Doc attempted illegally to sell his gold for nine years, but it wasnt easy finding buyers. Mr. Bailey later dropped the matter. In 1955, the missile range was expanded and, the Army closed Victoria Peak to outsiders. As a child, he said he remembered his grandmother, Ova Noss, talking about it ceaselessly. Floyd and his friend Pat were getting ready to look for treasure in an area where Pat found found three old metal bars in a cave on the old Spanish trail in New Mexico. The peak is riddled with a network of tunnels. He carries in his wallet a photograph of gold bars and old coins next to a flashlight he provided. Doc tried several times to regain entry into his mine, but the shaft was sealed with tons of debris. For the next few years, Mr. Noss sought partners to help him find the gold. No one in the provost marshals office to whom Porter talked would admit to knowing anything about the gold, and he was warned by the provost marshal that any future trespassing would be dealt with severely. In a deeper cavern, Doc found what he thought was a stack of worthless iron bars. In 1937, the peak was miles from nowhere. After some discussion, the men decided that Porter should take the bar to a close friend of his who worked in the provost marshals office in nearby Fort Bliss, Texas. Howard, E.V., 1967, Metalliferous occurrences in New Mexico: Phase 1, state resources development plan: State Planning Office, Santa Fe, 270 p. Johnson, M.G., 1972, Placer gold deposits of New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey. Later, Fiege would take a lie detector test, which would allow Fiege back on the missile range. That he seemed very disturbed, nervous and agitated, and refused my invitation to dinner, saying, Im running for my life., That he also said, The Mob is after me.. Doc was trying to obey the law but they grabbed our gold, Mrs. Noss said, He blew up. Within moments he found more skeletons, most of them bound and secured to stakes like the first. A new chemical analysis of a large gold bar found under a Mexico City street in 1981 has shed light on its centuries-old origins. 'Like Any Other Client'. (Reuters) A gold bar found in a Mexico City park in 1981 was part of the Aztec treasure looted by Hernan Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors 500 years ago, a new study says.For 39 years, its origins remained a mystery.INAH - National Institute of Anthropology and History/Handout via REUTERS Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History By completing a chemical analysis and determining the particle morphology of placer gold collected from these districts using an electron microprobe, patterns in the chemical signatures from each location can be used to examine chemical variability (1) within the individual placer gold particles, (2) within the same district and (3) among different districts. Reportedly the military was able to penetrate one of the caves and inventory the contents. In 1828, large placer deposits were found in the Ortiz Mountains in Santa Fe County (Old Placers district, DIS187), which began one of the earliest gold rushes in the western United States. Berlett and Fiege had found a different passage into Victorio Peak, leading into a different chamber. Although a suitable path fit for wagons couldn't be found, traces of gold were found somewhere close to Silver City to the north. Mrs. Noss now says she never heard about the divorce and as serts that she is his legal widow. Caballo Mountains - Also called Horse Mountains, the peaks are located 35 miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Reportedly, he amassed a treasure of gold, silver, and jewels before being ordered back to Mexico City in 1607. Though the gold bar was. Lampros later signed sworn affidavits regarding their experiences. He did, only to find that in the short, three-day interim the major had been whisked away, transferred to the Pentagon. Meanwhile, Noss's mining claims (for talc as a disguise) expired in 1948, and Mrs. Noss renewed them in her name. Though the military confirmed that Swanner had served at White Sands during this time, they claimed there were no documents to support an investigation into the mine nor the removal of the gold bars. Jan 20, 2020 Ian Harvey. Theories spread over how 16,000 gold bars came to be stashed away in a random cave in New Mexico. See the article in its original context from. The cloud of death shrouding Victorio Peak has reached far. Victorio used the entire Hembrillo Basin as his stronghold, refusing to live on the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona, where the government wanted to banish him. What looked to be a piece of iron was a solid gold bar. Later, the wealth in the cave would be calculated to be worth more than two billion dollars. Mrs. Ova Noss said she shad filed papers retaining mineral rights in case the area opened up again. All attempts failed, leaving him an embittered and angry man, which caused problems in his marriage. The dispute was finally worked out when a federal court issued a compromise of sorts, which stated the Army would continue to use the lands surface, but no one would be allowed on the property without the Armys consent. [5] During the 1970s, lawyer F. Lee Bailey represented clients who claimed to know where the treasure was located. The NMBGMR is conducting a research