Preacher's Tale Not Worth Iits Weight in Gold - Jeanne Williams.Temple Daily Telegram:

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Preacher’s tale Was Not Worth Its Weight In Gold

by Jeanne Williams

Temple Daily Telegram - June 14, 2010

CAMERON — Whether it was the discovery of gold at John A. Sutter’s California sawmill in

1848, or Apache and Spanish legends of Guadalupe Mountains’ hidden treasures, a group of

Central Texas adventurers were motivated in 1855 to search for the Lone Star State’s

Mother Lode.

Whatever the catalyst, the lure of quick riches in gold and silver galvanized a sizable

party of fortune hunters from Milam, Burleson and Washington counties to search for gold

in the Guadalupe Mountains in West Texas — a long and dangerous sojourn to Texas’

highest peaks.

Characterized by summits, canyons, hidden springs, valleys and extremes of lower

elevations in the Chihuahuan Desert as well as Ponderosa Pine and Douglas fir forests,

the Guadalupe Mountains was for centuries Mescalero Apache country, and the tribe

fiercely defended its territory.

The 19th-century newspaper, Austin State Gazette, reported that the leader of the

expedition was the Rev. W.F. Stewart of Cameron, who told Texas 49ers he discovered gold

in the Guadalupe Mountains years earlier and wanted to return to his mines, sharing the

wealth with all who would join his overland treasure trek.

Though details of the journey are sketchy, a portion of the group returned to Austin

with news that the party had disbanded soon after they reached the Guadalupe Mountains

and could find no trace of Stewart’s gold mines.

Discouraged, 30 members of the expedition started to return, leaving the provisions they

could spare with the company. Treasure hunters who chose to stay divided into three

parties: one group headed around the mountain into Mexico, and the other starting

through the mountains; both designing to reach a cluster of mountains in view beyond the

Guadalupe range, where it was believed the gold mines might be found.

A third party remained on the ground in charge of the wagons and provisions. John

McKenzie had command of the party that went around, and Joseph Wood of the latter party,

the newspaper reported.

Stewart was in command of the main camp where treasure hunters bivouacked about 50 miles

above Fort McKavitt.

Stewart, a man named Rollin and a Mrs. Gragg of Burleson County, rode on ahead of the

main party, and camped within about 30 miles of the fort.

When other members of the group returned, they found all three dead, their bodies

mutilated with arrows from an Indian attack while they were sleeping. Apaches carried

off their horses and firearms, and “no doubt would have scalped” the trio, but obviously

saw the rear party en route to the camp, causing the Indians to withdraw, the newspaper

account stated.

“This sad event is much to be deplored; Mr. Stewart was a worthy man, greatly esteemed

by those who knew him,” the newspaper article reported. “The party says that Mr. Stewart

would never have consented to return, without discovering the mines, but he was taken

sick, and so seriously that it was impossible for him to proceed further.”

Further accounts of the treasure hunt have not been uncovered, so the fate of the others

remains a mystery.

Whether Stewart’s treasure hunt was wishful thinking, a wildcat adventure or personal

knowledge of a lost gold mine, experts believe Texas may be one Western state where

there is no “gold in them thar hills.” Yet, rumors persist. Writer W.J. Jameson, who

authored “Legend and Lore of the Guadalupe Mountains” said the book is “chock full of

tales like this one,” referring to the Stewart expedition. Jameson has explored the

Guadalupes since childhood and is considered an expert on the topic. His interests

include writing books about lost mines and buried treasure, and he was a professional

treasure hunter for 40 years.

The Texas Almanac states that no major gold deposits have been discovered in Texas,

although small amounts have been found in the Llano area. Almost all the gold produced

came from silver and lead mining in Presidio County, and from 1889 to 1952, the U.S.

Bureau of Mining reported that total gold production amounted to no more than 8,418 troy

ounces, with 73 percent mined from the Presidio area.

The Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas reported that there have been

no economic deposits of gold found in Texas, yet the Texas Hill Country has been

associated with rumors of gold for centuries.

Writer Ira Kennedy of Llano has researched the quest for precious metals and discovered

that Llano’s historic Enchanted Rock originally was sought after for its “imagined

mineral potential.” Stephen F. Austin’s promotional book published in 1831, and William

Kennedy’s “Texas” spread rumors of gold and silver mines in the vicinity of Enchanted

Rock, Kennedy wrote.

Further, Kennedy’s research uncovered a 1911 book titled “Mineral Resources of the

Llano-Burnet Region, Texas,” by Sidney Page telling of 12 gold and silver mining

operations in Llano County

“It must be said, however, that in general the quantity is so small as to be valueless

from the standpoint of a mining enterprise. Results of many assays made of specimens

said to contain gold were decidedly discouraging,” Page wrote.