Post #23 Truman Blancett and the Two Spaniards

   Its been awhile since I have posted anything. I came across this story today, that I had found in a library in Colorado and had put it aside and forgot about it!

This is another memory from our Uncle Truman Blancett who told about living in the Wild West. He usually dictated and a friend wrote the story for the newspapers. A reminder that Truman is the brother to Moses Blancett, who is the father of Marcella (Bell) Blancett, who is the mother of Elbert Lyle Koontz.
                                     Two Spaniards

     "In the spring of 1864 in Douglas County, Colorado, I had discovered a fair prospect of gold at the head of a little gulch that entered into Cherry Creek. The pay was not very much but it beat nothing. I built a little sluice and went to work. This was about fifty miles south of Denver.
     Some early travelers had built a cabin a short distance from my location but neither the cabin nor any location could be seen from the old trail that was seldom traveled at that time.
     None knew of my location except the camp birds that soon learned to appear at the noon hour ready to partake of whatever I could spare of my scanty rations. They became very tame diners and it was a source of much pleasure to me as to the locality was a very lonely and desolate one.
     One morning as I came to work I noticed the cabin was occupied and some three or four pack animals were grazing near by. Presently two men appeared dressed in black uniforms such as I had never seen before.  Their clothing was somewhat soiled though it still retained some gold braid. It proved later that I was right when I decided they were Spanish officers.
     I noticed on first sight that they each wore money belts which appeared to be well filled with coin. They wore a string attached and passed over the shoulder for support and appeared to want to avoid any conversation. As I did too we got along very agreeably during the week they were there. They made frequent trips out past where I worked.
     They would make two or three trips a day as though taking exercise. Once they paused a little while to amuse themselves watching me feeding my camp birds.
     After they had been there perhaps a week we got word at the station early in July to seek safety as the Sioux and Arapahoes were raiding the country and I thought it a human act to notify the Spaniards which I did.
     They appeared so little concerned that I hurried to make my escape, leaving them to look to their own salvation. In course of a week it appeared that the Indians had left the country.
     I returned to my gold diggings at the same time feeling anxious to know if anything had happened to the Spaniards.  As I neared the cabin I noticed one of them lying on the ground near the cabin. The other was some little distance out toward where I worked.
     Their money belts and boots had been removed as well as their scalps. I at once notified the sheriff who was an old Englishman named John Jones, he being the first sheriff for Douglas county as the old territorial record will verify.
     He came with a pick and shovel and we dug a shallow grave among the rocks and rolled them in, wrapped only in their uniform as we had no way to make a box. Not more than a week after they were buried four Spaniards appeared at our station with an interpreter.  They inquired if we had seen the two Spanish officers passing thru the country, I explained in detail all I knew about them and volunteered to show them where they were buried so they could dig them up but they appeared to accept my story as true and dismissed the subject.
     I asked for details as to what the officers had done and he stated that a wealthy Spaniard had crossed over into Mexico to inspect some mining interest located in the mountains. He brought his wife and a considerable amount of gold to pay some bills. As it was customary the government detailed these two officers to escort them across the country. When they reached an out-of-the way place they murdered them, took all their gold and jewels and escaped across the border, headed for Colorado. There was but very (few) people in that locality and but few people ever learned of this affair.
     None ever doubted but the Indians murdered them and carried away their money belts and boots.
     But I discovered the little treasure of gold and jewels they had hidden just across the little gulch in a crevice of rocks. I noticed as they walked to the little gulch that they would look across and then walk back. This caused me to suspicion they had something hidden there.
     The treasure consisted of a number of gold coins of small denomination, some American coins, a diamond and a pearl necklace, as I learned afterwards for at that time I had never seen diamonds or pearls, therefore I didn't know what they were  (or) what their value was.
     The garnets consisted of a large brooch and long ear pendents; the set contained three hundred garnets. I kept those, not that I knew their value, but merely because they were beautiful and pleasing to the eye. The things I didn't keep I sold to a Jew in Denver for $3,000. His name was J. W. Cline, he owned the first wholesale liquor establishment in Denver, all the old timers living remember him as we used to buy our whiskey there. Each of the dead Spaniards wore a ring on the third finger of the left hand. One of them had a fine watch and chain, which the Indians overlooked in their great haste to get away from the scene. I removed the rings and watch because I could not see the wrong in doing so. As there was no one there to dispute my claim--I still have one of the rings and chain in my possession, the other ring, the most valuable, I lost in 1872.  Truman Blancett"