The bars that Noss and his crew removed from Victorio Peak were, in general, crudely formed, indicating the use of primitive smelting processes. The reports of the massive treasure would consume his marriage and eventually his life, and mysteries around the treasure persist to this day (via Legends of America). Jan 20, 2020 Ian Harvey. Nearly choking, the two men hastily marked their claim and made their exit. In 1828, large placer deposits were found in the Ortiz Mountains in Santa Fe County (Old Placers district, DIS187), which began one of the earliest gold rushes in the western United States. A new scientific analysis of a large gold bar found decades ago in downtown Mexico City has confirmed it was part of the plunder Spanish conquistadors abandoned as they beat a temporary. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Many streams in New Mexico contain at least traces of gold, enough to satisfy weekend gold panners. In one of the most closely guarded crimes of recent history, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of tons of gold bullion were secretly and illegally removed from caverns on White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the beneficiaries allegedly including former President Lyndon Johnson and individuals connected with the U.S. Army, the Central Intelligence Agency and organized crime. They believe that sophisticated equipment like devices to take soundings showing whether there are underground caves will help this search succeed where other ventures failed. Recreational mining continues intermittently in the White Oaks, Pittsburg, Hillsboro, Orogrande and Jicarilla districts to the present day. Led by U.S. Air Force Captain Leonard V. Fiege, the four had done extensive research on Victorio Peak, poring over old documents and records, and even traveling south into Mexico to check stories there regarding a man who has often been linked with the origin of the gold, Padre Philip La Rue. At least one close relative was convinced that Atkins death was not accidental and that it was directly related to his getting too close to the true story of Victorio Peak. However, it was a slow process, and in 1955, the White Sands Missile Range unexpectedly expanded their operations to encompass the Hembrillo Basin. The room had been undisturbed for so long that the dust, according to Berlett, lay several inches thick. As a child, he said he remembered his grandmother, Ova Noss, talking about it ceaselessly. As Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH . A treaty was reached between the tribe and the Federal government in Washington that the Indians could stay upon the land in New Mexico. Only four districts have each yielded more than 100,000 oz of placer gold production: Elizabethtown-Baldy (DIS019), Hillsboro (DIS197), Old Placers (DIS187), and New Placers (DIS186). The family believes that as much as 100 tons of gold, which would be worth $1.25 billion at today's closing price of $358.90 an ounce on the Commodity Exchange in New York, remains hidden in. A four-pound gold bar found on a building site in downtown Mexico City last month is believed to be part of the treasure seized from the Aztec Emperor Montezuma II by the Spanish. The reported treasure and efforts to find it have been covered in books and on television, including: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Ferdig, adding, The trouble with treasure stories is that there's always a little truth in them.. Gold Bars Dozens of people claim a piece of the actionthat is, gold bars and treasure said to be hidden on the missile range, and worth from a few million dollars to $1.5billion. This could explain the skeletons in the cavern. Word of the Doc Noss treasure spread, and keeping people out of the area was no easy chore. See the article in its original context from. Yet that is exactly what happened to Milton "Doc" Noss, a traveling doctor who discovered an extensive cave network laden with gold and historical artifacts or so he claimed. Berlett and Fiege formed a corporation to protect what they had found and make a formal application to enter White Sands for a search and retrieval of the gold. There are four major stories on the treasure's origin, said Mr. We are a research and service division of: Placer gold deposits were an important source of gold in New Mexico prior to 1902, but placer production after 1902 has been minor. Reaching a compromise, the military allowed Expeditions Unlimited, representing all of the claimants, to excavate the peak in 1977. Returning through the main cavern, he noticed an immense stack of metal bars off to one side. Porter and his friends were amused at his story and McDonald, to prove that what he was saying was true, took the two other hunters on a moonlit drive to Victorio Peak. He also told his wife that there were enough gold and silver coins to load 60 to 80 mules.. Possession of gold was against the law at the time, and the men reasoned that the bar would provide evidence to bring about an authorized, legal expedition to remove the vast quantity of gold. The next day, March 5, 1949, Ryan arrived in the area, insisting that they discuss the problem of what happened to the gold. That he seemed very disturbed, nervous and agitated, and refused my invitation to dinner, saying, Im running for my life., That he also said, The Mob is