The San Luis Valley

There is supposed to be a huge cache of gold hidden on Treasure Mountain in the San Luis Valley. The value of this cache, several years ago, was estimated to be around 33 million dollars. That would certainly make some nice pocket change!

In the late 1700's a French expedition sat out from an outpost near what is now Leavenworth Kansas. It consisted of approximately 300 men and 450 horses. They made their way into southern Colorado and traveled into the San Luis Valley via La Veta Pass, ending up near present day Summitville, Colorado.

They sat up camp just west of Wolf Creek Pass and began panning for gold in the many creeks that flow down the San Juan Mountains. Supposedly they struck the mother lode and buried the gold in three separate locations on Treasure Mountain. A map was made and the locations were known only by the three top officers.

They were discovered by the local Indians and attacked; a large number of Frenchmen were killed as they fled over the mountains and onto the Front Range. There were only an estimated 17 to 35 survivors. As they made their way across the plains of the Front Range, they were attacked again by another band of Indians, leaving a total of five men to make their way back to Kansas.

Three of the five died due to the bitter conditions and starvation. It's rumored that the remaining two, ate them. The remaining two men stumbled into the outpost more dead than alive, and one of them died shortly after they got there. Out of 350 men, one survived. And the gold has never been found.