Purgatory Canyon Spanish Gold

The Purgatoire River (River of Lost Souls in Purgatory) was first explored on the illegal 1539 Humana-Bonilla expedition. A jealous Spaniard murdered the Portuguese leader; priests turned back while the rest were killed by Apache. In the 1700s, Carrasco Rodriguez led a regiment carrying twelve chests of payroll gold from Santa Fe toward St. Augustine but wandered into Colorado winter near Trinidad and vanished. Theories hold the chests were buried on the riverbank or thrown into a cave when Indians who had no use for gold attacked the column. Spanish armor, skeletons, firearms, gold nuggets, and an iron-bound chest of thick coins have been reported in Purgatory Canyon. One finder who believed he was close to the twelve chests broke his leg, told his story to rescuers, and died of exposure. Coordinates approximate the canyon near Trinidad.