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History's Hinge - 'Ain Jalut

[Tayopa]

Evening gentlemen;  bk again.

I can post some pictures and data on the search and finding of Tayopa,  plus  a certain amount of proof.    But very little will be from scientifically accredited papers,  books,  journals, or from records in Rome or Spain.  Remember,  if I am correct,  I am effectively rewriting a portion of history to an extent.  A portion that is concealed or unwritten for one reason or another.

 If you can temporarily accept these terms  I will  post the campaign.  I will be happy to receive your comments pro or con on each step.

Tropical Tramp

[Gollum]

You know I'm game to see your story Jose!

Let'er rip!

Best,

Mike

[MesaBuddy]

Come on Jose , Go Go
Best ,
Buddy

[Bart]

"Don need no steenkin heirs or successors."

Lol, I think of that every day, and still laugh about it RT. Love ya man.

- Bart

[Tayopa]

K gentlemen:  First person,   third person,  anecdotal,  prose,  or flowery? Your choice.

Tropical Tramp

[Bart]

Erste person w?rde meine wahl, mit stimmung sein.

- Bart

[Gollum]

kwicherbellyachinantellthestory! 

Best,

Mike

[MesaBuddy]

Come on Jose , sharpen up the pencil and get er done
Regards ,
Buddy

[Tayopa]

K gentlemen, and as you wish Bart,  first person, even if it handicaps me psychologically. 

Since it will be in the first person, a bit of background  on my trend and type of thinking is in order.   I do not come from an intellectual or professional  family,  We  had a Grape vineyard in Napa county California.  However  the following generation has  garnered honors from Doctorates up and down.   IT always amazed me just how much my parents learned between my attending hi-school and College  sheesh.   ( p1)

I firmly believe to this day, that my hi school deliberately conned me into entering the Naval service to get rid of me,  sigh.   It wasn't until after the war that I managed to get into college where I was a pre-med.  There I soon learned, through a series of psychological tests  - one week long -  that I was not suited to be a general practitioner since I had a serious flaw in my psychological makeup.   I needed something which presented a constant daily challenge to keep my interest up.    It was delicately suggested  that I should change to Physics.

The problem was resolved in a way by my being appointed as an Aviation Cadet in the new USAF.    After being discharged, I drifted around until I decided to try the US Border Patrol.  After a short stint,  I decided that I was too sympathetic with the general Illegal and so we separated.  (p2)

Later a friend and I went exploring in the Yucatan/Quintana Roo jungle  next to Honduras/Guatemala  looking of Mayan ruins.  We actually found a small temple which was duly reported to the Mexican authorities, naturally they have done nothing about it.  We lived off of the jungle for 6 months, fun.  (p3)

About this time a family friend,  Eric,  a Swedish engineer who had helped in the design of Brasilia,  managed to wrangle a 10,000 hect. land grant on one of tributaries on the upper Amazon for me.   I was on my way to activate the commission when I decided to investigate the Barranca de Cobre.  I spent a month exploring it alone, except for my mule.

Upon my return to Alamos,  Sonora , Mexico  I received a telegram with an offer to fly in the Spruce Budworm Project in Canada.  Since I needed money, I agreed and went to Canada to fly for Wheeler Airlines.  In the succeeding weeks I had two major aircraft accidents,  one of which left  me with three ribs and two neck vertebrae  fractured,  see picture.   (p4)

I returned to Alamos to recuperate,  and there met my future wife.  This started me on a  two year old fashioned Formal Spanish courtship, complete with serenades,  promenades , duennas, etc.  (p5)

Naturally,  after acquiring my new wife, I  needed to find something to support her since I obviously couldn't take her to the Amazon.   I looked for someting else in Mexico.  I turned to treasure hunting,  mining and an  occasional flying job.  I even became an Assayer.

In between times,  I explored the other 3  large canyon /barran ca complexes of the Rios Fuerte, Mayo,  and Yaqui, which rival the barranca de Cobre in both size and beauty.   Again, alone except for my faithful mule,  since no-one else would go with me.   I also lived with the Yaqui Indians for over 3 years.  All of these helped in my Being elected into the elite Explorers Club.  (p6)
As time went by I became more interested in Lost mines,  I became fascinated with the story of Tayopa.   It became a challenge since no-one in almost 350 years had been able to locate it.

The first written reference on it was in Frank Dobie's book,  Apache  Gold and Yaqui Silver.    This finally sparked me into direct investigation of all available documents, being fully aware that they had been used by countless  other searchers with no success.    Such is the ego of treasure hunters that I assumed that I would have success,  as it turned out I did, I found Tayopa and now own it.

As I found more physical evidence of Jesuit involvement in mining and political intrigue , I  found myself looking more  for the historical end rather than the treasure data.  Generally it is the other way sigh.


This is then the character in this narrative, in the b0ok version, he is called Joseph O'Kane.  O'Kane  is my Irish grandmothers family name.?

[Tayopa]

The rest of the pictures.

Tropical     Tramp

[Bart]

Excellent start mi amigo!

