QUESTION ABOUT "THE GOLDEN JESUS"

[endentured]

Has anyone ever heard if the Golden Jesus was ever recovered? I know of the two attempts that failed.

 

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[Jason in Enid]

never heard of it. whats the back story?

 

[Tiredman]

I believe that story is in W.C. Jameson's book among other places.

 

[Tiredman]

Basically some Spaniards mined gold and cast it in a large Jesus. Escaping Indians the cart broke down and it was shoved into a crevice and entrance piled with debris. Over the years a few came across it.

 

[endentured]

Tiredman is correct. There is suppose to be a curse as all who come in contact have died. It is suppose to be wedged into a crevice of a ledge or cliff in the La Plata Mountains.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

The Jesus part is made up but it's on private property now anyway.

 

[endentured]

The Jesus part is made up but it's on private property now anyway.

Can you elaborate on the subject please. I viewed that country from google earth and it is quite desolate and isolated. I would think it was BLM land.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

I read somewhere last year that they were onto the gold but it wasn't a statue, just bullion, and it was on a ranchers property. The family had closed off access and wasn't letting anyone in the area until it was all checked out because they found a bunch of other stuff that was left behind. The Jesus thing had to do with the stamps in the gold and they installed a big door to secure the contents.
The last I heard it hadn't been explored yet because the family was very freaked out by weird $h1t happening there. It's supposedly cursed and they believe it is.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

I'm always keeping an eye out for the lost murdie lode at Taylor park but nothing yet. I found his grave in the gunnison cemetery but I can't get answers and his family lives in Kansas. I wish he was still alive!

 

[Tiredman]

What county is this murdie lode? I can check some of my stuff

 

[Johnnybravo300]

What county is this murdie lode? I can check some of my stuff

Gunnison county.
It was as a visible gold vein he found in a creek bed but when he went back with his son in law the next spring they couldn't locate it again.

 

[Tiredman]

I have several sources that need to be checked out. Was it ever in any books? Old newspaper? Or just verbal over the years?.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

The Lost Murdie Load of Taylor Park

This is where I saw it the first time. Murdie was from my home town. I wouldn't even know where to start with this the area is so huge.
I've seen geo maps that show where the layers change so that might be a good tool, and the veins mostly all trend the same directions in that area so if they cut across each other it should narrow down the waterways for that angle.
I was focusing mostly on the out croppings where layers change and the angles of certain creeks. Not sure how else to narrow it down.

 

[endentured]

I read somewhere last year that they were onto the gold but it wasn't a statue, just bullion, and it was on a ranchers property. The family had closed off access and wasn't letting anyone in the area until it was all checked out because they found a bunch of other stuff that was left behind. The Jesus thing had to do with the stamps in the gold and they installed a big door to secure the contents.
The last I heard it hadn't been explored yet because the family was very freaked out by weird $h1t happening there. It's supposedly cursed and they believe it is.

I believe I heard the one you refer to but The Golden Jesus was definitely a 3 1/2 foot statue wedged into a crevice while attempting to transport it to Santa Fe. It is cursed of course.

 

[Tiredman]

Can you find mention of the 3 1/2 golden Jesus in any book prior to the one by Jameson? There are treasure stories and there are stories written around historical facts. Some stories we reasearch and have come to the conclusion they never happened. We found several of Jameson's fell into this category in Montana.

 

[Tiredman]

So spend time researching before spending the money to travel and hunt for it.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

A 31/2 ft Jesus statue makes a good story at least. You can imagine a big Spanish party of men waiting months for a sculptor to build the statue in hostile Indian country when they could have poured crude bars for travel in 1/100 of the time hehe, then they still have to lift it and travel with it. I can't imagine what that would weigh. There's no reason anyone would do that and while traveling it's not plausible. It's romance.

 

[endentured]

Can you find mention of the 3 1/2 golden Jesus in any book prior to the one by Jameson? There are treasure stories and there are stories written around historical facts. Some stories we reasearch and have come to the conclusion they never happened. We found several of Jameson's fell into this category in Montana.

I have only come across Jameson's version but he does qualify his version by stating such. The fact that there are more than one version of where the Spaniards went. Some say Utah and there is also a different Golden Jesus Story that follows that line. After some 400 years most stories are a combo of myth or legend and truth. If it were not so, none of us would treasure hunt. I do like Jameson's version of many Colorado Treasures. Your point about Jameson being the only Author of this particular tale holds little when many Authors have tales that only one tells, if you can understand what I am saying. It doesn't mean they are not correct in the legend itself. Bancroft was privy to tales from her Grandfather that only she knew until she published.

 

[Tiredman]

The part where you say Bancroft was privy to tales from her grandfather and only she knew them is wrong. Her grandfather got them somewhere, the somewhere is easy to find. Tracing back the history of a treasure story will bring you to it's source. The source is always an old newspaper article, before a published book. Search for the golden Jesus in old newspaper articles, if there are none chances are it was creative writing around historical facts.

 

[Tiredman]

But then I will add i found some other authors made big errors also. United States Treasure Atlas Volume 6 by Thomas P Terry listing 140 is a good example. It was a train robbery of $50,000 near Rondo MT. Be open minded and research what info you are given. The example I gave ended up being a better lost treasure story that what he had.