The Silver Madonna and Other Tales of America's Greatest Lost Treasures (19 page)

22

Cumberland Mountain Silver Mines

The Cumberland Mountains of east-central Tennessee have long been a puzzle to geologists. Most of their research over the years suggests that the rock structure and composition of the range is unlikely to produce precious metals. In spite of these authoritative declarations, however, tales have long persisted that the mining of silver has taken place in these mountains. The truth is, documents exist proving that silver has been mined and processed in the Tennessee Appalachians and the ore has been seen and handled by a number of people.

While the findings of qualified geologists are often important and useful to treasure hunters in search of lost mines, it must be pointed out that they have been proven wrong many times in the past. Furthermore, the regional legend and lore, though scoffed at by the so-called intellectual elite, have proven true in many cases.

The Cumberland Mountains had been occupied by the Cherokee Indians for many generations before the arrival of white men in the region. Among the variety of jewelry and ornamentation worn by the Cherokee were a number of items fashioned from silver. The ore, the Indians explained to some of the early trappers who came to this region, was dug from several mines located in the Cumberland range.

One particular tale that has been retold many times tells of a small party of Cherokee arriving at the Piney Creek region of the Cumberlands during the late 1860s. They had traveled from Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), and their long, slow journey had taken several weeks. During a period of federally mandated displacement twenty years earlier, the Indians had been forced to leave the Cumberland range and were sent to live on reservations. Now, riding in two stout wagons pulled by mules, the Cherokee arrived at their old Piney Creek homeland and set up a crude temporary camp. Prior to leaving two decades before, the tribe elders had covered up the entrances to the silver mines and had buried a quantity of silver in the form of ornaments, jewelry, and nuggets not far from Piney Creek. They always knew that someday they would return.

During the day, the Cherokee encampment remained quiet and the occupants kept to themselves. When curious residents dropped by to inquire about their business, the Indians were polite and explained that they were only traveling and needed to rest their stock for a few days.

At night, however, the Indians invested a great deal of time and labor reopening some of the mines and harvesting more of the ore. They also dug up some of the silver from the many caches located nearby. After all of the ore was accumulated back at the camp, it was loaded into the wagons and covered with tarps and camping gear. Several days later when they departed, area residents noted that the deep wheel ruts left by the wagons suggested they were transporting heavy loads of some kind. The residents, all of whom had heard the stories of the Cherokee silver mines, speculated that the Indians had recovered some of their wealth to take back to Oklahoma. Several of the Piney Creek residents tried to backtrack the wagons to the campsite and range out in an attempt to locate the mines or a treasure cache, but they had no success.

During the 1870s, a Piney Creek area old-timer named Leffew was long intrigued by the tales of the secret Cherokee silver mines. Leffew lived with his wife and children deep in the Cumberland Mountains and as far from neighbors as he could get. He survived as a farmer, making a sparse living for his family raising hogs and chickens and growing corn on a hardscrabble ridge top, part of the Cumberland Escarpment, near a tiny community called Concord Church a few miles from Spring City.

Leffew has been described as a tall, gaunt man with large hands calloused by years of hard work in the out of doors. His skin was leathery and tanned and he always seemed in need of a bath and shave. Those who chanced to visit the Leffew farm described it as poor and suffering from neglect. The unchinked log cabin allowed the freezing air of deep winter to penetrate.

Leffew’s neighbors avoided him at every turn, thinking him peculiar and perhaps dangerous. They were always uncomfortable when he happened by. The few times Leffew ventured into nearby settlements, he was generally avoided. The farmer was often spotted walking alone and talking to himself, gesturing animatedly, and sometimes screaming at demons only he could see. Leffew also suffered from a severe nervous tic that caused his left shoulder to jerk sharply forward every few seconds. The movements suggested a grotesque dance and lent a bizarre touch to an already odd character.

Sometime during the first part of the 1870s, Leffew began neglecting his farm and family more than usual. He often disappeared for days at a time into the dark and gloomy canyons that held tributaries to Piney Creek. His frequent and extended trips away from home began to worry his wife and children.

One day, after having been gone for a week, Leffew arrived at the front door of his cabin and informed his wife that he had found a silver mine deep in Piney Creek gorge. From a filthy leather pouch that hung from his scrawny neck, Leffew pulled a large nugget of almost pure silver and held it up as proof.

