Has Sought Buried Treasure For 40 Years Submitted by: Mollie Stehno

“There’s all kinds of money buried in Oklahoma,” says Andy Moore of Pryor who probably known more about buried treasure than any other person in the State. For over forty years Moor has devoted the greater portion of his time to searching for hidden wealth.

"Fifty years ago,” Moore continued, “there weren’t any banks to take care of people’s money, so they dug holes in the ground and hid it. Some of this money still lies where it was first buried.

“Outlaws, hard-pressed by officers of the law after pulling a robbery, sometime hastily buried their ill-gotten money. Spaniards did likewise when about to be attacked by Indians, hoping some day to return and reclaim the gold or silver.

“All that wealth, I believe, is till in the earth somewhere in this country, but its recovery is no easy task. I’ve listened to tales of hidden fortunes in the forty years or more that I’ve traveled over Oklahoma and some of them sound mighty convincing. I’ve been shown some well authenticated maps, all of which proves to me that many of these stories are not idle legends.”

Moore backs his faith in these yarns told him by getting out and hunting hard for every treasure that may be buried in Squaw Hollow. Rock Creek, Wild Horse Hollow, the Twin Hills, Sleeping Bear Rock and other romantic haunts of early day outlaws and explorers. Sometimes his directions are oral, often they are written on an ancient map of buckskin, which an old Spaniard gave him years ago, and many times he trusts to his mineral rod and general knowledge of the country. But, regardless of whatever tip he has, Moore never undertakes a search half-heartedly. Failing, he takes his loss, like a good sport, saying with a mile. “Oh, the treasure is there all right’ I just haven’t looked in the right place yet.”

The Belle Starr Treasure

One of Moore’s hardest jobs was trying to locate the Belle Starr treasure. “Not many yeas ago,” he says, “I was hunting for an army payroll which Belle Starr is said to have buried in a hollow north of Spring Creek on Grand River. I certainly wanted to find that money. I don’t know how much there was, but am told that many loads were necessary to haul it up the mountainside, using the best horses for transportation. I found plenty of signs and marking when I got to where the money was said to be hidden and it seemed an easy task to find it. Horseshoes were cared in the rock, and the numerals 7-11 and Bell Starr’s name were cut into the stone. The right hand of a woman was carved in the rock, the finger pointing downward. I was told that the money was buried under a rock, 35 feet below the surface. I struck water, after digging 26 feet, and abandoned the search. Fighting water is too expensive. Many other persons have sought and failed to find that treasure since then.”

On the Old Colorado Trail Moore has sought for the box of gold said to have been buried at Trails Inn after a stage robbery in which the stage driver was slain and the coach destroyed by fire.

Halfway between Claremore and the Mayes County line a cowboy is reputed to have robbed and killed a ranchman from Texas who had sold his cattle, and was on his way East. The alleged slayer, at a loss what to do with his wealth, since he could not spend it without exciting suspicion,, went down into the creek bottom, at the turn of the trail, and buried it. But Moore has never found that treasure either.

Six miles from Moore’s cabin home, at Bad Mountain, two rock vaults may be found. In each, it is said are 320 bars of gold. A large tree stands outside each vault. Locate these trees, find the vaults, and Moore says you’ll discover 640 bars of pure gold.

No Easy Task

Moore contends that searching for buried treasure is no cinch. It costs money to outfit an expedition; the seekers sometimes strike water and must abandon the project, or use dynamite and pumps to combat it. Erosion of soil changes land contour to an extent that the land is not always as described. Then the treasures own weight often sinks it further into the earth. The most discouraging thing of all, according to Moore, is to realize that you have probably missed the money by inches. On top of that is a possibility that an assistant will betray you. To spend many days, weeks or months of backbreaking work, and then learn that some helper has absconded with the treasure is disconcerting, to say the least. Moore believes this happened ruing one of his adventures—that of a hunt at Morgan’s Inn on Grand River near Pryor. According to the legend, a lot of money had bee hidden there by Spaniards in a cave on a bluff over-looking the river. An Indian attack was imminent and the Spaniards, to save their gold, secreted it in a cave. More and his associates went to look for the money in November 1930.

They found the bluff, high and almost perpendicular, which made the work more difficult. Rigging up pulleys and lowering platforms into place required three weeks. Finally entrance into the cave was effected. ‘Then,” said Moore, “one of the men helpers suddenly leaped into the stream and swam away. I believe he took with him the Spanish gold or knew its exact location.”

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