Some time after the Civil War, John Avants homesteaded a piece of land along the Cosatot River north of De Queen. The area can be located by Avants Mountain, named for the pioneer settler. Some ten to twelve years later, a stranger came to Avant’s place and asked the assistance of the father and his several sons. The stranger was seeking a landmark, he said, near two springs close together. If he could locate the springs, he declared, they would lead him to a vast treasure. Father and sons all said that they were thoroughly familiar with the vicinity, but had never seen such a place as the stranger described.
Before departing in defeat, the stranger revealed that a party of Spaniards with seven jack loads of gold had once made camp near the two springs. Here they were attacked by Indians, and the Spaniards realized that they would have to dispose of their treasure if they were to escape with their lives. The gold, and one of the Spaniards who had been killed, were hastily buried. Then the Spaniards took flight, closely followed by the Indians. Only a few of them managed to escape to Mexico, where they told their story. One by one the survivors died or were killed before they could return and recover the gold.
It was two or three years after the stranger’s dejected departure that two of the Avants boys happened upon a pair of springs exactly as had been described to them. They found spikes driven into some of the trees and strange markings were carved on others. Not realizing the significance of the signs, they made no search for the treasure. Many years later, one of the Avants boys happened to relate the story of the stranger to a nephew, who immediately recalled that he had plowed up a skeleton near the two springs. A search was now made for the buried gold, but without success. Subsequent searches for the treasure have been made over the years, but all have failed.