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Lady_Rebecca
ph34r.gif Can any one give me hard facts that the Reynolds Gang treasure has NOT been found??? Anyone???
Lady Rebecca
cool.gif
russau
actually i dont see how anyone could positivily say/prove that there is any of their hidden stuff left. unless someone found some stuff and it had irrepuitable proff identifing it as theirs.I.E. exact denomonations,coins,etc.but from what ive read(true or not) the stage/railroad/banks usually embelished the amounts,and so did the drunken bad guys! but good luck i hope you find what your looking for and keep it quite if you find something or the guberment will want it.
russau
plus if someone would have found it, they would keep theri mouth shut for fear of it being taken away from them. OR if they found it and didnt know it was from that gang and are just keeping it OR just sold it off to a private buyer. OR????????? so you see itll be hard to prove that there is or isnt anything left
gerryestes
There's lots of talk lately around where I live (Bailey, CO) about the Reynolds gang and I know of a couple of people who have been out looking this year. Most of the talk is that the gang stashed some stuff either near the head of Deer Creek or up west of Slaughterhouse trail north of Platte Canyon High School. Historical talk mentions that they may have been closer to Hall Valley or near Grant, but the locals believe they may have been closer to Deer Creek which is about 5 miles from Schafer's Crossing. About a month ago, some hikers discovered the remains of a historic campsite about 6 miles N of the Platte Canyon High School with old bottles thrown around and a couple of prospect digs. From what I hear, they will be going back to check the site again as soon as the snow melts.

According to MtnGuy.com (http://mtnguy.com/owlhoots/reynolds.htm)

"In July 1864, Jim Reynolds and eight Confederate raiders launched the only invasion of the Colorado Territory during the Civil War. Their hope was to rob the gold mines of the area to help finance the Confederate cause.
On July 24 the gang pulled into the Adolph Guirand ranch between Fairplay and Hartsel. Guirand was rewarded for the hospitality by being relieved of his horses, cash, and the molestation of his wife!

Reynolds and his comrades took off for Dan McLaughlin's stage station, about eight miles out of Fairplay. The town of Como stands on the spot where the old stage station stood. After arriving the gang looted the station. They took cash, a gold watch, and gun. They stole horses too. Total haul was about $3,000. Before leaving, the spokes were chopped out of the stage coach wheels and the coach was destroyed.

From McLaughlin's place, the rebels headed over Kenosha pass toward Denver. On the way the guerrillas came to Michigan House, another stage stop, where they stole more horses. The gang was unaware of Mr. Berry warning everyone who would listen of the escapades. Berry then followed the gang as far as Omaha House near the present day Conifer. Berry tried to raise a posse, but couldn't get anyone to join. His story of the Reynolds Gang just wasn't believed! The gang spent another night at Omaha House before heading back toward Shaffers Crossing.


A posse was finally organized. Late that Saturday the posse spotted a camp fire through the trees. The rebels heard noises in the dark and grabbed their guns. They were ordered to stop, and when they didn't shots were fired. The next morning when the posse returned to the camp site, they found one body. The rebel was identified as Owen Singlterry. A member of the posse was Dr. Cooper. He cut off Singlterry's head and took it back to Fairplay where it was preserved in alcohol. This grizzly reminder remained in Fairplay for a number of years.

After the attack the gang split up. As more South Park residents learned about the rebels a bigger posse, about seventy five members, headed out to find the guerrillas. Four days later four members of the gang were captured and taken to Denver for a military trial. Another of the robbers, Tom Holliman, was caught as he made his way to Canon City. Jim Reynolds and two others escaped to New Mexico.

The five captured outlaws were being taken to Fort Lyon. While en route three of the gang members were killed, the other two escaped.

The outlaws loot was estimated between $5,000 and $100,000. The Reynolds Gang was credited with almost every robbery in Colorado at the time!

