endentured
Greenie
I have researched this elusive treasure for awhile now. I find W.C. Jameson's account to be fascinating. If anyone in Colorado would like to partner up on this particular treasure, please contact me. Here is a summary:
"There is one cave in the Sangre de Cristo Range, however, that is much, much more. Deep inside this cave lies an unbelievable large cache of gold ingots, all bearing marks of a Spanish smelter. How this gold, millions of dollars worth of it, came to be stored in this cave is a mystery that has never been solved."
Basically three men who were all geologists and avid prospectors from Silver Cliff were out prospecting. The weather turned bad so they sought shelter under a ledge high in a canyon. They waited there awhile until they spotted an opening across the canyon on the other side. They all crossed to it and found a natural tunnel that went in twenty feet. They entered into a small chamber and soon found another tunnel in the back. This one led to a huge chamber for which their only flashlight could not illuminate. They went back outside and gathered wood and made a fire in the large chamber which illuminated the space enough to explore. The first thing found was a skull. They next found a half collapsed tunnel which they followed into another small chamber. Against the far wall the found a large pile of what they believed to be rocks. They ran a torch over the pile of objects. There was a heavy layer of dust that suggested the pile had been there for many centuries. They discovered the entire stack consisted of gold bars. They counted 400 of them and noticed each was imprinted with a Christian cross topped with an inverted carat. One of the men had noticed there were two more passageways leading from the large chamber. Their flashlight was fading so they each took a gold ingot and left the cave planning to return soon. When they made it back to Silver Cliff they had the bars assayed and learned that each was worth $900.00 in gold. They also learned the imprinting was of Spanish origin. They learned the last known mining by Spanish in that area was 400 years ago. All three men sold their gold bars to fund a return trip to the cave. (Here comes the rub) Since the winter season had set in they decided to wait for Spring. They set out again in April. As the snow had been melting they became disoriented as they climbed to the higher canyons. Trails split off in many directions and they finally had to admit after many days of searching that could not find the cave or the ledge they sheltered under. After two years of searching the three admitted defeat and gave up the search. The evidence being the gold ingots was witnessed by many. Many have tried to search but there have been no reports of discovery after this time. Somewhere around 13,000 feet lies a fortune just waiting to be claimed.
"There is one cave in the Sangre de Cristo Range, however, that is much, much more. Deep inside this cave lies an unbelievable large cache of gold ingots, all bearing marks of a Spanish smelter. How this gold, millions of dollars worth of it, came to be stored in this cave is a mystery that has never been solved."
Basically three men who were all geologists and avid prospectors from Silver Cliff were out prospecting. The weather turned bad so they sought shelter under a ledge high in a canyon. They waited there awhile until they spotted an opening across the canyon on the other side. They all crossed to it and found a natural tunnel that went in twenty feet. They entered into a small chamber and soon found another tunnel in the back. This one led to a huge chamber for which their only flashlight could not illuminate. They went back outside and gathered wood and made a fire in the large chamber which illuminated the space enough to explore. The first thing found was a skull. They next found a half collapsed tunnel which they followed into another small chamber. Against the far wall the found a large pile of what they believed to be rocks. They ran a torch over the pile of objects. There was a heavy layer of dust that suggested the pile had been there for many centuries. They discovered the entire stack consisted of gold bars. They counted 400 of them and noticed each was imprinted with a Christian cross topped with an inverted carat. One of the men had noticed there were two more passageways leading from the large chamber. Their flashlight was fading so they each took a gold ingot and left the cave planning to return soon. When they made it back to Silver Cliff they had the bars assayed and learned that each was worth $900.00 in gold. They also learned the imprinting was of Spanish origin. They learned the last known mining by Spanish in that area was 400 years ago. All three men sold their gold bars to fund a return trip to the cave. (Here comes the rub) Since the winter season had set in they decided to wait for Spring. They set out again in April. As the snow had been melting they became disoriented as they climbed to the higher canyons. Trails split off in many directions and they finally had to admit after many days of searching that could not find the cave or the ledge they sheltered under. After two years of searching the three admitted defeat and gave up the search. The evidence being the gold ingots was witnessed by many. Many have tried to search but there have been no reports of discovery after this time. Somewhere around 13,000 feet lies a fortune just waiting to be claimed.
