Montezuma's treasure
Encyclopedia
Montezuma's treasure is a legendary buried treasure
said to be located in the Casa Grande ruins or elsewhere in the southwest United States
and Mexico
. The legend is one of many treasure stories in American
folklore
. Thomas Penfield wrote, "There is not the slimmest thread of reality in this story which is common throughout Mexico and the southwestern United States. There are some puzzling aspects but the story, nevertheless, adds up to pure legend."
One story tells of the 1520 imprisonment of Montezuma by Spanish
conquistador
s. With the conquistadors demanding a ransom in gold, runners were dispatched to warn tribes to hide their treasures. A labyrinth found in modern times at the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
led to speculation that it might be home to some of the fabled treasure. Extensive excavation of the area, however, has turned up nothing to support the claim.
According to John Mitchell, in 1847, during the Mexican American War, a Mexican aristocrat
named Don
Joaquin enslaved the local Apache
s to dig for gold in the Sierra Estrella
s. But later, as the United States Army
entered the mountains, the Apache rose up against the Mexicans who had to hide their gold in a canyon near Montezuma's Head. Most of the Mexicans were killed but at least one man survived and later went back to the mountains in the 1880s with a treasure map
to find the gold. However, the Apache still controlled the area and the Mexican man never found the lost treasure.
Newspapers as far back as 1895 have been found to publish accounts of those who have claimed to have found this lost treasure.
In March 1981, a construction worker in Mexico City discovered a four pound chunk of gold molded to fit inside the armor of a conquistador. His boss handed over the piece, valued at $32,000, to National Institute of Anthropology. Reports at the time linked the find to Montezuma's Treasure.
Buried treasure
A buried treasure is an important part of the popular beliefs surrounding pirates and Old West outlaws. According to popular conception, criminals and others often buried their stolen fortunes in remote places, intending to return for them later, often with the use of treasure maps.-Pirate...
said to be located in the Casa Grande ruins or elsewhere in the southwest United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The legend is one of many treasure stories in American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
. Thomas Penfield wrote, "There is not the slimmest thread of reality in this story which is common throughout Mexico and the southwestern United States. There are some puzzling aspects but the story, nevertheless, adds up to pure legend."
One story tells of the 1520 imprisonment of Montezuma by Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
s. With the conquistadors demanding a ransom in gold, runners were dispatched to warn tribes to hide their treasures. A labyrinth found in modern times at the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, in Coolidge, Arizona, just northeast of the city of Casa Grande, preserves a group of Ancient Pueblo Peoples Hohokam structures of the Pueblo III and Pueblo IV Eras.-Ancient pueblos:...
led to speculation that it might be home to some of the fabled treasure. Extensive excavation of the area, however, has turned up nothing to support the claim.
According to John Mitchell, in 1847, during the Mexican American War, a Mexican aristocrat
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
named Don
Don (honorific)
Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...
Joaquin enslaved the local Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
s to dig for gold in the Sierra Estrella
Sierra Estrella
The Sierra Estrella is a mountain range located southwest of Phoenix, Arizona. Much of the range falls within the Gila River Indian Reservation, but of BLM land is protected as the Sierra Estrella Wilderness.-Description:...
s. But later, as the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
entered the mountains, the Apache rose up against the Mexicans who had to hide their gold in a canyon near Montezuma's Head. Most of the Mexicans were killed but at least one man survived and later went back to the mountains in the 1880s with a treasure map
Treasure map
A treasure map is a map that marks the location of buried treasure, a lost mine, a valuable secret or a hidden locale. More common in fiction than in reality, "pirate treasure maps" are often depicted in works of fiction as hand drawn and containing arcane clues for the characters to follow...
to find the gold. However, the Apache still controlled the area and the Mexican man never found the lost treasure.
Newspapers as far back as 1895 have been found to publish accounts of those who have claimed to have found this lost treasure.
In March 1981, a construction worker in Mexico City discovered a four pound chunk of gold molded to fit inside the armor of a conquistador. His boss handed over the piece, valued at $32,000, to National Institute of Anthropology. Reports at the time linked the find to Montezuma's Treasure.