The story doesn't end here! In 1871 John Reynolds, Jim's brother, returned to Colorado to recover the loot. He was caught stealing horses and hung. He left a crude map of the area and told the jailer how to find the money, "You go up there a little ways (along Geneva Creek) and find where one of our horses mired in the swamp. On up at the head of the gulch we turned to the right and followed the mountain around a little farther, and just above the head of Deer Creek we found and old prospect hole at about timberline. There was $40,000 in greenbacks, wrapped in a silk oilcloth, and three cans of gold dust. We filled the mouth of the hole up with stones and ten steps below we stuck and old butcher knife in a tree about four feet from the ground, broke the handle off and left it pointing to the mouth of the hole."
russau
these lost treasure stories are addicting!!
Wham
Hello, My name is Chris & I'm new to the forum with this being my first post. I've spent many wide-eyed hours reading through these forums..!

I can't tell you the treasure has not been found & I do agree with some of the other posts, if the treasure were found, the finder would probably keep their mouths shut. (As would I).

What I do know, from research..... There are two stories about the treasure already being found.

From the Denver Republican, April 27, 1906 edition, a short article describes two Fairplay prospectors as having found a treasure of gold dust & old paperbacks in a rocked in prospectors hole somwhere near Horseshoe Mountain, west of Fairplay near present day 4 Mile Creek Rd. The treasure was valued at appx. $18,000 & fit the description of the loot stolen from the Buckskin Joe stagecoach. The article also mentions the descrepincy in the location of the found treasure & notes the possibility of there being two treasures. The article concludes with the two prospectors as having a map, purchasing supplies & planning on spending a few weeks up Deer Creek looking for the Remaining treasure.

The second story I found online at (http://historicjeffco.org/). In an article written by By Lee Heideman. It claims the treasure was found in 1927 by Mr. Al Bobbitt of Park County. The following is quoted from that article:

"Dwight also told of knowing
Al Bobbitt, who said that he was
thrown out of the Reynolds Gang
for being too mean. He said that
the Gang holed-up in Hall Valley.
One day Al gave Dwight two
dollars to take him and his gear to
the head of Geneva Creek in
Dwight’s l927 Chevrolet, and told
him to come back in two weeks
time to pick him up. He said he
wanted to do some prospecting.
When Dwight returned for Al, he
started loading Al’s gear in his car,
but one sack was too heavy to pick
up. When he left Al gave him an
octagon or hexagon gold piece.
Later Dwight went by Al’s
house on the way to Field’s
Trading Post to get his mail, and
saw a lot of cars around his house.
That was very unusual in those
days, so he stopped to see if Al
was sick. Al said, “Go away. I’ll
talk to you later.”
When Dwight went back, Al said
that government had found out
about the treasure he had dug up
and took 65 percent of it."

The August 13, 1864 edition of the Rocky Mountian news contains a roster captured from the Reynolds gang & lists a "J. Babbitt" as being a member of the gang. Is he the one & same....? I don't know. I also inquired with Colorado State Archives regarding Tax records from 1927, but they no longer exist...

So who know's, the treasure may still be out there & at the very least, I'll have fun up in the mountains looking for it..!
tgregg
I just started researching this after years of reading tidbits about it. I live in the area and was telling my grandson about it when he visited this Christmas. Over the past few days, I have begun to dig deeper and seen similar but sometimes conflicting reports.

I have to be honest, I want to believe that the treasure is still out there.

Looking at the reports, I have seen a John Babbitt listed as a member in some. However, he is not listed in the captures just days after the burying of the treasure. He also stayed in the area after everyone else fled.

Also, the time frames seem odd to me. Al Bobbit was born in 1850. This made him only 14 when with the gang. It is not inconceivable that a 14 year old would be running with the group. However, the account from John of where the treasure was buried says he and Jim buried it and I wouldn't think that all of the gang members would know its location especially one so young.

Also, if he knew where the treasure was, why did he wait so long to go get it. The guy that gave him a ride didn't know him until he was 17. He was born in 1914 making it 1931 at the earliest making Al 81 at that point. It is hard to believe that at 81 years old, Al was compelled to hike in the mountains and drag out enough gold that it took both of them to lift it into the car.

I would really like to find the treasure for its historical value and the quest itself. I would also like to find some old maps of the area and the trails plus find the campsite where the ambush was. Has anybody out there found the campsite? There should be very old shell casings all around.
Wham

Not long after my May 2008 post, I ran across the Vernon Crow story, originally published in 1940's.

