The Strange Story of Skeleton Canyon
©Lee Paul

Skeleton Canyon - legend site is below "N" in Sloan Ranch in center of photo above.

This location is right below the "K" in Skeleton Creek in top photo

About forty miles east of Tombstone, Arizona along the Mexican border lies a rugged and forbidding mountain pass. It was once the stronghold of Geronimo and his warriors, and a comment made by General Nelson Miles in 1886 about the wildness of the place says it all: "if Geronimo had chosen to remain in his stronghold, 5,000 soldiers would never have been able to route him." For decades, it was the southern extension of the Old Smugglers’ Trail, since gold, animals, and trade goods were smuggled back and forth across the border through the labyrinth of winding passages along the canyon’s corridors. Today, it is known simply as Skeleton Canyon, a name it acquired more than a century ago when outlaws on both sides of the border fought over a fortune in stolen gold and brilliant jewels.

There are a lot of different theories on what really happened in Skeleton Canyon that day, and the truth is that no one really knows. The men involved were the scum of Tombstone, all murders and thieves and miscreants of one sort or another. They were real men with bad reputations, and they all died violently within days of the massacre. The only real clues that anything unusual happened in that haunting, lonely place came from the bleached bones of the dead men and pack animals found scattered up and down the canyon floor after each heavy rain. It is a fascinating tale, and it just might be true. According to some, it just could be the Wild West’s largest unclaimed buried horde.

Arizona has more legendary lost gold mines, hidden treasure, and buried wealth than any other state in the Union. Part of this can be traced back to Francisco Vasquez de Coronado who, in 1540, departed Mexico City in search of the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. He never found any treasure-laden sites, but his brutality left a sense of hostility and bitterness among the native peoples in his wake.

These people decided to camouflage their gold and silver mines and bury their family wealth in an effort to keep the white man out of their homeland. It didn't work. A huge Spanish silver strike in 1736 drew thousands of interlopers to a deep gully where silver sheets weighing as much as fifty pounds covered the ground. By the 1800’s, the Arizona territories were seething with prospectors and fortune hunters after anything they could get. Right along with them came the outlaws and bandits, robbers and thieves.

The Old Smuggler’s Trail was a favorite way of transporting stolen goods from Mexico into the United States, and occasionally used the other way around. It originated in the Mexican state of Sonora and culminated in Tucson, a shortcut for thieves and robbers going back and forth across the Mexican border. Much of it was in territory so harsh and rugged that only coyotes and vultures were ever seen, and only rarely at that. Along the eastern border of the Trail was a jagged mountain ravine so forbidding that the great Apache war leader Geronimo often used it as a hideout for his skulking raids on both sides of the border. This canyon was, and still is, a wild and untamed desolate part of the Arizona landscape.

Stone Indians

If it ever had another name, it has long since been lost to the historians. Local folks called it Skeleton Canyon after the bloody massacre that occurred within its walls in 1881, and the name stuck. A maze of nameless side canyons snake off into the Pedregosa Mountains about eight miles from the small town of Apache and eventually cross the border into New Mexico. But it was in the main part of Skeleton Canyon that American bandits waylaid the Mexican smuggling trains and stole the riches.

Only the most hardy ever frequented this rugged landscape. It has sparse vegetation and no water and was often populated by all sorts of mean desperadoes smuggling stolen goods to be sold on the black market. In some places the walls are high, offering little escape for anyone entering the canyon until the opposite end was reached. The entire length is strewn with various-sized boulders perfect for hiding any bushwhackers lurking in the hot sun along the canyon floor. Over the decades, several different groups of outlaws would call themselves the Skeleton Canyon Gang and hole up among its rock walls and cliff faces. Today, legend holds that a hidden cash of gold and jewels is still buried in the mysterious canyon, the product of death, deception, and greed.

Old House

Interior of Old House

This most famous tale of Skeleton Canyon begins in a small Mexican village in July 1881. Jim Hughes, an American bandit from Tombstone, discovered a Mexican pack train laden with gold and jewels was readying itself for a trip through the mountain pass on its way to Tucson. Hughes spoke fluent Spanish, as did many cowboys along the border, and he overheard a band of Mexican bandits bragging about looting the town of Monterrey. The bandits were planning to smuggle their booty into the United States through the narrow canyon gorge known locally for its expert ambush qualities.

Hughes was never one to miss any opportunity which promised riches and wealth of any sort. With his outlaw pals, he spent his time in such towns as Charleston, Galeyville, and Shakespeare where law and order were things unknown. From these wild and reckless towns, the gang would make periodic raids into Sonora, returning to squander the ill-gotten gains in the red light districts of the area, often escaping into New Mexico when pursued by the law.

