While Babe looked on from above, Doc inched his way down the narrow passageway into the mountain nearly 60 feet. In addition, Victorio Peak lay on land owned by the state of New Mexico, and removal of gold without permission of the state violated New Mexico law.4. [1][a] While there have been multiple documented expeditions to the peak, no gold has been officially recorded as being recovered from the site. Sensing a double-cross by Ryan, Doc dug up the gold that was to be used in the exchange and reburied it in a place where Ryan was unaware. Floyd and his friend Pat were getting ready to look for treasure in an area where Pat found found three old metal bars in a cave on the old Spanish trail in New Mexico. Army spokesmen have consistently dismissed all reports of Victorio Peak gold as rumors. An apparent propaganda campaign, in fact, has been conducted for many years by the Army in order to dispel these reports and to keep treasure seekers away from the missile range. When he reached the surface, he told Babe, This is the last one of them babies Im gonna bring out. However, when Babe rolled the bar over, she noticed a yellow gleam where the gravel of the hillside had scratched off centuries of black grime. 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. In November 1958, a team of four weekend gold seekers rediscovered the hoard. Treasure Net Forum He has recruited friends and investors to form the Ova Noss Family Partnership, named for his late grandmother, that is financing the new search. Mr. Bailey will not say, but Mrs. Noss and, her dozen or so partners have filed a $1billion Federal Court suit charging that the Government, the Secretary of the Army, several military officers and 200 John Does were conspiring to bilk her out of the treasure. According to members of the family, there would have been more, but Docs work was abruptly and unexpectedly brought to a halt in August 1939 when a dynamite blast, set to enlarge a narrow passage, instead caved the passage in, sealing off the main cavern. By this time, Babes story had spread across the nation, profiled in several magazines and newspapers. To further complicate things, rumors swirled about various factions smuggling. 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. Though caught trespassing and escorted from the area, the men reported observing several men in Army fatigues upon the peak. Lack of water has hampered mining in many districts and new technology, which minimizes water usage, may stimulate activity. MEXICO CITY 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 . After discovering the treasure, Doc and Babe spent every free moment exploring the tunnels inside the mountain, living in a tent at the base of the peak. This was the beginning of protracted legal battles over the ownership of the claim. Bill Shriver, an international dealer in precious metals who proved very helpful in the initial stages of this investigation until his death, brought the total still higher. [7], Theories abound on the origins of the alleged treasure, including that it was pilfered from Mexico during the reign of the Austrian puppet Emperor Maximilian, or through collusion between Pancho Villa and Germany prior to World War I.[8]. 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. The horde of an Apache chief? Mr. Koury asserted that the General first denied the search was on but admitted it later when sworn statements from the spies were produced. 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. The Army, which controls the missile range, insists there is no treasure and has never been any. Within just a few days, Doc and Babe were back at the site with ropes and flashlights. White Sands, New Mexico by the National Park Service. The answer could be worth billions of dollars. 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. 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. On the walls were drawings, some painted and others chiseled, that appeared to have been made by Indians. Lyndon Johnsons name loomed large in the information that Freedom uncovered, with various sources claiming that the president was instrumental in the planning and execution of the removal of the gold. A Partner and a Gunfight. The rate of this tax varies from 5.125% to 8.8675% depending on where the business is . But even the nicest people we'd take in, they'd see gold and go berserk.. This writer conducted extensive interviews with Thomas Berlett. But the legend of the hidden gold was fueled again during the Watergate hearings in 1973. [5] During the 1970s, lawyer F. Lee Bailey represented clients who claimed to know where the treasure was located. Becoming desperate for cash, Doc and a man named Joseph Andregg transported gold bars, coins, jewels, and artifacts into Arizona, selling them on the black market. On the night of March 4, 1949, I went with Doc Noss and dug up 20 bars of gold at a windmill in the desert east of Hatch, New Mexico, and reburied them in the basin where Victorio Peak is. As the years passed, Babe Noss held onto her claim at Victorio Peak, occasionally hiring men to help her clear the shaft. Doc was trying to obey the law but they grabbed our gold, Mrs. Noss said, He blew up. Los Angeles Times Four. The skeletons hands were bound behind its back apparently, the person had been deliberately left there to die. Kathy Weiser-Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2021. A jury ruled that Mr. Ryan had acted in self-defense. As far as I'm concerned, I've got more gold in my upper bridge than is in those mountains., The center of interest is Victoria Peak, a 1,500foot hill in the San Andres Mountains on missile range land about 25 miles northeast of Las Cruces. Using ropes for support and guided by his flashlights wavering beam, Doc Noss descended a series of interconnecting chambers which led downward for 186 feet. With legal ownership established, Noss began to work the claim openly, but he also became increasingly paranoid, hiding the gold bars all over the desert. When it began to rain, Doc sought shelter under a rocky overhang near the mountains summit. The Army says the gold was never found. On the night of September 1, 1968, Porter drove to the peak with a friend and a civilian security guard from White Sands Missile Range named Clarence McDonald. The Army put those fellows in there blind knowing they wouldn't find anything.. Mr. Noss's ex-wife was barred from searching in the 1950's, when the Army extended the White Sands borders to include Victorio Peak. The initial soundings appear to indicate a cavern precisely where Mr. Noss described. hell, I'll get Eleanor.. 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. The caverns are located in and around Victorio Peak, in a remote, rugged section of south-central New Mexico. The more productive ore zones typically occur as narrow pay streaks or layers of fine-grained, disseminated gold, locally on top of basement rock or clay or caliche lenses within gravel deposits. According to the security guard, Johnson and Connally headed a team which brought in sophisticated excavation equipment to remove gold from the peak, the most modern Ive ever seen, he said. In the spring of 1938, Doc Noss and Babe went to Santa Fe to establish legal ownership of the find, filing a lease with the State of New Mexico for the entire section of land surrounding Victorio Peak. In a deeper cavern, Doc found what he thought was a stack of worthless iron bars. If the treasure was real, Noss had poor timing. 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. Denied entry by the courts until legalities could determine the legal owner of the mine; Doc feared Ryan would back out of the deal. This could explain the skeletons in the cavern. In 1961, he returned to the desert and claims to have found 10 . However, with the discovery of gold, the treaty was broken in 1878, and Victorio went on the warpath. After some airmen from a nearby air force base claimed they found some gold at Victorio Peak, the Army and Secret Service began a secret search in 1961. I've heard that story at least 500 times. Mrs. Noss believes Mr. Bailey's clients to be mili tary officers and perhaps some of her husband's old partners. Shriver also said that he had copies of other presidential messages, several initialed by LBJ, dealing with the clandestine, illegal removal of the gold. (1.93 kilograms), while digging for the construction of a central bank in Mexico City. He estimated there were thousands of these bars, each weighing over 40 pounds stacked against a wall. [5] She later was part of an unsuccessful 1963 search. One man, a Mr. On August 5, Fiege and his party returned to Victorio Peak, accompanied by the commander of the Missile Range, a secret service agent, and 14 military police. Many hieroglyphs have been found in New Mexico near his home, according to treasure hunters from the area. The family declines to discuss the incident. The world's first atomic bomb was detonated here on July 16, 1945. The U.S. Army, which gained control of the area when it was converted to a bombing range during the Second World War, refused her request to bring in an excavation firm and ultimately ordered the Nosses to stay out of the area. In 2019, evidence to support the theory that the gold never left Mexico was revealed when archaeologists confirmed that a gold bar found in 1981 was from Montezuma's treasure. 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. During fluvial events, large volumes of sediment containing free gold are transported and deposited in relatively poorly-sorted alluvial and stream deposits. 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. Then in 1981, the construction crew found the gold bar, and today scientists have confirmed it was part of the Aztec treasures that Cortes hoped to steal away from Mexico for Spain. Parts of White Sands are sometimes leased by private corporations and foreign governments for experiments. It would also explain the presence of the Wells Fargo bags, packsaddles, letters, and other artifacts dating to Victorios time. Ova convinced Doc to return to the big cave and bring one of the heavy bars back up. Jan 20, 2020 Ian Harvey. 