The following day, Leffew took his silver nugget into Spring City and displayed it to any and all who cared to see it. In a fit of behavior rather uncharacteristic for the eccentric old farmer, Leffew bought several rounds of drinks for everyone at a local tavern.

In a very short time, Leffew, who rarely drank alcohol at all, was feeling the effects of the liquor. Uncommonly proud of what he called his newfound silver mine, he boasted loud and long that he would soon be a rich man. During his bragging, Leffew let it slip that the mine was located in the Piney Creek gorge and not far from a prominent and well-known landmark known locally as Big Rock.

Leffew’s announcement had, for him, an undesired effect. Several men who were at the bar and heard his story began searching for the mine at the first opportunity. Each time Leffew left his cabin and entered the woods in the Piney Creek area, he was followed by men who waited in hiding for him to leave. Aware of his trackers, and somewhat wise in the ways of the wild, he always managed to elude them. For several months, men attempted to trail Leffew to his secret mine but always failed.

One afternoon, a young black man appeared at the mercantile in Sheffield (now called Evensville), twelve miles southwest of Spring City. He told the owner that a man named Leffew had hired him to help dig some silver ore out of a mine, and had sent him to town to purchase some dynamite and mining supplies. Following the purchase, which was paid for with silver ore, the man loaded the items onto two mules and led the animals out of town back toward Piney Creek. It was the last time anyone saw him alive.

A few weeks later the partially decomposed body of the black man was found on the bank of Piney Creek near a point where it was joined by one of its tributaries. The man had been shot through the head. Though few cared to speculate, most were convinced that Leffew had killed the young fellow to prevent him from revealing the location of the silver mine. To this day, the small narrow canyon located near where the body was found is known as Dead Negro Hollow.

A few months passed, and it was noted that a gang of tough-looking men began hanging around the Leffew farm. It was clear to all who happened to pass by that Leffew was not in favor of the company of these desperate-looking characters and would caution his wife and children to remain in the cabin while he met with them in the woods. Though Leffew’s wife asked him several times who the men were, he never provided an answer.

Before long, it leaked out that the men staying at Leffew’s farm were part of a gang of counterfeiters who allegedly manufactured phony silver coins at a secret location in the mountains. A number of townspeople suspected Leffew had become part of the gang, perhaps unwillingly, and was supplying the silver from his secret mine for the coins.

One afternoon as Leffew was leaving his house on his way to the mine, he was met in the yard by a group of men Mrs. Leffew described as members of the counterfeit gang. Watching from the window, Mrs. Leffew saw an argument break out between her husband and one of the men. A short time later, the farmer told his wife he was going to his silver mine and would return the following day. When two days had passed and Leffew did not show up, the wife approached neighbors and requested their help to search for him. Another day went by and there was no sign of Leffew. The sheriff was summoned and he organized yet another search. After a week of combing the woods looking for Leffew, it was called off.

A year passed before it could be determined what happened to Leffew. One day, three young boys were hunting raccoons near Vinegar Hill when they made a grisly discovery. Hanging from the limb of a tree was the desiccated body of a man. The dried-out corpse was dangling from leather suspenders that had been wrapped tightly around its neck. Clothing, boots, and other items found nearby suggested the skeleton belonged to Leffew.

Some speculated that Leffew, harboring guilt over the killing of the young black man, committed suicide. Most who knew the farmer, however, claimed such a thing was not in his nature, and that he was likely killed by the men he had an argument with on the day he disappeared.

Several more years passed. One afternoon, a local farmer named Thurmond was out searching for stray cattle in the Piney Creek gorge. While climbing a steep wall of the canyon, he found an opening in the rock just wide enough to allow passage of a man. A pile of tailings outside the opening suggested to Thurmond that some excavation had taken place. Thurmond had heard stories of the lost silver mines in the area but never believed any of them. He wondered if he had accidentally discovered one of them.

Pressed for time, Thurmond continued looking for his cattle, intending to return later and investigate the mine. The continual duties of running a farm, however, kept him busy for the next several weeks. When he finally found some time to devote to a return to the mine, he was unable to locate it. For years, he tried to return to the mysterious shaft in the side of the canyon but it always eluded him.

