X is for X Marks the Spot

For you treasure seekers out there, how about a few places where stolen loot was said to have been hidden by outlaws of the Wild West?  I chose a few favorites in various states.

marks the spot!

Kingman, Arizona (Canyon Station) - In 1873, a man named McCallum, along with a partner, robbed a Wells Fargo stagecoach of its strongbox, which held $72,000.  They buried the strongbox when a posse came after them, and refused to ever say where they'd buried it.  When McCallum was dying in prison, he told another man, who went in search of a specific marker.  When he got there, he found that someone owned the property and had planted an orchard.  To this day, no one has reported finding the strongbox.  The ruins of Canyon Station, a stagecoach station, still stand near Kingman.

Davis Mountain (in Arizona) - Before you look, Davis Mountain cannot be found on a map.  There is no such named mountain these days, but at some point there was.  It is described as dome-shaped, and it's said that one can see Sugarloaf Mountain and New Mexico from atop it.  There, you will supposedly find diamonds and a ton of gold, stolen by an unnamed bandit, who robbed a smuggler's train (in other words, the bandit robbed another bandit).  Search around online and you can find precise directions to the treasure.  Only thing left for you to do is figure out what peak is Davis Mountain!

Murrieta's Caches (California) - Joaquin Murrieta was a Mexican Patriot, forced off his land by American settlers in California.  He became a desperado, leading a group called The Five Joaquins.  They stole cattle and committed robbery and murder in the 1850's.  He is said to have hidden several large caches of stolen gold: 1. $175,000 hidden off HWY 299, between Burney, California and Hatcher Pass.  2. $200,000 off HWY 36, between Susanville and Freedonyer Pass.  3. $140,000, buried in a strongbox by the Feather River, in a canyon south of Paradise, California.  4. This is the one that got Murrieta killed.  The amount is not mentioned, but it was said to be a wagon load of gold.  He and his men had stolen it from a mine, but a group of Indians ambushed them and took it, hiding it in a burial cave near the Old Carrizo Stage Station in the Anza Borrego Desert.

Maybell, Colorado (Browns Park, Irish Canyon) - $30,000 in silver is buried somewhere in this area, thanks to the Wild Bunch.  In fact, it is said that much more treasure is in this area, courtesy of Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch.

Fort Collins, CO (Virginia Dale Station) - In 1863, a stagecoach carrying $60,000 was robbed by six bandits.  They shot the box to open it and buried the treasure.  The U.S. Cavalry chased them down and killed them, finding only the bullet-riddled strongbox.

Stevens County, Kansas (Cimarron River) - Remember Belle Starr?  Well, her nephew Henry Starr came to fame as the Cherokee Bad Boy, a robber of banks, train depots and stores, along with his gang.  Before he died, shot during a robbery in Arkansas on February 23, 1921, he claimed he had robbed 21 banks, for more than $60,000, some of which was hidden along the Cimarron River in SW Kansas.

There are a ton more if you want to look them up at Legends of America.

<b>Up for a little treasure hunting?</b>

May you find your Muse.


*Letter X courtesy of Mohamed Ibrahim, clker.com
**Wells Fargo Express Co. Deadwood Treasure Wagon and Guards with $250,000 gold bullion from the Great Homestake Mine, Deadwood, S.D., 1890; John C. H. Grabill [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons