Legends of lost gold and silver mines and hoards have been told across the West for generations. Here are some of the most prominent:
The Lost Dutchman Mine, Arizona
One of the West's most widely told gold legends concerns a mine developed in the 1840s by the Peralta family of Mexico in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. All but one or two family members were supposedly killed by Apaches while carting gold to Mexico; the rest escaped. In the 1870s, Jacob Waltz — nicknamed "the Dutchman," although he was a native of Germany — was said to have rediscovered the mine through the aid of a Peralta descendant. Waltz died in the 1890s. Many have hunted in vain for the mine ever since.
Victorio Peak, New Mexico
In 1937, Milton "Doc" Noss was said to have found gold bars worth billions in caves at Victorio Peak (also called Vittorio Peak) near White Sands, N.M. Noss said he found 27 chained skeletons in the area, possibly guarding the mines. But the cave entrance was accidentally sealed, and Noss was evicted by the military when the area was added to the White Sands Missile Range. An Air Force captain said he uncovered gold bars nearby in 1961 but couldn't find his way back.
Treasure Mountain, Colorado
In the late 1700s, the story goes, French prospectors camping near Wolf Creek Pass in the Colorado mountains found an immense amount of gold on Treasure Mountain. They stashed the gold in the area and made a map showing the sites. The Frenchmen were all but wiped out by Indian attack, says the legend, with only two making it back to civilization alive. One man, named "Le Blanc," carried the treasure map back to France. A later expedition was mounted to recover the gold, but it, too, was attacked by Indians, leaving one survivor. Purported copies of the lost map have turned up over the centuries, and efforts to find the gold have continued into recent years.
Starving gold-seekers heading for the California diggings in 1850 stumbled across what was said to be a field of pure silver in the rugged Panamint Mountains near Death Valley, Calif. The "Lost Gunsight Mine" got its name from a rifle part fashioned by one of the group from the silver. In their desperate situation, the travelers were unable to take advantage of their find and trudged on to civilization. Other parties returned to look for the silver to no avail.
Purgatoire River, Colorado
A tale dating from the 1700s tells of Spaniards carrying 12 chests of gold coins from Santa Fe to Florida by way of southern Colorado. The party, which spent the winter somewhere near the site of present-day Trinidad, was never heard from again. One legend has it the party buried its gold somewhere along the Purgatoire River; others say Indians attacked the Spaniards and, having no use for the gold, left it scattered in the river canyon and caves. In 1924, Spanish armor and some gold coins were said to have been found along the Purgatoire.
Sources: Arizona State Parks, NCGold.com, LegendsOfAmerica.com, Denver Post archives