LAKIN – Harold Smith made one warning as he hiked up the hill covered with
yucca and prickly pears. “We might see a few snakes,” he said as he walked the
narrow path that leads to the top of Indian Mound.
No snakes would emerge on this hot summer morning. The view from the
top, however, stretched for miles – pastures and elevators and the winding but
dry Arkansas River. (And at night, the lights from Garden City are visible as well.)
The mound, about six miles west of Lakin, was once a prominent point west
of Lakin on the Santa Fe Trail – a landmark for the thousands of merchant wagons
that traveled southwest to Santa Fe.
But Smith noted that its story is more than just a passing landmark. It’s of buried
treasure and of greed. For the mound was once a more impressive sight along the
skyscape, maybe even 100 feet taller, he said. Then folks began digging for gold
and silver: coupled with natural erosion, Indian Mound is just a fraction of its
former state.
“Probably two-thirds of it is gone now,” Smith said.
“The rumor of gold and silver resurfaced in the 1920s. It just got small from
people who came out and wanted to find the gold and silver.”
The only problem, Smith noted – as far as he knows- is that no gold or silver was
ever found.
Joseph C. Brown, a government engineer on a surveying expedition, first
noted Indian Mound in 1825. Various stories have surfaced over the years.
Smith referenced a tale in which a band of Indians attacked traders. Under
the cover of darkness, the traders deceived the Indians by not going east along
the Cimarron but turning north. They buried their silver near Indian Mound and
went back to Missouri, eventually returning to the area to find the treasure.
According to the “History of Kearny County, Kansas, Volume I,” the incident
happened in the late 1820s. The traders were met by Indians who drove off their
stock.
The traders, including one named Milton Bryan, sneaked away by night to
an area around Chouteau’s Island, another Santa Fe Trail point just a few miles
from Indian Mound. There, Bryan buried $10,000 in silver
The book states that in 1829 Bryan returned and found his silver, although
the water had washed away the sand that covered it. Various historians estimate
the amount at $10,000 to $60,000.
Another story in the history book by W.A. Masters tells of another Indian
attack, death and buried money. Masters, who had come to Lakin in 1879, saw a
camper at Indian Mound and went to visit with him.
“His name was ‘Fugate’ – an ex-soldier who had served at Fort Garland in
Colorado during the trail days.” Masters stated. “While at Fort Garland, his
company was ordered to near Chouteau’s Island, where Indians attacked some
traders. When the soldiers arrived, the traders had all been killed. Fugate knew it
was the habit of the traders to bury silver or anything of value each night. The
soldiers were ordered to return to the fort so Fugate could not look around at the
time, but he buried a corkscrew wrapped in greased cloth.
“After he was discharged from the army, he returned and found the
corkscrew, but as far as I know, he found no silver and I never saw him again.”
One notation in the history book states the massacre happened between
1865 and1875. Whether there was money hidden is anyone’s guess, Masters
stated.
Still, Masters relayed, there were enough rumors about buried treasure to
“stir the imagination of some people.” Some began digging on the mound and in
the valley below, which hastened the erosion of Indian Mound.
Masters said that while locals didn’t pay much attention to the rumors, he
always why nearby landowners John Carter and A.A.G. Stayton chose the land
they did. Masters said that if either found gold or silver, “it would be hard to tell.”
At one time, Indian Mound was visible from Lakin, but not anymore.
Moreover, Smith said, many forgot the first story about the silver being found.
“They seem to forget that part,” he said with a laugh, adding that gets a
few phone calls a month from people wanting to know about the buried treasure.
Some even come with metal detectors, but all that remains at the mound is
a stone marking the site.