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500,000 Mexican Doubloons Buried on Angel Island

Baxter Creek Treasure

Buried Gold Cache at Trinity River

Gold at Kelly Lake

Hermit John's Gold Ledge

Lost Gold of the Ada Hancock

Lost Treasure of Cahuenga Pass

Lost Treasures of Northern California

Pegleg Smith's Lost Mine  (More on Pegleg Smith Mine)

Rattlesnake Dick's Stolen Loot

River of Gold at Kokoweef

The Gunsight Silver Lode

Feb of 1874 robbed the Los Angeles stage and passengers on the road between Mill Station and Soledad, following which they hid from the fast-moving posse in the labyrinth of Vasquez Rocks.

Vasquez and his men near Sheep Corral Spring (now Brookside Park). Well knowing that a Sheriff's posse was hot on his trail, the daring bandit took time to relieve them of what money they had and took from one a valuable watch which was returned to him after the capture.

Proceeding on to Devils Gate, the bandits found there a party of 15 prominent Colony men at work on their water supply. Telling them who he was, which was probably not necessary, he went on up the canyon without molesting them and, turning up the Dark Canyon trail, hid his loot, or a part of it, in an old stone wall about half a mile up this canyon. He was now on familiar ground, headed for Vasquez Canyon and the Big Tujunga, on a trial which had been his getaway route many times before.

Legend has it that Vasquez stashed three bags of gold ? in the Santa Susana Mountains before his capture.

They were probably headed for Pico Canyon where, in a little settlement of Mexicans and Indians, they would find friends and shelter. From here they could safely cross the Santa Susana Mountains to the Indian village near Castle Rock and then across the San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica Mountains where they finally, after a leisurely three weeks' trip, reached the ranch of Greek George, near the mouth of Laurel Canyon. This was their probable route and the very good reason why the officers lost all trace of them.  Many friends and lookouts.   

"Si, Senors, for he is my friend. He has many times protected me and my property from those who are worse, much worse. He has promised that no harm shall come to the valley from he or his band, and no harm has come, Senors."

Many locals saw him as a Robin Hood who protected them from those who were much worse.  

It was well known that Vasquez was not a killer, that he repeatedly warned his followers not to kill, and his reluctance to take life, even when his own was in grave danger, was without doubt responsible for the remarkably few killings during his 23 years as an outlaw. The invariable report from those who knew him best was: "Oh, Vasquez was not so bad"; "There were many in those times who were far worse than he"; "Vasquez was a likable fellow and always a gentleman."

Vasquez the Bandit

Tiburcio Vasquez was keen, resourceful, a born leader. He hated the Americano with good reason and always in his mind was a thought, which had activated many of his race before him, that he could help get the Americans out and in some way regain California for Mexico.

In the Los Angeles area he had many places, strategically located, to which he could retire when hard pressed, among them Chilao and the great boulders of Mt. Hillyer; the gorge of Big Tujunga Canyon; the rough and wild area of Pico Canyon, west of Newhall; the famous Vasquez Rocks north of Soledad Canyon; and the rock-strewn mountainside north of Chatsworth, dominated by the famous Castle Rock.

East Chilao, now the site of Newcombs Ranch Inn, but then deep in the wilderness and little known, made an ideal hideout; the long, narrow valley of West Chilao and Horse Flat with its secret trail, both were excellent pasture for stolen horses, and the great rocks of Mt. Hillyer above Horse Flat furnished an impregnable fortress if hard pressed by the law. Vasquez made this his mountain headquarters for many years and through Chilao went a steady stream of horses, stolen in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, brands changed or blotted out at Chilao, and then on to Yuma and the mining areas to the east and north.