Hughes was also the chief lieutenant of a notorious outlaw named William "Curly Bill" Brocius, an ugly gunslinger who would sooner cut a man in half for a dollar than do any kind of respectable work himself. Curly Bill dabbled in several lines of interest; namely, rustling, robbery, hijacking, and murder. He had ridden into Tombstone in 1880, where he met Billy Clanton, the youngest member of the notorious Clanton Gang. Clanton’s father was Newton Haynes "Old Man" Clanton, who ran ramrod over the entire southeastern corner of Arizona. Old Man Clanton took an instant shine to his new recruit, and it was not long before Curly Bill and Old Man were thicker than thieves. It became a well-known fact that Clanton wanted Brocius to one day take over the leadership of the gang.

As soon as he learned of the route the Mexican bandits planned to take, Hughes hurriedly rode back to Tombstone and told his cronies of the treasure. Curly Bill made plans to ambush the smugglers. He sent word to Old Man Clanton and the rest of the gang. Spies, however, brought word that the Mexican gang was going through the gorge sooner than expected, and since Curly Bill was away on other business, Jim Hughes took charge. He decided to recruit several of Galeyville’s most unsavory characters for the job. Among the men Hughes recruited for the ambush were two close friends, Billy Grounds (real name William Boucher) and Zwing Hunt (his real name).

The Mexican gang called themselves the Estrada gang. They came out of Mexico, through Sonora, heading straight for the narrow gorge of Skeleton Canyon. The Estrada gang stopped about a mile or two on the Arizona side, right outside an area later to be called the Devil’s Kitchen. It was an ideal campsite in the western end of the canyon, and the Mexicans paused to rest their weary mules and have a meager meal.

The American gang concealed in the rocks were surprised to count thirty heavily laden mules when the Mexican gang rode into sight. It was one of the richest trains ever to pass along the Smuggler’s Trail, and they could hardly contain their delight, as they waited for the Mexicans to eat and settle down for their afternoon siesta. When all was quiet, American gunfire split the silence, ricocheting from the canyon walls like thunder. The unsuspecting victims never had a chance.

Taken completely by surprise, the Mexicans scattered in all directions in total panic. Some managed to remount and were shot out of the saddle. Mules not yet relieved of their packs stampeded in fright. Coins and contraband flung all over the canyon. In desperation, the American gang resorted to shooting the mules to stop the animals from fleeing and taking the loot with them. When the gunfire ceased and the smoke cleared away, nineteen Mexican muleteers and twenty-six mules lay dead, their bodies scattered up the canyon floor toward the San Simon. It was one of the worst massacres in Arizona history.

Legend says that when the dust settled, the gang gathered up seventy-five thousand dollars in stolen coins, artifacts, and jewels from the mule-train. But with no mules, they had no way of packing it out of the canyon. The horde was too large, and too heavy, for their horses to carry. Part of the loot was divided up on the spot, with Old Man Clanton taking most of it. The rest was buried at the mouth of the canyon until it could be recovered later. The sight of such great wealth, however, gave one gang member other ideas.

No sooner were the outlaws back in their old haunts than Jim Hughes approached Zwing Hunt and Billy Grounds with a far-fetched plan. He decided that while the rest of the men were out in local bars in Shakespeare and Galeyville, spending their money and ill-gotten fortune, the three of them would double-cross the gang. While Hughes remained in Galeyville to allay any suspicions, Hunt and Grounds would ride back to Skeleton Canyon, dig up the horde, and transfer it to another hiding place. Only the three of them would then know where the remainder of the wealth was hidden.

Zwing Hunt and Billy Grounds scouted around and finally found a Mexican teamster willing to take his wagon and team of horses into the canyon. They then dug up the treasure from the end of the canyon, hauled it further into the canyon or somewhere nearby (nobody knows for sure), and dumped it into another hole the Mexican dug. And of course, the Mexican and his horses were then killed, dragged into the hole, and buried with the horde. The wagon was pulled over the mound and burned. Now, only Hunt and Grounds knew where the treasure was buried.

Fearing retribution from their ex-partners, Zwing Hunt and Billy Grounds went into hiding. They found a desert cave where they remained for nearly four months. During this period, Billy reportedly penned a number of letters to his sister Maggie Clinger in San Antonio, Texas. Billy wanted her to know where the treasure was hidden should anything happen to him. He ventured out once a week to give the letters to a passing stagecoach.

