Dowser, Pendulum, Fairy Wand and Directional Detector

Many of our friends, Latincom Club’s members and detections novices often, question us about such search tools and methods based on radio-aesthesia. We, in turn, have asked our main consultant, a trained scientist to shed a light on the fundamental principles, which would allow the above paraphernalia to indeed indicate the presence of hidden metals.

Scientific Proof 

Our expert, for days, searched, in vain, a coherent scientific explanation: going over (magic) scribbles, analyzing the best studies on the subject, consulting manufacturers’ catalogs of such paraphernalia, to finally convince himself that this was nothing but nonsense. The explanations given by some, contradict others. A maze of words of libidinous conjectures and foggy interpretations… ionic perception… telluric waves… body magnetism… transcendental vibrations, to mention only the most “alluring” ones. The great master Salvador Dali did use such artifices, to subjugate his audiences through a flood of incoherent and pseudo-scientific words, to amuse and delight the public.

Having no logical explanation at our disposition, in order not to discard something that could prove to be efficient/beneficial (axiom-like speaking: perhaps not everything can be ultimately demonstrated), we proceeded to the experimental stage in order to find any validity in such devices. To do so, we acquired dowsers, pendulums and magic wand from unscrupulous vendors who, shamelessly in their respective documentation, affirm searches-parameters while ascertaining that a deposit could be found at the depth of 4 to 5 meters (15 ft)!

Tryouts

First, we drew a well marked line 30 meters long (90 ft), on a recently ploughed and raked field (lent to us by our friend Octavio), then we hid, on its trajectory, at 15 cm deep (6in), a big 25 cm diameter (10in) tin can filled with copper washers. A little further, we buried a huge bronze faucet and at the extremity (10 cm deep) a bag of 20 big silver coins. Everything was subsequently well packed down and all traces were eliminated. The experimenter (our crew member Eric Masselin) who had not participated in the burying, arrived on the premises at 10.00 a.m. We, then, asked him to pin-point the 3 targets using the probing “paraphernalia” by just following the traced trajectory. (Nothing difficult, the only thing to do was to mark the targets location on the line). 

Dowser

Eric had, prior, spent many hours practicing during a few days. He started walking on the line, the two needles or twigs moved around at the wind’s whim or according to the chaotic walk of the experimenter. Fifteen minutes later, with much hesitation, Eric marked two targets (alas, far from the actual targets!).

Pendulum

In spite of having followed the “operating instructions” Eric was not able to spot any target. The pendulum oscillated in every direction without us being able to figure out why. Finally, Eric threw it out in anger.

Conclusion

You must not believe in everything, but only in the best metal detection equipment of the world known reputation.

Find out more at http://www.metaldetection.net/

The Path to Gold

A successful search story… fighting the wilderness bushes for almost two hours and the shrubs bothering me no ends… behind a rock I, eventually, heard my Deepers emitting a weak signal, I switched on to hyper frequency (HF) to check out if I had  finally spotted a target; the signal got louder and I was now all but nerves.  I started to remove some rubble, digging up a hole of about 50 cm ( ½ a yard).  Not seeing anything I, once more, went over the hole with the elliptic head, this time the sound was much louder… I was getting near the target… the adrenaline flaring up.  I kept on digging, finally, at about 80 cm (10”), some kind of terra-cotta  lid-top appeared, I unearthed the object, it was a big simple cylindrical pot, I pulled it out of the hole, it was quite heavy, I removed the lid… overwhelmed with joy, I discovered that it was full of gold in small nuggets-like shapeless bits, it was easy to see that the metal had been melted down.  More than 3 kilos(6 lbs 10 oz) in all, it was a fantastic day. I was happy an I will never forget this moment!

