Victorio Peak
Encyclopedia
Victorio Peak is a high rocky outcropping in the Hembrillo Basin
in southern New Mexico
. This was one of Chief Victorio's
hideouts, and was the site of a battle in 1880 between Victorio
's Apache
s and the U.S. Army
Ninth Cavalry "Buffalo Soldiers". Additionally, gold prospector Milton "Doc" Noss claimed to have found hidden treasure inside the Mountains in the late 1930s.
was developed in the north-south trending San Andres Mountains
, and comprises north-south striking Late Paleozoic
sedimentary rocks of Permian
and Carboniferous
age, that lie unconformably upon Precambrian
metamorphics. The regional dip of the Paleozoic
rocks is gentle, around 10° to the west. The Permian
rocks of the Abo and Yeso formations comprise mudrocks and sandstones which are freely weathering to create a series of steps capped by sandstones with intervening argillaceous rocks forming less steep slopes. These slopes and cap rocks were to be used to advantage by the Apaches in 1880. The entrance to the Hembrillo Basin
, Hembrillo Canyon, opens eastwards into the Tularosa Basin
and the White Sands National Monument
. The Canyon is partially barred by a roughly north-south trending diabase dike. Westwards is the valley of the Jornada del Muerto
, the Sierra Caballo mountains and the Rio Grande
.
, the peak was named after him. Briefings used by the U.S. Army
prior to Operation Goldfinder labeled the mountain as Victoria Peak. Officials at the Range
followed the lead of New Mexico historians, who erroneously believed the peak was named after Queen Victoria. Through dilligent research, Howard Bryan, a reporter for the Albuquerque Tribune
linked Victorio
with the Battle of Hembrillo Basin
and discovered the peak's original namesake.
's Sixth Cavalry and Ninth Cavalry against the Chiricahua
and Mescalero Apache led by Chief Victorio
.
during the reign of the French puppet Emperor Maximilian
. Some years after Doc Noss was killed, his wife Babe asserted a claim that she was entitled to access to the cave in Victorio Peak and its contents. Eventually she brought her case to the military, but the alleged bonanza had vanished.
Battle of Hembrillo Basin
The Battle of Hembrillo Basin, or the Battle of Rattlesnake Springs, was fought between the United States Army's 9th Cavalry against a combined band of Chiricahua and Mescalero Apaches led by Chief Victorio.-Battle:...
in southern New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. This was one of Chief Victorio's
Victorio
Victorio was a warrior and chief of the Chihenne band of the Chiricahua Apaches in what is now the American states of New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua....
hideouts, and was the site of a battle in 1880 between Victorio
Victorio
Victorio was a warrior and chief of the Chihenne band of the Chiricahua Apaches in what is now the American states of New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua....
's 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 and the U.S. 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...
Ninth Cavalry "Buffalo Soldiers". Additionally, gold prospector Milton "Doc" Noss claimed to have found hidden treasure inside the Mountains in the late 1930s.
Geologic History
The Tularosa BasinTularosa Basin
The Tularosa Basin is a graben basin in the Basin and Range Province and within the Chihuahuan Desert, east of the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States.-Geography:...
was developed in the north-south trending San Andres Mountains
San Andres Mountains
The San Andres Mountains are a mountain range in the southwestern U.S. state of New Mexico, in the counties of Socorro, Sierra, and Doña Ana. The range extends about 75 miles north to south, but are only about 12 miles wide at their widest...
, and comprises north-south striking Late Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
sedimentary rocks of Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
and Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
age, that lie unconformably upon Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
metamorphics. The regional dip of the Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
rocks is gentle, around 10° to the west. The Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
rocks of the Abo and Yeso formations comprise mudrocks and sandstones which are freely weathering to create a series of steps capped by sandstones with intervening argillaceous rocks forming less steep slopes. These slopes and cap rocks were to be used to advantage by the Apaches in 1880. The entrance to the Hembrillo Basin
Battle of Hembrillo Basin
The Battle of Hembrillo Basin, or the Battle of Rattlesnake Springs, was fought between the United States Army's 9th Cavalry against a combined band of Chiricahua and Mescalero Apaches led by Chief Victorio.-Battle:...