During the 1920s, a Tennessee man named Warrick had heard all of the tales about the lost Cherokee silver mines in the Cumberland Mountains. He was also familiar with the story of farmer Leffew’s lost silver mine. Warrick decided there was enough evidence to suggest that such a mine, or mines, did exist and he decided to undertake a search. Warrick had lived in the region all of his life and was related to a number of people. Throughout the years, he had entered the Piney Creek gorge on several occasions while hunting and was very familiar with it.

For months, Warrick searched in the gorge, always remaining optimistic that he would encounter the silver mine at any moment. Late one afternoon, a tired and sweat-grimed Warrick walked into the home of his sister and announced to her that he had discovered the mine.

Each day for several weeks thereafter, Warrick traveled to Piney Creek and dug out a handful of silver ore. Each evening on his way to his own home, he would stop at his sister’s house to relate the day’s activities. The sister always insisted on seeing some of the ore that Warrick claimed he retrieved, but he steadfastly refused to show it to her for reasons he never explained. After weeks of the same response, she finally accused Warrick of fabricating the tale of his discovery.

One Sunday as Warrick and his sister were walking home from church, he told her he wanted to show her something. He led her several yards off the trail near a point called Warrick Fork and pointed to a large boulder. With some difficulty, Warrick rolled the rock aside, revealing a shallow hole. Inside the hole, according to the sister, were several leather pouches, each one filled with silver nuggets.

Warrick explained to his sister that this was where he cached all of the silver he dug from the mine and that he added to it each time he returned from the mine with more of the ore. He said that if anything ever happened to him, he wanted her to have his fortune. She apologized for doubting his word and the two proceeded on down the trail.

Months passed, and Warrick continued to harvest silver from the secret mine and cache it beneath the large boulder. One morning, like so many others, he gathered up his digging tools and headed down the trail toward Piney Creek gorge. As he passed his sister’s house, he called out a greeting as he walked by. She waved back. It was the last time anyone ever saw Warrick.

Warrick’s fate was never learned. When he did not return from the mine in a reasonable time, his sister organized a search for him. He was never found. Some have suggested he may have met with foul play, perhaps murdered by someone who wanted to learn the location of the mine. Others suggest Warrick simply left the country. Evidence for the latter came when the sister and another relative went to the large boulder, rolled it aside, and found the hole where Warrick cached his silver empty. The disappearance of Warrick remains a mystery to this day.

The area around Spring City in the Cumberland Mountains is not much different today than it was when farmer Leffew lived and farmed there during the late 1800s. The region remains thinly populated and heavily forested. Hikers and hunters who travel to Piney Creek gorge must deal with rattlesnakes and ticks. The remains of old moonshine stills in the narrow canyons and shallow caves can still be found.

In spite of the somewhat rugged and forbidding environment, occasional treasure hunters arrive in the area of the Cumberland Escarpment to search for Leffew’s silver mine, as well as for the lost silver mines of the Cherokee Indians. The area can tax the conditioning and endurance of any who come to search the woods, the gorges, and the ridge tops. The reward of locating the mine or any of the related caches, however, could make the effort worthwhile.

23

Devil’s Canyon Gold

Devil’s Canyon is located at the extreme western end of the Wichita Mountain range of Oklahoma. It is a southwest–northeast cut in the rock flanked by Flat Top Mountain and Soldiers’ Peak. The steep walls of the two mountains keep much of the canyon in shade during the day, lending a dark and forbidding atmosphere to the rocky, brush-choked floor of the gorge.

There are legends associated with Devil’s Canyon. One of them relates that the place has long been haunted by the spirits of the many men who died there. Indeed, during the past two centuries, dozens of skeletons have been found in this location, along with bits and pieces of Spanish armor and mining gear. An abundance of Indian artifacts have also been found, suggesting a large Comanche encampment was once located near the mouth of the canyon.

Another legend is related to lost treasure. The Wichita Mountains are made up of rugged intrusive rock outcrops that originated millions of years ago as a result of deep and violent underground volcanic activity. The very forces that gave rise to these huge granite structures are the same ones associated with the formation of gold and silver, both of which are found in the range. During the early part of the seventeenth century, the Spanish invested a great deal of time exploring this region and attempting to establish a settlement. While their colonization efforts failed, their mining activities succeeded, and legends describe the great wealth in gold and silver mined and shipped back to Mexico City headquarters or across the Atlantic Ocean to Spain.