For many years the rich mines of Guanajuato, at the center of Mexico, have produced tons over tons of either gold or silver.  The famous   « Valenciana » mine was so rich, that its successive owners of the  16th and 18th century could claim the coveted  title of being the richest men on earth. More than 80% of either gold or silver circulating in Europe was from the Mexican inexhaustible Mexican lodes, in the 17th century the mine shafts were already 300 meters deep and this was done through hard work and without any modern machinery!  Everything was done through manual labor… starting with the digging of cylindrical tunnels (by pick and cold chisel), the actual ore extraction and  its arduous lift up to the surface.  A miner had to load, from 10 to 12 times a day, 50 to 60 kilos (110 to 132 lbs) of rubble and ore through steep and smoky shaft due to oil- lamps’ emanations, the sole source of lighting available in those days.  The ore was then crushed down through a succession of millings, each time finer, until it was treated through decantation, passed through mercury and ultimately fire.  The Valencia mine employed, on its own, hundreds of coolies (peons), poorly remunerated and whose lives expectancy rarely went over 26 to 27 years.  A harassing convict-like job, which would not be allowed nowadays!  

The precious metal, once extracted, was meted down into ingots and stored, awaiting its transport by the  “Camino  Real” (Royal Road) which would go from over mounts from Guanajuato  to San Miguel Allende in order to be routed to Mexico City and, finally, to Vera Cruz to be shipped to Europe via Spanish galleons of the  “plata flota” (Silver Fleet) ; at a later date it would be shipped to the U.S.A instead. Thieveries and lootings were common place, were it to be either at the rich extraction, the whole and lengthy  refining  process or the fine metal transport.  Nevertheless, the “ Bonanza” of the precious metal was so great that the amount of the various organized looting only represented, according to today’s estimations, 10 to 15% of the total, treated metal, bulk-weight.  Mines used to employ many guards and watchmen to keep an eye on this incredible manna, renewed constantly, however these guards and watchmen were, for the most, so corrupted that those who were supposed to track down the thieves only augmented their numbers, this, without mentioning, the hierarchy or management members, who were so well organized that they  subtilized  their “dime” through subtle maneuvers and tricks of any kind. Due to constant inspections, all these ill gotten bounties were hidden in the nearby mountains, alongside the “Camino Real”, where the respective owners could calmly retrieved them and flee, as far as possible, to finally enjoy life, endowed with lots of money. Not to forget the convoys  which were attacked and looted and which cargo was hastily hidden into small lots corresponding to each robber, in the surrounding bushes, alongside this “gold path” nowadays deserted, having been replaced by modern highways going through the valley.  Hundreds of treasures still do exist in those wilderness mounts between Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende in Mexico.

At the present, the Valencia Mine is still operating being administered now as a coop.  The mother lode is about 650 meter deep (over 2000 ft) where the ambient temperature tops 55° C degrees (141°F).  Time of active work is: one hour on and two hours off.  The vein being presently exploited yields 57 grams of gold and 7 kilos of silver per ore ton! Just for comparison’s sake, the Salsigne mine of France yields only 4  grams of gold per ton!  Mexico is unequivocally,  still,  the land of treasures and shall remain so for many years to come!

Acknowledgement:  We do thank the Valencia Mine Coop and its present personnel for the cordial welcome they granted the entire Latincom party.

Find out more at http://www.metaldetection.net/

Treasure of Apache Chief Victorio

In 1929, the Spanish teacher Myrtle Love, from the town of Isleta, New Mexico, west of Texas, who was very interested in old west history, received a phone call from the El Paso sheriff saying that there was a man under arrest with a very interesting story to tell.

The man’s name was Race Compton and was arrested when found sleeping in a rail road freight car. He looked like a vagabond. He told Miss Love that he was going to get dynamite and excavation equipment so he could go back to an old cave that had been sealed off by the Indians and presumably inside contained millions of dollars in gold ingots and gold coins.

Compton said “in 1859, the stage coaches were hard at work transporting people, mail, promissory notes and some times large sums of gold.

Stations for the stage coaches were established along the region of the Trans- Pecos for passengers and conductors to eat. One of these stations was in Eagle Springs, Texas located at the foot of Eagle Mountain, about 15 miles south of Van Horn and 12 miles north east of Indian Hot Springs.

Big Foot Wallace was a famous adventurer and Texas Ranger. He was one of the stage coach conductors, along with Joea Peacock who was only 19 but had been involved in several incidents with fugitives and Indians and had killed a few men.

During these times, bands of Apaches were very active in their incursions along the Texas territories. Their Chief, Victorio was commanding the major part of these rebel Indians.

Even thou it was said that Chief Victorio was white and that he had been kidnapped as a child from Coahuila, Mexico, he had a peculiar hatred towards the white men.

