The Case of the Horsehead Crossing Treasure

I was sitting in my favorite pub, the Grill and Bare It, when Benny “The Nose” Schnoozle came in wearing the biggest smile I had ever seen on the old con man’s face.

I could tell by the way he was swaggering in, that he had another get rich scheme he was working on and he was going to “let” me invest in the “biggest” money making adventure of all time.

I had just ordered a scotch old fashioned when Benny sat down,placed his old familiar backpack on the table and ordered a rusty nail. True to his form, he told the waitress to put it on my tab because he was going to make me filthy rich.

“So, Benny”, I asked, “How are you going to make me rich today?”

“You mock me, detective, but this time…” he looked serious and with a very low voice started his story. “You remember the story of the Horsehead Crossing Treasure?”

“Vaguely” I replied.

“Well let me refresh your memory,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

[i]“As you may know,” he began, “Ferdinand Maximilian was the Emperor of Mexico from 1864 – 1867. He was originally an Austrian archduke. Under a ruse, Maximilian was duped into accepting the crownas Emperor of Mexico. He was led to believe he was going to be liked by the Mexican populace. However, most of them were loyal to Benito Juarez. There was a continuing struggle between Maximilian, the Church and the Juarez supporters. To make matters worse for Maximilian, Napoleon III, towards the end of his reign, began pulling his troops out of Mexico. It was rumored that Maximilian started sending jewels, gold, and silver to the United States for himself when he had to leave Mexico. His idea was to move to Colorado.”

Benny looked around furtively and then continued “He sent the treasure, worth millions then, up through Texas through Castle Gap and then crossed the Pecos River close to an area known as Horsehead Crossing in deep West Texas. However, Maximilian resisted fleeing and after a siege was captured and shot.”

“At this point,” I don’t think he stopped to actually breathe, “The story gets a little muddled. There was no record that any wagons reached Colorado. However, there have always been stories that the wagon train was attacked by either Indians or renegade Confederate soldiers still on the run. The rumors always indicate that the wagons were attacked when they stopped at Horsehead Crossing. The attackers took some of the treasure but couldn’t take all of it so they buried it. Unfortunately, as is the case in the desert, when the wind blows the geography changes and when they came back to dig it up, they couldn’t find it. None of the landmarks were the same”

I kept looking at him, mildly interested because I have always liked to hear the stories of buried treasure.

“Benny,” I asked, “How does this involve me? How does it make me wealthy?”

“Hang on," he said, “I am getting to that. I have a friend, Dr. Windsnore, who has researched this episode in history and has made several trips to Horsehead Crossing. On his last trip there he was introduced to a Mexican ranch hand, Raul, who told of a drifter who had come through the area sometime in the 1870’s. The stranger became a close friend of Raul’s great, great grandfather. On the stranger’s deathbed, he gave Raul’s great, great grandfather a map with the exact location of the lost treasure wagons.”

“Benny,” I said, knowing he was getting close to what he was really wanting, I urged him to finish his story. “This is interesting, but how does this involve me.”

“Ok, here it is. On his last trip, Windsnore, took the map and followed it out into the desert. He dug down a few feet in the area indicated on the map and lo and behold, he struck pay dirt. There in the hole in the sand was this glistening, silver serving dish.”

He now reached into his backpack and pulled out a beautiful serving dish and placed it on the table. It was something to behold.

“ The problem is,” now he was getting to the heart of the matter. “With all the time that has passed and the ever changing desert, Dr. Windsnore estimates the wagons are buried more than 20 feet down under the sand and caliche. He estimates it will take about $70,000, to get the equipment out to the site and dig it up. For a mere $30,000 investment, you will be guaranteed a 30% interest in everything taken out.”

Benny leaned back in the chair like he had just completed the biggest sale of his life and said, “So what do you think? Are you ready to become rich beyond your greatest dreams?”

“Benny,” I said, “I am always ready to get rich, however, even though I am retired from the police force, I still carry a gun and if you don’t get out of here I will use it on you.”

How did I know Benny was trying to play another con?