The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-07-21
oKLoHoMA TREASURE.
Legends of Buried Gold in the souths
 west.

west.
 Oklahoma, for so many years the home of the outlaw and the des- perado has her stories of buried treas ure which rival in magnitude the tales of wealth buried along the Atlantic coast by Capt Kidd and other ravagers of the Spanish main. Every now and then men with modern bIueprints or we'll thumbed maps appear in an other- wise peaceful community and by mys- terious signs convey the information that they have come to seek the buried treasure of fabulous wealth. One of the best of these stories. which many credited, is that dealing with the Tres Piedras gold. How much there is sup posed to have been has long been lost in ebscurity, for it is legend handed
 down by the Catholic priests in old
 Mexico It is often told how these men have kept the knowledge to themselves until by chance it was revealed to stranger, who, taking up the thread. has followed it through and found the
 burial place The story is only partly fanciful. for if is beyond question that men have at various times gone to Beaver County-the No Mans Land of the early history and there sought the Castilians' weath.
 According to the legend, a Spanish column in search of Eldorado trav- ersed the plains to the northwest of Mexico. At distance of every 10 or IS miles they set guide posts of stone inscribed with the letter V. When near what is now Garret. in Beaver County. 1t was decided to bury the treasure. I which is supposed to have been enor- nous. The remaining guide posts were so planted at distance of half mile apart that the apex of each pointed to spo. in the center of the circle.
 They continued their journey, but were massacred by a band of Indians. On ly one was able to return to Mexico, where he soon after died from exposure besore he could do more than give the incomplete directions needed.
 It is related that an effort was made to follow the trail, but 1t was lost near Santa Fe and the search was given up. Recently Michael Ryan, an Irishman, who had lived his life among the Mex jeans was found digging in a basin be- tween Cimarron and Corrumna. Rivers.
 He admitted to the sheriff of the coun- ty, who found him at his work that he had discovered the guide posts and
 found the circular ring described in the legend. What success he had is not known, but he left one day and has never since been seen in the vicinity.
 All the gold reported to be buried, how yer. is not in the western part of the territory, for, as the story goes. there is S10O,0O0 in gold dust buried on the farm of Joe Boulanger, in the osage nation. near Pawhuska.
 This is supposed to have been buried | by 6 returning gold miner in the days of the California fever. He was a Mis- sourian. and, having made fortune undertook to guide party of gold hunters gack to the States Near what I is now Wichita, Kas., he got into a dis pute with scout. The latter. who knew of the wealth carried by the party Icontrived to obtain the assistance of a. band of warlike Pawnee Indians. They followed the wagon train and finally
 surrounded 1t. Goldle the Missourian. realized the danger and took all the I gold of the party upon the pretense that he intended to bury 1t at the edge I of the timber. In the gathering dark ness he managed to pass the Indians, and when the latter attacked the party and massacred all the members Goldie was gone.
 The scout discovered this the follow 1 ing morning, and Goldies trail was found and followed. When he became aware that he was followed he celect- led spot on what is now called Artil- lery Mountain. and marked by large tree peculiarly twisted, and there bur jed the dust. Proceeding a short dis tance. he unsaddled his mule and con tinued his journey on foot. So care- fully did he cover his trail this time, however, that the Indians failed to find
 1t before he was out of their reach He
 arrived home safely and expected to Ereturn and find the buried treasure, but
 was taken i'll and died
 I Upon his death he related to his
 wife all the circumstances, and gave l her minute directions for discovering
 the spot. but she knew of no one to
 whom she might intrust her secret. and having sufficient to keep her from
 want. he waited until her son, then l a boy of years. had reached manhood
 besore she told the story, In 1882 the first search for this treasure was be- gun. The place had been cleareS off by Boulanger. civilized Indian. When l questioned by mysterious middle laged man he well remembered the loca- tion ef the peculiar tree. The man dug near the spot shown him. but find- l ing nothing. told Boulanger the story, and said that if the money was ever found he would like share. Since
 that time there have been several at
 tempts to find the supposed wealth.
 Some have been in secret and some
 have been open. but nothing has ever come to light, so far as known. of
 Goldies gold,-Guthri Letter, New York