Paraphrasing Robert Louis Stevenson, there is something in a treasure that attaches itself to a man’s mind and won’t let it go. One of the persisting legends in West Texas is that of the Lost Padre Mine, or “La Mina del Padre.” Possible locations include southern New Mexico and the area around El Paso, Texas.
New Mexico’s legend places it in the southern part of the state in the vicinity of the Organ Mountains. In January, 1598, Don Juan de Oñate led an expedition from Mexico City into New Mexico. His entourage included 500 men and women, 83 wagons and 7,000 head of livestock. His journey was at least partly inspired by stories of it being a land with many deposits of silver and gold. Oñate made his way as far as Santa Fe and was later appointed as the first colonial governor of the area. It is no secret that his governance was characterized by ill treatment and cruelty to the native tribes (including the Pueblo people) living there. He was finally recalled to Mexico City in 1608. The Oñate period and Oñate himself is connected to stories of buried treasure in the Las Cruces area, also sometimes referred to as the Lost Padre Mine. In one version of the tale, Oñate is said to have brought with him large quantities of silver, gold, jewels and other treasures which he buried in the Organ or San Andreas mountains for safekeeping. It was reportedly never recovered.
The Texas legend originates a bit later. In the 1600s a Franciscan mission known as Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe) was established in the area that is now part of Ciudad Juárez. The mission dates back to 1659. It was founded to witness to and convert the local Indian tribes (mentioned are the Piro and Manso tribes) to the Catholic faith. At that time, the Rio Grande separated what was essentially one town, whereas today the community on the Mexican side of the border is known as Juárez and the one in Texas is El Paso, with the two towns divided by the Rio Grande. The mission was the southernmost mission in a chain along the El Camino Real, a road for commerce and travel that extended from Santa Fe in northern New Mexico all the way to Mexico City. The Franciscans are a Catholic religious order named after Francis of Assisi, the Italian saint who died in 1226. At that time, they were the main missionary arm of the church.
According to the Texas legend, padres from the mission participated in the extraction of ore from a gold mine in the nearby Franklin mountains. The ore would be brought to the mission where gold was extracted, formed into bars and transported by ship back to Spain. The process went as planned for a few years until it was interrupted by the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.
Briefly described, the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 began as a major uprising by Pueblo peoples in present-day New Mexico against Spanish colonial rule. Pueblo tribal leaders were able to unite diverse pueblo groups against Spanish abuses including forced labor, religious persecution, and cultural suppression. In the summer of 1680, coordinated attacks beginning in the north killed about 400 Spaniards including 21 priests. For a time, they drove the remaining Spanish officials and settlers completel out of the colony. Its repercussions affected a broader area for around twelve years. It allowed for relative independence for the tribes, although it ultimately led to the end of the revolt, owing to the increased Spanish presence in the colony. Spanish control was restored for a period.
News of the outbreak of the hostilities rapidly spread over the mission network. As the legend unfolds, padres from the southernmost mission were able to secure the treasures from the church, cross the Rio Grande and secure them in the mine. Once the treasure was hidden, padres used dirt, silt from the river and rocks to close off the mine and make it unrecognizable to passersby. As noted, the revolt lasted a little over a decade before the temporary control by the tribes was ended. When the padres returned, none of them could again locate where the mission’s treasure had been hidden.
An aspect of the Texas legend included the theory that the entrance to the mine was on a direct sight line from the bell tower of the mission. Also, the legend included the idea that when the sunrise was just right, the entrance could be seen. Early searches for the lost treasure sometimes included these comments. There have been numerous expeditions over the years as treasure hunters searched for the lost mine.
An early story involves a priest by the name of Padre Felipe LaRue who learned of the treasure from a dying soldier in 1797. He began an expedition which originated from Chihuahua, Mexico in an effort to find the New Mexico location. His search was unfruitful.
Another story began when an old guide told of knowing a full blood Indian of some unknown tribe who lived in Juárez back when the guide was a boy. The guide said that the Indian never was employed but would disappear for days at a time and return with a quantity of gold or silver that he financed his living until it needed to be replenished. The rumor was that it came from the Lost Padre Mine but he would never share its location. This particular tale included the notion that the entrance to “La Mina del Padre” could be seen from the porch or the bell tower of the mission.
In 1888, a man by the name of Robinson and a old government employee named Mick claimed to have found the mine shaft which they said was partially filled with reddish dirt that was thought to be silt from the river. They dug about twenty feet into the mine shaft and abandoned their search.
In the early 1900s, a United States Army officer named Tappan researched the Franklin Mountain location but as far as is known, no expedition took place. Around 1930, a man named Clabe Robinson, a nephew of the 1888 Robinson, attempted to organize a search but no record can be found that he got as far as mounting an expedition. An expedition led by a George Mallory was fruitless. Numerous amateurs and treasure hunters have searched the area all along but have never found anything promising.
An expedition in 1965 fell apart. The organizer, a Dr. Connor, allowed that he doubted that there was any treasure to be found. He added that people know where the padres walked over the years, but not what they did when they got there. One would have to conclude that barring a miracle, the Lost Padre Mine is lost forever.
The old mission still stands as part of Ciudad Juárez’s Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
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