Tumacacori and the lost Opata mine treasure

Tumacacori Mission is one of the most beautiful of all the Spanish missions and is filled by fact, legend, mystery, and just about everything in between. The mission is now a national park located in Southern Arizona, about 45 minutes south of Tucson. If you are not interested in lost treasure, the mission is still a fun place to visit. If you are interested in lost treasure, Tumacacori Mission is a wonderful place to visit.

             According to the legend, in the year 1766 missionaries put to work the local Papago and Opata Indians in the nearby hills, mining silver. The hills were rich in silver and the missionaries were pleased with there work. And Spain was happy with their royal fifth, a twenty percent tax on all mining operations. There were many mines around the mission, but the Opata Indians seemed to enjoy working in one particular mine more than the others. Since the mine was so full of silver, the missionaries did not mind . At the back of this mine was a giant room where all of the silver was stored in a pile in the center of the room. At night, unknown to the missionaries, the Opata Indians would sneak into the giant room and perform their old pagan religious rites.
         One day the Opatas saw a Mayo Indian Princess with fair white skin traveling in the desert. They kidnapped her and took her to the underground room becuase they belived she was the next virgin mary.   They told her that she would marry their chief in order to produce a child savior. She refused the offer and told them that she would rather die. They decided since the princess would not marry their chief, they would sacrafice her for their gods.
         One Sunday when the missionaries and the Indians had the day off, the Indians tied her to the mound of silver in the center of the room. The tribe began to dance and sing around the virgin princess.

The chief gave her one last chance to marry him or die, and she choose death. The chief cut the woman's hands, and rubbed a poison into her blood. He then told her that when the sun touched her wounds, she would die. A small ray of sunlight beamed through a hole in the center of the room. As the sun rose the Indians danced harder, sang louder, and the rays got closer to the princess'.
One of the missionaries

was on a walk when he heard strange sounds coming from inside the mine. He went closer and decided to investigate. He went deep into the mine and the sounds became louder. Then he walked into the main room and saw the dead princess still tied to the silver and the Indians dancing around the dead body. He was horrified. How could his teachings of Jesus and the Bible bring this?
Later that day, the missionaries sealed the mine entrance shut. They left the princess and all of the silver inside. They were not that concerned with the silver. They were more concerned about the Indians' faith.
An Old Spanish record puts the old Opata Mine halfway between the Guadalupe Mine and the Pure Conception Mine. The Guadalupe Mine is supposedly one league south of the "big gate" and the Pure Conception Mine is three leagues south of the Guadalupe Mine.