Gene Lindberg of the Denver Post interviewed Park County resident and depression era prospector Vernon Crow for the "Rocky Mountain Empire Magazine". In this article, Mr. Crow claims to have found the "dagger in the tree" and gives a step by step walking tour up Handcart Gulch while pointing out locations and landmarks he believed were related to Reynolds activity, including the ambush site.

The locations in Mr. Crows story conflict with General David J. Cook's 1897 book "Hands Up". (the first publication to mention the Reynolds Gang treasure). General Cook's book and map locate the ambush site up Geneva Creek with the treasure located between the heads of Deer & Elk Creeks. (X marks the spot). I have read that General Cook made several unsuccessful trips to the area looking for the treasure. Perhaps the General was intentionally throwing off other treasure hunters of the time.

Nicely validating Mr. Crows story... The August 3, 1864 edition of the Rocky Mountain News describes the Summit County posse led by Jack Sparks as...

"Following up Snake River, they passed over the range and down the north branch of the north fork of the Platte (Webster Pass). When within about a mile and a quarter of the road, not far from Herrimans (Kenosha House), late Saturday evening they came suddenly in sight of a camp within the deep brushy canon down which they were traveling."

The Crow cabin is still shown on USGS maps of Hall Valley, and can be seen up Handcart using Google maps. His story, including the walking tour is now available online.
Rocky Mountain Empire (1946) PP. 159-165.

General David J. Cook's book, "Hands Up; Or, Thirty-Five Years of Detective Life In The Mountains and On The Plains" is finally availble to read online. Until now, the only place you could get your hands on this book was in the Denver Public Library Western History Collection. General Cook tells the Reynolds story in the first chapter of the book. (the other stories are good too..!)
CP
Thanks for the info folks, makes for a very interesting read.
thumbsupsmileyanim.gif
russau
makes me want to come out looking for it! wish i had the fuel$$$ to make it happen!
swizz
Good stuff Wham, keep it coming!
Although I have no interest in seeking this potential hidden treasure it's been a really fun thread to follow.
Love these old-timey stories and accounts. happy088.gif
hootsmeister
Here's a twist you may not have heard before regarding the Reynolds brothers.....

They had been working placer mining in Park County in 1861. After Colorado went on record as favoring the North. they moved to Texas, where they were recruited to join the Confederate Army.
They joined forces with Captain John McKee, who had done some mining near Geneva Gulch. He had gathered approximately 70 men, intending to wage war on behalf of the Confederacy, but got caught before anything really happened.
They were "allowed" to escape, some say, and regrouped in Texas. Captain McKee went into active service with the Confederates, and arranged passage through Confederate lines for the Reynolds brothers, authorizing them to go back to Colorado and "raise hell".
This last tidbit is interesting, in that a secret organization, known as the "Knights of the Golden Circle" were known to have the power and authority to arrange passage through Confederate lines. Some researchers believe that Jim Reynolds was inducted into the KGC by Captain McKee before leaving Texas.
Since the organization kept no written records of its membership, there's no way to substantiate this claim.

However --- one of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of the KGC was to create "Payday" drops and "Vaults" containing currency (paper, gold and silver) for its members to use when needed. Considering that the Reynolds gang buried treasure near Devil's Head, somewhere in Geneva Gulch (or nearby), this may be an indication that they were following the SOP of the KGC.

Recently, on the History Channel some researchers found a "Payday" drop in Kansas (iirc), left there by Jesse James. Their theory is that Jesse James was also a member of the KGC.

I'm not a KGC buff, but if I were looking for this Reynolds gang treasure, I'd look for carved symbols in the rocks up Handcart Gulch or Geneva Gulch....and then dig nearby.
CP
Very interesting info Hootsmeister, thanks for adding this in. I know there are quite a few treasure hunting enthusiasts who'll enjoy reading that and adding it to their search references.
happy088.gif

CP
Wham
Well, I tried heading up to "Them Thar Hills" last weekend with the goal of following the Vernon Crow story. I was hoping to locate and photograph some of the areas he mentions in his story. Sadly, I was informed by the Forest Service, the road to Red Cone is still closed... Deep snow banks still cover the road in places.