During one of the stage coach runs, the Apaches attacked and in some 20 minutes killed two passengers and one of the station attendants. The horses were stolen and Peacock was hurt in the leg by an arrow and taken prisoner by the Indians.

The Apaches and their prisoner rode none stop on horse back to the Tres Castillos Mountains in Chihuahua, Mexico. This is about 20 miles south of the Rio Grand River where they felt safe from the Texas Rangers, the Calvary and the Mexican soldiers.

The prisoner’s wound was not bad, but it was taken care of by a young Indian woman named Juanita, presumed to be Chief Victorio’s daughter. Victorio tried to kill the prisoner several times but Juanita kept him from it because she had fallen in love with the prisoner.

At night the young Indian woman and the white prisoner would get together in secret. She tried to get him to marry her, but he was very cautious for he knew that she was the only reason he was still alive.

Finally Peacock said he would marry her only if she would tell him were Chief Victorio had hidden the treasure. He was intrigued by what he saw, the Indians were carrying off gold ingots probably stolen from a train robbery and taking them to Mexico to trade for rifles and ammunition.

Juanita told him that the gold was being stored in a cave in the Eagle Mountains, close to were Peacock had been taken prisoner. She told him he could get there by going thru Hot Indian Springs. She also told him that the entrance was well hidden in the rocks and that he had to crawl on all fours to get in because the entrance was very small. Juanita told him that she had gone to the cave many times with her father and that she remembered seeing dozens of gold ingots, many bags with gold coins and chests full of religious artifacts and jewelry stashed away in the back of the cave. Her father had mentioned to her that it would take some 50 mules to transport all that had been stolen and hidden in the cave for years.

Afterwards, when Victorio and several of his warriors were taking gold ingots to trade for guns, they were spotted by soldiers on the old Indian path. One Indian woman was hurt and two soldiers died that day.

After this, Victorio was afraid that the location and contents of the cave would be investigated and discovered. So they got out what they were going to need and sealed off the small entrance with rocks making it look like part of the same mountain. Even so, Juanita told her lover she could find the entrance to the cave with no problem. That night, Peacock planned his escape thinking that with all that he knew he could find the cave without the help of anyone.

Finally, one day, Victorio and his men left on an incursion into Chihuahua, leaving only women, children and the elderly in camp. With Juanita’s help, Peacock got a horse and water. He promised the young Indian he would be back for her as soon as possible. The prisoner left for the mountains and crossed the desert. After several days, he finally arrived at Eagle Springs.

It is a long story. Peacock after resting, decided to begin the search with out any luck. Probably because sometimes what one person describes, is not what another person sees. Discouraged, he returned to his old job with the stage coaches while the Indians were being eliminated by the Texas Rangers and the Mexican soldiers. Finally, in the Tres Castillos Mountains, in June of 1880, Victorio, some 60 warriors and 18 women, including Juanita, were killed. All of those who knew of the location of the hidden cave where gone, the enormous treasure was lost.

In 1895, Peacock met Peace Compton that was a gold prospector and because of the interest of both of them for gold, the ex Apache prisoner told him of Victorio’s cave. They spent 15 years looking for the treasure. In 1915 Peacock died. Compton kept the ranch they had and continued looking for the cave, although he sometimes had to work to be able to buy dynamite and food.

In the end, he told Miss Love that as soon as he got out of jail, he would go back to the mountains to dynamite the cave he had finally found, approximately 5 miles east of Hot Indian Springs and south of the old Indian path.

He described the place to be about one day on horse back, south of Sierra Blanca and a half day west of Hot Indian Springs. He added to Love that a torrential rainfall had removed some of the rocks that covered the entrance to the cave and that he only had to dynamite the rocks that were left.

Compton was never heard of after leaving jail. An old resident of Sierra Blanca that had met him, said that he had died of a heart attack on his way back to the mountains and that he had been buried in Sierra Blanca.

The history of the lost treasure of Victorio is still alive. Everything suggests that the gold ingots, the bags of gold coins and the chests of jewelry are still in the mountains. What you need is a sense of adventure, good research, patience, and last but not least, good detection equipment.

Find out more at http://www.metaldetection.net/