America Unearthed: Priceless Treasure Unearthed at Black Hills (S3, E5) | Full Episode | History

do um so the history that we were all taught growing up is  wrong my name is scott walter and i'm a forensic   geologist there's a hidden history in this country  that nobody knows about there are pyramids here   chambers tombs inscriptions they're all over  this country we're going to investigate these   artifacts and sites and we're going to get to  the truth sometimes history isn't what we've been told not only kills men it destroys history   that's why i want to recover small parts  of the past that we've lost to bloodshed   i just received an intriguing tip from my  friend don shelby he's a retired journalist   who's fascinated by mysteries hidden in our  nation's past so when he told me he might have   some compelling information about a rumored lost  treasure of an american icon i had to find out   more who wouldn't want to find gold connected  to lieutenant colonel george armstrong custer custer was a civil war hero but he's remembered  most for his 1876 defeat at the battle of the   little bighorn in montana also known as  custer's last stand it was a bloody massacre   of american troops at the hands of native  americans involved in the great sioux war custer along with 263 of his men were decimated  by lakota cheyenne and arapahoe warriors in   less than an hour but what most people don't  know is that something else may have been lost   a hefty treasure allegedly  comprised of soldiers pay   and valuables stripped from custer's men  by the natives and who knows what else the question is if it exists   where is that treasure today don's done some early  research and i'm on my way to see what he has hey don how you doing scott i'm doing  great man come on in the house all right what's going on here you know how i am i get  interested in one thing and once that's solved   move on to another and there's one that hasn't  been solved for 100 years and more what have   you learned well first of all it's still out there  we don't know that it has been found we know that   it did exist colonel custer uh did have a payroll  of course he had to pay the soldiers and that has   never been recovered how much money are we talking  about that was in this payroll cash well for the   size of the seventh cavalry companies that were  with custer going into little bighorn you would   have to average about 25 000 what would that be  worth in today's dollars probably 450 500 000   in terms of straight legal tender because most of  that was in uh silver and gold coinage what about   the collectibility i mean i've got to believe  that anything related to custer has tremendous   value beyond just the monetary value each coin  could be fifty thousand dollars you don't know   but someone would love to lay their hands on  that i know that uh the collectibility of custer   memorabilia is incredible a swallowtail guidon  just went at auction 2.2 million dollars is that   right just the flag so could some of that treasure  have included some gold from the black hills   gold was discovered in 1873 in the black hills of  south dakota it was custer's mission to establish   a fort in the area the gold rush angered the sioux  natives who'd been promised protection of their   sacred lands by the u.s government it was one  of the catalysts that created bad blood between   custer's troops and the native americans the black  hills was very sacred to them and you know custer   broke uh a vow did he not obviously that didn't go  over well weren't there some things that happened   after the battle that uh obviously were spurred  by their hatred towards him well one of the things   that uh it was written contemporaneously  when they went in and inspected the bodies   on the body of custer women it was believed to  be women at the time had taken uh bone holes and   driven it into his ears both ears why did they  do that well that was a question that they had   at the time why would anybody do that symbolic of  something it was symbolic and it later came out   as some of the american indians came back from  canada they explained that's because he didn't   listen and in the next life he would be able  to listen because we cleared his ear channels   amazing so we have this missing  cache of coins of uh pay that was   supposed to be given to the soldiers do we have  any idea where it might be i mean if i think about   it there's really only a couple possibilities one  is it was buried maybe to protect it to hide it   somebody within the american troops has it  which probably isn't likely but a possibility   or the natives have it those are three  possible results of thinking along the   lines that it has to be somewhere exactly the  fourth is that it doesn't have to be anywhere   it doesn't have to be anywhere at all they may  not have taken it where does this legend come   then that there's this missing cache and that the  natives might have it well it's the same way we   think logically if you don't have something and  you know something existed then it must still be   out there and if it's somewhere out there it can  be found you have more than piqued my interest on   i might take a go at this thing i might be able to  find this well i'm going to give you a name of a   person who is in the business of finding treasure  and sometimes having that treasure brought to him i'm on my way to visit a guy in minnesota  who supposedly has a clue to the location   of general custer's alleged lost treasure  or maybe even the treasure itself   don wouldn't tell me which  he likes to keep me guessing so far i know that custer an american military  leader most often remembered for his final stand   in the battle of the little bighorn supposedly  was traveling with a lot of money as were his men   whether natives actually took that money off  of a pay wagon off of custer's dead soldiers   or found it somewhere else i'm not sure  what i am sure of is that after custer's   last stand the alleged treasure comprised  of that loot is