Lost Mines

Throughout the American Southwest there are dozens of tales of lost mines and caches of hidden treasure. For hundreds of years, the tales have infected many with gold fever. The stories have lured countless treasure hunters to their doom, while financial ruining an endless line of investors. Modern-day treasure seekers are still combing the mountains and desert landscape of the Southwest hoping to hit it big.

There are rumors of a lost mine in El Paso, tucked away in the Franklin Mountains. Known as the Lost Padre Mine, this story has lured many into the Franklins searching for a cache hidden by monks in the 1600s. According to the story, priests from the mission of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (our lady of Guadalupe), across the Rio Grande in Juárez, worked a mine in the Franklin Mountains. The industrious monks extracted both gold and silver ore from the mine and they smelted the raw material into bars. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 forced the Franciscans to flee the area, but before they did, they hid a vast hoard of treasure.2 According to some tales, the monks hid 5,000 silver bars and more than 4,000 gold ingots in a mine shaft. Additionally, they stashed nine burro loads of precious jewels in the shaft. Of even greater value—undoubtedly priceless—four surviving Aztec codices are rumored to be hidden among the treasure. Occasionally, someone comes forward saying they know the location of the mine, or better yet, claiming to have found the loot; however, as of yet the lost mine has not been found.3

In New Mexico's San Andreas Mountains, Victorio Peak is thought to hold a priceless cache of treasure. The story got its start when Milton E. “Doc” Noss accidentally stumbled upon  a cache of treasure in 1937. During a hunting trip in the San Andreas Mountains, Noss climbed to the top of Victorio Peak to have a look around. Rain began falling, so Noss took refuge underneath an overhang. Here he noticed a large rock that looked as if it had been worked. Noss moved the rock and discovered a shaft running through the mountain. 

Noss returned to the site later with his wife Ova. Noss followed the shaft into a great room where he found chests full of Spanish coins, Wells Fargo chests, gold bars, documents, and various artifacts. There were also skeletons bound to the floor—twenty-seven in total. 

Much has been written concerning Noss and the lost treasure saga, so I will not go too far into it here. David Hatcher Childress does a great job recounting the story in detail in his book Lost Cities of the Southwest. Suffice it to say, from the time of Doc Noss’ discovery nothing but trouble seemed to follow. Doc and Ova divorced some years later; Doc was gunned down by a business associate in 1949; various parties, including Ova, squabbled over claims; finally, the Army took control of Victorio Peak with the expansion of the White Sands Missile Range. Even after litigation over claims involving the famous lawyer F. Lee Bailey, there is still no treasure.

Another tragic tale of hidden treasure comes to us from outside of Las Cruces, New Mexico, somewhere around the San Augustin Pass. During the winter of 1878, Demetrio Varella was working on a ranch near Las Cruces. Suspecting rustlers were harassing the herd, he followed their trail to San Augustin Pass. Varella got caught in a blizzard and was forced to take shelter inside of a cave. Fate smiled down on Varella—he had stumbled upon an old abandoned mineshaft.19 

Varella found both gold ore and gold bars in the mine. He took a bar and some ore with him and planned to return when the weather was better. The cruel hand of fate intervened once more, however, and Varella was blinded in a dynamite accident before he was able to make a return trip to the mine.20 

In my book El Paso to Las Cruces via Roswell, I recount several tales of lost mines, hidden treasure, and the lust for gold. I hope you'll pick up a copy!

Notes

2. Ken Hudnall with Connie Wang, Spirits of the Border: The History and Mystery of El Paso del Norte, (Nashville, TN: The History Press, 2011), Kindle edition. 

3. Robert W. Miles, “Franklin Mountains,” The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association, June 12, 2010, accessed June 10, 2018, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rjf14. 

19. Edward C. Rochette, Lost Mines and Buried Treasure: A Guide to Sites & Legends of the Southwest, (Phoenix: Renaissance House Publishers, 1992), 10. 

20. Ibid. 

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