- Bart

[Tayopa]

HIO  & sniff.   had a  full page typed when the computer crashed, sigh,  I will re- do it in the morning.

Tropical Tramp

[Tayopa]

Morning: So I am a little late, remember I embraced the old Mexico with open arms, manana, manana, siempre manana..
                                                                                PP I
As I mentioned, I commenced to  research whatever data I could on Tayopa, including many of the articles and data  that were  mentioned in one of my earlier  posts on  Tayopa.  The main one was Frank Dobie's Apache Gold and Yaqui Silver, which almost became a bible.   However, as I  progressed  I  flatly  rejected his map, the  reason being  that any published map to a treasure obviously had been  investigated by many seekers, and if it had any actual value,  Tayopa would have been found many years ago. 

Sheesh, was I wrong!   Later, after I had found Tayopa, it turned  out to be almost 90%  correct.  I cannot say this for most of the other data  in his story, but then, that is  considered as literary license to make a story more interesting, not necessarily  correct.  sigh.  Using it would have saved me months,  if I could have understood it as I now do.

After reading books on Tayopa, and listening to local legends, I was still not ready to go  on the campaign  for Tayopa until a close Indian acquaintance told me that he the had worked for  Yeager, an American Mining eng'r.   He told me that just before he died,  Yeager had purchased an Alter bell with Guadelupe de Tayopa  cast on it.  I commenced to to attempt track down the Alter bell but was unsuccessful .   

 After being  buried, his personal effects and the  bell had been sent to his family in Los Angles.  Letters and tel calls only turned up the  information that the Bell was missing,  no-one knew where it was.   However, even though technically unproven ,  enough information was available for me to believe that it really existed,  so I started on  the campaign to find Tayopa,  a search that was to take years off And on.  As the search progressed secondary information  on Jesuit activities commenced to surface and gradually the campaign shifted to Historical Data taking precedence, but never  forgeting that  Tayopa was the original reason.

My present status is that while I would love a massive pay off , I have already been paid in full by just knowing that I have accomplished what no-one else  has done for almost 400 years and in the process learned of an unwritten phase of  Spanish/Jesuit explorations, activities,  and intrigue in the Americas.  Being  part of it' s revelation is a unique experience denied to most, love it.

 The next step came when an Old  Guajiro Indian told me "Don Jose, since you like old mines and  treasures, why don' t you go to where I was born and raised.  Until I was 30, no-on ever entered our canyon/barranca, and when the last of my family  died I left, I have never been back."  There are the remains of mines,  smelters, and old buildings there.

He then gave me instructions on how to find his particular canyon/barranca. ?

continued.

Tropical Tramp

[Bart]

"My present status is that while I would love a massive pay off , I have already been paid in full by just knowing that I have accomplished what no-one else  has done for almost 400 years and in the process learned of an unwritten phase of  Spanish/Jesuit explorations, activities,  and intrigue in the Americas.  Being  part of it' s revelation is a unique experience denied to most, love it."

Such is the priceless facet of your experiences and life, worth more than anything, I'm sure. Anything more would be icing on the cake. Not many are ever privileged to walk that path. Muy bueno mi amigo.

- Bart

[Tayopa]

HI:  continuation on Tayopa and the Jesuits.

                                             PPII

Old Juan  told me that I must go to the north to the Arroyo Hondo (deep canyon).  Once there,  I was to go north until it turned towards  the setting sun, (W).    Then not losing direction, continue west until it turned south again.  I was to continue south until it turned right once more.  There I would find  a small waterfall.  I was to go to the right of the small waterfall,   up to the top of the ridge , then I would find the entrance to his barranca in front of me.

Simple huh?   sheesh, as it turned out there are many Arroyo Hondos in that part of the  country.  Since he had neglected to give me a starting point, it was effectively almost hopeless,  so it was put in the back burner to simmer.  When I attempted to locate Juan to ask him for  more details, I was stopped.    No-one in the  village neighborhood where I had talked  to him knew of  any Juan??   This  made me wonder if it had been  a figment of my imagination??   More on this later as it became viable as further information was developed..

This was to be a reoccurring performance throughout my search for Tayopa.  It seemed that whenever I was stumped, the next  bit of information or help would appear.   Whether  it was help in financial, equipment or information needs , it would just pop up ??  Not before nor after,  just when I needed it to continue.  It seemed as if I was merely a tool for someone or something else? 

Today the Indians  up there refer to me as a reincarnated Jesuit.  hehehe.

So having put Juan's barrranca on the back burner,  I decided that I needed  a bit more physical data to confirm that Tayopa did or could have existed.  The same  uprising  that closed Tayopa  supposedly closed 6 other mines that were in bonanza also, La Gloria Pan, La Tarasca, Las Pimas, Tepoca and two others near Caborca.   They became known as the "Golden Triangle"

If I could prove that these mines,  which also had no written records, existed, then I would have reason to be more confident that Tayopa did indeed exist.  The first on my list was the Gloria Pan since I had copies of written data on it's location and history.?

Continued

Tropical Tramp