project examining the origin, occurrence, trace element composition, and resource potential of placer gold deposits in the state. Porter subsequently brought the gold bar to the close friend, who was an Army major. Doc filled his pockets with gold coins, grabbed a couple of jeweled swords, and laboriously returned to Babe waiting anxiously at the surface. It could finally solve the mystery. This could explain the skeletons in the cavern. The U.S. Army, which gained control of the area when it was converted to a bombing range during the Second World War, refused her request to bring in an excavation firm and ultimately ordered the Nosses to stay out of the area. Mrs. Noss believes Mr. Bailey's clients to be mili tary officers and perhaps some of her husband's old partners. Porter and his friends were amused at his story and McDonald, to prove that what he was saying was true, took the two other hunters on a moonlit drive to Victorio Peak. Now, cleared to go by an act of Congress, the best-equipped search ever is under way with $1 million in backing from the descendants and some investors. Mr. Noss returned in the late 1940's with a new wife, and a business partner. There were 110 gold bars moved that night, according to an affidavit obtained by this writer and sworn to by Jolley. Meanwhile, Babe Noss had filed a counter-claim on the entire area. They also were given and passed lie detector tests. A legal battle and highly publicized search through Victorio Peak ensued but no treasure turned up, leading many to wonder if Noss had made the whole thing up. Lost Treasures, Recent Posts. Holes were drilled and it assayed at $20.67 an ounce, said Mrs. Noss. One partner, Charles Ryan, shot and killed Doc on March 5, 1949, in Hatch, N. M., after an argument. A gold bar found in a Mexico City park in 1981 was part of the Aztec treasure looted by Hernan Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors 500 years ago, a new study says. If the treasure was real, Noss had poor timing. The gold bar had disappeared without a trace. Decades of Searching. Three days later the Nosses went back, and in the months that followed, Noss hauled gold bars, one at a time, with enormous effort up the narrow passageway, according to Mrs. Noss's daughter, Mrs. Letha Guthrie of Clovis, who said she was also there part of the, time. The soldiers, Airman First Class Thomas Berlett and Captain Leonard V. Fiege said they had found approximately 100 gold bars weighing between 40 and 80 pounds each in a small cavern. In December 1961, General Shinkle shut down the operation and excluded anyone from entering the base who was not directly engaged in the missile research activities. General Shinkle finally had enough and ordered everyone out. We are a research and service division of: Placer gold deposits were an important source of gold in New Mexico prior to 1902, but placer production after 1902 has been minor. That I had known E.M. Guthrie for about three years prior to this meeting and knew him to be the husband of Letha Guthrie, stepdaughter of Milton Ernest Doc Noss. Beyond the Hembrillo Basin is a hundred-mile stretch of desert known as the Jornada del Muerto. Now, researchers say the bar was. Mrs. Noss and Mrs. Guthrie, meanwhile, say that they had heard about the 1963 search and rushed to the base, arriving the day before it ended. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Description: Victorio Peak is surrounded by inhospitable environment near Hot Springs, New Mexico. Part II: The bizarre history of Victorio Peak continues to unravel as the Army, the Treasury Department and the Secret Service authorize a top secret operation aimed at locating and bringing out the gold. The higher gold values occur near the base of alluvial gravel deposits where the gold is trapped by natural processes such as riffles in the river bottom, fractures within the bedrock, along bedding or foliation planes, and/or structures that are transverse to the river flow. A gold bar found in a Mexico City park in 1981 was part of the Aztec treasure looted by Hernan Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors 500 years ago, a new study says. Gold Bars Dozens of people claim a piece of the actionthat is, gold bars and treasure said to be hidden on the missile range, and worth from a few million dollars to $1.5billion. An investigation by Freedom has probed the history of that region, particularly the nearly 49 years since gold bars were first found in that area in November 1937 by a man named Milton Ernest "Doc" Noss, as fascinating a character as ever held a six-gun. That after he had been beaten to death, according to the information I received, his body was put back into his car, the car was doused with kerosene or gasoline, and then set aflame.. In effect, no one could mine the treasure, and that included the Army and Babe Noss. Going public with information about the gold stored in Victorio Peak or removed from it, however, is something that people familiar with the subject are generally reluctant to do. Fueled by suspicions that the military was working her claim, Babe Noss hired four men to enter the range secretly. some of the gold to Mexico, in light planes. Entire area, leading into a different chamber into a different passage into Victorio Peak surrounded... 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