro has a full plate as well and needs to write his own Book. This way, you get rich for your book and movie rights and Oro gets rich for his. Would you prefer Oro to write both and then become even richer, or spread the wealth, ( and knowledge ). In 20 or so more years, you will see Oro being picked on for dragging his feet on his book.

Is this the origin of NP's sock coffee ? View attachment 1318111

AMEN! <2 thumbs up! >

And YES an autobiography is always a better book than a biography IMHO.

Please do continue;

 

[audigger53]

Oro asked me to post the "boot story.
Ok the boot story. The first trip into the hills with my brother I wore a pair of old boots that had the heels replaced twice. After some rough hiking, the heels tore off both boots. I was wearing a leather hat I bought at a Goodwill, so I cut some patches from the brim for the boots. Got a rock in the right boot and when I took it off, the right foot cramped. I didn't know until then that your foot could curl down until your toes could almost touch your heal. I was siting there on the ground pulling my foot straight with both hands while tears ran down my face. Finally was able to get the boot back on and we made it back to the truck. I put on a pair of loafers for the drive back to El Paso. Next time we went out We both bought Combat boots. After 6 months of vacations in the hills and mountains, had to get them resoled. Rocky ground just wears them down. Got to have good footwear. About the flashlights, we started carrying lanterns (battery), but they were too heavy carrying all day, so we went to D cells, then C cells, and finally AA flashlights. Always carried 2 of them and extra batteries and a spare bulb for them.

 

[audigger53]

Why the extra bulb? I learned the hard way.
One time my brother broke his leg out there and I left him a large can of Fruit Cocktail (food and fluid) and did a straight line to the truck for more water as we were out. Grabbed a lantern and spare battery and started back. Got dark and turned on the lantern and no light. Replaced the battery and still no light, the bulb was shot. Went up the wrong ravine and couldn't see for the dark, so I built a fire and went to sleep. Woke up and the moon had come out so I could see and went over the top of the ridge and started sliding down the slope. Steeper and steeper, grabbing bushes as I went to try and slow down, feet and backend on the ground. Next thing I knew I was airborne! Landing in some sand and got up and dusted myself off(Got Lucky) and then went up the wash until I saw a light, it was a fire he had made while waiting for me. had been gone about 7 hours by that time. Waited until daylight to start back to the truck. About a mile by the "trail". Learned cows are no respecters of human height, had to keep cutting branches so my brother could hobble behind me. He was using an old Enfield for an Alpine Stock and a now dead pine tree I had cut down for a staff. Got to the truck (started at 7AM, got to the truck about 4). Stopped at a little "ice house", bought a gallon of Orange juice and drank it getting back to Wilcox. Stopped and ate there, between us we drank 3 pitchers of water. We drove back to his house in El Paso. It was 3 months before they took the cast off him. After that I learned about "Drunkards Walk".

 

[audigger53]

"Drunkards Walk" 2 parts as it is too long for one post.

After my brother broke his leg Labor Day weekend 1982, I was a day late getting
back to work in San Antonio. Boss chewed me out for going out of State without
asking. Didn't bother me as my brother's life was worth more to me than the
job. Was over at a friends house and he said, " What's wrong? You look bummed
out."<BR>So I told him about getting my brother out of the hills in
Arizona.<BR>"What were you doing there?" "Looking for gold." "I did that."
"Really? Find any?" "Yeah" "How much?" "65 Oz's and 53 grams"<BR>" Now I
know your lying, you don't have money."<BR>Here the story he told me. He was
the driver.<BR>He and 2 others finished boot camp (Army) in N.J. in 1972 and got
transferred to Fort Huachuca, AZ. The 3 of them went over into "Sorry
Gulch"(Sierra Vista) and stopped in a rock shop and talked with a "Retired Army
Sargent, 80% disabled" that owned the shop.<BR>"If you boys want some Beer
Money, you should go up into the hills and dry pan some gold". "We wouldn't
know how to do that." So he told them to use a wool Army blanket and throw the
dirt up and catch it, winnowing the dirt as the gold flakes would stick to the
blanket. "We wouldn't know where to go." He went into the back office and came
back with a 3 ring binder with (I believe) County Plat Maps. and showed them
exactly where to go. "What would we do with it? The government won't let us
keep it." "I'll buy it from you for up to $36 an Oz." (that was big of him as
it was selling for $48 an Oz. then). "When are you boys going up there?"
"Friday, because we have a long weekend then." "Well, watch out for the
Indians up there. They patrol up there and if they catch you, they will
confiscate it".

 

[audigger53]