In the mean time...

A wonderful resourse available for the armchair Treasure Hunter...

In 2005 I spent a couple of days in the Denver Public Library Western History Department poring over old scratchy and sometimes broken microfilm reels, reading over the 1864 Rocky Mountain News articles about the Reynolds Gang. Every 45 minutes I had to run a gauntlet of escalators, elevators & panhandlers out to the street to feed the parking meter. Save yourself the time and coins. The Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection is online and currently includes 147 newspapers from 60 cities and 40 counties published in Colorado from 1859 to 1923. Search for treasure clues as you read about the day to day escapades of the Reynolds gang as they were originally reported..!

The digital versions appear to have been copied from the microfilm archives and are sometimes hard to read, but if you highlight and click on your desired article a new window will pop-up with a slightly enlarged version. From the pop-up window you can then select “view” from the upper left hand corner and choose to read the article as a PDF file. The PDF file can be enlarged up to 6400% and saved to your computer. This definitely beats the illegible 10 cent microscopic copies you get from the library.

Articles and dates to look for: Daily Rocky Mountain News 1864 (all articles appear on the 2nd page)

(GUERRILLAS AT WORK - BUCKSKIN JOE COACH ROBBED – PRISONERS TAKEN – THE BAND WITHIN TWENTY-FIVE MILES OF DENVER - July 26) (THE GUERRILLA RAID - July 27) (More About The Raid - July 28) (From Fort Lyons - July 29) (Organize - July 30) (The Guerrillas - August 1) (The Guerrillas Routed - August 2) (The Guerrillas - August 3) (More Scared Than Hurt - August 4) (Guerrilla Hunters - August 5) (Later From The Park - August 8) (History Of Reynolds’ Rebel Band - August 13) (The Reynolds Band - September 9)

I did not search for any mention of the Reynolds Gang beyond September 9, 1864, because we all know what happens next…


Look Out… Ahead..!

Eighteen years after the demise of the Reynolds gang the Fairplay Flume reported the discovery of a mummified human head near the mining town of Montgomery. Read on to find out what happened to the “head” of Owen Singleterry. (Diving Into The Past p2. - February 16, 1882) (Mines And Mills Of Montgomery p2. & “John Smith” Redivivus p3. – February 23, 1882)

russau
this is some very good research!!!thankyou!
chrisb5401
Anyone want to organize a camping trip up around Hall Valley, hunt around see if we can at least nail down some landmarks from this story?
Coalbunny
And exactly WHO are you?
Boogie
QUOTE (Coalbunny @ Jun 27 2010, 12:33 AM) *
And exactly WHO are you?


Geez Coalbunny, way to make the guy feel welcome... Doesn't his profile tell you enough?

Hey chris, it sounds like a fun to me. Can't do it any time soon though, maybe later in the summer.

Boogie
CP
Hi chrisb5401, welcome to the forums. Make yourself right at home browsing around.

Good luck on the treasure hunting too.
These treasure stories are some great old stories and it would be great to hear about one of the forum members finding one.

CP
Coalbunny
QUOTE (Boogie @ Jun 27 2010, 02:52 AM) *
Geez Coalbunny, way to make the guy feel welcome... Doesn't his profile tell you enough?

Hey chris, it sounds like a fun to me. Can't do it any time soon though, maybe later in the summer.

Boogie

Granted, I can be a bit harsh at times while not meaning to do so. But even then, he hasn't done an intro page yet.
Boogie
QUOTE (Coalbunny @ Jul 3 2010, 02:35 AM) *
Granted, I can be a bit harsh at times while not meaning to do so. But even then, he hasn't done an intro page yet.


I've had days like that too. I bet we all have.
Coalbunny
Boogie, consider this- someone comes here and does not provide an intro (has he/she yet? I dunno). And they have one post.

They want to start a group project looking for treasure.
And they have one post.

We don't know who they are. Comparing to you & I, do you know who I am? No. But I have been here long enough folks HAVE met me, most folks know who I am, know where to find me, and while they may or may not trust me or may or may not want to go treasure hunting with me, I think they would be far moe inclined to go with me, Russ or CP than someone they know nothing of.

