Welcome to the Lost Treasure Archives

Every so often the relic hunter has an experience that underscores the “partnership” that should exist between searcher and landowner.
Louisiana native Murry Crowe had such an experience recently - one that began with a casual conversation among strangers and ended with a bond of trust among friends.
Crowe is an avid Civil War relic hunter whose interest in searching for those treasures can be traced to his high school years in Pioneer, Louisiana, where he did a research paper on the Vicksburg Campaign.
That early research left him curious about what might be hidden in the region - a curiosity that sharpened as he grew older.

A Fortune in Gold Vanishes
in the Oregon Wilderness…
CROOK COUNTY – What happened to a fortune in gold freebooted by a band of outlaws in 1863 near Prineville is still a mystery that may never be solved.
The identities of this group of six masked gunmen, who first robbed several sluice boxes near Canyon City before holding up a bank in Dayville, to this day remain unknown, as does what happened to a fortune in gold they were carrying when they narrowly escaped a posse by heading into the Oregon wilderness.

From PBS’ “Antiques Roadshow” to A&E’s “Storage Wars,” reality TV has capitalized on our fascination with discovering treasure in household junk.
It happened to historian Michael Mendoza, whose patient culling through boxes of old papers was rewarded when he found a Civil War veteran’s personal account of his experiences. The 17-page letter was so rich in detail, Mendoza (www.dentedcanenterprises.com) used it as the basis of his first novel, “Glorious Reality of War.”
Mendoza owned an antiques store in 1997 when 95-year-old Alice Bowersock died in San Diego, California, he says.

The Columbus–First
Myth…Is It Important?
POWELL – JEFFERSON – CHRISTIAN COUNTIES – All of us were taught about Christopher Columbus, who discovered America in 1492. Columbus’ arrival marked the beginning of the end for indigenous Americans, but for the Anglo European settlers who came later, Columbus was a hero. But did he actually discover America? Yes and no.
Yes, Columbus “discovered” America for Spain, which resulted in a common awareness among Europeans that the American continents existed in the west.
No, because the indigenous Americans who’d occupied these continents for millennia already knew about America and well knew where they lived.

Those of you who follow my articles on a regular basis are probably aware of my strong interest in electronic gold prospecting.
Nugget hunting has been a passion, or perhaps an obsession, of mine for the last 17 years. My infatuation for the yellow metal has lured me half way around the world and back - several times!
My beloved metal detector and I have chased gold across every corner of Australia, all over the western United States, and through the jungles of central and South America.
As much as I love to go prospecting, it just isn’t something I can do year round living in Arizona. The deserts are incredibly harsh in the summer months and, if a person is unprepared, a simple scouting trip could easily result in a life or death situation.

In 1988, Chinese police notified the Russian consulate that the oldest living Russian immigrant, Ksenia Pavlova, had passed away. At that time no one knew of any relatives who might be living, so it would be the job of the Soviet officials to take a full inventory of her possessions and report the findings to the Chinese government.
Ms. Pavlova came from a family of six children, two sisters and three bothers. Her father, Alexander Pavlova, was a railway engineer who had become successful helping build the Chinese Eastern Railway.

Gold – Field Guide for
Prospectors and Geologists
By W. Dan & Eric J. Hausel
The “Gold – Field Guide for Prospectors and Geologists” is written to help prospectors, geologists and layman understand how and where to find gold, and describes nearly every gold deposit in Wyoming.
It was written by W. Dan Hausel and Eric J. Hausel, geologists and prospectors with nearly 40 years combined experience.
Dan Hausel, senior author, has been given national and international awards for discoveries of major gold deposits in Alaska and Wyoming, placing him in a category that includes only a few other geologists.

It was a glorious autumn day back in 2007. The Muskoka foliage was a painter’s palette of brilliant colors and the sun cast a warm glow over the forests.
Our car turned off of Fraserburg onto Taylor Line Road, which quickly became little more than a track cut through imposing wilderness.
Perhaps well traveled during the pioneer era of a century ago, it was now enclosed by trees, well rutted, and clearly prone to wash out during spring thaws. But traveling down this road was like driving back in time.
Though obscured by foliage, signs of pioneer inhabitation were everywhere: here a sagging home, there a lone gatepost at the end of an overgrown drive, and over there a marker dedicated to the memory of a long-lost church.

Beach goers marvel as head to foot clad metal detectorists search the sand around them. Every so often the person stops, passes the detector back and forth, stoops, scoops up something and moves on. It might be a penny, could be a dime, sometimes a ring or chain lost in the sand.
Occasional finds lend excitement to a hobby that often becomes a passion to learn about history and local legends. Very often bathers will ask the person with a detector to search an area where they lost a piece of religious jewelry or a wedding band.
Often overlooked, beyond the capability of most metal detectors, is the surf area off the beach. It is in the surf where most bathers stumble and lose their jewelry.