The San Francisco call., 1897-08-08
TreaSure- -SeekerS Hunt
for a Bandit Cache
at. Phoenix.
impetus Given to Their Zeal
by the Finding of an Old
Revolver.
Men Have Sought Without
Success.

PHGNIX, ARIz. Aug. 7.-Harry Brown
found an old revolver buried under
bush in the northeastern part of the city
yesterday, and to-day there are lot of
about town prospectors working with
picks and shoyeis in the vicinity, hoping
to find half of a bar of gold that was
originally worth $50, 600. All of which re-
calls to the old-timers one Of the earliest
and most sensational of Ph9nix's trag-
edies
In June, 1876 the stage-coach was held
up on the Black Canyon road, Just beyond
point known as Arastra hill. by five
masked men. One passenger was killed,
and the treasure captured consisted of
bar of gold bullion, big stack OF new
$l00 greenbacks and the personal properly
of the passengers. The robbers came dl-
rectIy 20 Phoenix, where they divided
their spoil and separated, each going to a
different part of the Territory.
A year later began the story of and the
search for the famous Phoenix buried
treasure. at different times scores Of p r
sons have come 10 this City with what
they considered the correct "up' on its
exact location. How, why, and where it
came to be buried was first told by a
couple of the robbers them selves, after
they had been mortelly wounded, one by
a com padre at Santa Maria, and the other
by peace officer in p 9nlx. The latter
told the best story He said the green
backs and half OF the bar OF bullion were
buried. The greenbacks were so rare in
| this part OF the country at that time that
their pc session would have been suspi-
cious. For the same reason the peculiar
pistol taken from the murdered passenger,
which bore the words Blood for blood"
engraved on the handle, was also buried.
1t was this pistol that was found yester-
day by Harry Brown. The bar OF bullion
was cut in half with an ak. Why half
was buried has never been explained, but
every body knows that it was. The other
half OF the bar was afterward recovered
by the authorities at Los Angeles aud
upon weight it was found to be so evenly
divided that the difference in the TWO
pieces was less than $75.
Before the dying robber could definitely
locate the place " here the treasure was
buried blood from his wound surged to
his throat and he died with the rest of his
secret still undivulged. Nevertheless. a
strength of his confession, but nothing
was found.
I rec years later priest arrived in
Phoenix from Magdalena, Sonora. He,
too, came to search for the robber treas
ure. Its locality had been divulged to
him by man who died of a wound re-
ceived in the fiesta at Magda.ena. AL
though the description given to the padre
was quite finite all the important land
marks had been changed by the approach
of civilization. Even the location of the
bank of a ditch that was named as start
ing poin had been changed and men who
ought to have been familiar with its
former location could remem Der it only in
a general way.
The padre prosecuted his search for
some time, but he found nothing for his
pains and went away the poorer for his
searching. Scarcely year has passed
in this city who believed himself possessed
of the proper directions.
The dying robter who made the first
confession said the greenbacks and half
bar OIL bullion were buried in an iron COZ
fee-pot. Scores OF treasure-hunters have
spent weeks and months in secretly prob
ing the suspected spot with long steel bars.
1t has often been thought that the treasure
had been found. but each time the rumor
proved to be untrue. Now there is more
digging and searching and probing, and
score or more OF men are hoping to strike
their pick or their probe into that iron
coffee pot.