- Jun 27, 2004
- 504
- 891
Montezuma's Treasure: Colorado Leads
As part of my ongoing research into the legends of Montezumaās Treasure in the SW US, I wanted to do a bit of state specific focus, in this case, Colorado. Iād be curious to talk to folks on or off Treasurenet about stories theyāve heard, been told, read about, etc at part of a broader research effort into Montezumaās story. Iāve managed to pin down a few specific references, though I suspect there are more. More importantly, Iām hoping to get more details about these specific areas that would lend any credibility to these stories or new avenues for research and exploration on my part. Thus far, I have uncovered the following broad leads:
Dove Creek, Dolores Co: āThere are some strange symbols carved into the walls of a cave near Dove Creek. Several people have stated their belief these relate to one of the incredible caches of Montezuma, and tat the markings indicate the burial to be somewhere in the Four Corners area. (Carson)ā
McElmo Creek, Montezuma County: āIt is said that one of Montezumaās great caches, large amounts of gold and silver, is hidden within Montezuma County near McElmo Creek. Maybe so, maybe not. Known this, if parts of his treasure are buried wherever people say they are, you have half a dozen spots to search just here in Colorado. (Carson)ā
St. Charles River, Pueblo Co: āThere is a tale of an Aztec cache located somewhere along the St. Charles River. (Carson)ā
Spanish Peaks Antonio, Conejos Co: āA possible search site for one of the Aztec chief Montezumaās huge caches is in the area around Antonio. (Carson)ā
Guinore W of Durango, Montezuma Co
Primary source materials (at this time) for these leads comes from some of the vaguest sources possible: Carsonās āA Guide to Treasure in Colorado.ā These are all extremely brief accounts with no documentation or suggestion for original source materials that would aid in further research. In his defense, Carson did include a rather impressive bibliography but not a single citation in the text connecting a story to any particular bibliographic content.
I could be wrong, but the last citation may have come from the 5000 Treasures of the World CD. It doesnāt work with my current operating system so I canāt confirm. It didnāt come from Carson, Probertās bibliography or Robert Marxās āBuried Treasure of the United States. There is a chance it came from one of Thomas Penfieldās books as well, but I donāt own those either ( āDirectory of Buried or Sunken Treasures and Lost Mines of the United Statesā or "Buried Treasure in the United States and Where to Find It." Thomas Terryās atlas series is a possibility to but I also do not have access to these so unless I got it in the past (which is possible) itās something I cannot confirm.
This thread will be cross posted at both the Colorado state forum and on Aztec treasures in the Treasure Legends forum. Thanks in advance for your assistance. I welcome insights and feedback, either on this thread or directly at: [email protected]
As part of my ongoing research into the legends of Montezumaās Treasure in the SW US, I wanted to do a bit of state specific focus, in this case, Colorado. Iād be curious to talk to folks on or off Treasurenet about stories theyāve heard, been told, read about, etc at part of a broader research effort into Montezumaās story. Iāve managed to pin down a few specific references, though I suspect there are more. More importantly, Iām hoping to get more details about these specific areas that would lend any credibility to these stories or new avenues for research and exploration on my part. Thus far, I have uncovered the following broad leads:
Dove Creek, Dolores Co: āThere are some strange symbols carved into the walls of a cave near Dove Creek. Several people have stated their belief these relate to one of the incredible caches of Montezuma, and tat the markings indicate the burial to be somewhere in the Four Corners area. (Carson)ā
McElmo Creek, Montezuma County: āIt is said that one of Montezumaās great caches, large amounts of gold and silver, is hidden within Montezuma County near McElmo Creek. Maybe so, maybe not. Known this, if parts of his treasure are buried wherever people say they are, you have half a dozen spots to search just here in Colorado. (Carson)ā
St. Charles River, Pueblo Co: āThere is a tale of an Aztec cache located somewhere along the St. Charles River. (Carson)ā
Spanish Peaks Antonio, Conejos Co: āA possible search site for one of the Aztec chief Montezumaās huge caches is in the area around Antonio. (Carson)ā
Guinore W of Durango, Montezuma Co
Primary source materials (at this time) for these leads comes from some of the vaguest sources possible: Carsonās āA Guide to Treasure in Colorado.ā These are all extremely brief accounts with no documentation or suggestion for original source materials that would aid in further research. In his defense, Carson did include a rather impressive bibliography but not a single citation in the text connecting a story to any particular bibliographic content.
I could be wrong, but the last citation may have come from the 5000 Treasures of the World CD. It doesnāt work with my current operating system so I canāt confirm. It didnāt come from Carson, Probertās bibliography or Robert Marxās āBuried Treasure of the United States. There is a chance it came from one of Thomas Penfieldās books as well, but I donāt own those either ( āDirectory of Buried or Sunken Treasures and Lost Mines of the United Statesā or "Buried Treasure in the United States and Where to Find It." Thomas Terryās atlas series is a possibility to but I also do not have access to these so unless I got it in the past (which is possible) itās something I cannot confirm.
This thread will be cross posted at both the Colorado state forum and on Aztec treasures in the Treasure Legends forum. Thanks in advance for your assistance. I welcome insights and feedback, either on this thread or directly at: [email protected]