from jim hatt's website
On March 10, 1983, Michael Bilbrey, then 32 years old and already a thirteen-year veteran in the search for the Lost Dutchman Mine, filed a mining claim, LD8, in an area where he believed that the Peralta Stone Maps led to. In an article in The Arizona Republic on Tuesday, February 1, 1983, Charles Kelly reported that Bilbrey stated he had assay reports on samples taken from his claim that showed a gold content in sufficient quantity to validate the filing of a mining claim. In the same article, Larry Soehlig, a Lands and Mineral Officer for the Tonto National Forest, is quoted as saying, “Based on what Mr. Bilbrey’s proposed he’d like to do, there’s probably enough (gold) there to let him continue with that little (mining) process.” Michael Bilbrey did find gold there.
This gold, however, was not the driving force behind Michael’s many future trips to this remote and lonely location among towering cliffs and deep valleys. Having ended up in this area following his own personal interpretation of the Peralta Stone Maps, he was constantly on the lookout for anything that looked out of place in the natural environment or which might suggest that “man”, that is, the Peraltas or Jacob Waltz (The Dutchman) had been there before him.
During one of his trips to his mining claims Michael accidentally discovered two stone crosses, each approximately 12 inches high, 6 inches wide, and a little more than 1 inch thick, partially buried in the loose gravel that covered the side of the slope near where he had been working. Both Stone Crosses had engravings on one side and nothing on the other.
The first cross has words written on it in Spanish, “EL TESORO DE LOS EGLESIA DE SANTA FE”, “EL CURVA DE LOS SOMEO MONTANA” which translated says something like: “The Treasure of the Church of Santa Fe” and “The Cave of Hat Mountain.”
The second cross has a map-like orientation of symbols on it, similar to the symbols carved on the Peralta Stone Maps and consistent with the landmarks named on the front side of the Latin Heart.
It is doubtful that Michael was aware of the Latin Heart at that time, but he could not have missed the similarities between the symbols on the Stone Crosses and the Peralta Stone Maps. Soon after making this discovery he appears to have lost all interest in his mining claims, and redirected his efforts towards understanding the stone crosses and searching for The Treasure of the Church of Santa Fe.
Because Michael could not prove his story about how he found the Stone Crosses, very few people outside his immediate group of friends believed his story. Michael endured one of the most unpleasant set of circumstances a treasure hunter can experience. He found the Stone Crosses at a time when he was alone in the mountains. An event took place, which could not be repeated in front of witnesses. A single witness to the event, or even a dozen, may not have been of any help in correctly interrupting the inscriptions on the crosses, but at least Michael would have had someone he could share the frustration with when he was later accused of fabricating the crosses himself. Accusations that to this day still reverberate around campfires and dining room tables.
Eventually when their combined efforts produced no treasure, even his friends began to doubt him and lost interest in the crosses and the alleged treasure they applied to. Being the only person left on the planet who knew for certain that he had not fabricated the crosses himself, Michael continued the search for The Treasure of the Church of Santa Fe alone. According to people that knew Michael he remained a dedicated searcher for many years. He even relocated from San Diego, Calif. To Scottsdale, Ariz. to be closer to the Superstition Mountains and be able to dedicate more time to his search.
There is nothing in recorded history; legend or lore, to indicate that Michael ever found the treasure in which he never stopped believing was out there somewhere. Believing myself that the Stone Crosses are authentic relics which do apply to a buried treasure of some kind, I can only assume that Michael’s failure to locate that treasure was due to the fact that he assumed the treasure was located somewhere in the immediate area where he found the crosses, and never gave enough consideration to the idea that they may have been dropped where he found them accidentally by someone (or something) just passing through the area.
