The Silver Madonna and Other Tales of America's Greatest Lost Treasures Read Free Page A

but none were aware of its contents. Researchers estimate that if found today the cargo of pearls would be worth several million dollars.

    In spite of the fact that the state of California is among the most populated in the United States, there exists a great swath in the extreme southern part that remains virtually uninhabited, a vast arid region that stretches from the Arizona border westward for over one hundred miles and southward into Mexico.
    This expanse of sere landscape is called the Colorado Desert and is generally avoided by living things: human, plant, and animal. In response to the constant and high winds, the ever-shifting sands allow little opportunity for vegetation to take hold. Should a stray seed manage to find a place of refuge and germinate, the paucity of water in this area will keep it from reaching maturity. In addition to the lack of moisture and the extremely high temperatures, this land remains, for the most part, uninhabitable. Save for the occasional rattlesnake, scorpion, buzzard, or prospector, the region is seldom visited.
    Hikers, explorers, and rock hounds visit the Colorado Desert of California from time to time to pit their skills against the elements, most of them perceiving the desert a worthy challenge. Many return to civilization, but a startling number of them succumb to dehydration, exposure, or snakebite. Indeed, during the history of this nation’s westward expansion and settlement, Southern California’s Colorado Desert has claimed the lives of hundreds.
    Following the discovery of gold in California in 1849, along with the interest in seeking new environments in which to settle, practice agriculture, and establish businesses following the Civil War, tens of thousands of people migrated from the northern and eastern parts of the United States to California. A number of them, lured by the tales of opportunities to be found in and near the great cities and ports along Southern California’s coast, elected to travel across this sere and forbidding landscape. Though warned of the dangers to be encountered in the Colorado Desert, many were convinced they would save time by selecting this route instead of traveling a safer road that circled many miles to the north.
    Hundreds of the migrants selecting the more southern trace lost their lives, and for a time the desert floor was littered with the crosses of lonely graves along the way, markers that eventually succumbed to harsh desert winds and climate.
    What may be even more remarkable, however, is that among those who managed to survive the perilous journey and reach the coast, there were some who related the strange tale of seeing an ancient masted sailing vessel partially buried in the sand dunes. On learning that the strange lost ship likely contained an uncountable fortune in exquisite pearls, some traveled back into the desert to search for it. Many were never seen again, and more returned with accounts of getting lost without food or water and not being able to relocate the ship.
    In time, the complete story of the lost ship of the desert was revealed, causing hundreds more to enter the dunes to look for it. Some claimed to have found it but were never able to breach the protective cover of the desert sand. Others, travelers and prospectors, located it by accident over the years but were unaware of what was stored in the hold, only camped for the night and moved on.
    Today, occasional reports of the lost treasure ship of the California desert continue to be received. Furthermore, it continues to be sought by professional treasure hunters as well as amateur searchers. At the end of the quest and deep inside the partially buried vessel are wooden casks of the rarest pearls in the history of the world.

    In the year 1610, Spain’s King Philip III commanded Navy Captain Alvarez de Cordone to organize an expedition to search for pearls in Mexico’s Gulf of California, located between the west coast and the elongated peninsula of