III
It is noticeable that none of these legends refer to gold and silver but always to treasure. As I have been able to piece it together, the legend is this.
In a very early day a Spanish exploring party passed through this country, going in a northeasterly direction. As was the custom, the expedition included a large number of monks and priests with all the holy vessels and rich paraphernalia necessary to administer [[84]]to the spiritual needs of the party itself and to convert the heathen Indians according to the ritual of the Catholic church. Unfortunately the aborigines proved unfriendly and disputed the way to such an extent that the ranks of the Spaniards were decimated, and the remnant saw that they were going to be hard put to it to make an escape. Rather than have their holy vessels, valuable in a material way, but more precious spiritually, desecrated by savage touch, they decided to bury them. In selecting a suitable place for this operation they bore in mind that it must be stable, above the reach of the mighty river or the changes made by the hand of man under ordinary conditions; so they selected a bold promontory on the river, as stated above.
When the treasure was buried, not one, but several rude maps of the location were undoubtedly made, probably each by a different person. These maps were in the nature of things ambiguous, and the legends touching them furnish much food for speculation.
[1] See Bolton, H. E., Texas in the Middle Eighteenth Century, pp. 89–90, for an account of the Parrilla Expedition. [↑]
[2] Ibid., 129, 414. See also Bolton’s De Mézières, II, 187–238. [↑]
[3] After having written the above, I was informed by Mr. Joseph B. Thoburn, secretary of the Oklahoma Historical Society, that he had received a letter from Dr. Bolton identifying “Old Spanish Fort” with the fortification attacked by Parrilla. [↑]
[5] See Roberts, Capt. Dan W., Rangers and Sovereignty, San Antonio, 1914, pp. 185–186. [↑]