The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-09-06
Old Man From Texas Says He Knows
Where to Find the Cave
Filled With
Money.
BURIED FORTY YEARS
Wealth Of Indian Was Hidden Away
During the Civil War and the
Secret Never Was
Told.

MUSKOGEE, Ok, Sept If the
clew developed proves authentic, the
fortune In gold and silver buried dur
Ing the civil war by Ben Marshall, one
of the wealthiest Indians in the ole
Indian territory, and lost for nearly
fifty years, may be recovered and the
members of the Marshall family, now
IN moderate circumstances, restored
to their former prestige.
]. j. Ayres, an aged man came
from Texas to Oklahoma, hoping to
persuade someone to furnish the 500
necessary to enable him to go to a
treasure cave that he says he can
locate without trouble, though he has
not heard of 1t in forty years. Ayres
had read in the newspapers of the
search instituted by an old Indian
named Keys, for a treasure cave in
southwest Missouri, where the Indians
buried silver bullion The cave that
he knows of Is evidently not the same
as that Keys is searching for, but
Ayres' description of the treasure,
and the locality comedies with the de-
scription of the barrels of money that
Ben Marshall buried during the war
Ayres' story is that forty years ago
trapper paid visits to Fort Worth,
Tex, from the Indian Territory with
his pockets filled with gold and silver
money in American and Spanish coins.
He went on periodical sprees, and sew
eral times described to Ayres the
source of his wealth. saying that he
had found cave beside stream in
the territory where there were four
barrels filled with gold and silver.
Finally the trapper left Fort Worth
for another excursion to his treasure
cave and never returned. Ayres, who
had regarded the story as perhaps
the yagary of drunken man, forgot
the treasure cave until it was recalled
to his memory by the story of the
Indian treasure seeker
Ben Marshall was one of the wealth.
lest half-bloods in the Indian nation.
He had big plantation between the
Arkansas and Verdigras rivers, many
slaves and herds of cattle and horses.
Before the civil war the government
paid the Indian annuities in gold and
silver coin, and Marshall, trading with
the Indians, accumulated money
enough to be slowed away in barrels
in his plantation house. When the
civil war broke out he had four bar.
rels filled with gold and silver in the
house. Many of the old Indians still
living remember having seen this
money.
The Indians hid their wealth in
every available place during the war.
and Marshall planned to hide his gold
and silver. One night he and faith.
full old negro slave loaded the four
barrels of money into a farm wagon
and drove away. The next day Judge
n. B. Moore, who now resides at
Haskell, met them in the Choctaw Ma
ton and they told him their errand
Marshall showed him the barrels of
money and he saw the coin.
Upon their return from hiding the
fortune Marshall told his wife where
they had left the money, but the Sc
cret was conffded to no one else. AS
the war progressed Marshall took his
family further south, going to Texas.
He died in Texas and his wife suryiv-
ed him only a few months. The ne
gro slave to whom the secret had been
confided died short time later and
the secret nerished
After the war the Marshall negroes
drifted back to the old plantation and
took up the land under the treaty of
1866 as freedmen allotments. Ben
Marshalls son took up an allotment
on part Of he plantation, but soon left
the spot OF painful memories and went
further north In the territory His
son. Ben Marshall Ill, was born near
Fort Gibson and now is living at
Clarksville, Ok.
Many times IN the past fifty wears
search has been made for the Mar
shall treasure, but old Ben Marshall
hid it well and it has never been
found.