WestTexasFlintman
Greenie
- Nov 1, 2022
- 14
- 79
In 1866, 15 wagonloads of gold and silver coins — as well as jewels, plate, and other treasure — disguised as barrels of flour, were sent north clandestinely, where they successfully crossed into West Texas near Presidio.
Soon after crossing the Rio Grande, the four Austrians guarding the wagon train met a group of Confederate soldiers from Missouri who were escaping to Mexico. The six reported Indians and bandits on the road ahead, and the Austrians hired them to help protect the valuable load of "flour" they were anxious to get to San Antonio. The finicky way that the Austrians guarded their "flour" struck the Missouri men as a bit odd. It seemed that they were treating it as though the cargo was more valuable than flour. No doubt it had to have seemed odd that four Austrian soldiers were escorting flour across West Texas. Finally, the Missourians' curiosity reached the point where they had to find out.
At camp one night, while five of the Confederates lured the Austrian guards away from the wagons, the sixth lifted the canvas on some of the carts and pried open a few of the barrels. When he reported that he had found them full of gold and silver and jewels, it was decided that the Austrians should not be allowed to keep it. The following night, as the caravan was camped at a place called Castle Gap, 15 miles east of the Horse Head Crossing of the Pecos River and with two Austrians standing guard, the Missouri men struck. The Austrians were all killed before the 15 Mexican teamsters were aware of what was going on. Then the Missourians turned their attention to them, gunning them down one by one as they slept or as they were attempting to escape. When the slaughter was over, 19 dead men lay on the ground, and the treasure belonged to the Confederate soldiers.
They were now faced with the problem of what to do with their 15 wagons of loot, a treasure conservatively valued at millions. It had to have occurred to them that killing the Mexicans was a really bad idea, since it would be very hard for six men to drive 15 wagons and act as outriders to keep watch for Indians. After a heated debate over their fortune and future, the men concluded that it would be unsafe and unwise to try to move the treasure across the Plains. They then decided to bury it and return when things quieted down — whenever that would be.
The hiding of such a load so it would be reasonably safe from being discovered had to have been a daunting prospect. It wasn't like burying a strongbox or suitcase. They had before them 15 huge wooden freight wagons, 15 teams of oxen, and 19 dead bodies, which were slowly ripening in the West Texas sun. They also had 15 tons treasure to hide. After setting aside all the coins each man could carry, they dug a hole or holes in the sandy floor of the canyon and buried Maximilian's gold and silver and the many chests of jewels. They also threw in the 19 rotting corpses.
Having buried the "evidence," they broke up the wagons and burned them on top of the site, believing the result would resemble nothing more than a burned out campfire. The oxen were turned loose to shift for themselves. With their saddlebags heavy with Mexican coins, the six murderers headed toward San Antonio to spend some of it and to make plans to come back. Whether escaping to Mexico crossed their minds, we simply do not know.
Two days later, one of the men said he was becoming sick, and he dropped out for a rest. The others decided that he might be planning to sneak back to Castle Gap to get more for himself, so they decided to just kill him so there would be more for each of them. They simply shot him off his horse and rode away, each assuming he was dead. But he was not.
A few days later, the wounded man recovered sufficiently to be able to walk, and he continued on, heading toward San Antonio. He soon came upon the bodies of the other five Missouri men. Ironically, a short time after shooting him and leaving him for dead, they had themselves been ambushed by someone — possibly a Comanche raiding party — and killed. Their empty saddlebags were scattered around, and it was obvious they had been robbed.
Of the 25 men — Austrians, Mexicans, and Missourians — who had camped that last fateful night at Castle Gap, only one now survived, and he was badly wounded. He could do nothing but struggle forward, trying to make the miles and keep from being spotted by Indians. Finally, one evening, he spotted a campfire and struggled toward it. What turned out to be a group of horse thieves took him in and gave him something to eat. He bedded down with them that night, but before dawn, a sheriff's posse that had been trailing the men surrounded the camp. The Missouri man was naturally assumed to be one of them, and he was taken to jail with them.
By the time he was able to get someone to believe that he was not a horse thief, to get a lawyer, to get out of jail, and to get to the attention of a doctor, the Missouri man's gunshot wounds were so badly infected that he really did not stand a chance. His condition went from bad to worse no matter what the doctor did, and finally, just before he died, he told the whole story related here, and he drew a treasure map and gave it to the doctor.
Several years later, when the Indian wars in West Texas had subsided, the doctor and the attorney took the treasure map and went to Castle Gap. They were able to find none of the landmarks on the map, and they found no evidence of freight wagons having been burned. Was the Missouri man lying? Had someone gotten there first?
Meanwhile, at the "gentle" urging of the United States, Louis Napoleon withdrew the French Army from Mexico in 1867. Charlotte — who was reportedly beginning to show signs of mental illness — left, ostensibly to go to Europe to beg for aid from Louis Napoleon. Maximilian stayed on having been convinced by supporters that he could retain the throne. In fact, he had virtually no support, and without the French Army, no protection. He was snatched by republicans and executed at Cerro de las Campanas. Benito Juarez was promptly elected president, and Mexico has been a republic ever since. Charlotte died in a mental institution in Austria in 1927 at the age of 87. Only a few odds and ends of their wealth were discovered in their palace in Mexico. The rest had disappeared.
