Almost a century ago in 1933, a well-known historian of Southwestern Spanish culture, Dr. Arthur Campa, had a chance meeting with a man named Ben Brown. Brown was a miner in southern New Mexico's Rio Grande Valley, near the Organ Mountains where Pedro Nevarez and his gang had hidden their loot in the 1640's. Brown was well aware of the legend as well as the instructions to unearth the treasure that Nevarez left, and had an intriguing tale of his own for Dr. Campa.

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In 1913 Brown had been deer hunting, when a bad shot forced him to chase a wounded animal into the scrub. After an unsuccessful chase, he sat down under the shade of a juniper tree growing on the slope. Looking around for any sign of the deer, he realized this particular spot on the hillside was covered with loose rocks and dirt, in what clearly looked like a man-made effort. His mind naturally went to the lost treasure.

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Jornada del Meurto, [Cory Boehne.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Looking_north_towards_the_Jornada_del_Muerto_Volcano.jpg)

Trying to recall everything he had heard, he soon picked out the three conical peaks in the distance, and began walking 250 paces from the base of the tree due east. Marking this spot, he then walked another 250 paces to the north,where he found himself on a promontory overlooking the Jornada del Muerto volcano and lava field. This was just as was described in the centuries old instructions. Could the shade-giving juniper be the same as mentioned in the legend?