The Silver Madonna and Other Tales of America's Greatest Lost Treasures (14 page)

If the Beale Treasure is a hoax, there are two important questions that must be answered. First, what would have been the purpose of such a deception? On analysis, there appears to have been no obvious or profitable motive for such a sophisticated and elaborate trick. Neither Morris nor Ward ever profited from their association with the Beale Treasure, and both reportedly shunned any kind of publicity whatsoever. Second, the sheer intricacy of the codes makes it unlikely that they were devised merely as a prank.

In the final analysis, most researchers are convinced that the Beale Treasure does exist and in the exact amounts described by T. J. Beale himself in Cipher Number Two.

16

Incan Treasure in Texas and America’s First Bible

Professional treasure hunters agree that one of the most amazing and puzzling tales of buried treasure in the country involves a lost Inca cache of unimaginable wealth buried somewhere near the Salt Fork of the Brazos River on the Texas High Plains. This treasure, believed by researchers to be worth more than two hundred million dollars, consists of forty mule loads of gold and silver ingots, emeralds described to be “as large as goose eggs,” and hundreds of jewels consisting of precious stones arranged in artistically crafted settings of pure gold and silver. What may be even more valuable, at least to historians, is the probability that the cache contains what is believed by many to be the first copy of the Holy Bible to arrive in the New World.

In 1531, the ruthless and bloodthirsty Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro led a force of nearly two hundred armed and mounted soldiers into the remote regions of Peru, South America. Accompanying the soldiers was the normal contingent of cooks, herders, livestock, priests, and women. Among the possessions of one of the priests was the first Bible carried to the New World. The Spaniards, in their lust for conquest and riches, attacked and looted every village they encountered, killing men, women, and children. They seized whatever wealth they could find in the form of gold, silver, precious stones, and jewels. Before long, their pack animals staggered under the weight of the wealth they transported across the mountains and through the valleys.

After many weeks, the Spaniards arrived at the large Incan village of Cotapampas in the Andean foothills. Here they found even larger quantities of gold, silver, and other riches. With little hesitation, they attacked and seized the city, killing dozens of citizens in the process. When questioning several elders as to the source of the gold and other wealth, Pizarro was informed of the city of Cajamarca, located six hundred miles to the northwest. Cajamarca, it was explained, was a veritable storehouse of gold, silver, and emeralds. Eager to locate this great city of riches, Pizarro enslaved several of the Cotapampas Indians and forced them to guide his soldiers to Cajamarca.

Around the middle of November 1532, Pizarro and his army arrived at the outskirts of Cajamarca, a city of two thousand residents. Pizarro sent one of his priests, along with one of the Cotapampans to serve as a translator, to seek an audience with the region’s ruler, Atahualpa.

When Atahualpa appeared, he was informed by the priest that he and his people must immediately accept the teachings of Christianity, deliver all weapons to the gate, and allow the Spaniards to take possession of the city. The priest then pressed a Bible into Atahualpa’s hands. Surprised, and then angered, at the demands of the strangers, Atahualpa threw the Bible to the ground and ordered the gates of the city closed to the newcomers.

The Spaniards, seasoned warriors all, wasted little time in attacking the city. Crashing through the gate, they swarmed through Cajamarca, indiscriminately clubbing, slashing, and spearing anything that moved. Though vastly outnumbered, the Spaniards were better armed and trained in warfare than the Indians. Two hours later the few hundred Cajamarcan survivors, including Atahualpa, were taken prisoner. During the ensuing week, even these poor souls were subjected to horrible torture and ultimately death.

At the end of the week, Atahualpa was among the handful of survivors. Chained at the wrists and ankles, he, along with a dozen Indians, was brought before Pizarro and made to kneel. Pizarro then ordered the remaining Indians to travel to the outlying villages and inform the leaders that if they did not bring in all of their gold, silver, and precious stones, that Atahualpa would be slain. For the next several weeks the runners reached every village within one hundred miles of Cajamarca and soon the wealth was being delivered. By the time six weeks had passed, three entire rooms were filled to the ceiling with gold and silver ore, ornaments, jewelry, and statuary, along with heavy packs of emeralds.

While at Cajamarca, Pizarro learned of a city far to the north called Quito, a location believed to have a huge storehouse of gold, silver, and stones. He quickly ordered a contingent of soldiers, along with a priest and translator, to travel to that city, seize the wealth, and return with it to Cajamarca. When the party of Spaniards arrived at Quito, however, the citizens there mounted a resistance, and fighting broke out that lasted several days.

When Quito’s treasure had not arrived within the appointed time, Pizarro ordered a dozen soldiers under the command of a trusted captain to travel to the area to look into the delay. When the soldiers arrived several days later, they joined in the fighting and in a short time the city was taken. The captain soon discovered that, indeed, the treasure of this northern city was quite impressive. He immediately commandeered a number of llamas to transport the gold, silver, and jewels.

As the captain watched the treasure being packed, he marveled at the vast fortune that passed before his eyes: thousands of bars of gold as well as huge emeralds set in magnificent gold and silver necklaces, rings, and earrings. The more the captain considered this incredible fortune, the more he thought about the possibilities of keeping it for himself. Finally, convinced he could be wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, he devised a plan wherein he, along with some trusted companions, would escape to the north with the largest portion of the treasure.

Along with six soldiers who were not part of his scheme, the captain sent several llama loads of treasure back to Cajamarca, explaining that the rest of the contingent would depart the following day and meet them at the city. By the time the first pack train was well down the trail, however, the captain and his followers, along with a number of Indians who were taken as slaves, herded the second and larger pack train toward the north.