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. And for good reason. The whole truth will probably never be known, but there is no doubt that a treasure existed. However, Terry Delonas, her grandson, continued the family tradition and formed the Ova Noss Family Partnership. Ryan hinted that if Noss did not reveal the whereabouts of the gold, Doc would not live to enjoy it. Lindgren, W., Graton, L.C., and Gordon, C.H., 1910, The ore deposits of New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 68, 361 p. McLemore, V.T., 1994, Placer gold deposits in New Mexico: McLemore, V.T., Dunbar, N., Heizler, L., and Heizler, M., 2014, Geology and mineral deposits of the Orogrande mining district, Jarilla Mountains, Otero County, New Mexico: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 65, p. 247-259. Another source confirmed the manner and the circumstances of E.M. Guthries death, noting that it was listed as just a natural death, but hed been worked over with a baseball bat. This source said that he had hired a team of experienced investigators to dig into Guthries death and more than 30 other deaths in connection with a massive, continuing cover-up of the removal of gold from Victorio Peak. Many streams in New Mexico contain at least traces of gold, enough to satisfy weekend gold panners. Then, in 1942 or 1943, she isn't sure, he tried to blast the tunnel bigger in order to haul up more gold bars at one time. The Legendary Treasure White Sands Missile Range, https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/13/archives/the-legendary-treasure-of-the-white-sands-missile-range-gold-bars.html. Meanwhile, Tony Jolley, now a 69-year-old rancher living outside Boise, Ida., never forgot those bars of gold he helped bury in 1949. Years later, in 1946, Doc discussed his exploration with Gordon E. Herkenhoff, field representative of the New Mexico State Land Office.1. He was shot to death in 1949, but his first wife, Mrs. Ova Noss, now 77years old, insists she was with him. Doc filled his pockets with gold coins, grabbed a couple of jeweled swords, and laboriously returned to Babe waiting anxiously at the surface. This was shortly before a much-publicized expedition, entitled Operation Goldfinder, took place at the site in March 1977. Where they the plunder of Spanish conquistadores who had conquered the Aztecs? Beyond the Hembrillo Basin is a hundred-mile stretch of desert known as the Jornada del Muerto. You just couldn't trust anybody and still can't, she said. By completing a chemical analysis and determining the particle morphology of placer gold collected from these districts using an electron microprobe, patterns in the chemical signatures from each location can be used to examine chemical variability (1) within the individual placer gold particles, (2) within the same district and (3) among different districts. 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. Finally, others believe that the treasures were hidden by Chief Victorio, for whom the peak is named. This time, the military began a full-scale mining operation at the Peak. He supposedly told his wife: "We can make John D. Rockefeller look like a tramp. Still another source reported knowledge of aircraft movements of the gold from Chihuahua to Vancouver, British Columbia, during the period of Johnsons presidency. The next day, March 5, 1949, Ryan arrived in the area, insisting that they discuss the problem of what happened to the gold. As Doc continued to explore the side caverns, he found a hoard of treasure, including coins, jewels, saddles, and priceless artifacts, including a gold statue of the Virgin Mary. A source interviewed in Mexico stated that it was common knowledge in the towns of Jimenez and Camargo that Johnsons 110,000-acre ranch in Chihuahua served as a storage area for a very large amount of gold flown in by a four-engine, propeller-driven aircraft in the late 1960s. The room had been undisturbed for so long that the dust, according to Berlett, lay several inches thick. Through the years, soldiers at White Sands have spent weekends looking for the gold. Ryan was charged with murder but was later acquitted. Beyond that there is supposed to be another incline upward at about 30 degrees for some distance (40 feet as I remember it) where entrance is gained to a cave some 2700 feet long which contains many evidences that the cave was occupied as living quarters by a large group of humans for many years., The group evidently had some grisly practices, for the first thing Doc Noss encountered was a row of skeletons, 27 in all. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. Six men who worked with Doc in removing the gold C.D. See the article in its original context from. Acquitted on grounds of selfdefense, Mr. Ryan testified that Doc had promised him 51 bars of gold in return for his $27,000 investment. 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