Canyon Journeys

06/01/2026

05/24/2026

I love a good treasure take

WHERE THE DUST STILL HIDES GOLD
Because of its very unusual history, Cimarron County, perhaps more than any other county in the American West, is said to be littered with buried treasures. While most of them likely belong to legend, some may well be real, still waiting to be found.

After the French gold of Black Mesa (tinyurl.com/5d7ntyzz) — perhaps the most famous and fascinating of them all — here are seven more stories drawn from Mary Carson’s “A Guide to Treasure in Oklahoma – Vol. 1” (1987).

> THE LOST MISSOURI CARAVAN TREASURE
A party of Missouri traders is said to have returned from Santa Fe in 1828 with 150 mules, wagons, and a large shipment of silver coins. As they reached Upper Spring (aka Flag Springs), they encountered a Native American camp. Unable to go around it, they attempted to force their way through. The situation reportedly escalated into conflict. The wagons circled roughly half a mile to the east.

After the first skirmish died down, the party continued another 5 miles east, leaving the Cimarron country behind. They were attacked again. The cache was buried, and the survivors fled on foot toward Chouteau’s Island, in what is now Kearny County, Kansas.

> THE OTHER SUGARLOAF MOUNTAIN TREASURE
According to local accounts, Confederate forces buried a large cache of treasure near Sugarloaf Mountain in 1861 or 1862. The hoard is said to have included silver plate, bullion, and coins.

> THE TREASURE OF “CAPTAIN” COE — VERSION 1
“Captain” William Coe established a hideout in Colbert Canyon, near the New Mexico–Colorado border, about 30 miles west of Kenton. From this base, he led a gang for four years.

When he was hanged in July 1868, he is reported to have told the crowd: “Between here and Flag Springs Arroyo, I have buried enough gold to make you all rich.”

None of it has ever been recovered.

> THE TREASURE OF “CAPTAIN” COE — VERSION 2
Just north of Kenton, across Carrizo Creek from “Fort Lookout” — the stronghold of Coe’s gang on Robbers Roost — another cache of outlaw loot is said to lie buried.

Coe’s gang terrorized the surrounding country for years before being driven out by cannon fire in 1867. Coe himself was captured and lynched in Colorado a year later.

One account claims that part of the gang’s loot was hidden somewhere on Black Mesa.

> THE LOST CAVALRY PAYROLL
A sum of $42,000 in silver, reportedly cached by the U.S. Cavalry during the Indian Wars of 1868, is believed to be buried somewhere in Cimarron County.

The soldiers’ last known camp was later identified in the nearby Texas Panhandle, but the cache itself has never been recovered. One account places it along the Goff River, about 2 miles south of Sturgis, in the northeastern corner of the county.

> THE $750,000 FLAG SPRINGS HOARD
A Native American man who once rode with William Coe allegedly claimed on his deathbed that more than $750,000 in gold and Spanish coins lies buried in the Flag Springs area. This hoard is considered separate from Coe’s own activities.

> FROM A TEXAS BANK TO A CIMARRON COUNTY CAVE
Roughly $80,000 in outlaw loot, stolen from a West Texas bank in the 1870s, is said to have been hidden in a cave within the gypsum sinkholes of Cimarron County.

*****
Yes, almost nobody knows this (except you lucky few), but out there in the countryside near Sturgis — that abandoned siding tucked away near Kansas — lies a modest little fortune of $42,000. Photo by Mitch Wahlsten (2008).

05/18/2026

04/29/2026

If you are looking for a more in-depth account of the history of the St. James Hotel, check out my book "The History of the St. James Hotel, Cimarron, New Mexico." Available on Amazon.

04/25/2026

😳

The size of the Maxwell Land Grant, New Mexico

In 1858, the Maxwell Land Grant encompassed more than 1.7 million acres—roughly 2,680 square miles—spanning northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. It represented the largest piece of land under individual ownership at that time. The map below highlights Colfax and Mora counties in New Mexico as well as a section of southern Colorado. Notably, the brown area on the map illustrates the sheer size of the Maxwell Land Grant. This particular map from 1889 was partly based on a private survey conducted by ‘The Maxwell Land Grant Company,’ which owned the grant at the time. For most of us it is impossible to imagine what owning 1.7 million acres would look like, this map helps put that into perspective.

04/25/2026

CITY COUCIL AGREED TO TURN GOODNIGHT BARN TO NON-PROFIT THAT’S RESTORED IT - Members of the non-profit that worked years to restore a historic barn celebrated Monday night, posting on FB, “Tonight, Pueblo City Council voted 6-1 to quit claim deed the Barn and convey it to Goodnight Barn Historic Preservation, Inc… A new era begins tonight!”

We shared information about the ordinance the historic property when the ordinance was first presented to city council before the April 13 win. Here’s our February story along with links to stories we did on the Goodnight family:

A group spent years restoring the historic Goodnight Barn so that it could be a local and tourist attraction, with tours. The project is complete and the City Council is about to vote to turn ownership from the City to the group that restored it.

The Goodnight Barn Preservation Committee was formed in 2014 to raise funds and restore the historic building. A handful of local women and a man who has been president of their board were persistent and raised funds through an annual dinner and grants. The restoration is finally complete!

Here’s the Goodnight Barn’s post and below are links to multiple stories that we’ve published about the history of this gem:

“Those of you who didn’t tune in to the Pueblo City Council meeting on Tuesday may be wondering why the Goodnight Barn was invited to present to City Council. Goodnight Barn Historic Preservation, Inc., is the organization charged with the restoration and preservation of the barn, though it is owned by the City of Pueblo along with the one and a half acres it sits on. If all goes well, that situation will change next month, if all goes well.

The city has offered to donate the barn and land to Goodnight Barn Historic Preservation, Inc. and we have graciously accepted. There will be a first reading of the donation plan at the City Council meeting on February 23, followed by a second reading and vote on March 9.

This is a momentous step for us! Ownership will come with challenges, of course, many of them financial since we’ll be the ones footing the bills instead of the city. But the benefits are immense and outweigh the extra expenditures we will have. This will give us a greater ability to move forward with plans to expand interpretation of the historic barn, Charles Goodnight, and the ranching history of Southeastern Colorado, making it easier for us to obtain grants and other forms of funding without having to coordinate with the city on everything.

Progress should come a lot more swiftly now! Sure, the early years of ownership may be a little lean, but we have faith that we can achieve something that Puebloans will be proud of. The barn is still a hidden gem for many folks around here, and now we will be able to rectify that. Please join us in this new era for one of Pueblo’s most historic buildings!”

https://www.coloradogives.org/organization/GoodnightBarn

Www.goodnightbarnpueblo.org

Stories about Mary and Charles Goodnight at Pueblo Independent News:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CG8K42P9k/?mibextid=wwXIfr

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AVfQESFcN/?mibextid=wwXIfr

04/25/2026

Your input matters!! Contact your representatives!

https://seconews.org/page/8637?fbclid=IwdGRjcARY6B1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEesJLDQBSm8VuzJhW8nHWw_x4nkW_0KeoMU1LLaFhPwIgY5jcVd2s6-VX2RkY_aem_x4EIJzDRqPdKCOU_C06C7w

Bent’s Old Fort in La Junta is closing key areas, limiting visitor access and raising concerns over preservation and tourism. Here’s what’s happening and why it matters.