The morning call., 1895-01-06

left for Santa Barbara, which already has
the best of everything in the way OF cli-
mate, scenery, products and people, to lay
lust claim to several of the most enticing
and authentic tales of hidden treasure that
one often hears.
| came across the first Of these while ex-
ploring a canyon some ten miles out frou
town. variously known as Gatos (wildcaD
and Lewis Canyon, and which contains
several miles from the point where the
wagon road terminates some interesting
prehistoric traces in the shape Of Indian
paintings on the faces of two sheer cliff.
through which the tiny stream. moving
with gigantic force during the winter tor
rents, has slowly through the ages carved
its way. There is q cave high up on the
face of one of these cliffs, and this cave,
no less than the strange inscriptions, was
one of the objective points Of our party.
"Perhaps you'll find the old priests
lost treasure was the quickening re-
mark of a rancher who was gravely con-
tributing directions for our guidance and
who evidently had little respect for people
who were led by no more dignified motives
than desire to unravel the lost history
L
den In cave somewhere along this range"
he added tentatively.
This led to queries and explanations.
His knowledge was vague, but beguiling.
Some time during the early occupation OF
the mission there had been a great treas
ure concealed, for the purpose of safety.
in cave in the mountains. and she secret
Of its hiding place had bsen lost.
We reached the cliffs. but not the cave,
which was thirty-five feet up In the air, in
the face OF a straight rock, having o lad
der and no means of constructing any save
from timbers too heavy for our exploring
party to handle. II the treasure is there
it still awaits the discovery of some enter
prising individual who has the courage to
follow the wiadings of Lewis Creek
nearly TO the crest of the range. with the
aid OF ropes, scaling several falls aud slip
perry lodges high In the air, and who then
has still sufficient courage and enterprise
reserved to fell couple of sycamores and
construct ladder that will lift him to this
opening.
Again and again, sometimes from Old
Mexicans, whose scant knowledge of Eng
lsh and my own scant store OF Spanish
made conversation difficult; sometimes
from prosaic ranchmen, who regarded all
energy as misapplied that is directed out
side of barley field or kitchen. vague
references to this fascinating tale again
came to us. It was not until came across
a German, who has his home in San Roqui
CANYON. that the story was spread before
me, full and complete. to the last detail.
every early in this century," my
German acquaintance began, "about the
wear 1903, the Santa Barbara Mission, at
that time very wealthy and with great
stores of gold and precious jewels, as we'll
as church ornaments worth q pile, was
endangered by pirates, who at that time
threatened the port. The priests decided to
move these treasures to place of safe
keeping. Now you can see for yourself
that if they had merely sent them off in
somebody's keeping they would have been
easily traced. So they determined to
make believe they had another purpose
when they carried off the jewels. They
nut up an adobe building here in this
canyon, where there were many Indians.
T will show you the foundation of this
chapel by and by. But they pretended 1t
was dairy they we're building. and they
brought along all their cattle and pas
tnred them here. II the pirates had
puessed that they had the treasure here
il was q good place to defend 1t. you
betw
We had been walking slowly up the
canyon, and my informant turned and
with significant wave of his hand babe
ma take in the situation. He evidently
was an authority upon military matters.
az well as upon all other subjects. The
Mace seemed fitted by nature for an i'm
pregnable fortress, with its narrow, rocky
walls and its slight eminence, command
Ing the only approach from the valley.
He showed me the half-obliterated founda-
ton of the old chapel. or dairy. as he
would have me believe, which was easily
traced, indicating the former existence of
a quadrangular building. probably some
sixty feet In width and perhaps $50 feet in
length.
Here they had the treasure safely
housed" he went Oh. "Bui one night one