Gold Craze Tarnished by Two Deaths

By Lacy O'Malley, reporter for the Tombstone Epitaph

Northern New Mexico was abuzz this past week with rumors of buried Confederate-era gold after a local Brimstone man, Harold Cole, passed away and a confession letter was found among his belongings. He was revealed to be Hubert Corley, one of six Confederate cavalrymen who abandoned the supply chain during the pivotal Battle of Glorieta Pass in 1862 and made off with several trunks of gold bullion. The gold was rumored to be buried near Brimstone for years, but Corley’s confession letter finally pegged the location at Hogback Ridge, a region twenty miles north. Several groups organized to search the region, however only two made it to the cache: a posse of city slickers led by preacher Jeremiah Storm, and legendary treasure-seeker Jackson Silver. This publication spoke with one of Silver’s men after the incident, who reports that the gold had already been discovered by a “new scientist” living in the area, and he had forged the metal into strange bug-like automata that attacked with pincers and sprays of acid. Silver and Storm both perished in the incident and the cavern was sealed with dynamite. Neither man had living relatives. Memorial services are being held in Brimstone for Storm, who was planning on beginning religious services in the town before leaving for Hogback Ridge. The actual location of the cavern and the status of the remainder of the gold is not known, as our source refused to disclose this information.