The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-27
THE cow CREEK TREASURE
AN ENGINEER s STORY OF 4 DREAM
BIGS or SILVER.

Mysterious DoinFs OF Two Mis-ourInna.
Midway between the stations OF Lyons
and Ellinwood on tho Atchison, Topckh
and Santa Fe Railway in Kansas, tho
road crosses Cow Creek, flowing south.
ward into tho Arkansas River said IL
Western civil engineer who was visiting New
York. He was one Of q little company ~"
other night in which the conversation had
turned to the subject OF hidden treasure. '"rho
creek Is Of no great account in low water,
though when IL gets on the rampage after "a
| cloudburst or heavy rains 1t Is apt to tear things
loose. Its principal interest to mo was In tho
story of the tragedy enacted there many years
ago and the traditions extant among old Kan.
sans Of buried treasure along its banks,
1.-THE tragedy was the murder Of a New
Mexico merchant, Jose Chavez, in the summer
of 1887 by u band of brigands styling them.
selves Texans. 1t was pcrpctrated while New
Mexico was still q State OF the Mexican Re.
public and Texas was lighting with Mexico ~
secure her independence. Chavez, coming cast.
ward over the Santa Fe trail with a wagon
train, bringing sacks Of Mexican dollars to OK.
change for merchandise, was surprised by
eleven men at Cow Creek, who captured his
outfit and afterward killed him. They plum.
dered hts wagon of the silver and rode away
with their booty. From the weight of the sill
yer taken 1t seemed impossible that they should
have carried all Of 1t far on horseback, and tn,
general belief has been that they buried paro
Of 1t near tho scene of their crime, intending to
return for 1t at another time. Tradition has
Of Cow Creek. It is supposed that none Of ths
robbers ever got back to recover 1t, for as soon
were closely pursued and most Of them caught
and hanged by the United States authorities;
was o Staying eSfsf for a a few days near { the point
where 1t crosses the creek, engaged with my
party in doing some surveying for the company;
| A nlnn0 mr naSlSfAntl WA An American N -
German descent whom we knew as ,Frils
"a laundering, hit-or-miss Impractical fel.
wit Of tho others: He was with us one even,
dressed himself, and loft the house. HIS room.
but without accosting him went to sleep again.
In the course of four hours Fritz returned,
He seemed bewildered, saying that no had
been 10 the place, where the buried treasure
derinss as iieft. no. doubt in my mind that he had
Weakened until some time after his arrival al
the point where lie had stopped, and from
which he had undertaken to make his way
"A this place, he said. he found himself
watching some horeemen who had dismountod
and wore digging, u hole in, the ground. When
they lifted twelve sacks from the ground,
dropped them into the excavation, and reflled
u, oItlIpllB lie I uOWu SOllulN WIFI IntlF
feet and then laying upon the earth the eods
they had cut from the surface in the BEGINNING.
to those put in the hole. and each man taking a
bag upon his saddle, they remounted and rode
HE watched them until they were out of
sight and then went to the place, where they
scene changed about him: he saw houses and
he realized that while he was still standing in
the same place. high grass was growing round
had been there when the men were digging.
This undoubtedly was the time Of his wax
did not know which way to go. but at last.
after going miles in various, directions, ne To-
f5;ef house us 0S shsPs " ssa s ssTse staying aty W. B Bss1 this is
time he had discovered that The spot from
several miles down stream, on Cow Creek.
"Of course the boys bad their fun with him
Something III s'e ~ SAt believer sAi IN 't dreans %" and "a ala in
voyance, I thought 1t worth while the next sun
DAY q ar to h down u" iAs team creek ai' sisS r SR and IL t ssS
been laughed at so much n over hs exploit that
tax on the subject But at, last, as we passed
q farmhouse Oh the prairie above the valley. he
Here's the place where l came up out of the
! passed, and beyond is the place where l saw
"You can turn Off the trail and drive almost
anywhere rn s,r in western ,Sa provided there ere
horses round. droye down by the sod house,
Of opf lis d dTsaa al BY Ne f could ~eH Ws a sa aes sa , The p pbo1s
Of II owing to a patch Of high grass and weeds 50
thick and tangled that we could not drive
out OF the wagon and pressed his way through
the grass. hunting for something thai evidently
was clear in his mind. Once he almost trod on
a rattiesnake, whose buzzlng ! could plainly
hear from the wagon. but Fritz kept up his
I've found it. he called at last, Here are
my footprints where l stood above the Treasure;
Here, pointing to the southeast, here's the hill
the men rode over when they passed out Of
~ had slipped a spade and pickaxe into tho
bottom Of tho wagon before starting away from
the house, and l was all ready, being now ex.
set to digging for the buried silver. So eager
were yer both t1H5hh Fritz and myself that we did nos
sauntered up until he spoke to NE almost at the
Ash baitf he asked with a humorous twinkle
In his eye: It's a good, place fer both right
Whar the Missourians did the last work of thar
TIN a railway builder, SIR l answered with
hereto test tho nature Of the ground.
whole Ah, hatt he s Wai mold nsddi9 iS T.sely VI 4 the
; soils been well tested thar. That young fei.
ler,s standin, now Jest whar the M!!ssourians
but thar's good reason tor thinHin' it wasn't
Twas a dozen years ago they come here,
two OF EN-, hunIin' II water right for "A ranch,
they said, They had a chart OF aome kind Thar
. bf1 oSy S ssas SHOULD y; r9d Io %S'S q, mish'y pn ni Hnar no %:
Gated thar claim ri,Iht WAR we are nova
quarter section, it.wus-and went ter pIoughin'
o -piouShin a foot deep with n subsoil plough
. over u two-ucre patch. That 40 way Ii
n abreak up virgin SOL for p!iniin'. and We
laughed AZ EN- II good deal. But that warn
all, After the two-ucre plot had bocn ploughed
o and rcp.onghed, they begun ter dag THAR .cc.lal
a right wlar that yudnS mans II %stHuuIn'. y,
wonder we called thar undertaken folly
T startin,, In ter build Il hoUac whur The rr,eB
would be cure ter, wash II inlo the Arkans.Gw
a River in the first high water Mai came.
" But they jest dug away, and wnCn the cell
o lar was about two-thrde dug they stopped
Q workin' one day, about noon, an ono nj 'crl
rode over toward .SicrIing, pdllIn' his more 10 d
good pace an lookln' ns il hc ncl huslHc, lhtl
l. couldn't be hindcrcd. ! lived then II lA" .m'
y house you SEQ on the hillside, and rcyn thu
other man su,yin' thar tlurc. | wrul ,},r ru
talk with him, He was tal,In' il ca y, ..,..n ~
y against The side clio q by Nm. lie S.. pu.,c, UuG
u short spoken, and duln ,rcm RAMOS. tor com
u pany, so din't stay Ions. the u,nvr Nlrouilgn
= came back uftor duck with a N-t-pt. - could