Written by Clay Riley – Many tales of buried treasure in Brown County can be read about in old newspaper accounts, tales told by our ancestors or from current Internet blogs on the subject. Below is one such tale offered by early Brown County resident, Norris Chambers, who grew up in the northern part of the county around Cross Cut. Norris’s childhood was impacted by the depression and the tough times folks had, just existing from day to day. Like many of us, simple things brought great pleasure. Our toys were our imagination and a few scraps of wood and string. The one thing we were able to harvest from such upbringing, was independence, honesty and character. Norris Chambers caught the essence of this time and shared it with such vivid memories, that we lived it with him. . . .
****************************
(Excerpt from a short story by Norris Chambers 1917-2013)
“In the northern part of Brown County is a rough stretch of country that has for generations been known as Cart Wheel Mountain, it isn’t actually a mountain. From the eastern edge of a peanut field, the terrain falls suddenly down for about two hundred feet, and the surface is strewn with large rocks, making it hard for a man or beast to climb or descend. Some of the rocks are as large as smoke houses, and the brush is as thick as the hair on a cat’s back. At the bottom of the hill is a creek known as Red River (not the big one on the Oklahoma border). The valley, for the most part, climbs gradually upward on the other side of the creek. The rough hill extends in length for several miles.
The old timers named it Cart Wheel Mountain because it was said that the early Spaniards were moving a cart of gold through the area, and were attacked by hostile Indians at the top of the mountain. They buried the gold before being massacred by the savages.. When another party came to investigate, they found only a wheel of the cart. Therefore, the rough hill was named Cartwheel Mountain. I don’t know how they knew the gold was buried there. But that is the tale that the old ones handed down to the new generation.
Many treasure seekers searched for the gold, among them my nephew, who was about my age, and I. We dug more than one hole there that didn’t hit pay dirt. However, I recall one that paid off handsomely. While ‘possum hunting one winter with our favorite dog, Smut, we noticed a sunken area in one of the rare clear spots between the rocks.
“Clifton,” I said, “Do you reckon that’s the treasure spot?”
“Could be,” he answered, a little anxious. “It’s in a clear area where they might have been able to dig, and it is a little low.”
I suggested that we make the mile trip back to the house and get a pick and shovel. We got the tools and started digging. The ground was a little hard, but we managed to get down about a foot. Then we broke into a void that made us think the ground had been previously disturbed. We speeded up our excavation and found what looked like a tunnel. We followed it about four feet in the direction of a big rock.
Suddenly, Clifton jumped out of the hole. At the same time I smelled a skunk and realized instantly that we had dug up one. While we were getting out of the area, old Smut jumped on the startled animal and soon overpowered it. Clifton was concerned about his pants leg. He hadn’t got out soon enough. I tapped the skunk on the head with the pick handle. The fight was over and old Smut was rolling in the grass in an effort to remove the smell. He became very sick, and started eating grass, as dogs will do when they are sick. Clifton didn’t get sick, but he emitted a smelly odor for several days.
We skinned the skunk and sold his hide for $1.80. That was the profit from that treasure hunt. We considered that very good, considering that a day’s wages was usually $1.00.”
*******************************
This and many other stories are available at the Brownwood Public Library – Genealogy & Local History Branch at 213 S. Broadway. Volunteers from the Pecan Valley Genealogical Society are there to assist you in your family or local history research.
Clay Riley is a local historian and retired Aerospace Engineer that has been involved in the Historical and Genealogical Community of Brown County for over 20 years. Should you have a comment, or a question that he may be able to answer in future columns, he can be reached at; pvgsbwd@gmail.com.
