Idaho Treasure, The Diary of Jules DeFoe

[ohlode]

The Diary of Jules DeFoe is an intriguing story. The supposed Spanish gold treasure site is about a mile from my house. People have hunted for it over the years. One friend of mine grew up in this area and told me an experience he had as a kid. His family knew an old man that claimed he'd found the stone marker mentioned in the diary. My friend said he saw the stone marker but it was when he was very young. I proposed we interview the old guy but my friend said he was totally senile and in a local rest home...
I've metal detected the area but it is a considerable area to cover. The diary mentions a saddle terrain feature where you can see out onto the plains or desert. That could be one of two or three saddles on the southwest side of the canyon.
The horde of gold was said to be buried in 1789 along with a murdered girl who aided DeFoe in his escape from her father at his gold mine near Spanish Town.
Wondering if anyone has read the diary and/or looked for this treasure? It's one of at least 3 treasure stories within a 5 square mile area but it's the most intriguing. No reports of it ever being recovered.
The diary itself is perhaps suspect having been "uncovered" in a Canadian library in the late 1940's. Is the diary a work of literary fiction? Hmmm.
Burton in Boise, Idaho

 

[Oroblanco]

Tag post please do continue

 

[Crow]

Yes please do continue.....

Crow

 

[id hunter]

I realize that this is my first post on the board here... so my apologies - I'm new here.
However, this is not one of the well known legends here in Idaho, but it's one that always stuck with me so I feel I must respond to this:

Wondering if anyone has read the diary and/or looked for this treasure?

Burton-
Well, I will answer yes to both questions.
I did have a paperback (and short transcribed) version of that book 15 or so years ago, that my dad gave me... but sadly someone else thought they needed it more than me. I'm looking into getting a copy of it though.

From what I recall, the book itself is only a small part of Jules' actual journal... and it's been re-written to basically just detailing his supposed travels in Idaho long before Lewis and Clark. The strange thing about it is the mention of an early mining camp within the vicinity of Rocky Bar / Atlanta area. As you've said it's called "Spanish Town" and yes there were arastras there. I've seen them- but, I don't know how old they were... AFAIK that area has since been claimed, so just FYI.

As you know, the story is pretty convoluted... but it is pretty clear that there was evidence of mining that area, but I'm not sure of the history.

Anyway,
I think I've rambled on enough for now.
Maybe I'll have more later.

Regards
T-

 

[Oroblanco]

WELCOME TO TREASURENET IdHunter!

Thank you for sharing what you know, I look forward to reading more.
Oroblanco

 

[lgadbois]

There certainly was a trapper by the name of Jules DeFoe. The story of his diary may be fiction. Supposedly, Author Ellen Carney included a partial translation of pages 143-156 in a book that is recognized as fiction called "River of Beaver, Stream of Gold."

The great silver belt that occurs in Idaho in the areas of Kellog and again in Atlanta have been the inspiration for a lot of stories about gold and silver. Has a monument been found that can be attributed to DeFoe in the area of Atlanta? I know that there are many locations of petroglyphs throughout Idaho. Some archeologists have placed the Toltecs as far North as Idaho.

Only a small percentage of the silver has been located and mined at Atlanta. It is another area that has been successfully locked up by our Government.

 

[id hunter]

Thanks for the warm welcome Oro!


igadbois:
You could be right about the diary being a work of fiction. The paperback I had years ago was actually titled "The Diary of Jules Defoe" (JDF) and IIRC had been printed in 1977-1978 'ish. The cover was a kind of cheap gold looking metallic color, and it was probably around 20 pages give or take. There were various 3rd party comments from local residents of the Atlanta area that had been put between the transcribed entries of JDF, so what I had seems like a different version altogether. Also today I found a reference for JDF's diary in the Utah state historical records... from around 1957. Interesting......

Here is a condensed version of the story, as I remember it from the booklet I had:
JDF was originally accompanied by 2 native american guides, and somewhere along the way one of them decides to turn back... possibly due to a rival tribe in the vicinity, or maybe they both left? I can't remember that part. From there JDF almost gets attacked by hostile indians, he hides for awhile... eventually loses his horse (drowned) recovers some of his gear and must continue on foot. The trapper wanders on in the search of the great river of beaver.

A few entries later, JDF notices "tracks from men wearing boots" and follows them until he comes across some spaniards... who then shoot at him, grazingly wound him... and he wakes up in the company of the miners. He stays awhile, gets nursed back to health... and at some point falls in love with the daughter of the general of the mining camp. JDF asks to see the the location of the mine, but nobody will tell him where it is and it's obviously not near to the camp. One night he wanders off to search for it, and finds it. And then the story changes.

Apparently, during his search JDF sees a light from a fire... closes in on it, and comes face to face with slaves chained to an arrastra.. one of whom is an old friend of his. Cut to the chase, Jules kills the guard and frees the men by putting at least one out of their misery. He buries him/them, pays his respects and never goes back to the spanish camp again. He becomes a hunted man from there on out.