Of course, one pst isn't much, maybe there is PM contact with others and maybe they already have a better repetoire than I.

But we don't know that because of the few posts made (in this case, one).


That is what I admire so much about Dan & Denise. They have the patience and tolerance I don't have.
Boogie
QUOTE (Coalbunny @ Jul 9 2010, 04:39 AM) *
Boogie, consider this- someone comes here and does not provide an intro (has he/she yet? I dunno). And they have one post.

They want to start a group project looking for treasure.
And they have one post.

We don't know who they are. Comparing to you & I, do you know who I am? No. But I have been here long enough folks HAVE met me, most folks know who I am, know where to find me, and while they may or may not trust me or may or may not want to go treasure hunting with me, I think they would be far moe inclined to go with me, Russ or CP than someone they know nothing of.

Of course, one pst isn't much, maybe there is PM contact with others and maybe they already have a better repetoire than I.

But we don't know that because of the few posts made (in this case, one).


That is what I admire so much about Dan & Denise. They have the patience and tolerance I don't have.


The way I see it, you can know someone for a long time on the internet but you don't REALLY know him or her until you've actually been around the person for awhile. Just looking for landmarks... What's the risk? I see it as fun way to get aquainted.


chrisb5401
QUOTE (Coalbunny @ Jul 9 2010, 03:39 AM) *
Boogie, consider this- someone comes here and does not provide an intro (has he/she yet? I dunno). And they have one post.

They want to start a group project looking for treasure.
And they have one post.

We don't know who they are. Comparing to you & I, do you know who I am? No. But I have been here long enough folks HAVE met me, most folks know who I am, know where to find me, and while they may or may not trust me or may or may not want to go treasure hunting with me, I think they would be far moe inclined to go with me, Russ or CP than someone they know nothing of.

Of course, one pst isn't much, maybe there is PM contact with others and maybe they already have a better repetoire than I.

But we don't know that because of the few posts made (in this case, one).


That is what I admire so much about Dan & Denise. They have the patience and tolerance I don't have.



Well heres an idea, how about not replying since you don't know who I am nor do I know who you are. I did not ask you anything simply sending out a general invite for anyone interested. Next time feel free to ignore post of those who you don't know rather than making it a point to be a ***** because you don't know someone. Besides some us us only post when we actually have something to add to a thread not only to see our own posts like you seem to.
chrisb5401
Any for anyone who is interested here is the map from General David J Cook's book. Anyone looking for an original copy beware the chapter on the Reynold gang and the treasure was deleted in later editions for some reason. I managed to find a copy buried in the bowels of the internet a while back. As Wham noted it conflicts with Vernon Crow's Account which places the landmarks off handcart creek to the south.
CP
Hi chrisb5401,

Thanks for adding the map and good luck with treasure hunt.

I've edited your post above addressed to Coalbunny. I realize Coalbunny was a bit rough on your first thread/post but that was over a year and half ago. I see no point/good coming from this thread turning into a personal bashing session now.
Let's keep it to the topic at hand and both of you remember the forum rules please.

CP
russau
yep that map was a big help! Thankyou! no sense going out looking for it anymore,cause i found it and spent every bit of it on lotto tickets! and i didnt even win a free ticket out of all of it! whos got the next great treasure map???i can use a few more $$$$ on Megabucks this weekend! :)
ASTROBLEME
chrisb5401,

I am still having serious problems finding CP's Geocache #2 after several attempts over a couple of years time. Even using modern GPS coordinates and expensive metal detectors, buried treasure is still very hard to find.

Good luck to all whom seek this historical stash.

ASTROBLEME
Coalbunny
QUOTE (ASTROBLEME @ Jan 13 2012, 06:42 PM) *
chrisb5401,

I am still having serious problems finding CP's Geocache #2 after several attempts over a couple of years time. Even using modern GPS coordinates and expensive metal detectors, buried treasure is still very hard to find.

Good luck to all whom seek this historical stash.

ASTROBLEME


Yeah, but that only adds to the excitement! Especially when you find all sorts of other stuff in your search! thumbsupsmileyanim.gif
vabeachmax
wow
very interesting read for sure.
thanks everyone
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