said to have disappeared   but since this address seems to be  a coin shop maybe it's turned up are you jim i am scott walter nice to meet  you scott nice to meet you well don said that   you knew a little something about george  custer the battle of little bighorn and   uh a treasure associated with that does that ring  a bell yes and it's going to cost you 140 140   that's what it's going to cost you it's going to cost you 140 140 yes he  didn't say anything about money didn't no   that's what's going to cost  you okay what am i buying right there i want 140 for this nickel according  to don he's the key to finding the treasure   so this guy here is the key to finding custer's  treasure yes on a nickel yes well he wouldn't   leave me on a wild goose chase this looks like an  indian head nickel indian head buffalo nickel well   i've heard of indian head pennies but not nickels  well here's indian head penny big difference i have seen these before and actually  i know a little bit about them   indian head pennies were minted back  around 1860. i think they minted them   for around 50 years and actually that  is not a real native face that's correct the indian head penny doesn't feature an  indian or even a man like most people think   the coin is supposed to be lady liberty which  some say has always had connections to venus   the goddess of prosperity when i look at these two this is not lady liberty  this looks like a real native do we know who this   is yes we do okay who is it chief two moons of the  cheyenne tribe well this is a pretty good likeness   but how is chief two moons involved with this  custard treasure chief two moons was involved   at the battle of little bighorn okay so he was  one of the indian chiefs involved in the battle   well there's a legend that there was a  treasure involved with this whole thing   that there's a map buried in a vault with  two moons yes so where is this map the map   is sealed in a manila envelope in two moons  grave all right and how does that help me   this might help you this is not a treasure  map this is a highway map yes of montana yes   this is busby montana so the man who knows  where the treasure is is in busby yes if lieutenant colonel george armstrong custer  had a lost treasure made up of his men's pay   valuables and who knows what  else it stands to reason montana   is a good place to look for it after all that's  where the battle of the little bighorn was there's a chance the treasure may be made up of  a lot more than what was left on the battlefield   once a cheyenne chief named two moon got a hold  of it before he died rumor has it he told one man   where it was buried and that a treasure map was  sealed in a manila envelope and placed in his tomb i'm on my way to meet a guy who writes  stories about international adventure   and knows all about two moon he  may be able to answer some of my questions you must be the guy i'm meeting here today yeah  i'm david meyer nice to meet you i'm scott nice   to meet you so i hear you're looking to custer's  lost treasure what do you know so far i understand   the story of george custer and the little bighorn  but there's also a story about some treasure that   he had that disappeared after the battle and my  understanding is that it's out here somewhere   and connected to some guy named two moon his name  was uh chief two moon it stands for second moon   of the year that's been anglicized to chief two  moons over the years but chief two moon is the   original name it turns out two moon probably  did know where the treasure was and he told   a man named w p monkey about it what happened  was he entrusted the secret of the treasure to   w.p moncure and wp monkeyer built a monument for  him you know what i think i saw that monument when   i was driving out here i saw something that looks  kind of like a squat pyramid yeah that's the one   that's correct i guess you have a picture of it if  you want to see it yeah you know it was surrounded   by barbed wire i didn't even stop but if you  got pictures i'd love to see them they don't   like people to necessarily be very close to it  but i was able to take some photos of it for you   okay that's a beautiful photo yep  so it's made of different rocks   yeah it has unfortunately been vandalized over the  years some of the rocks are still in that area but   uh the most of the monument is still intact  oh yeah okay and what's this here this is a   plaque uh you can see a wp monkey at the very  bottom it turns out that you know not only is he   the one who built the monument and turned uh two  moon in there but he also entered a treasure map   and uh relics on the battlefield as well so  moncure built this monument in 1936 and he put   a treasure map in there along with some artifacts  in the battlefield what happened next in the late   1950s the reporter became interested in the  story she was from billings montana not too   far away from the cheyenne reservation right and  she drove out and she investigated the monument   and she earned the trust of the cheyenne tribe  and they allowed her to take a look inside it   so she actually got inside the monument  saw the artifacts and the treasure map i'm in montana investigating a lead that  when lieutenant colonel george armstrong   custer was killed he left a treasure  behind a possible mix of soldiers pay   and valuables from the little bighorn battlefield i also learned that a burial monument  was built for a cheyenne chief named tumu   by his friend w.p montcur it was vandalized  several years ago and i couldn't get access to it   it's an important marker in  this investigation because a   reporter allegedly saw a map to the hidden  treasure in the monument so she actually got   inside the monument saw the artifacts and the  treasure map yeah she did she has some photos   of it i can show you an article that she wrote  about it in 1957. yeah okay indian traders cash   so in 1957 she came in she opened up the monument  and she found a cavalry soldier's gun she found a   rubber bullet