Soon after crossing the Rio Grande, the four Austrians guarding the wagon train met a group of Confederate soldiers from Missouri who were escaping to Mexico. The six reported Indians and bandits on the road ahead, and the Austrians hired them to help protect the valuable load of "flour" they were anxious to get to San Antonio. The finicky way that the Austrians guarded their "flour" struck the Missouri men as a bit odd. It seemed that they were treating it as though the cargo was more valuable than flour. No doubt it had to have seemed odd that four Austrian soldiers were escorting flour across West Texas. Finally, the Missourians' curiosity reached the point where they had to find out.
At camp one night, while five of the Confederates lured the Austrian guards away from the wagons, the sixth lifted the canvas on some of the carts and pried open a few of the barrels. When he reported that he had found them full of gold and silver and jewels, it was decided that the Austrians should not be allowed to keep it. The following night, as the caravan was camped at a place called Castle Gap, 15 miles east of the Horse Head Crossing of the Pecos River and with two Austrians standing guard, the Missouri men struck. The Austrians were all killed before the 15 Mexican teamsters were aware of what was going on. Then the Missourians turned their attention to them, gunning them down one by one as they slept or as they were attempting to escape. When the slaughter was over, 19 dead men lay on the ground, and the treasure belonged to the Confederate soldiers.
They were now faced with the problem of what to do with their 15 wagons of loot, a treasure conservatively valued at millions. It had to have occurred to them that killing the Mexicans was a really bad idea, since it would be very hard for six men to drive 15 wagons and act as outriders to keep watch for Indians. After a heated debate over their fortune and future, the men concluded that it would be unsafe and unwise to try to move the treasure across the Plains. They then decided to bury it and return when things quieted down — whenever that would be.
The hiding of such a load so it would be reasonably safe from being discovered had to have been a daunting prospect. It wasn't like burying a strongbox or suitcase. They had before them 15 huge wooden freight wagons, 15 teams of oxen, and 19 dead bodies, which were slowly ripening in the West Texas sun. They also had 15 tons treasure to hide. After setting aside all the coins each man could carry, they dug a hole or holes in the sandy floor of the canyon and buried Maximilian's gold and silver and the many chests of jewels. They also threw in the 19 rotting corpses.
Having buried the "evidence," they broke up the wagons and burned them on top of the site, believing the result would resemble nothing more than a burned out campfire. The oxen were turned loose to shift for themselves. With their saddlebags heavy with Mexican coins, the six murderers headed toward San Antonio to spend some of it and to make plans to come back. Whether escaping to Mexico crossed their minds, we simply do not know.
Two days later, one of the men said he was becoming sick, and he dropped out for a rest. The others decided that he might be planning to sneak back to Castle Gap to get more for himself, so they decided to just kill him so there would be more for each of them. They simply shot him off his horse and rode away, each assuming he was dead. But he was not.
A few days later, the wounded man recovered sufficiently to be able to walk, and he continued on, heading toward San Antonio. He soon came upon the bodies of the other five Missouri men. Ironically, a short time after shooting him and leaving him for dead, they had themselves been ambushed by someone — possibly a Comanche raiding party — and killed. Their empty saddlebags were scattered around, and it was obvious they had been robbed.
Of the 25 men — Austrians, Mexicans, and Missourians — who had camped that last fateful night at Castle Gap, only one now survived, and he was badly wounded. He could do nothing but struggle forward, trying to make the miles and keep from being spotted by Indians. Finally, one evening, he spotted a campfire and struggled toward it. What turned out to be a group of horse thieves took him in and gave him something to eat. He bedded down with them that night, but before dawn, a sheriff's posse that had been trailing the men surrounded the camp. The Missouri man was naturally assumed to be one of them, and he was taken to jail with them.
By the time he was able to get someone to believe that he was not a horse thief, to get a lawyer, to get out of jail, and to get to the attention of a doctor, the Missouri man's gunshot wounds were so badly infected that he really did not stand a chance. His condition went from bad to worse no matter what the doctor did, and finally, just before he died, he told the whole story related here, and he drew a treasure map and gave it to the doctor.
Several years later, when the Indian wars in West Texas had subsided, the doctor and the attorney took the treasure map and went to Castle Gap. They were able to find none of the landmarks on the map, and they found no evidence of freight wagons having been burned. Was the Missouri man lying? Had someone gotten there first?
Meanwhile, at the "gentle" urging of the United States, Louis Napoleon withdrew the French Army from Mexico in 1867. Charlotte — who was reportedly beginning to show signs of mental illness — left, ostensibly to go to Europe to beg for aid from Louis Napoleon. Maximilian stayed on having been convinced by supporters that he could retain the throne. In fact, he had virtually no support, and without the French Army, no protection. He was snatched by republicans and executed at Cerro de las Campanas. Benito Juarez was promptly elected president, and Mexico has been a republic ever since. Charlotte died in a mental institution in Austria in 1927 at the age of 87. Only a few odds and ends of their wealth were discovered in their palace in Mexico. The rest had disappeared.
