Initially one might dismiss an account of over 230 pounds of placer gold just waiting to be found, but the Catholic Church had enough faith in the story that they employed fifteen men to try to locate it. Still, it remains hidden to this day.
“The true story is a thrilling tale of adventure and death,” the Weekly Journal-Miner reported, “in all making one of the most vivid and fascinating experiences that is associated with lost mines or a hidden treasure…” The paper further claimed that it was a story that “has never been told [before].”
The telling of the tale arose shortly after the location of the Pioneers’ Home was chosen, prior to the construction of the building itself. It was circa 1890, and a placer miner whose name is lost to history was lying in a bed at the Sisters of Charity institute in Denver. He knew he was dying and he had a secret to tell Father Gubitosi—a secret of an immense cache of gold, worth about $7.5 million today, that he had hidden away.
The story begins at an extremely early date in the Anglo history of central Arizona; preceding the Walker Party. The future location of Prescott was nothing more than a small wilderness valley tucked beside surrounding mountains with a creek running through it.
“It seems that the man…had entered [Arizona] from some point evidently in the eastern section of the territory, on the Navajo Indian reserve,” the paper related, “and with two others was fleeing with his [immense] treasure of placer gold.” Each man had a mule to ride, while two other mules carried the gold, supplies, and “what little food they had.”
They made a southwesterly dash to the Mogollon Rim before descending into the Verde Valley. As hostile as this country could be back then, they traversed without attack. “They passed up the Verde and hugged the stream, entering the open country via Granite creek and in close to Chino Valley,” the paper related. It was here that they were attacked by Indians. One of the men was killed, while the other man was struck by a poisoned arrow, "and died in a few days from the wound.”
ALSO ENJOY: Wild Wagoner AZ: Founded 1864 The complete, colorful history of the gold mining "town" of Wagoner, AZ.“He then struck for the open land that is now Lonesome Valley, and at night would return to the banks of Granite Creek for water,” the paper reported. “He continued his traveling along the stream, and finally became exhausted, entering a strip of country that would permit no further retreat and afforded desirable conditions for [hiding].”
He hid the gold “near a spring of water under a boulder that he rolled onto the spot, and that at the feet of the mountains there was a running stream, with a little valley opening into it nearby.”
“This identical ground is that to be seen surrounding Prescott,” the paper exclaimed. “It was here that he stored the gold, and with the animals that he had, he continued to travel until the Colorado River was reached. After crossing the Colorado he drifted down it until what was then a military post at Yuma… He went into California, and in the many years that intervened, during the Apache warfare, never dared to return to seek the riches. Sickness overtook him, and paralysis followed, he finally becoming the subject of charity of the church. At the end he desired the church to receive the benefit of his secret.”
Father Gubitosi thought the story to be sincere enough that he sent Charles O’Malia to search for the booty. After surveying the area according to the late miner’s instructions, O’Malia decided that the location must be at what would become known as Pioneers’ Home Hill. After securing the rights to dig from the property owner Frank Murphy, O’Malia hired fifteen men “and the work of excavating the soil, in digging trenches, moving immense boulders out of position, and in sinking shafts, was earnestly and zealously prosecuted for over a year,” the paper disclosed. “Several acres were perforated like a sieve and not a spot that looked inviting was overlooked.” They found nothing.
Even just prior to the construction of the Pioneers’ Home, the paper wrote: “to this day visitors to the place look intently at the spots dug into…and some also try their hand and do a little prospecting [themselves].”
Despite the failure, Father Gubitosi still had faith. Perhaps the treasure was somewhere else? He traveled to the area himself and more work was done, but to no avail.
Perhaps some day in the future, some blessed individual will stumble upon it. For you treasure hunters, CLICK HERE to read the original story--it's columns 3-4.
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SOURCE:
Weekly Journal-Miner, 6/23/1909; Pg. 2, Cols. 3-4.
SOURCE:
Weekly Journal-Miner, 6/23/1909; Pg. 2, Cols. 3-4.
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