In the late 1800s, the little Arkansas community of St. Joe held hopes of turning into one of the most prosperous towns in the South. The cause of this hoped-for wealth was a silver mine bearing ore so rich that its owner said there was enough to shoe every Arkansas mule with pure silver shoes.
Residents in and around St. Joe had for a long time known of the mine. An Indian named Woodward had for a number of years worked it, but steadfastly refused to give any indication as to its location.
Some had tried to follow the Indian to the mine, but he always lost them a few miles out of town. In town, he was close-mouthed whenever the mine came up in conversation.
Then one day without warning the Indian let it be known that the mine was up for sale. A group of men got together and pooled their resources. They then approached the Indian and said they’d fork over the several thousand dollars he asked, but with one provision. First, they were to be taken to the mine and permitted to inspect it, to be certain it was indeed rich.
The Indian agreed. But, he said, the prospective owners were to be blindfolded during the trip to the mine. And it was to be made at night, just in case some of them slipped off their blindfolds for a peek at landmarks.
The terms were agreed upon.
At the mine, blindfolds were removed. The buyers inspected the mine, hardly able to believe their eyes when they knocked off chunks of ore and found it rich in silver. Without doubt, the mine was worth many times what the Indian asked for it.
Back in St. Joe, the men raised the money and turned it over to the Indian, who promptly lit out for Oklahoma Territory.
Misfortune befell the new owners. Loaded down with equipment, they set out for the mine. They couldn’t find it. They hunted it for weeks, to no avail. For years, generations of treasure hunters have searched for the mine around St. Joe, but no traces of it have turned up.