Legends of the Lost

LEGENDS OF THE LOST Montezuma's Lost Bullion Survives as One of the Most Bewildering Buried Treasure Stories

In 1921 the small mostly Mormon town of Kanab, Utah, just north of the Arizona state line became involved in a massive cover-up designed to prevent outsiders from discovering the site of a great treasure trove.

The townspeople of Kanab were convinced they were about to find the long-lost Aztec Indian treasure that Montezuma's followers had buried nearby in an effort to prevent it from falling into the hands of Cortes and his band of Spanish conquistadores.

The little-known, fascinating story of Kanab's hunt for a fortune is a perfect example of how the lure of of gold can create hysteria, even among townsfolk noted for their steady, hardworking, and sober habits.

The search for the treasure lasted almost two years during which a small army of frenzied diggers unearthed clue after clue to one of the West's most bewildering buried treasure stories.

So great was the grip of gold fever on the people that nearly everyone in town moved to the treasure site in Johnson Canyon, 17 miles east of Kanab.

Those who remained behind conducted an elaborate hoax to prevent travelers passing through town from learning about the search.

By prearrangement, the handful of residents who stayed in Kanab would sell groceries, gasoline, and other necessities required by tourists or others who happened by. They also would create the illusion that the town was populated fully by moving about through the streets. This wasn't too difficult to do because in the 1920s Kanab was a small town connected with the outside world by poorly maintained dirt roads, and tourists were rare. So succesful was the Kanab charade that word of the hidden treasure did not leak out for six months.

That happened in May, 1922, when some vacationers from Salt Lake City stopped at a Kanab garage for minor car repairs and noticed they were Seeing the same faces over and over when they walked through town. Investigating, they came to realize that Kanab was all but deserted.

When they questioned the few remaining residents no one would talk. The local Church of Latter-day Saints, according to those who participated in the search, had sworn everyone to secrecy. In addition, the town council had passed a resolution imposing a fine on anyone mentioning the word "treasure."

Finally one of the visitors offered a young boy two shiny 50 cent pieces, and the lad told him all about the search for Montezuma's gold.

Evidently Kanab did not initially intend to keep the search a secret. When the digging first started, the city fathers fired off a telegram to the governor telling him of the great discovery and asking him to send the Utah militia to guard the site.

Kanab received no reply to its request. The governor, apparently, thought the telegram so outlandish that it did not merit an answer.

The story of the search for Montezuma's treasure began in 1914 when an old saddle tramp named Freddie Crystal showed up in Kanab.

By all accounts from those who knew him, Crystal was a cowboy with a mysterious past. Ragged and obsessed with finding a hidden treasure that only he knew of, he spent his days riding through the great multihued canyons looking for certain clues.

He stayed at a ranch in Johnson Canyon, and soon his wild stories of the lost treasure fascinated the locals.

According to Crystal, distinctive Indian petroglyphs marked the path to a buried tunnel that Led to a secret room inside a mountain. In the room, he claimed, was a great hoard of Aztec gold, silver, and jewels. In 1916 Crystal disappeared without telling anyone where he was going. Four years later he was back in Kanab, this time waving a map he said he found in a monastery in Spain. No one could vouch for the accura-cy of his claim, but they noted he had a fresh-looking scar on his face from a bullet crease. The map, which Crystal freely displayed, showed four mountains to the north, one mountain in the other three di-rections, a cliff with stairs, a duck petroglyph symbol, and a canyon with four side branches, or draws. One of the draws on the map was marked as the site of the buried treasure. Again Crystal resumed his horseback rides out of Johnson Canyon looking for landmarks that matched his map. He was usually accompanied by a group of young boys and men who had nothing better to do and were intrigued with his tale of treasure. Then, on the last Sunday in November of 1921, Crystal, followed by his entourage, stopped on a high point, as was his custom, to check his map with the mountain topography. Suddenly he let out a whoop of joy. The mountains matched his map. The group galloped down into the canyon. As they rode, Crystal excitedly pointed out other matching clues the duck petroglyphs, the stairs in the cliff (actually Indiancarved hand and foot holes) and then he reined in his horse in front of a huge white sand talus slope on the side of White Mountain. This, he insisted, was the site of the hidden treasure. Under the sand was a tunnel and the treasure room.

The boys, caught up in the excitement, dug with jackknives and even their bare hands. Some dug so hard that their fingers bled. On the next day, they returned with shovels and began digging in the talus slope, which showed no evidence of any previous excavations. By nightfall they had moved an estimated 60 cubic feet of sand and uncovered a man-made stone wall built of blue limestone rock.

The rocks were bound together with some sort of primitive concrete. Moreover, the only known source of blue limestone rock was some 30 miles distant. When they rode into Kanab with the news, the townspeople became unglued. Kanab, aided by the Mormon Church's experience in organization, quickly formed into labor divisions diggers, supply people, wagoneers and soon a tent city blossomed on the flat terrain beneath the talus slope. Back at the canyon, the diggers punched through the stone wall and found to their intense excitement a tunnel just like Crystal predicted. Not only that, but the tunnel had marks on the walls that appeared to have been made by crude digging instruments. The tunnel was clogged with debris and cave-ins, and clearing it took time. After 160 feet was excavated uncovering pottery shards, charcoal, bones of deer and rabbits, and, reportedly, the remains of an extinct ibex the searchers found a ing it took time. After 160 feet was excavated uncovering pottery shards, charcoal, bones of deer and rabbits, and, reportedly, the remains of an extinct ibex the searchers found a big room. Alas, it was empty.

But more tunnels were found leading off into other directions, and the digging continued until all were determined to be empty of treasure. Not sat-

isfied, the searchers excavated

the entire talus slope right down to bedrock. Nothing was found except some curious "cement" that appeared to be manmade at the bottom of a wash.

After two years, interest in digging lagged, and most of the people returned to Kanab to take up their lives again.

Some of the diggers hung around still searching. But when Crystal again disappeared never to return even those last few abandoned the hunt.

However, one of the men, Bill Johns, did not give up. He continued to dig for 35 years until his death from lung disease, caused, residents say, by years of inhaling dust in the cave.The tunnel and treasure room still exist and can be visited today. Caution must be exercised because of the many side tunnels and at least one vertical shaft. Lights, rope,water, and a guide are necessary, and a four-wheel-drive vehicle would be a good idea as the road to the site crosses deepsand. Inquire locally for directions and a guide.

Another account of the Kanab search is contained in an October 1, 1949, story by Maurice Whipple published in the old Saturday Evening Post magazine. A copy of the storyhangs on the wall of the Parry Lodge in Kanab.