Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1917-11-20
MEXICO The LAND
OF HIDDEN GOLD
AND MANY DREAMS

wherever one goes IN MeAico-cltY,
hamlet, country, mining camp, wilder
ness, desert or mouhtain-there is
one subject of universal interest which
the traveller can bring up with the
certainty that he will at once let loose
a flood Of Renaissance, tradition, ru-
NOR and fact that is as intensely in
teresting as large portion OF II is i'll
founded. Beginning with the famous
and by some regarded more or less
problematical lost treasure of the
Montezumas Though Prescott accepts
the story as true), and-coming down
to the present day, the whole unwrit-
ten history of the country is replete
with stories of hidden treasure. That
degree, that these multifariOus stories
should. in not a few cases, be well
founded, is easily understood. 1t is
only during the last few years. com
paratively speaking, that the posses
sOrs of portable property in fhe way
of jewels, coin, gems and what not.
had any secure place for its bestowal
when necessary for protection. There
were no banks. the making of strong
boxes or safes was in its infancy, and
the only place for safekeeping was
the ground, the thick adobe or stone
wall. underneath the tile floor, or some
recess or cave in the rocks. That
! large amounts of valuables were so
hidden in the past is indusputable. 1t
has been so in all countries, and es-
pecially in Mexico. That many boards
have been discovered at one time and
another is also fact. That many
remain yet to be unearthed is a third
| fact And that there are few foreign
Mexico who have been. able to resist
the glamorous lure of the buried treas
ure story is still another fact-the
writer being among the majority.
The buried treasure of the Monte
zumas dates back to the time of Cor
! teZ, when that not at all gentle or
Christian-like Christian gentleman,
soldier of the Cross and conqueror per-
mitted the deliberate roasting of Gu
auhtemoc and one of his companions
because they courageously and persist
emily refused to disclose the hiding
i place of the royal treasure. variously
| estimated at many millions of dollars
in value. That they should have with
stood such suffering in this cause
seems ample proof of the actually OF
the treasure itself
Various and sundry persons have APP
peared from time to time and have
of the hoard. and large sums have
been expended in excavation and re
search but so far without success.
At various times and in various To-
calities there have been discoveries
of hidden treasure which were we'll
authenticated. although, since the gov
eminent is entitled under the law to
one-half of all treasure trove that may
be recovered. it is believed that there
has beer more than one discovery of
the kind which was kept zealously
from public knowledge. Indeed, search
ers for treasure, are as a rule, very
secretive as to their operations and
the results achieved, whethe r success
full or not
Such, for example, was the treasure
supposed and believed to have been
found at a mining camp in the state
of Durango only few years ago. That
region, having once been the favored
haunt of bandits. as q result is per-
meated with rumors Of treasure. u.s.
ually ascribed to freebooters. In the
case under discussion, grading was in
progress for the erection of a build
ing, a sandy hill being removed to
make way for the foundations. Sud
denly the poems employed all aban-
doned their task and FASTENED to an
other portion of the grounds. Their
native foreman reported to the chief.
foreigner, that they had unearthed
coffin, or a portion of one, during
their excavation, and were afraid to
pursue their task further. all natives
being very superstitious in this con-
nection. The manager replied that he
would investigate the matter, which
he did later. Sure enough, projecting
from the face of Il e excavation for a
portion of its length was a box re-
sembling in shape those designed for
sepulture. With a pick this was fur
Their uncovered; then the lid was pried
up, and what was disclosed led the
manager to replace the boards in
hurry. CHANGING around, he discover
ed the native foreman watching him.
and felt assured from the expression
on his countenance that he too had
seen the contents of the box, which,
so far from being human remains.
were sacks containing coin and other
valuables. as demonstrated by some
of them having become broken open
through sdecay. Quick decision was
necessary on the part of the mana
ger and he decided to make the hest
of it, since there was no method for
preserving secrecy. He told the ma
tive foreman TO warn the laborers
against approaching the spot or in