On 19 March 1882, the two men thought the way clear enough to leave their hiding place. They rode into Charleston, and on the night of 25 March, they attempted to rob the Tombstone Mining and Milling Company. Armed with rifles, they burst into the office and shot Robert Peel through the heart. A second shot sent three other men diving for cover, and a third shot blew out the light. At this point, the robbers panicked and fled, leaving behind a white Stetson and several good boot tracks. Descriptions of the robbers, plus the white hat and boot tracks, easily identified Zwing Hunt as the owner of the hat and Billy Grounds as the one who made the boot tracks. Deputy Sheriff E. A. Harley organized a posse. He put Billy Breakenridge in charge, and E. H. Allen, Jack Young, and John Gillespie were deputized as the posse.

Hunt and Grounds fled to Jack Chandler’s ranch near Tombstone. Sheriff Johnny Behan was out of town, so Breakenridge and his three-man posse left Tombstone just before midnight and arrived at the Chandler ranch a little before dawn. After knocking on the door and announcing themselves, a gunfight ensued. Zwing Hunt raced out the door shooting. John Gillespie, who had been a deputy sheriff less than twelve hours, fell dead, a bullet through his head. E. H. Allen was hit in the neck, but managed to shoot Hunt with a rifle shot. Hunt crawled back inside.

Breakenridge, safely ensconced behind a tree, took a shot at Billy Grounds, who now entered the battle. He hit Grounds in the head, and Grounds died of his wound instantly. Jack Young had gone to the back of the house when the first shots were fired, and he had been hurled back into the yard with a bullet-smashed thigh. Zwing Hunt plunged through the back door and up a small rise, making himself such a fine target against the breaking dawn of the skyline that both Breakenridge and Allen fired several shots at him. One of the bullets caught Hunt in the back, passing though his body and puncturing one lung. Though severely wounded, he still managed to disappear into the brush, where Breakenridge later found him.

The gunfight at Chandler’s ranch had lasted only a few seconds, but it had left two men dead and three wounded. Billy Grounds and John Gillespie joined Robert Peel in the cemetery. Jack Young and E. H. Allen later recovered from their wounds. Zwing Hunt was taken to a hospital in Tombstone and placed under guard, where the doctor gave him no chance of recovery.

When Jim Hughes learned of Zwing Hunt’s predicament, he rushed to the hospital to glean where the treasure had been reburied before Hunt died. Hunt, however, surprised everyone. Not only did he begin to show improvement, he talked the doctor into letting him take a buggy ride with a friend, a friend which many have surmised was his brother Hugh Hunt in disguise. On the day that Hughes showed up to question Hunt, the wounded bandit had already escaped his guard. He never returned. Too late, Jim Hughes realized that he, too, was the victim of a double-cross.

No one really knows what happened to Zwing Hunt. His brother Hugh turned up in Tombstone sometime later and said that Zwing had been killed by Indians shortly after the escape from the hospital. The two brothers had gone to a ranch in the Chiricahuas, where the Apaches had shot Zwing through the head. Supposedly, a group of Army scouts buried him in what has since been called Hunt’s Canyon. Jim Hughes doubted the story, but he was unable to prove his suspicions. Another story circulated that Zwing and Hugh Hunt made their way to their home in San Antonio, Texas, where Zwing eventually died of his wounds. It was rumored that he gave his uncle a map to the treasure site before he died, placing the treasure at the foot of Davis Mountain---a mountain from which an open stretch of New Mexico could be seen to the east from the summit. It is a known fact that Hunt’s uncle went looking for the treasure, and brother Hugh spent more than thirty years in the search.

The real problem with the Davis Mountain theory was that Hunt and Grounds had named the mountain themselves in honor of a friend they had buried there. It could be any one of hundreds of peaks in the Peloncillas. Further clues that Hunt provided for his uncle were of no help, either. Hunt said that a short distance from the mountain was a curving canyon, its west wall covered with trees, and its east wall bare and rocky. Through the canyon meandered a small stream. A ten foot drop created a cascade, and near it were two small springs, one of which was called Silver and the other Gum. Twenty steps east of the actual treasure site was a square-shaped rock approximately three feet high. And over the burial spot would be found the remains of a burnt wagon.

The Hunt family immediately began the search. The two springs were never located, and the theory is that they were dried up before the searching ever started. It is further possible that the springs only existed during the short periods of intense rainfall that occur infrequently in the area, and totally disappeared altogether after the topography was rearranged in the earthquake that rocked the area in 1886. The remains of a burnt wagon were once found in Skeleton Canyon, but no treasure was ever found beneath it. A lone grave was found at the base of Harris Mountain, which some seekers believe might be Zwing Hunt’s so-called Davis Mountain, but the surrounding area did not fit Hunt’s description. Neither did the exhumed body match the description of Hunt’s dead friend, Jim Davis.