Devil’s Canyon was the site of a Spanish mission established in 1629 by Padre Juan de Salas. De Salas, along with a few Indian converts to Christianity, attempted to grow corn and beans near the mouth of the canyon, where a small stream empties into the North Fork of the Red River. The tiny settlement languished for years, and then was abandoned in response to a prolonged drought.

More Spanish arrived at Devil’s Canyon again in 1650. This time it was a small detachment of the army led by Captain Hernán Martín and adventurer Don Diego del Castillo. The party searched for gold and silver and, encouraged by discoveries of the ore, reported their findings to their superiors.

In 1657, a Spanish priest named Gilbert arrived at Devil’s Canyon with a group of one hundred men. Employing directions provided by Martín and del Castillo, they located the gold deposits and began mining. A deep shaft—over one hundred feet—was sunk into the solid granite of the canyon floor. Several mule loads of ore were dug from the mine, but the area was abandoned because of the continued and growing threat of hostile Indians.

In 1698, a party of Spaniards disembarked at a port near New Orleans and undertook the long journey from the Gulf Coast to the Wichita Mountains. The expedition consisted of one hundred men equipped with mining tools along with a detachment of fifty soldiers. While the laborers and engineers dug the gold from the shaft, the soldiers tried to keep the threat of raiding Indians to a minimum. Following a set of maps and charts, the Spaniards reached Devil’s Canyon after a journey of several weeks. Once there, they established a permanent camp, constructed several dwellings of adobe and rock, and a church. In a nearby rock shelter they built a primitive smelter.

Time passed, and as the Spaniards mined and smelted the ore, the canyon was visited on occasion by Indians. At first, the visits were hostile, but when it became clear that the newcomers were only interested in the shiny colored rock they dug from the ground, a kind of truce was established and the Indians lost interest in them.

Two to three times each year, a mule train loaded with gold ingots would depart from Devil’s Canyon and proceed to the port on the Gulf. There, the gold was loaded onto a ship and carried across the ocean to Spain. The Spaniards would rest a few days in the growing city, purchase supplies and equipment, and make the long journey back to the Wichita Mountains.

As the years wore on, the relations between the miners and the Indians grew tense. Though the Indians cared little about the Spaniards’ activities in the canyon, they resented the impact the Europeans had on the game in the region. From time to time, hunting parties consisting of soldiers would be sent out to secure meat for the settlement. With each trip, they were forced to range farther afield because of the ongoing depletion of the herds of bison, deer, and antelope.

During some of these hunting expeditions, the soldiers were attacked by the Indians, and a few Spaniards were killed. When entire hunting parties failed to return, it was presumed they were slaughtered by the Indians. The Spaniards found it necessary to post guards around the settlement day and night. By day, the Spaniards could see Indians standing along the ridge tops observing them at their work.

Early one winter morning, a pack train consisting of fifty mules, each carrying a heavy load of gold, departed the canyon and headed southeastward toward the Gulf. As the last mule passed through the mouth of the canyon, the Spaniards were attacked by what was later estimated to be more than two hundred mounted warriors. As the armed escort attempted to fight off the Indians, miners and soldiers from the settlement raced to the scene to assist their comrades. The result was inevitable, however, for within an hour all of the Spaniards lay dead save for three who escaped.

The area in and around Devil’s Canyon remained quiet for a time. The only visitors were small hunting parties. In 1765, a French explorer named Brevel arrived in the area and made friends with the Indians who related the story of the slaughter of the Spaniards almost a century earlier. Brevel visited Devil’s Canyon and noted the remains of the mining and smelting activity as well as the ruins of the old church and dwellings. He recorded his observations in his journal.

During the next several years, travelers and explorers to the region reported spotting the crumbling ruins of the Spanish structures and the remains of the mining activity. Despite the presence of gold, no one attempted to reopen the mines. During the 1830s, a party of Mexicans moved into the canyon and set up residence. A prevalent legend says that the Mexicans were led by a descendant of one of the survivors of the massacre that had occurred decades earlier. Carrying maps and descriptions of the great wealth to be found in Devil’s Canyon, they located and reopened the mines.

