The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-28

in the secret was killed, so that none of the tribe could locate the missing treas ure.
 Map Fairly Legibe.
 The map which was found with the old letter gives fairly legible directions for the search, and already dozens are at work digging in various parts or the neighborhood in search of the money. or all the landmarks mentioned on the map however, but one tree remains, though pioneers familiar with the neghborhood say they well remember when all of those shown were standing. The map shows line running diagonally 400 feet southeast of the cabin This line is crossed by one running due east. A line running north and south crosses these two, and the let ter says to dig at the center of the trian' gle instead of the crossing of the east west and north-south lnes where all pre- vious digging has been done.
 An even greater amount of gold treasure lies buried 150 miles north of where MT. Blint found his $45, GOO, and where the Fair field residents are digging for the 5000 spoken of in the Bonnfield letter. There is SS0O00 sent from St. Louis in 1880 to Fort Mckay to the soldiers under Col. Zachary Taylor, which was buried until the Indian trouble should blow over, and which has never been discovered. Men and even women have dug for this money Tor many years, put tue SuttSSS Ol thS searchers in the southern part of the state has inspired those in the northern. and the search is being taken up again as never before.
 The story of the Taylor fortune is in- terestng in the extreme.
 One day in 1S30 four bags of gold were received at Fort Mckay, near where the little town of North McGregor, la, now stands It was the largest shipment ever sent out from St. Louis to any of the iron tier posts, and was to be used to pay off the white soldiers who were valiantly pre- serving order by holding the rebellous Indians in leash. Colonel Taylor. when apprised of the safe arrival of the money, took every preeaution to safeguard it un- til the Indians had been driven away or pacified when the men could be paid and allowed to return to the white settlement to spend their hard-earned money.
 Men Never Came Back.
 Calling together the command, Colonel TavIor chose four of the bravest and most trustworthy men, and. after informing them of the importance of the mission upon which he was about to send them, he gave to each bag of gold with in- structions to carry the bags to some safe place which they should jointly select, and there hide the treasure from the ln- dians. An attack being feared at any mos ment the four men started at once. They never returned.
 Hardly had the four men left the stock ade when well planned attack was made by the Indians The fighting was fast and furious, and extended over several days. When at last the Indians had been re- pulsed Colonel Taylor lost no time in SC lectng a party and sending 1t out to res cue the gold hiders. The party searched for many hours before they came across the four men lying dead and entirely naked, the Indians having murdered, scalped and stripped them.
 Not the smallest suggestion of the whereabouts of the gold could be found about the place where the men had lost their lives in defense of their trust, but after a thorough search one of the mem bers of the party was rewarded by finding a scrap of paper near the body of one of the men, known as Mercierre. Ii Is that scrap of paper which has inspired three quarters of a century of digging On 1t was scrawled
 "On highest bluff across from fort In piles each 20,000. Pierre Mercierre."
 This scrap of paper is still in existence today, and Is positively the only clue to the buried ss0,000 of United States money which should have gone 10 the troops whom Colonel Taylor took mp the Missis- sippi from St Louis a year or two be- fore.
 The supposltion all along has been that one of the gold hiders. finding that his last moment was near. hastily scrawled the best directions he could in the haste and danger, upon the paper and threw 1t from him in the hope that some of his fellows would find it. Colonel Taylor had parties digging for the money for many days. but never a trace was found.