In the late 1700s a French expedition of 300 men and 450 horses journeyed from an outpost at present-day Leavenworth, Kansas on their way to the Rocky Mountains. Once they reached the mountains, they began to prospect, at first without success. Working their way south, they made camp several miles east of Wolf Creek Pass, near present-day Summitville.

Prospecting in the many creeks and streams of the area, they supposedly found a large amount of gold on Treasure Mountain. The amount of gold today would be valued at as much as $33 million dollars. The Frenchmen stored the gold in three different places and the commanding officer was in charge of the map.

Mar 12, 2019 Treasure Mountain, Tanay, Rizal Ever wonder why hikers and mountain climbers do their thing regardless of strenuous trek? Of course, it’s the joy of accomplishing all the heights and obstacles while nature rewards them with a breathtaking view from above. At Treasure Mountain Metal Detectors we highly value excellent customer service and quality advice. For this reason, we have scoured the globe to find some of the best Metal Detectorists out there. Everyone on our staff is not only very skilled at treasure hunting and knowledgeable about all the latest techniques and technology, but they are. Here there is a terminal going to Sampaloc (the first trip is at 5am). Fare costs PhP50 and the trip takes more than an hour (30 kms). Tell the driver to drop you off at tricycle terminal of Treasure Mountain in Brgy. From here take the tricycle going to the Treasure Mountain (PhP50 fare per person). Treasure Mountain Inn, affectionately known as TMI, is locally operated and was built to support the then Treasure Mountain Ski Area, now Park City Resort. Steeped in the history that crafted the mountain town we love, TMI is woven in to the fabric of the story of Park City. Join us and craft your own mountain story. May 16, 2018 Treasure Mountain in Tanay is great for quick camping trips and sunrise catching with a chance of sea of clouds. I admit — even though I love climbing mountains, there are days when I wish there was a direct road to the summit. Now, that is no longer a distant wish with Treasure Mountain.

Murthy medical poughkeepsie. When the French arrived, the Indians did not initially disturb them, but as time went on, the Indians mounted a brutal attack upon the expedition and a fevered battle ensued. Quickly, the French buried the gold and made new maps, but most of the Frenchmen were killed by the Indians. Only an estimated 17 to 35 men were able to flee the area, only to be attacked again, once they reached the Front Range. After this second brutal strike, only five weary men began the journey back to Kansas. However, winter was upon them, and starvation and bitter conditions killed three more, leaving only two who finally stumbled into the Kansas outpost. Even then, only one of the two survived. The sole survivor, a man by the name of “Le Blanc,” was the expedition’s historian. After recuperating at the outpost he made the long journey back to France, with two copies of the treasure map, one of which he gave to the French government, the other, he kept for himself.

Ute Warriors, 1878

A second expedition was mounted to retrieve the buried treasure, though it is unclear whether the mission was conveyed by La Blanc’s family or by the French government. Fifty men headed back to the Summitville area, passing through Taos, New Mexico, where they hired a guide to lead them to the area.

However, months later, the guide returned to Taos alone, claiming the entire expedition had again been wiped out by the Indians. The Taos locals were suspicious of the “sole survivor” and in the last Mexican trial held in United States territory, they tried him for murder but he was acquitted. Some theories claim the whole story was contrived by the Frenchmen, who secretly found the gold and returned to France, paying the guide to return to Taos, New Mexico with the untrue story of a massacre.

Over the years, several maps have appeared which claim to lead to the buried treasure. A man by the name of William Yule supposedly had a copy of the original and searched the entire western side of the valley, north to Saguache, without success. Later, a prospector named Asa Poor supposedly obtained the map from Yule and with two partners, was able to locate several landmarks leading to the treasure, but never found the hidden gold. One of Poor’s partners, named Montroy, retained possession of the map, but it disappeared several years later.

More recently, a local area family, who claims to be direct descendants of Le Blanc, professes to be in possession of an authentic map written in French. Supposedly, for three generations they have been quietly searching for the lost cache. After years of search, the family members claim to have located seven of the eight landmarks that are mentioned on the map.

Then, in 1993, one of the family members was hunting elk in the mountains south of Del Norte. When a cold hard rain began to fall, he took shelter in a 3-foot opening in the ground, which turned out to be a 5 by 4-foot wide man-made tunnel. Exploring the tunnel, he crawled about 20 feet into the hillside, when suddenly his path was blocked by an underground landslide. Shining his flashlight around the dark passageway, he observed a carving in the rock wall, which was supposedly the long-lost eighth clue. The following day, 20 of the family members returned to the passageway to excavate the cave-in, tunneling an additional twelve feet into the mountainside. Getting late in the day, the family lined the length of the passageway with candles but before they got a chance to light them a rattlesnake lunged out of the gloom at the end of the tunnel just barely missing one of the family members.

Treasure Hunter T-Shirt

Frantically, he scrambled back to the entrance when a swarm of bats poured out from the hillside, squeaking and diving aggressively at the surprised party. Undaunted, they knelt down to light the first candle at the entrance to the tunnel when the candle at the far end of the tunnel inexplicably flared on by itself!

While the stunned group gaped at each other in horror, a huge owl dive-bombed the shocked party within inches of their heads. Terrified by these unusual events, the family fled the passageway and returned home.

Is the French gold “guarded” by an unknown entity? Something eerie happened that day. Though scared off that day, the family has since obtained the Colorado state treasure rights to legally enter the cave and claim whatever treasure may remain there.

Additional information also suggests that the Ute Indians may have acquired some of the French gold during the battle that occurred, hiding it near the mouth of the Rio Grande Canyon.

Compiled and edited by Kathy Weiser/Legends of America, updated February 2020.

Also See:

Treasure Mountain is the forerunner to the popular kids game Treasure Cove. Both games pit kids against the Master of Mischief, a villain who thrives on creating what else but mischief.

Players must wander through the levels of the mountain finding the elves who have a scroll in their hand. If the player manages to catch a scroll-carrying elf in his or her net, the elf reads a question that the player must answer. If the player answers it correctly, he gets a clue as to the location of the key that will let him leave the level.

The player starts out with 10 nets, and can get another ten nets per level by throwing 4 coins on the ground near the net cave. Coins are gained by netting elves without scrolls (2 per elf) or answering the scroll questions correctly.

In addition to the key, treasures are hidden on each level of the mountain (how many depends on the level the player has reached. It starts out at 2 and goes up from there) and can be found behind features fitting 2 of the 3 clues.

After players have traversed all three levels of the mountain, the key unlocks the castle. Players must climb the ladder to the top and add their treasures to the chest. Then, they take a slide down to the bottom level of the mountain to collect more treasures.

At higher levels of the game, elves can steal coins from the player (jumping can foil them) and the Master of Mischief tries to grab th