How Did Hunters Search for the San Saba Mine?

Transcript

-NARRATOR: Tonight... -It's picking up something. ...on Beyond Oak Island... -Really? -Have you estimated how much might be down there? -MARTY: Whoa. -TED: This here is -your face rock. -HOPPY: That means gold. MATTY: Everything's lining up with Hoppy's theory. MATTY: I'm in now. I want to dig. -Oh, shoot, it's a rattler! -MARTY: Oh, geez! -Rick, g... Read More

Key Insights

• The San Saba Mine is described as a Spanish silver operation investigated by Lieutenant Governor Bernardo Miranda y Flores in 1756 after reports of major deposits near the San Saba River. Accounts presented in the episode characterize its silver as exceptionally abundant and easy to extract.
• The mine was reportedly concealed after a coordinated 1758 attack by approximately 2,000 Comanche and Wichita men destroyed the Spanish mission and nearby presidio. According to the legend, retreating Spaniards covered the entrances because they expected to return, but the mine’s exact location was subsequently lost.
• Hoppy Eubanks is an 81-year-old Texas treasure hunter whose earlier research led to the 1971 discovery of an 18th-century chest in Fulton County, Georgia. The chest contained Revolutionary War letters and was estimated to be worth $50,000.
• The waybill is a set of written directions leading from one point to another, with the destination being a mine or cache. Hoppy received his waybill from another treasure hunter more than two decades before the investigation and used it to guide his search.
• Hoppy’s proposed location is approximately 70 leagues, or 183 miles, north of San Antonio. At that location, he discovered multiple rock carvings that he interprets as evidence of Spanish activity and possible directional markers leading toward the lost mine.
• Electrical resistivity tomography is a surveying method that transmits electrical current through the ground to identify possible buried objects, structures, or voids. Curt Champlin’s team conducted three resistivity surveys and identified an anomaly considered worthy of further investigation.
• The proposed drilling test is intended to determine whether the underground anomaly represents a cavity. Confirming a cavity would not by itself establish that the Spanish created or used it, but it would give the search team a physical target connected to the resistivity results.
• The king’s tax was a 20% royal share of precious metals and jewels extracted from Spanish mining operations. Hoppy identifies a second search area associated with this Royal fifth, based on accounts that some royal proceeds were buried with the intention of recovering them later.

Questions & Answers

Q: What was the lost San Saba Mine?

The San Saba Mine was reportedly a highly productive Spanish silver operation near the San Saba River in Texas. Lieutenant Governor Bernardo Miranda y Flores investigated reports of large deposits there in 1756. The operation allegedly prospered for two years before an attack in 1758 forced the Spaniards to retreat and conceal its entrances, after which its exact location was lost.

Q: Why was the San Saba Mine abandoned?

The mine was reportedly abandoned after approximately 2,000 men from the Comanche and Wichita nations carried out a coordinated attack in 1758. The attackers burned the Spanish mission and nearby military fort, called a presidio. The retreating Spaniards allegedly covered the mine entrances to protect the silver until they could return, but that return never occurred.

Q: How did Hoppy Eubanks identify a possible mine location?

Hoppy Eubanks followed a waybill that he received from another treasure hunter more than two decades earlier. The directions led him approximately 70 leagues, or 183 miles, north of San Antonio. At the destination, he found multiple rock carvings that he believes are Spanish and may point toward the location of the lost mine.

Q: What is a treasure-hunting waybill?

A treasure-hunting waybill is a set of written directions for traveling from one point to another, with the final point representing a mine or hidden cache. It may consist of several pages and can be accompanied by a crude map. Hoppy’s waybill became the documentary basis for locating the area where he later found unusual rock carvings.

Q: How was electrical resistivity tomography used in the search?

Electrical resistivity tomography was used to investigate conditions beneath the suspected mine site. The method transmits electrical current through the ground to detect possible buried objects, structures, or voids. Geologist Curt Champlin reported that three resistivity surveys were conducted, with the first revealing an anomaly that the team believed deserved further investigation through targeted drilling.

Q: What would drilling the survey anomaly establish?

Drilling would test whether the anomaly detected by the resistivity surveys is an underground cavity. The team selected a location near the anomaly for a proposed well or borehole. Finding a cavity would provide physical support for continued investigation, although the material presented does not establish that any detected void must be a Spanish mine or contain precious metal.

Q: What was the Spanish king’s tax?

The king’s tax, also called the Royal fifth, was 20% of the proceeds from silver, gold, and jewels extracted through Spanish mining in the Americas. That portion was reserved for the Spanish monarch and royal family. The episode presents accounts suggesting that some royal shares were buried temporarily, creating a second possible search location separate from the suspected mine.

Q: Why did Rick and Marty Lagina consider Hoppy’s search credible?

Rick and Marty Lagina considered the search worth examining because Hoppy combined documentary clues and field observations with scientific support. He had a waybill, discovered rock carvings at the indicated area, and worked with geologist Curt Champlin and geophysicist Bereket Derie. Their underground surveys identified an anomaly that offered a defined target for additional testing.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Hoppy Eubanks follows an old waybill to an area approximately 183 miles north of San Antonio, where he finds rock carvings he believes are Spanish. He proposes that the site contains the legendary San Saba Mine, a rich silver operation reportedly abandoned after an attack in 1758.

• Geologist Curt Champlin and geophysicist Bereket Derie add scientific investigation to Hoppy’s historical interpretation. Three electrical resistivity surveys reveal an underground anomaly. The team identifies a drilling location intended to determine whether the anomaly is a cavity that could support Hoppy’s theory about a concealed mine entrance.

• The investigation expands to two suspected treasure locations. One is the possible mine identified through the waybill, carvings, and resistivity data. The other is associated with the king’s tax, a 20% share of mining proceeds reserved for the Spanish monarch that was sometimes buried for later recovery.

• Key Insights Count: 8

• Key Insights Summary: 8 grounded findings about the historical legend, documentary clues, carvings, scientific surveys, and proposed drilling target.