after me.. and Montana Ave. in El Paso, Texas, to visit with a friend, Frank Foss, owner of the station. He estimated the total amount of gold coming from the peak at a staggering 96 million troy ounces, worth, at $320 an ounce, nearly $31 billion. Mr. Koury asserted that the General first denied the search was on but admitted it later when sworn statements from the spies were produced. In March of 1949 I handled 110 rough poured bars of gold in the area which is now White Sands Missile Range which is now the area of Victorio Peak. By James P. Sterba Special to The New York Times. But in 1977, the Army agreed to allow some searchers with competing claims, including Mrs. Noss, to search the grounds. John Dean, the former lawyer for President Richard M. Nixon, mentioned that Attorney General John Mitchell had been asked to pull strings to allow some searchers to look for the gold. Victorio knew how much the white man valued gold and had little use for it himself; he amassed vast amounts of treasure by attacking the white settlers. Letha told Freedom that she herself handled 12 to 15 of the bars, and I even put one up and hid it for four days.. Most placer deposits in New Mexico had been discovered by 1900. (1.93 kilograms), while digging for the construction of a central bank in Mexico City. Speaking to a Noss family member, he stated that he had been the Chief of Security in 1961 and was sent to inspect the report made by Airman Berlett and Captain Fiege. Mr. Bailey claimed that given a helicopter and a half-hour, he could find 292 gold bars. Yet, Doc trusted no one, not even his Babe, disappearing into the desert, hiding pieces of the treasure in places that he never revealed. There wasn't much known about a 4-pound gold bar discovered during construction work in Mexico City nearly 40 years ago, but now experts are calling the precious metal an Aztec relic. Trace element analysis of placer gold can be used as a valuable exploration tool in order to determine the original deposit source and locating lode gold deposits. The 1.93-kilogram. On each trip, Doc would retrieve two gold bars and as many artifacts as he could carry. In November 1958, a team of four weekend gold seekers rediscovered the hoard. It has banned treasure hunters from the range since 1963. His main source of income cut off, and his marriage to Babe already deteriorated, Noss was desperate to sell his remaining gold bars on the black market. Patterson, Don Breech, Edgar F. Foreman, Leo D. OConnell, Eppie Montoya and B.D. The initial soundings appear to indicate a cavern precisely where Mr. Noss described. The Victorio Peak treasure (also seen in print as the Treasure of Victorio Peak or Treasure of San Andres) describes a cache of gold reportedly found inside Victorio Peak in 1937 in southern New Mexico. And for good reason. In 1961, he returned to the desert and claims to have found 10 . He stood guard while McDonald and the other man descended into a large cavern, returning with a crudely formed gold bar roughly 2 1/2 inches wide by 7 inches long. It could finally solve the mystery. Discovered by a . As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. McLemore, V.T., 2001, Silver and gold resources in New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Resource Map 21, 60 p. Luterbach, T.D., and McLemore, V.T. Meanwhile, Noss's mining claims (for talc as a disguise) expired in 1948, and Mrs. Noss renewed them in her name. CNN Almost four decades ago, a gold bar was found on land that used to be Aztec ruins in Mexico. Ryan was charged with murder but was later acquitted. Current environmental and permitting restrictions also have hampered recent production in the New Placers and Jicarilla districts. But in August, the Army turned him down, saying he deserves no more favored treatment than some 300 others who ask each year for permission to enter the missile range to search. Mr. Noss, a traveling doctor who was known for a hot temper and an appetite for liquor, claimed that the cache consisted of Spanish artifacts and Wells Fargo chests, along with the gold. A new scientific analysis of a large gold bar found decades ago in downtown Mexico City reveals it was part of the plunder Spanish conquerors tried to carry away as they fled the Aztec capital . A narrow passage through rocks kept the bulky Porter from following the other two men into the depths of the peak. The gold concentrates by gravity in incised stream valleys and alluvial fans in deeply weathered highlands. At the same time, he concentrated on the gold coins and bars. Another source, who asked to remain unidentified, stated that he had personally interviewed several men who had brought a large load of the peaks gold to Johnsons ranch. While Babe looked on from above, Doc inched his way down the narrow passageway into the mountain nearly 60 feet. He worked with a succession of partners, the last of whom, Charlie Ryan of Alice, Texas, shot and killed Noss in an altercation in Hatch, New Mexico, on March 5, 1949. Among those who attested to the accessibility of the peaks treasure was Lynn Porter, a businessman now residing in San Diego, California. There were thousands of them, covered with old, dusty buffalo hides. Others believe that Noss found the treasure of Don Juan de Onate, who, in 1598, founded New Mexico as a Spanish colony. Noss soon deserted Babe, and