Siam Cattleman Murder Gold

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Siam Cattleman Murder Gold

Lost Treasure IA • Taylor County County
Description
1868 Taylor County legend of a wealthy cattle buyer murdered near Siam with roughly $90,000 in a wagon trunk — decades of digging on the Huntsman farm and a 1915 murder trial failed to recover the buried swag.
Historical Notes
The Iowa Palimpsest recounts how Bates Huntsman, the Damewood brothers, Sam Scrivner, and others allegedly waylaid an ox-team cattleman and a boy companion, dumping one body in a well and burying the trunk with a farm plat. A cabin fire destroyed the treasure map; Sam Anderson claimed he uncovered a zinc box in a deep hole but was never paid his promised share. Cole Younger denied James gang involvement; Dr. Golliday's later $42,000 hoard in Bedford fueled rumor but not proof of the Siam loot.
Status / Verification legend — Legendary or approximate

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