In 1833, a man named Simon N. Cockrell, a scout for some businessmen who wanted to establish a trading post in the region, visited the canyon and observed the Mexicans hard at work in the mines. He reported that, though the Mexicans were friendly enough, they remained somewhat secretive relative to the mining activities.

During the summer of 1834, the Mexicans were preparing to leave Devil’s Canyon with several dozen mule loads of gold ore when they were set upon by a band of Kiowa Indians. A fierce battle erupted at the mouth of the canyon. Several of the Mexicans rushed to the gold mine and struggled to cover the entrance with large boulders. This done, they returned to the scene of the battle to aid their fellows. By the time they arrived, however, the fight was over and the Kiowa victorious. As the Indians went from body to body taking scalps, the surviving Mexicans concealed themselves among the boulders along one of the canyon walls and waited for the chance to escape.

Finished with scalping and mutilating the bodies, the Indians turned the pack train back into the canyon where they unloaded all of the ore, cached it in a cave in one canyon wall, and covered the entrance with several tons of rock and debris. Rounding up all of the now unburdened mules, the Indians left the canyon. When they thought it was safe, the Mexicans who were in hiding came forth and set out on foot for Mexico where months later they reported the massacre.

In 1850 a second group of Mexicans arrived at Devil’s Canyon. Smaller than the earlier group, this one was led by one of the men who had escaped the attack by the Kiowa Indians sixteen years earlier. On first entering the canyon, the Mexicans set up camp near a small pool of water just beyond the entrance. On the morning of the second day, they walked to the place where the Kiowa had cached the gold ore after the massacre. As the men labored to remove the rocks covering the cave, two young boys were sent to the trading post seven miles up the North Fork of the Red River to purchase some supplies. When the boys had traveled one-half mile after leaving the canyon, they heard gunfire and screams coming from where their comrades had been digging. Racing their horses back into the canyon, they spotted a large band of Indians attacking the party. The boys turned their mounts and rode for the trading post in hope of recruiting some help. Later, when they returned with a group of ten men, they discovered all of their companions had been killed and scalped.

The Wichita Mountains have been claimed as home territory by numerous Indian tribes, including Comanche, Kiowa, and Wichita, all of which found the abundant game and water to their liking and perceived the rugged vastness as easy to defend against encroaching white settlers.

Anglo settlement and ranching in and around the Wichita Mountains began during the mid-nineteenth century. By 1880, several large and successful ranches had been established. The area came under the protection of the U.S. Army; several companies of well-mounted and well-armed cavalry were stationed in the region to guard the whites against Indian depredations.

During the early 1870s, a man named J. C. Settles established a large ranch near Devil’s Canyon. From time to time while tending his cattle, Settles would ride into the canyon. There he spotted the remains of the old Spanish church and dwellings. Settles had heard tales of gold being mined from the canyon but did not believe them.

Settles made friends with many of the Indians who remained in the area and often hired some of them to work on his ranch. One afternoon Settles and an elderly Kiowa were running some cattle toward a pond in Devil’s Canyon when the Indian related the story of the massacre of the Mexicans many years earlier. He also told Settles that he knew of a place back in the canyon where the Mexicans mined the ore and could take him to it. He told Settles that the miners had excavated a shaft over one hundred feet deep straight down into the solid rock of the canyon floor. He also explained how the Mexicans rolled large boulders over the opening to conceal it.

Though Settles was intrigued with this story, he was far too busy working his cattle ranch to take time off to investigate the old mine. Several years later, however, he invested some time and energy in a search. He located an ancient shaft that had been partially covered by a large boulder. With difficulty, he succeeded in blasting it from the opening. Inside the shaft, Settles found a human skeleton and what he described as a “coal-like substance” he couldn’t identify. Without having any of the rock from the shaft assayed, Settles abandoned the mine, never to return.

In 1900, an aged Kiowa woman was seen hiking near Devil’s Canyon. Those who saw her said it appeared as though she were searching for something. When questioned, the woman claimed that, as a young girl, she had accompanied the band of Kiowas that attacked and killed the Mexican miners in 1834. She said she had helped two warriors hide three mule loads of gold after the battle and she was now searching for them. Though the woman remained in the area for two weeks, she never found the cache.