Most people like a good lost treasure tail and I do to but I also prefer something that has a little proof or background to the story and a real chance in finding something. After all that’s what makes a story a legend and keeps people hunting and telling the tail.

We have all heard of the usual “Oak Island Money Pit” and so on but I tried to find five not so popular but never the less legendary treasure tails and wrote about them. They might not be as popular or mysterious but they still are legends and some have a real chance on still being discovered.

Although I researched these to the best of my ability, I cannot be a 100 percent they are totally accurate. Enjoy!

Genoa Nevada, Nail Keg Cache

This is Genoa, Nevada in 1890. Only thirty years before this picture in 1860, the town’s residents and payroll employees where constantly subjected to getting robbed while delivering payrolls and other goods.

In late 1860 one employer thought he came up with an idea that would fool criminals that tried to rob his payroll shipment. He loaded what at the time was $20,000 in gold $20 dollar coins into a barrel labeled “Nails or Steel Nails” and shipped it simple freight. Well his planned failed because sure enough the barrel was stolen off a stagecoach by 2 men wearing masks that rolled it off into the bush.

Soon after the golden coins where forgotten about or considered gone until somewhere in 1870 or later, a miner laid dying in a Montana boot camp or jail had confessed to robbing the stagecoach with another man back in 1860. He claimed him and his partner robbed the coach, rolled the barrel into the woods and opened it. They each took out $1000 and buried the remaining $18,000 by a tree in the woods. Word reached Genoa Nevada and people went literally nuts almost digging holes near every tree in the area.

In 1882, a large avalanche hit Genoa destroying almost half the area leaving many people to believe the treasure would now be lost for good.

Now this would be the end of the story but it is said in 1916, a blacksmith and his son where out searching for the gold and came across a small broken chest containing $2000 in gold twenty dollar coins. Then in 1948, some people where excavating a spot for a basement and said to have come across an unknown amount of gold twenty dollar coins. Finally in 1961, the last discovery of gold was made. A man had found over 100 gold twenty dollar coins in the hillside near Genoa.

So according to history and stories there sounds like to me there’s a really good chance that the hills in or around Genoa Nevada you still possibly hold a treasure just waiting to be found!

William Pogue’s Lost Fortune

Here’s another almost forgotten treasure tail from Nevada. The man in the picture above is William Pogue or the “Miser” of Little Smokey Valley. Back in the 1895 when trading was fairly busy, William Pogue had managed to find a spring well along a popular trade route in Nevada. It is said he had realized he had the only spring water on the way to Nye County and with that he constructed more buildings. The buildings could house horses or people overnight and he also feed visitors.

William basically was running his very own bed and breakfast and watering hole. He eventually secured a contract to feed and water to the stage line and then convinced Nye County to pay him to maintain the road in front of his watering station. If that wasn’t enough it is also said that William had also found a small mine which he worked from time to time that paid pretty well. His estimated yearly wage from the city and water alone was $25,000.

This is one of the buildings that William had built. He operated his business in these buildings for over 20 years without ever having a problem or being robbed until May 15, 1915 a traveler passing through the area decided to stop in. He found William lying on the floor paralyzed from the waist down. The traveler made him as comfortable as possible and then went to the nearest town to seek help. By May 19thonly 3 days after being found, William Pogue had died at 75 years old.

Everyone that had known William had also known that he was a “Miser” who didn’t spend a cent except on goods and materials for his business. It is said that he hid his fortune estimated around $200,000 somewhere in the desert which along with his gold mine has never been found.

Since his death many treasure hunters and looters have destroyed William Pogue’s station looking for his money and also dug many holes surrounding the area but found nothing. It is said his money and gold mine are still waiting to be discovered somewhere in the foothills of Nevada.

The Lost Confederate Treasure: The Knights of the Golden Circle

This is Bob Brewer maybe the only man able to confirm that there is real Confederate Treasure buried as legends have claimed.

Basically the Confederate Treasure was gold and money that was stashed around America and Canada in or around the early to late 1800’s. It was hidden by a secret society known as “The Knights of the Golden Circle” a group of slave traders, bankers, cotton field owners, gangsters with intentions of starting a second civil war sometime in the future. Although the war they hoped for never took place, the treasure was supposedly never dug back up or ever found so it remained a story. The only thing marking the locations of the buried loot is symbols on buildings, trees and rocks.

This is where Bob comes into the story. Growing up as a young boy Bob enjoyed spending time with his Grandpa Ashcraft. His grandpa used to bring him by the tree in the picture 52 years ago. Every time they would stop at the tree and he would say “If You Can Figure out the Symbols, You Will Find Gold”. Bob really had no idea what his Grandpa was talking about until he started hearing all the tails.

As Bob got older his interest in the stories Grandpa told him as a boy grew and took over. For many years he searched and worked hard to try and crack the codes left by the Knights. Many people thought Bob was some old coot or old man losing his mind obsessed with gold coins until he actually found some of the legendary Confederate Treasure. He cracked the code somewhere in the 80″s I think and since has unearthed over $200,000 in gold and silver coins.

Bob Brewer is now on the hunt for a much bigger gold and silver hoard estimated at over $2,000,000. He says he will die a happy man if he could find one big cache of gold and silver but who wouldn’t right!

New Mexico’s Red Hill Treasure

Now I’m not to sure how true this might be since there is way less information on this story then the others but there where witnesses at the time that verify a little of this tale.

It is said that an old prospector named “Adams” was out prospecting just North of Silver City, New Mexico when one day he basically crawled into town with gunshot and arrow wounds.

The residents of the town quickly rushed Adams to the doctor but there weren’t anything to done. As Adams lay dying, he told his story on how he been prospecting about 6 kilometers outside of Silver City when he noticed Red Hills. As he approached the hills he could easily see gold nuggets of all sizes scattered around. Without hesitation Adams began loading his backpack with as much gold as he could carry. As he picked up the last nugget he was going to take a shower of arrows and bullets started flying at him. Adams quickly took cover and soon seen 12 Natives firing at him.

Adams story goes on to say he waited the Natives out until nightfall and then made his retreat back to the town. He died hours after telling this story. When residents were going through his personal affects to see who he might be, they discovered his backpack had about $7,000 worth of large gold nuggets.

Soon after treasure hunters came from far wide to search for the mysterious Red Hill with the abundance of gold but it has never been found.

Lost Mormon Treasure

It is said a group of Mormon pioneers in the 1850’s similar to the ones in the picture where passing through the valley of Redding, California on their way to the tiny settlement of Horse Town.

While crossing the valley they came across Clear Creek which they needed to cross in order to reach their destination. The group was a little impatient and only after a couple of days after flash flood waters had resided they attempted to cross.

Everything was going fairly well until one of the stagecoaches entered into the creek from a different direction then the others and was soon in trouble. The water was much deeper in this certain spot and the current was much stronger which eventually caused the coach to roll over and wash down the creek. To everyone’s amazement no one died or was injured but the coach had contained the group’s life savings which was about $40,000 in gold coins. The Mormons spent only a week searching but were convinced the gold had been totally washed away.

Eventually the story was forgotten until decades later in 1910 when a gold prospector named “William Dreestelhorst” while panning for gold in the same creek found a ten dollar gold coin dated 1841 and with the words “California Gold” stamped around the edges. After collectors looked at and study the coin they came to the conclusion it was that of the Mormons lost gold from decades before.

To this date that one coin has been the only thing found but it’s also said the rest are probably spread through out the banks and bottom of the creek waiting to be found.

So this is it my list of five almost forgotten lost treasures. The best thing about these treasure stories and accounts is there’s a real possibility in discovering these someday.