mold and a few other artifacts  in the battlefield a portrait from two moon   and a mysterious manila envelope that supposedly  contained a treasure map so she saw all of these   things she did but unfortunately she wasn't  allowed to access the envelope at the time   she didn't look at it as my next question i  mean if i saw a manila envelope i'm looking   in it if i can it wasn't supposed to be opened  until 1986 which was exactly 110 years after   the battle of little bighorn so there was a  plan here and obviously monkey was part of it   two moon was part of it uh what was the ultimate  plan two moon wanted the treasure to be used   for his people we know that this monument  sort of served as a 50-year time capsule   so the treasure was going to be put away and 50  years later the cheyenne could open it up and   perhaps have a nice legacy to to enjoy what  happened next well that's when this vault   was robbed it was robbed so the treasure map  that was taken too i assumed yes the monument   was vandalized the treasure map was taken and  no one has seen uh any bit of it since then   well it sounds to me like it was this article  that inspired somebody to break into the vault   and steal this map it would seem clear that's  the case we know that two moon wanted to use   the treasure to protect its people and so it's  entirely possible that someone took the map in   order to try to protect it and save her for future  generations that is exactly what i was thinking   because once it became publicized there may have  been people possibly within the tribe that thought   we need to get this and preserve it and protect it  as far as we know nobody knows where the treasure   is to this day right yeah unfortunately it remains  missing to this day as far as we know do we know   anything i mean after this was vandalized did any  anybody suddenly come into money or did the tribe   come into money no there's no evidence of that it  appears it's disappeared into thin air well david   without this treasure map the fact that it was  stolen i'm not sure where we go from here i mean   that pretty much ends it doesn't it well the thing  about legends is they captivate everyone there's   a couple of guys i think you should meet guys  who are keeping part of that legend alive today i'm at a loss right now as to  what happened to custer's treasure   if it really existed and got into the hands  of two moon i'm sure he felt that keeping it   was justified for all the atrocities his  people endured at the hands of the u.s government i thought my investigation was  over after i heard a map to the supposed   treasure was stolen but after talking to david  meyer it doesn't sound like that's the case   now i have a man named w.p moncure to consider  as part of this investigation it appears he   held valuable clues to the treasure and its  location i wonder why chief two moon trusted him   after learning all i could from david  i'm heading to the place where it all began the battle of the little bighorn is  known as the worst military disaster   in american history thousands of  sioux and cheyenne native americans   gathered in montana to fight for their  sacred lands against the u.s cavalry   custer was among three groups assembled to attack  the natives all at once but he ignored orders to   wait for the others he charged ahead with his  men into native territory where native american   warriors greatly outnumbered them in less than an  hour custer and over 250 u.s soldiers were killed you must be scott yes i am john slatten john nice  to meet you too well that's uh pretty impressive   over there what's going on well this is the u.s  calvary school the battle of the little bighorn   the u.s cavalry school is a hardcore training  school where people can reenact history by   learning to ride using cavalry tactics to prepare  for the ultimate battle of the little bighorn   people from all over converge here to learn about  history and live as cavalry troopers that looks   like fun over there it is a tremendous amount  of fun it's not only fun it can be dangerous   i bet it can when you're you  know playing with horses and   doing what they're doing i bet it can be  dangerous you won't just bet you'll see we got to get you enlisted get  you in the proper uniform because   this outfit just isn't going to  work you want me to put on a uniform you want me to put on a uniform absolutely  right over here we'll get you outfitted citizen put on your proper uniform reports the  captain he'll tell you what to do do my best   scott will take you down here to your quarters  where you can get changed get into the action when i was sent here to montana to look into  custer's lost treasure i was certain i'd be   tracking down a treasure map or some kind of  tangible clue that would lead me to it i'm out   of my element playing dress-up in this reenactment  of the battle of the little bighorn but if that's   what it takes to find out where custer's lost  treasure is i guess it's what i'll have to do well john how do i look i look like a real trooper  now you know we're we're here uh where custer's   battle was fought and i'd like to know more about  custer the man he had reached the rank of major   general by the time he was 24 years old really  and that is impossible today he was boisterous   kind of flamboyant he designed his own uniform  and made it very flashy very showy his troops   loved him he led most of the time from the front  all throughout the civil war so he was a brave guy   very brave guy okay so so the stories of him being  courageous and a great fighter a warrior if you   will that's all true right absolutely absolutely  okay let's talk about the the attack itself   some people say that it was a surprise attack  that it was done before the sun rose in fact   don't they call him warrior of the morning star or  something like that the son of the morning star is   what they called oh son of a morning star he had  a tendency to attack before the sun was up this   battle being the exception he already lost