Drunkards Walk part2 Hope I don't have to make it a 3 part.
Friday they had an early inspection and got off at 1 PM. They
went over into town where one of them had rented a house and drank beer until
almost 5 PM. Let's do it! They got everything they needed in town, went on
post and got more stupp and took off driving in the dark in a front wheel drive
Renault wagon Arnold(my friend) owned. They were all drunk, the one in the back
slumped down and went to sleep. The one in the front slumped down and went to
sleep. Arnold is driving in the dark, drunk, and did I mention Dyslexic?
Anyway he drove until he ran out of asphalt, dirt road to dirt track and stopped
when he came up to a rounded rock that went across the road and was slick with a
heavy mist. He stopped there and work up the others saying Here we are. Took
them 20 mins to turn the car around. They grabbed stuff out of the car and
argued about who would carry what. Finally took off and with 1 mantle Coleman
lanterns found a flat spot to put up a 4 man Army Dome tent. Took 2 hours to do
it in the dark with lanterns and being drunk. The next morning they found out
how drunk they were, the tent was sagging in the center. The tent was too wet
to carry so they rolled it up on the tent poles to make a litter. They put
their bedding, 2 cases of C rats, and 2 cases of beer. As they went along they
saw a mine shaft and said, "Oh, look! There's the mine he told us about. Now we
need to find the 2nd ravine on the right." They walked all day, went up a slope
, hit a wall turned and went down until the wall was gone and there was a rock
walled ravine. " Oh, this must be the first ravine on the right" They went up
there and pitched the tent. They found out you can't drive tent pegs into 1
inch of dirt on rock. So they used rocks instead. The next morning they went
up the ravine and hit a wall. They knew there was a drop off to the right so
they went left. They went down into a little swale and turned right and went up
until they could see the back of the valley, no ravine. On the way back down
one said, " Oh look where the rocks are broken, there's a break there that must
be the 2nd ravine". They went up into it and it was rock floored, but there was
a break to the right. They went through that and into a Cukdasac with a break
to the right and went into a small ravine and started digging. At 4 inches they
found gold flacks about 1/3 the size of rice Crispys. At 8 inches rotten quartz
with gold wire in it. those 2 there pinched together and made balls out of.
8-9 balls about 1/2 inch diameter. At 12 inches were rock chips with reddish
gold flakes. All went into a quart Mason jar. About 3 inches of rock chips and
the balls. The trench was about 15 feet long by 12 inches deep and as wide as a
trenching shovel. It started getting dark so they went back to the tent, ate
and went to bed. Now they took no water with them, when they would get thirsty
the would drink a beer. The next morning they got up, packed up, buried the
rest of the C rats except for lunch and took off. Before they got to the car
they stopped at a Mountain stream fed pool the last week of January . After
washing dirt off and dunking each other they heard someone coming up the canyon.
They got out and as they dressed and picked up their stuff, this "Big, Old
Indian" rode up with a very lathered horse.<BR> As soon as he saw them he threw
down on them with a Winchester and asked in very old Spanish , "What are you
doing here?" Arnold said it was like his Grandfather's Spanish. Arnold said,
"A mira Oro." "Did you find any?" "Ah, ah". Shows them a big badge and says
still in Spanish, " Government land, belongs to the Government. Digga me."
Took their Mason Jar and just happened to have a box of weights and scales in
his saddlebags. Wrote down their Service numbers and names and put it into the
mason jar. Wrote them a receipt for 64 Oz and 53 grams total weight. Made
them sit down and undo all their bedding, and back pack and his smile kept
getting bigger. Then he put the scales, weights, and mason jar into his saddle
bags, got on the horse and backed it up still with the rifle on them until he
got to a bend in the canyon and then cut and took off. They picked every thing
up and went to the car loaded the car and sat sown with the 3 rd case of beer
and argued about giving their gold to the Indian. when they left it was dark,
they were drunk and both went to sleep again and Arnold drove until he saw the
gates for Post. Then he closed over From Douglas into Mexico but now he knew
where he was so he then drove back to post. They never could find it again.
More in a bit

 

[audigger53]

All 3 were married and when their wives arrived, every weekend they would go above "Post" and pick nick or camp. The wives were never told the story, so they didn't understand all of the camping as the 3 guys had never done it before with them. A year later all 3 were in Hawaii installing radio towers for the Army. 2 together and one 30 miles away. All 3 got a registered letter with a Certified check drawn on the Arizona Bank. All 3 said,"Oh, look. the Government paid us for our gold." My friend Arnold stated that they were amazed that the letter with the check had followed them through all their postings for a year. They were never able to find it again. We got Arnold up there twice, the first time finding the correct canyon. The second time taking him to another landmark on his trip, but he slipped and popped a tendon in his leg. We spent the rest of the day getting him back to the car and then going back home.

 

[Simon1]

No Simon he hasn't. I still believe that he was at Tayopa #2, west of Yecora, an area that is complely covered with fileingss, but is not the Tayop, no 3, the actual Yayopa, the rchest of all.

Then that be good news ! It's yours , ALL yours !

 

[Simon1]

AmigoI find it sad that she wont be with us, I am glad my burro is taking dancing classes,at least I will eventually have someone new to tango with,NP

But she still has "Burro Breath" ?

 

[Simon1]

Yeah, Nate only made two posts before vanishing.

Not complaining.

#/;0{> ~

Maybe he was trying to spin a "yarn" and soon discovered he came to the wrong site to make believe ?

 

[audigger53]

When we were first trying to get in the area we wanted, we stopped to look at the 7.5 map at a wide out in the road (dirt road). I noticed that it didn't look right so I turned left and started driving. "Where are you going", my brother asked, as I was weaving back and forth in 2 foot high grass. "Following the road." "What road?" "See the grass. There are 2 lines that are lower than the rest of the grass. That's an old road." Then we went over a small bank into a wash and could see the old road, clearly. Where cars had driven on the "old road" the ground was packed harder and the grass couldn't grow as tall. When we got almost to the end found an old truck tire, just the rubber, that dated back to the early 50's for being narrow. The rancher had used a dozer to make a "new road" and the rains/flash floods had wiped the new part out. The old part was still good as it followed the contours of the land, instead of going in a straight line.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

AU, tje next time that you have cramps use your mental ability, will it away. I have proven it. I Used to jump out of bed with terrific calf cramps until I rmerbered my training and quikly silenced the cramp by simply touching it with a finger.