, Hembrillo Canyon, opens eastwards into the Tularosa Basin
Tularosa Basin
The Tularosa Basin is a graben basin in the Basin and Range Province and within the Chihuahuan Desert, east of the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States.-Geography:...
and the White Sands National Monument
White Sands National Monument
The White Sands National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located about southwest of Alamogordo in western Otero County and northeastern Dona Ana County in the state of New Mexico, at an elevation of 4235 feet...
. The Canyon is partially barred by a roughly north-south trending diabase dike. Westwards is the valley of the Jornada del Muerto
Jornada del Muerto
The Jornada del Muerto in the U.S. state of New Mexico was the name given by the Spanish conquistadors to the Jornada del Muerto Desert basin, and the particularly dry stretch of a route through it.The trail lead northward from central Spanish colonial New Spain, present-day Mexico, to the farthest...
, the Sierra Caballo mountains and the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
.
Namesake
As the area was a well known hideout of Chief VictorioVictorio
Victorio was a warrior and chief of the Chihenne band of the Chiricahua Apaches in what is now the American states of New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua....
, the peak was named after him. Briefings used by the U.S. 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...
prior to Operation Goldfinder labeled the mountain as Victoria Peak. Officials at the Range
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
followed the lead of New Mexico historians, who erroneously believed the peak was named after Queen Victoria. Through dilligent research, Howard Bryan, a reporter for the Albuquerque Tribune
Albuquerque Tribune
The Albuquerque Tribune was an afternoon newspaper in Albuquerque, New Mexico, founded in 1922 by Carlton Cole Magee as Magee's Independent. It was published in the afternoon and evening Monday through Saturday....
linked Victorio
Victorio
Victorio was a warrior and chief of the Chihenne band of the Chiricahua Apaches in what is now the American states of New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua....
with the Battle of Hembrillo Basin
Battle of Hembrillo Basin
The Battle of Hembrillo Basin, or the Battle of Rattlesnake Springs, was fought between the United States Army's 9th Cavalry against a combined band of Chiricahua and Mescalero Apaches led by Chief Victorio.-Battle:...
and discovered the peak's original namesake.
Battle of Hembrillo Basin
The Battle of Hembrillo Basin was a battle fought between the components of the United States ArmyUnited 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...
's Sixth Cavalry and Ninth Cavalry against the Chiricahua
Chiricahua
Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...
and Mescalero Apache led by Chief Victorio
Victorio
Victorio was a warrior and chief of the Chihenne band of the Chiricahua Apaches in what is now the American states of New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua....
.
Treasure of Victorio Peak
Theories abound on the origins of the alleged treasure, from eighteenth-century Spanish Missionaries to wealth pilfered from MexicoMexico
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...
during the reign of the French puppet Emperor Maximilian
Maximilian I of Mexico
Maximilian I was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire.After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy...
. Some years after Doc Noss was killed, his wife Babe asserted a claim that she was entitled to access to the cave in Victorio Peak and its contents. Eventually she brought her case to the military, but the alleged bonanza had vanished.
See also
- F. Lee Bailey - Prominent lawyer who proclaimed to represent clients who knew where treasure was buried
- Battle of Hembrillo BasinBattle of Hembrillo BasinThe Battle of Hembrillo Basin, or the Battle of Rattlesnake Springs, was fought between the United States Army's 9th Cavalry against a combined band of Chiricahua and Mescalero Apaches led by Chief Victorio.-Battle:...
- skirmish between MescaleroMescaleroMescalero is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation in southcentral New Mexico...
ApacheApacheApache 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...
and the U.S. ArmyUnited States ArmyThe 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...
in 1880 - Gold Reserve Act of 1934 - legislation that made it illegal for American citizens to own gold