the  element of surprise his orders weren't to attack   his orders were to find the village report the  location wait for the infantry support well wait   a minute now so what you're saying is if he lost  the element of surprise what that really means is   the natives that were camped here knew that he was  coming right yes exactly are we sure about that   they knew he was coming beforehand the natives  had engaged his pack train and they engaged them   and were able to kill one of them but the other  two escaped they would have reported reported   back here so the whole story that we've heard  that this was a surprise attack that the native   encampment here they were just minding their own  business and all of a sudden they were attacked   you think that's bunk and we're ready for it  how many people were here at this encampment   this was the lakota camp that we're standing on  there were you know around 10 000 lakota here   that is that's a huge encampment isn't it that is  enormous i'd like to switch topics for a second   the missing custard treasure have you heard of  that heard some rumors well i just talked to   an expert who told me about after the battle the  natives came in and they secured a wagon that had   gold silver and currency and then of course they  stripped the soldiers of their valuables and this   became known as custer's treasure the story that  i heard was that chief two moon took this treasure   and actually hit it when he died a white trader  built a monument for him that was in the shape of   basically a squat obelisk and inside this monument  is where the map for this treasure was along with   some artifacts in the battlefield in 1960 the  monument was broken into and the map disappeared   and it's been missing ever since and so maybe  the treasure was recovered maybe it wasn't   that's the whole mystery that's what i'm trying  to figure out we can only speculate because we're   looking at the past but you know it's it is quite  possible we know custer was a writer did he ever   write anything about treasure that he carried with  him sergeant you know scott that's a good question   but we've got to get moving we've got to get  you on a horse and we still have to enlist you sergey sir the lieutenant  has enlisted another recruit   who is he trooper scott walter  sir can you ride a horse yes sir   excellent well welcome to the best  regiment of the united states calvary   thank you sir all right let's go ahead and stand  attention we'll swear you in and repeat after me i   i scott walter scott walter will bear true faith  and allegiance to the united states of america   we'll bear true faith and allegiance to the  united states of america i know this is an   official training school for cavalry history  tactics and horsemanship but it's pretty intense   they take this history seriously many of custer's  men were recent recruits a group of 20-somethings   with little experience but they had a lot  more than me going up against a force of 2   000 soof and northern cheyenne protecting their  land must have been terrifying and i will serve   them honestly and faithfully that i  will serve them honestly and faithfully   according to the rules and articles of war  according to the rules and articles of war we'll have a lot of training to do we're going on   campaign soon you'll have to  do the training on the trail   with all the other new troopers very good job  sergeant are you ready i'm ready let's get going i'm about to head into the  battle of the little bighorn   something the guys out here have spent weeks  training for this is a simulated battle experience   when i arrived here in montana to  investigate a lead on custer's lost treasure   i had no idea i'd be doing this as a member  of custer's cavalry i know this isn't going   to end well for me just like it didn't end well  for the more than 250 soldiers and an unknown   number of native americans who died here on this  land no this way yes adam all right this way come on in addition to chief tumor who may have gotten  a hold of custer's treasure there were a lot of   notable native warriors engaged in this battle  including two whose names many people recognize lakota chief sitting bull led his warriors into  the battle and said he had a vision where he   saw the defeat of custer's troops he was right  lakota chief crazy horse and his men also took   part and he was later honored with a monument  in the black hills land he sought to protect   if there was a treasure taken from fallen soldiers  left on the battlefield by native americans   i'm sure they felt it was justified  after all their people had endured   where do you think that treasure went well it's  either already been found or it's still out there   so are you ready i'm ready that's trunk go more perfect so scott what'd you think i think i have a sense of  what it was like when that day happened in 1876   i mean when we started coming in on the horses  the horses were charging the natives were running   around and we were circling and and the guns i  mean it was exhilarating but you know in real life   it would have been terrifying absolutely you know  the conditions that day would have been horrendous   there was sweltering heat there was uh  rainstorms coming in and out humidity the   bloodshed horses the dust the screams of  the wounded it would have been horrifying   all these things happening i mean sound movement  light i mean it's just it's overwhelming it is   it is so you've done this a few times  what makes you come back the history the   enjoyment of interacting with the the lakota  that come out and the crow well they sure did   a good job of making me feel part of the  action but back then if i was pulled off   my horse it would have been hand-to-hand combat  and eventually i would have been overwhelmed and   killed right you know when i first came out here  one of the goals was to investigate this treasure   but you know the treasure really in my mind became  secondary to learning more about what happened   here and more