Lost Treasure Anthology - NEW MEXICO Treasure Stories Volume-I (digital downloadable book) This digital book contains 21 different stories -- over 100+ pages -- all dedicated to New Mexico Treasures! Anthology: This Anthology is a collection of published stories, by multiple authors, in a book format. It was compiled from the Archives of one or more of our six publications: Lost Treasure – Treasure Cache – Treasure Facts – Treasure World – True Treasure – Rockhound.

Treasure Tales and Treasure Stories About New Mexico from the Archives of Lost Treasure Magazine

New Mexico Gems

This story is unusual because it concerns two lost gem sites (opal and turquoise) within 100 miles of each other in southwestern New Mexico.

Opals have fascinated man for thousands of years. These gems have been found in many parts of the United States during the last 200 years. One especially rich opal deposit was found in 1879, by a group of tenderfoot prospectors, between what is now Summit, N. M., and Duncan, Ariz., in the Horseshoe Mountains.

After having traveled northeast from Tombstone, Ariz., these prospectors came to the Horseshoe Mountains in their search for gold and silver. There they ran across a large and valuable pocket of opals. Being short on supplies, they gathered several good sized samples and went to Lordsburg, N. M. Here they made a deal with two seasoned miners. In exchange for the opals and a waybill to the deposit, they were grubstaked and told where they could possibly find gold, since they were not interested in opals.

The tenderfeet loaded up and left Lordsburg, never to be seen again. The two prospectors had no trouble locating the opal deposit but it was in Apache territory. After mining for several weeks and caching a sizeable amount of opals near the mine, the two returned to Lordsburg because of the fear of being killed by the Apaches. They sold enough of the opals to live on until they felt it would be safe to return.

It wasn't until 1885 that they ventured back into the Horseshoe Mountains. On this trip the Apache raided their camp and killed both prospectors, then destroyed the mining equipment and erased all signs of the mine. In 1909 several attempts were made to relocate this opal deposit but all efforts failed.

Somewhere southeast of Duncan, Ariz., just inside the New Mexico border, is a deposit and a cache of opals that could make a treasure hunter rich. When prospecting for opals, remember, opal stone is a form of silica. It sometimes contains 20 percent water, which makes it liable to crack open on long exposure to air.