Accompanying the captain was the priest, who traveled on foot carrying only a small pack containing his belongings. Among these was the Bible offered to Atahualpa.

As the small party led the treasure-laden llamas northward along the ridges of the Andean mountains, far to the south Pizarro, despite his promises to the contrary, had Atahualpa slain. The three rooms of treasure that had been accumulated were loaded onto every available pack animal. This done, Pizarro led his bloodthirsty soldiers on a killing and looting rampage across much of what is now Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru, taking gold, silver, and jewels and adding to the already immense load of riches they had accumulated. Pizarro’s zest for conquest, along with his numerous successes, distracted him from the issue of the desertion of his trusted captain and the loss of a portion of the Quito treasure. As a result, he never got around to organizing pursuit and, in time, simply forgot about the matter altogether.

For many months the traitorous captain and his followers led the treasure-laden llamas northward across the high mountain reaches, dense jungles, and arid deserts. They passed out of the mountains and traveled the narrow Isthmus of Panama, up through the steamy jungles of Central America and southern Mexico, and in time crossed the Rio Grande into present-day Texas.

During this time several of the Indians and two of the Spaniards were lost to fever, two of the slaves had been whipped to death, and the remainder of the party often suffered from hunger and thirst. Though their clothes had been reduced to little more than dirty rags and their boots had long since worn out, the captain kept the soldiers encouraged by telling them of his dreams of establishing a new kingdom at a location some place farther north, one financed by the riches they transported, one in which they would all be wealthy men. When, after a time, his vision of a regime failed to inspire them, he would warn them that Pizarro had likely sent a contingent of soldiers in pursuit. With thoughts of the horrible tortures that would be inflicted on them should they be captured, the Spaniards found new strength and continued their northward march.

Throughout the hardships faced by the travelers, the captain managed to keep precise notes of their progress on a piece of tanned leather. Included with the notes was a detailed map. One afternoon as the party was setting up camp near a pair of low mountains, the captain made meticulous additions to his leather journal and included sketches of all of the nearby landmarks. Many years later it was discerned as a result of interpreting this map that the site of the camp was near the Double Mountains in Stonewall County, Texas, between the Salt Fork of the Brazos River and the present-day town of Aspermont in the Texas Panhandle.

As the captain carefully worked on this map, one of his soldiers approached and informed him that they were being watched by Indians. Looking up from his work, the captain spotted several dozen armed warriors observing the Spaniards from a nearby ridge.

There was little sleep for the group that night, and it was a nervous party that broke camp the following morning and continued on their journey. As they traveled, they noted they were followed by the Indians and that their numbers had increased.

After passing Double Mountains on their northward trek, the Spaniards halted at the south bank of the Salt Fork. Convinced that the Indians were preparing to attack, the captain made a decision: they would unload the treasure from the llamas, bury it at this location, and then flee unencumbered. When they were certain the threat of attack was over they would return, retrieve the treasure, and continue on their journey and with their dreams of a kingdom.

During a time when they were not being observed by the Indians, the captain ordered the slaves to excavate twenty-one holes, each of them six to eight feet deep. The treasure from the pack animals was divided and placed into the holes. As the holes were being refilled, the priest, after wrapping the Bible tightly in a piece of soft leather, placed it in one of the excavations atop the treasure. Once the holes were refilled, the pack animals were led back and forth across them, completely obliterating any sign of digging. That evening, the Spaniards set up camp and constructed a rude fortification in case they were forced to defend themselves against an Indian attack. The captain made more entries on his piece of leather, detailing the location of the buried Incan treasure.

With the threat of attack diminished for the time being, the captain decided to remain at the location for several more days. Once he was certain the Indians no longer posed a threat, he would have the treasure dug up and they would continue on their journey.

At this point, the tale grows murky, and it was never determined what became of the Spaniards. The record of their journey, as manifested on the piece of leather, ends at this point. Some researchers suggest that the group continued northward and eventually succumbed to thirst and starvation. Others maintain that they were eventually victims of the Indian attack they feared. Evidence for the latter was discovered in 1887 in the form of numerous skeletons—human and llama—along with Spanish armor and weaponry near Kiowa Peak in the northeastern part of Stonewall County. The all-important leather document maintained by the Spanish captain was not found there, but it appeared many years later.

Following the Civil War, the American West, and especially Texas, opened up to settlers fleeing the war-torn South. The Panhandle region of Texas along with its lush prairie grasses appealed to many, and in a short time small farming and ranching settlements sprang up across the High Plains. Even during that time, a tale of long-lost Incan treasure buried somewhere in the Panhandle was passed among residents and newcomers. No organized attempt, however, was ever undertaken to try to locate and retrieve it.

A noteworthy event occurred in 1876. An elderly Spaniard driving an expensive black lacquered carriage pulled by two blooded horses arrived in Stonewall County and immediately began purchasing parcels of land near the Double Mountain region of the Salt Fork. The Spaniard spoke to very few people, preferring to conduct his business quietly and confidentially. Most of the county’s residents presumed the newcomer was interested in establishing a ranch, but it soon became clear that was not his intention.

The Spaniard erected a tent at a certain location on his property. Then, as suddenly as he appeared, he vanished, riding away in his carriage late one night, never to return. After he left, several local residents rode out to his holdings to have a look around. What they discovered was indeed strange. Here and there at one location they found buckets and shovels and other tools lying about as if suddenly abandoned. Even more curious, they discovered a total of ten holes, each one six to eight feet deep. It was clear from the markings found inside the holes that they once contained packs and crates.