So the story goes, JDF watches the spaniards from afar... raiding them and all the while trying to exact his revenge. A reinforcement party arrives, the camp loads up and he follows them for days "down through the mountains" and onto a "great plain of grass and sage" trying to pick them off one at a time. Eventually the convoy reaches a deep canyon, with a "large river".... "one too difficult to swim across." Hoping to cut them off before they have time to ford it Jules then runs upriver 3 or 4 miles to search for a crossing and finds a "cove" full of indian "lodges" flanked by a small creek.

If you've stuck with my recollection so far, this is where it gets good... bad and ugly.
JDF decides to shoot at (or harass) some children playing in the creek.... and drops his spanish musket for evidence. Shortly after that, a band of 10-12 indians ride out and find the convoy... gunfire ensues and a few less indians return. All the while JDF is watching from his overlook, and as night falls he's certain that he has the upper hand. The spaniards never crossed the river, and revenge is near. Morning breaks, and the natives ride out... wiping out the spanish convoy. Story goes, they were all mutilated... well, all but one. His lover was the only one that was not torn up and ripped apart. JDF surveys the battlefield, and nearby finds her body... and the gold. Jules then carries the body, and the gold up to a high bluff and buries the gold and places her body on top. He builds a "great cairn of rocks" to mark the spot, and the rest is history.

Sidenote:
Being from the area my whole life, the only thing that places JDF here in 1789 was the longitude/latitude readings, and some correlations to hot springs/known areas. I've heard credible tales of spanish armor and 13# cannonballs found around the Snake River canyon... but I've never seen those with my own eyes. Is it worthy of investigation, yes.
If JDF is real, and his journal can be found and validated... it would be a big discovery. Secondary to the gold of course.
So, that is the story as I remember reading it. Could it be true, who knows?

Anyone down for some research?

 

[Tuberale]

Apparently the Utah State History site has a copy of the Jules DeFoe diary (Idaho explorations of a mountain man with Northwest Company in 1789), within the Bet J. Silliman Papers, Box 1, Folder 6; Collection Number: Mss B202.

 

[id hunter]

Apparently the Utah State History site has a copy of the Jules DeFoe diary (Idaho explorations of a mountain man with Northwest Company in 1789), within the Bet J. Silliman Papers, Box 1, Folder 6; Collection Number: Mss B202.

I did notice that, and it makes me wonder why Utah would have a copy of it. I mean, its not like Utah is across the country from Idaho, did Jules somehow end up there sometime? Strange, no? I'm going to contact them and see if I can get a copy of it.

Let you guys know what I find out.
T-

 

[bookcliff]

Bert J. Silliman was an "amateur" historian who did a lot of good research. He is from Utah and his collection was donated to the Utah Historical Society. I live less than two miles from them. I haven't studied Defoe but I have studied other parts of the collection. The main interest of Bert was the Old Spanish Trail from Taos, NM to Los Angeles which passed near Green River, Utah where Bert lived. His interest in Defoe may be from his interest in Denis Julien who was also a trapper and left his inscription in three places in Utah. I am going from memory but I believe the inscriptions place Julien about 1820.
Nicholas

 

[id hunter]

Up until know, I never had heard of Denis Julien. Interesting stuff! From what I gather, it looks like Bert's papers - at least according to the UHS site are dated from 1951 to 1957. So that would make any reference to Jules Defoe much older than anything published in here Idaho... that I am aware of.

On that notion, last week I submitted an online request to the Utah Historical Society regarding Defoe, and the title "Idaho explorations of a mountain man with Northwest Company in 1789." I'm waiting to hear back from them on the specifics of that content. There is also a reference to JDF in our Idaho Historical Archives as well, but from a later date- and different title. When time permits I will be taking a look at what they have on it.

Oh, and Nicholas! Since you only live a couple miles away... I'm sure there is no way I can convince you into going and checking it out that folder, right?
Many thanks for the info!

 

[ohlode]

Thanks for all your comments! I've walked the area twice since my post.
If you employ Google Earth you can skim the ridgeline using the ground view. Kind of feels like nape of the earth flying in a small helicopter.
Only one saddle that you can see the valley from and that's the one just before you exit into SE Boise proper. It's just above and almost adjacent to Diversion dam.
BTW: A copy of the journal is available in the reference section of the Boise Public library. You can reproduce it on their copy machine.
If it were that first saddle it's still a large area to cover. I've only found modern lead bullets and some iron ore fragments (not meteorites by the way) in the saddle.

Oh, and there is that other stage robbery story in the same area. Haven't found reference to it; just heard it over the years. Payroll for Boise Basin I think was robbed as the stage crossed the river near what is now the high bridge. Robbers escaped into the foothills... all eventually killed but none of the money (gold coin?) recovered...
Anyone have anything on that one?

 

[id hunter]

Ohlode~
(and others that are following this)
Thanks for keeping this going! I have a bunch more info I'm willing to divulge:

Yesterday I received my copies of the Bert J Silliman (BJS) folder 6. The contents are:
10 pages typewritten, of the diary as published in my local newspaper in July, 1953.
17 pages of correspondence between BJS and a man by the name of J.L. (Jim) Morrison of Hammet, Idaho. Most of which is a mixture of type and handwritten notes from 1954-1955.

A couple of things I noticed while reading it over, is that those 10 pages are pretty close to what I remember in the paperback... but some things are missing. Particularly the part where JDF first encounters the Spaniards. BJS seems pretty skeptical of the story itself, due to various issues... and he could be right. Let's not get into that now though, since I'd like to stick to the facts and focus on how this diary came to be... and share a few leads in the process.

The papers I have states- in effect...
JDF's original diary was found by an un-named individual, in Montreal, Canada while carrying out research for a book. This unknown person sent a copy to a man by the name of Harry Price (whom he was friends with btw) due to his interest in early Idaho history. At what time this occurred, is not clear. The copy Mr. Price possessed, was at some point destroyed by fire... but before then he had shared this with his fellow prospector buddy named Floyd Howard of Boise, Idaho. Floyd had apparently transcribed it in his own handwriting, and had given the diary to a person by the name of Bess Foster Smith from Weiser, Idaho. When this happened is not clear either. Sidenote, she was also a prolific writer from what I can tell.

Funny thing is... and take this for what it's worth - Mrs. Smith had copyrighted the diary, and I'm now 98% sure that she was the one that had penned the paperback I had. The docs also say that she had tried numerous times (unsuccessfully) to locate the original from both the NW company and the Hudson Bay company, but the records didn't go back that far.

So, for my hunch... while I entertain these thoughts of treasure on an adult beverage....
My gut feeling says it's a good possibility that it's around the Snake River canyon area. The only logical transport line from the time of course would be the Old Spanish Trail, southward bound.

This one is gonna take much diggin' and maybe some other angles that could have been missed.
Thats it for now.

 

[id hunter]

It's been awhile since I'd thought about this good 'ole legend, so as I was revisiting my notes... I ran a quick google on the term, and low and behold: new info regarding Jules Defoe.

The Diary of Jules De Foe | Welcome to Idahomojo.com | Greg Briggs

On that guy's link, there are several PDF's -

Two of which are typed versions of the diary, roughly jiving with the Bert Silliman papers version that I have. I need to double check, but right now it appears this PDF contains some info that was missing from my files. I'll be off to compare those as soon as possible.

The other looks to be a screenshot of a news article dating to 1896 that refers to "Spanish helmets" found on a bluff near the Snake river canyon. (which could be where the story of finding Spanish armor originated) As an aside note, I've noticed one problem with that news article: conflicting dates. The column about the helmet find is dated 1886, on the right side a date of 1896 is seen. Perhaps it is just a typo?
Also, I've searched the net high and low and cannot find a duplicate of that paper.


For what it's worth, I'm not the owner of that website... just so you guys know.
Hopefully some of you will find that info as interesting as I have.

Off to dig,
T-

 

[stylin88]

hi was just wondering if you have been following spanish turtles to find this treasure i have worked out the trail from featherville to aprox 1 mile from the snake river. the turtles (or spanish writeing) is on the spanish trail that has taken me over 4 years to work out----my last and without a doubt one of my best finds was just found yesterday 3/29/14 spanish writeing on this trail chiseled in rock under 6 inches of dirt----i cleared off the dirt and found the writeing-the writeing is from the book of Mark--in the bible---chapter-6-verse-1 (AND HE WENT OUT FROM THERE AND CAME TO HIS HOME TOWN AND HIS DESCIPLES FOLLOWED HIM ) if you email me ill show you the writeing though not the location at this time.as i think im close to finding this treasure if its really there

 

[LARESH]

Hi everyone, I am new to the site and found this information very interesting. I am from Idaho and currently live north of Boise. I have never heard this story before and would love to get out in the field to search with some of you. I have read many books on spanish treasure in Utah, but would like to search for some in my home state of Idaho. I am familiar with treasure signs and symbols and would like to help trace the old spanish trail in Idaho. Thanks

 

[Old Bookaroo]

LARESH:

Have you read the WPA Guide to Idaho?

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo, CM

 

[niffler]

This is pretty interesting. If you could find the area of the fight/massacre, it would make it much more likely to find the gold burial. Seems like there would be a concentration of musket balls and other targets after a 2 hour fight.

 

[Liambowen6]

Meager offering

Just a quick note: I have stumbled upon a copy of the above-mentioned book (cheap, gold cover, scant rudimentary sketches throughout). I offer no insight into its authenticity or anything of the sort, but since I do possess a copy I can validate notions and clarify details that others might have difficulty recalling since it seems to be a relatively uncommon product. Any questions or comments can reach me at liambowen6@gmail.com

 

[Gold Maven]

having read the story from the link provided, I was very much entertained, although I'm skeptical if it is a true account.

It read like fiction, especially finding his childhood friend enslaved, and then having to kill him. A settlement as he described would have plenty of animal power to turn the arastra, without all the hassle of human slaves, imo.