about general custer and one of  the things that seems to happen everywhere i   go is that you know the standard story this is the  history that we were told about the little bighorn   well after dealing with you guys i've learned  that it was we know what the outcome was but   the details are a lot different than we've  been told you know the other thing john is   even though we're done here with the reenactment  i've learned a lot i still want to see if we can   figure out what happened to this treasure  what is the treasure and where did it go a treasure tip from a friend in minnesota  took me on an unpredictable journey west   in the past i've always associated montana  with a battle of the little bighorn   but now it's tied to a treasure tale i can't stop  investigating while in montana i learned that   chief two moon who was also part of the battle may  have hidden a treasure made up of valuables and   soldiers pay from the battlefield chief two moon  allegedly told one man its whereabouts and even   gave him a treasure map that man was wp mon cure  his white friend who worked as an indian trader   it said moncure was given instructions to hide  the map after two moon passed but years later   someone stole it what if this  adventure i've been on was for nothing i recently stumbled on an article about a  couple who discovered millions of dollars   of gold coins stashed in rusty  cans on their california land it's called the saddle ridge horde and i think  it's possible it could play a significant part   in this montana mystery i'm trying to solve  in california gold rush territory a couple   walking their dog on their property noticed  a rusty can half buried in the dirt they   dislodged it with a stick and inside found  a bunch of gold coins minted in the 1800s   that can led to the discovery of eight more cans  filled with more than 1400 coins some of them in   mint condition no one knows where they came from  but today they're worth over 10 million dollars   could this be custer's alleged lost treasure i'm back in minnesota and headed to  where the investigation first began   don shelby my friend who started me on this  treasure hunt is also going to be there i   want to figure out if the gold coins found  in california could be custer's lost treasure hi guys how are you i'm doing great jim hey  scott i have something i'd like to show you u.s cavalry certificate of achievement for  trooper scott walter i fought in the reenactment   of the little bighorn i didn't do very well we  were all killed and i think i handled myself   with distinction and honor according to my  superiors you know guys in the interest of trying   to vet this custer's treasure out all the way make  sure we cover all the bases i have one possibility   i want to ask you about i saw this article about  a couple who found a cache of gold coins and i'm   wondering if it's possible if you've heard about  this and if so could it be related to custer's   treasure well this is the saddle ridge horde okay  you've heard about it yes i have here are coins   very similar to the coins that were found in that  horde these were coins used by the u.s cavalry   jim could this possibly be related to custer's  treasure i don't think so they're dated from   the 1880s and 1890s well that's a problem isn't  it it is 1876 is the time and the moment of the   battle of greasy grass the battle of little  bighorn that's what the natives called it   yes it almost puts it out of reach in the same  story that you were looking at it shows that the   coins in that cache from the saddle ridge 1847 to  1894. if it's after 1876 it cannot be part of that   with one possible exception it's possible  that this treasure could have been from the   little bighorn and was placed in the ground  and they added the later coins to this cache   at a later date now you're thinking like an  investigative reporter if you're looking at this   from a purely investigative approach you have to  look at the one person we haven't looked at at all   and that's mon cure mon cure was the best  white friend of chief two moon he was the   guardian of the burial site he knew the secrets  i'm not suggesting that anyone who stole that   has any relationship to moncure but i think if  anyone knows where it is then it would have been   moncure well i'm not sure if you guys are aware  or not but in 1957 a reporter did a story about   moncure and the treasure so it's either a  very elaborate hoax or this is a real thing   i do believe that there is a treasure so the  question is don that treasure has to still be out   there it has to be out there marked on that stolen  map sounds to me like there's more work to be done   in the end it's impossible to say whether  custer's lost treasure really even existed at   all the real discovery here was that people  are keeping more than just legends alive   they're keeping history alive by investing time   and effort recreating and teaching people about  custer's last stand in the most epic way possible i have a strong suspicion the treasure  map stolen from two moons burial monument   may have held the only clue to really solve  this mystery i'm hoping someday someone will   come forward with the missing treasure map  so we can solve this case once and for all if you have a mysterious  artifact or site i need to see   i want to know about it go  to history.com on earth you

Channel: HISTORY

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Keywords: history, history channel, history shows, history channel shows, america unearthed, history america unearthed, america unearthed show, america unearthed full episodes, america unearthed clips, full episodes, full episodescarvings, America Unearthed season 3 episode 5, America Unearthed s3 e5, America Unearthed s03 e05, America Unearthed 3X5, America Unearthed s3 full episodes, America Unearthed season 3 clips, Episode 5, Custers Blood Treasure, Black Hills area, gold rush

Id: ifccE4nEOjQ

Length: 42min 59sec (2579 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 07 2021