in November 1945, a divorce was granted. Only four districts have each yielded more than 100,000 oz of placer gold production: Elizabethtown-Baldy (DIS019), Hillsboro (DIS197), Old Placers (DIS187), and New Placers (DIS186). If the treasure was real, Noss had poor timing. Asked about the bars, he said, I sawed one in two with a hacksaw., One person who worked with Doc Noss inside the cave was Jose Serafin Sedillo of Cuchillo, New Mexico. The slightest movement stirred up a cloud. Doc tried several times to regain entry into his mine, but the shaft was sealed with tons of debris. That while visiting Foss, a man we both knew, E.M. Guthrie, drove in to the station in a late model Ford Thunderbird. The horde of an Apache chief? After 35 years of localized dispute, the Great White Sands Missile Range Lost Gold Treasure Affair has blossomed into a national mystery. Two local ranch workers stumbled upon the search and notified Mrs. Noss. Fueled by suspicions that the military was working her claim, Babe Noss hired four men to enter the range secretly. [1][a] While there have been multiple documented expeditions to the peak, no gold has been officially recorded as being recovered from the site. You just couldn't trust anybody and still can't, she said. In a four-page confidential report entitled Field Examination of Noss Mining Claims, Hembrillo District, Herkenhoff recorded a description: Dr. After more than a year's effort, he took five bars to the Denver Mint. It is estimated that 662,000 oz of gold have been produced from placer deposits throughout New Mexico from 1828 to 1991. By this time, Babes story had spread across the nation, profiled in several magazines and newspapers. The saga faded back into obscurity until the Watergate hearings, when John Dean, the dismissed White House counsel, testified before the Ervin Committee that F. Lee Bailey had approached John N. Mitchell, then Attorney General, for help in retrieving 292 bars containing 60 per cent gold and 40 per cent copper from the White Sands range. Begrudgingly, he did so. The dispute was finally worked out when a federal court issued a compromise of sorts, which stated the Army would continue to use the lands surface, but no one would be allowed on the property without the Armys consent. She called her lawyer, Philip Koury, of Kansas City, who phoned General Shinkle. He was overcome with joy that they might be gold. Peering into the darkness, Doc saw an old man-made shaft with a thick, wooden pole attached at one side. And we were poor and I guess a little dumb. According to accounts from members of the Noss family, Doc bagged no deer, but he found something that whetted his appetite for the area a shaft near the top of Victorio Peak which led into the bowels of the mountain. Still another source reported knowledge of aircraft movements of the gold from Chihuahua to Vancouver, British Columbia, during the period of Johnsons presidency. They would have the proper persons on guard duty., Possession of gold by private American citizens was illegal under federal law throughout the period of the Johnson presidency. Another concerns renegades who robbed the Monterey Mint in 1743 and were in turn attacked by Apaches. Mrs. Noss now says she never heard about the divorce and as serts that she is his legal widow. But before that happened, he must have hauled 500 or 600 bars of gold out of there and hid them, contended Mrs. Guthrie. Thayer Snipes of El Paso, Texas, swore to an affidavit regarding another death. This Massive Mine in Utah Has Produced More Gold than Most States! He told this writer that the gold bars in the cave were stacked like cordwood.. This writer conducted extensive interviews with Thomas Berlett. Porter subsequently brought the gold bar to the close friend, who was an Army major. The soldiers, Airman First Class Thomas Berlett and Captain Leonard V. Fiege said they had found approximately 100 gold bars weighing between 40 and 80 pounds each in a small cavern. In 1948, Doc met Charles Ryan, a Texan involved in drilling operations and oil exploration in West Texas. In December 1961, General Shinkle shut down the operation and excluded anyone from entering the base who was not directly engaged in the missile research activities. A priest named LaRue at Durango in northern Mexico was looking after the soldier who told the priest . A legal battle and highly publicized search through Victorio Peak ensued but no treasure turned up, leading many to wonder if Noss had made the whole thing up. The gold, he said, was removed and smelted into old Mexican bars, 50-pound bars. The gold in its new form, he noted, had no marks to identify its origin. This treasure was only the beginning. The family declines to discuss the incident. Doc was trying to obey the law but they grabbed our gold, Mrs. Noss said, He blew up. He was barely able to lift one, much less think of carrying it back to the surface. Edward Atkins of Decatur, Illinois, had been a claimant to the peaks gold and was vigorously pursuing that claim via attorney Darrell Holmes of Athens, Georgia, when Holmes died under mysterious circumstances. It is one of the most celebrated legends of buried treasure in the history of the American West, a thriller that includes a gunfight, nuclear weapons and the Watergate hearings. 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