Treasure Mountain, Colorado
Nestled within the rugged embrace of the southern Rocky Mountains, in the southwestern portion of Colorado, lies a peak shrouded in mystery and whispered tales of immense, buried riches: Treasure Mountain. This sentinel of stone and earth, located a few miles east of the winding Wolf Creek Pass and near the historic site of Summitville, isn’t just another majestic peak in the Centennial State. It is a geographic landmark forever intertwined with a captivating legend, a story of French prospectors, Native American conflict, lost maps, and the enduring allure of hidden gold.
The narrative begins in the late 1700s, a time when European powers were actively exploring and staking claims in the vast, uncharted territories of North America. A French expedition, comprised of some 300 men and a train of 450 horses, embarked on a journey westward from an outpost near modern-day Leavenworth, Kansas. Their destination: the promise of mineral wealth within the formidable Rocky Mountains. After traversing the plains, they established a base camp near what is now Summitville, Colorado, and began their prospecting endeavors.
The landscape surrounding Summitville, characterized by its network of creeks and streams, proved to be unexpectedly bountiful. The French explorers struck gold, and not just a meager vein, but a substantial deposit on Treasure Mountain. Estimates place the potential value of this gold, in today’s market, at a staggering $33 million. Faced with such a monumental find, the Frenchmen strategically concealed their precious hoard in three separate locations, with the expedition’s commanding officer entrusted with the crucial task of creating a detailed map.
Initially, the indigenous inhabitants of the region, presumably Ute Indians, observed the French presence without overt hostility. However, as time wore on and the scale of the prospecting operation became apparent, tensions escalated. The initial period of uneasy co-existence was shattered by a fierce and brutal attack launched by the Native Americans upon the French encampment.
The ensuing battle was a desperate struggle for survival. Outnumbered and facing a determined foe, the French prospectors acted swiftly to protect their newfound wealth. They hastily buried the gold, creating new maps to mark its precise location amidst the chaos. However, the tide of battle turned decisively against them. The majority of the French expedition was decimated by the Indian onslaught.
Only a small contingent, estimated to be between 17 and 35 men, managed to escape the carnage near Treasure Mountain. Their flight, however, was far from over. As they retreated eastward, towards the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, they were ambushed again, suffering further losses in a second brutal encounter.
The ranks of the survivors dwindled further as they pushed towards the Kansas outpost. The harsh grip of winter tightened around them, bringing with it starvation and debilitating cold. Three more men succumbed to the elements, leaving only two weary souls to finally stumble into the relative safety of the outpost. Even then, tragedy continued to stalk them, as one of the two survivors ultimately perished.
The sole survivor of the ill-fated expedition was a man known as "Le Blanc," the expedition’s historian. After a period of recuperation at the outpost, Le Blanc embarked on the long and arduous journey back to France. He carried with him two copies of the treasure map, one intended for the French government and the other to be kept for himself. This marked the beginning of the enduring legend of Treasure Mountain.
Fueled by the promise of immense wealth, a second expedition was organized to retrieve the buried gold. Whether this mission was initiated by Le Blanc’s family or by the French government itself remains unclear. Regardless, a group of fifty men retraced the steps of their predecessors, passing through Taos, New Mexico, where they hired a guide to lead them back to the Summitville area and the elusive Treasure Mountain.
Months later, the guide returned to Taos alone, bearing a grim tale of another Indian massacre that had wiped out the entire expedition. The locals of Taos, however, harbored deep suspicions about the "sole survivor" and his narrative. In what would be the last Mexican trial held on United States territory, the guide was accused of murder. However, he was ultimately acquitted, leaving the truth shrouded in ambiguity.
Some theories suggest a more cunning scenario. Perhaps the Frenchmen had secretly located the gold, returning to France with their riches and paying the guide to fabricate the story of a massacre in order to deter any further expeditions. This theory further fueling the mystery surrounding Treasure Mountain.
Over the ensuing years, numerous maps claiming to lead to the buried treasure have surfaced, each adding another layer to the complex tapestry of the legend. One such map supposedly fell into the hands of a man named William Yule, who meticulously searched the western side of the valley, extending north to Saguache, but his efforts proved fruitless.
Later, a prospector named Asa Poor reportedly obtained the map from Yule. Together with two partners, Poor was allegedly able to identify several landmarks corresponding to those on the map, bringing them tantalizingly close to the treasure. However, they never managed to unearth the hidden gold. One of Poor’s partners, a man named Montroy, retained possession of the map after their unsuccessful search, but it mysteriously disappeared several years later, further deepening the mystery.
In more recent times, a local family, claiming direct descent from Le Blanc, has emerged, professing to possess an authentic map written in French. For three generations, they have quietly pursued the lost cache, meticulously searching the Treasure Mountain region. After years of painstaking effort, the family members claim to have located seven of the eight landmarks described on the map.
Adding another layer of intrigue to the story, in 1993, one of the family members was hunting elk in the mountains south of Del Norte when a sudden downpour forced him to seek shelter. He discovered a small, 3-foot opening in the ground, which turned out to be a man-made tunnel, approximately 5 by 4 feet in width. Intrigued, he crawled about 20 feet into the hillside when his progress was abruptly halted by an underground landslide.
Shining his flashlight into the dark passageway, he noticed a carving on the rock wall, which he believed to be the long-lost eighth clue described on the map. The following day, a group of 20 family members returned to the tunnel, determined to excavate the cave-in. They tunneled an additional twelve feet into the mountainside, lining the passageway with candles as dusk approached.
However, before they could light the candles, a rattlesnake lunged out of the darkness, narrowly missing one of the family members. In a moment of panic, he scrambled back towards the entrance, only to be met by a swarm of bats pouring out of the hillside, squeaking and diving aggressively at the surprised party.
Undaunted, they knelt down to light the first candle at the entrance to the tunnel when, inexplicably, the candle at the far end of the tunnel flared to life on its own! While the stunned group stared at each other in disbelief, a huge owl dive-bombed them, passing within inches of their heads.
Terrified by these strange and unsettling events, the family fled the passageway and returned home, convinced that the French gold was "guarded" by an unknown entity. Despite their fear, the family has since obtained the Colorado state treasure rights to legally enter the cave and claim whatever treasure may remain there, continuing the enduring quest for the legendary Treasure Mountain gold.
Adding yet another dimension to the story, some believe that the Ute Indians may have acquired some of the French gold during the initial battle, hiding it near the mouth of the Rio Grande Canyon. This possibility serves as a reminder that the story of Treasure Mountain is likely far more complex than any single narrative can capture. The mystery remains.