Much later, however, scholars determined there really was a Davis Mountain in the area in question. But, on which side of the mountain would the treasure lie? For that matter, is it the correct Davis Mountain? An old U.S. Geological Survey map of the area pinpoints the peak as being in the area of the small settlements of Portal and Paradise. Entrance to this area by auto can be made from the border community of Rodeo, New Mexico from the east. From San Simon, Arizona on the north, traveling south, Davis Mountain will appear on the left in time, less than one mile from the road to Paradise. The peak is 5,762 feet above sea level. To the south, there used to be an old immigrant trail that ran with the present highway, going through the old town of Cienega, then looping again to the west above Camp Bowie and Apache Pass. Davis Peak is located not far from this old trail. If this is the right Davis Mountain, and it does exist, then might not the two streams?

No one really knows. All the empty-handed, fruitless searches of Skeleton Canyon have convinced some treasure seekers that Zwing Hunt and Billy Grounds must have reburied the horde in one of the many side canyons that crisscross the entire terrain in that mountainous portion of the Old Smuggler’s Trail. Supposedly, the two outlaws with their Mexican wagon driver moved all night with the treasure, from dark until sun-up, before they stopped to dig the gigantic hole to bury it. It was then that they went to the cave. One of Billy Grounds’ letters to his sister claimed "there’s a cave at the mouth of the canyon…from our lookout you can see the turf growing back over where we buried the treasure." Searchers have looked for the cave, but the truth is that several caves have been found which could have been the one which the outlaws used. One even had remnants of old ropes.

Cave Pony

There is little question but that outlaws did ambush and rob a smuggling mule-train in Skeleton Canyon. The bleached bones of dead smugglers and their mules were visible for many years afterwards, and an occasional Mexican coin is still found in the western end of the canyon. Around 1891, a cowboy and a government official went riding through the canyon and came upon an old rawhide pouch. The cowboy gave it a cursory kick and out poured several thousand dollars in Mexican coins. Still, controversy rages about the treasure. A few skeptics believe there was either very little treasure, which was easily divvied up and carted off, or no treasure at all.

Whether the treasure is still there or not does not matter to the fortune hunters. With estimates ranging from $2.5 million dollars up to $8 million, there is no lacking of seekers. The ones who have trekked through Skeleton Canyon believe there is enough evidence to prove the treasure exists. Every time it would rain, somebody’s skull would show up or the bones of a mule would be exposed or another coin would become evident. And compared to a lot of other stories, where nothing has even been found to substantiate the legend, this one has a great deal of plausibility.

Still, the Skeleton Canyon treasure has its skeptics. Some researches like to point out that Billy Grounds was a nineteen-year-old Texas rustler, a cowboy-type who had migrated from Texas to Arizona and changed his name to conceal his nefarious past. It appears unlikely to them that he would be writing home detailed letters of "Hey, we buried this huge treasure. Here are the details on how to find it." They also like to point out that although it is entirely possible there is a Skeleton Canyon treasure to be found, the initial reports given by the Mexican government in the local press about the Monterrey robbery indicated there was a very small amount of money taken. A small amount would have been spent very quickly.

One skeptic summed it up for everyone when he said that it appeared to be a typical treasure yarn. "We’re always one step removed from the original story. We never get to see the map. We never get to examine it for its genuineness. We never get to match it up with any handwriting samples we might have."

Today, even though there are a great many skeptics, the legend of buried treasure in Skeleton Canyon continues to attract fortune hunters from around the world. In over one hundred years of scouring the region, treasure hunters have unearthed a multitude of bleached bones and a handful of Mexican coins. They are convinced the relics are remnants of the ambush. Still, is there really a treasure to be found, or is it another legendary folk tale left over from the days of the wild west?

End of the road

Rumor has it that there were thirty-nine bars of gold, a cigar box filled with diamonds and jewels, two figures of pure gold, $90,000 in minted Mexican silver dollars and untold numbers of bags of gold coins still waiting to be discovered that the Clanton gang was unable to carry off with them. Many buried treasure stories are a lot less well-authenticated.

Note:  In July 2003, we received the above color photos of the canyon as it appears today, along with a nice note from Jim about his excursions.  Here's part of his text, which might help the treasure hunter:

"We just spent 4 days over a period of 3 weeks in Skeleton canyon with metal detectors. We mostly just found trash, old can's, etc. In fact, the only thing of any value that we found was a 1983 penny. I'm not complaining, we went there mainly to explore, take pictures, play with the metal detectors, and enjoy the fact that this was such an historical site. We went as far as you can go with a Jeep to the east end of the canyon, and also to the end of South Skeleton Canyon. We figure we were only about 1.5 miles from the old ranger station, when we parked at the east end of the canyon. We were going to hike to it, but a brown bear changed our mind. He was between us and where we wanted to hike to, and the canyon wasn't wide enough for us to go around, so we turned around. I still want to make another trip there, I feel like there's so much I missed.  Jim"