1 00:00:05,542 --> 00:00:07,708 (dramatic music) 2 00:00:09,708 --> 00:00:13,292 - Tonight, an Aztec king's glittering treasure. 3 00:00:13,375 --> 00:00:15,500 Its whereabouts, unknown. 4 00:00:16,750 --> 00:00:19,792 - Montezuma had this big treasure. 5 00:00:19,875 --> 00:00:22,000 - Some of the most valuable jewels. 6 00:00:22,083 --> 00:00:23,750 - Gold, silver. 7 00:00:24,917 --> 00:00:28,000 - The value of that is almost immeasurable. 8 00:00:28,083 --> 00:00:30,583 It must be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. 9 00:00:32,167 --> 00:00:36,125 - It's inspired a 500-year search that spans continents. 10 00:00:37,333 --> 00:00:39,583 - Spanish explorers started searching for it 11 00:00:39,667 --> 00:00:42,250 and were really willing to do anything to get to it. 12 00:00:43,375 --> 00:00:47,000 - Now, we uncover the top theories behind a fortune 13 00:00:47,125 --> 00:00:49,208 that vanished into thin air. 14 00:00:49,208 --> 00:00:51,083 - Someone's got it, someone's hiding it. 15 00:00:51,208 --> 00:00:53,667 - And he believes that that map is a map 16 00:00:53,750 --> 00:00:56,750 to show where Montezuma's hidden gold is contained. 17 00:00:56,833 --> 00:00:59,500 - And even today, treasure hunters are looking 18 00:00:59,625 --> 00:01:03,542 for this lost pyramid with this gold treasure inside it. 19 00:01:05,167 --> 00:01:08,125 - What really happened to Montezuma's lost treasure 20 00:01:08,292 --> 00:01:10,667 and where is it today? 21 00:01:10,708 --> 00:01:13,042 (dramatic music) 22 00:01:25,708 --> 00:01:29,292 November 1519, Tenochtitlan. 23 00:01:30,542 --> 00:01:33,667 Aztec King Montezuma has spent 16 years 24 00:01:33,792 --> 00:01:37,333 building the strongest nation in Mesoamerica. 25 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,667 - Montezuma II is the ninth Aztec emperor. 26 00:01:42,792 --> 00:01:43,917 - He was a great warrior. 27 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:46,000 He was very much respected. 28 00:01:46,083 --> 00:01:47,708 (warriors shouting) 29 00:01:47,708 --> 00:01:50,417 - His military units had conquered large sections 30 00:01:50,542 --> 00:01:51,625 of Mesoamerica. 31 00:01:51,792 --> 00:01:55,708 - He was emperor when the Aztec Empire was at its cultural 32 00:01:55,708 --> 00:01:57,958 and geographic peak. 33 00:01:58,125 --> 00:02:01,333 It was comprised of 500 city-states 34 00:02:01,458 --> 00:02:04,208 and close to 6 million people. 35 00:02:05,958 --> 00:02:10,000 And at the center of this empire was the gleaming white city 36 00:02:10,042 --> 00:02:13,542 of Tenochtitlan, modern Mexico City. 37 00:02:13,667 --> 00:02:16,000 (tense music) 38 00:02:16,083 --> 00:02:19,042 This was a time when the Aztec Empire stretched 39 00:02:19,167 --> 00:02:22,250 as far as present-day Honduras and Guatemala. 40 00:02:24,958 --> 00:02:29,000 - [Laurence] Like any conqueror, Montezuma plunders treasure 41 00:02:29,042 --> 00:02:31,125 from the lands he captures. 42 00:02:31,292 --> 00:02:33,625 (warriors shouting) 43 00:02:33,708 --> 00:02:36,500 - He was looting from these other states 44 00:02:36,583 --> 00:02:40,250 all kinds of treasures, gold bars and masks, 45 00:02:40,375 --> 00:02:44,125 turquoise, jade, other precious stones. 46 00:02:44,208 --> 00:02:46,625 And they kept them there at Tenochtitlan. 47 00:02:46,708 --> 00:02:48,917 (intense music) 48 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,333 - [Laurence] In the Aztec world, nothing is valued like gold. 49 00:02:53,417 --> 00:02:57,250 - Among Aztecs, gold was seen as almost a divine item. 50 00:02:57,333 --> 00:02:58,750 It had a connection to divinity. 51 00:02:58,833 --> 00:03:01,208 In fact, it was essentially called the excrement 52 00:03:01,292 --> 00:03:02,708 of the gods. 53 00:03:02,833 --> 00:03:05,833 - This means this is what comes from the gods, 54 00:03:05,875 --> 00:03:08,500 and in the sense as they're digesting their power 55 00:03:08,583 --> 00:03:10,500 and turning it into a gift for us, 56 00:03:10,583 --> 00:03:13,417 a gift of beauty, a gift of great color, 57 00:03:13,500 --> 00:03:15,417 a gift associated with the sun. 58 00:03:16,708 --> 00:03:19,333 - We don't know exactly how much wealth, how much treasure, 59 00:03:19,375 --> 00:03:21,250 how much gold Montezuma had. 60 00:03:21,333 --> 00:03:22,542 We know it was there. 61 00:03:22,542 --> 00:03:24,167 It was represented in people's clothing. 62 00:03:24,250 --> 00:03:25,750 It was represented in the art. 63 00:03:25,833 --> 00:03:27,333 Estimations are a guess 64 00:03:27,458 --> 00:03:30,083 but do go as high as the billions. 65 00:03:30,167 --> 00:03:32,500 (intense music) 66 00:03:32,583 --> 00:03:34,917 - [Laurence] But just as Montezuma reaches the height 67 00:03:35,042 --> 00:03:36,208 of his power, 68 00:03:36,208 --> 00:03:39,917 a threat appears at the edge of his empire. 69 00:03:40,042 --> 00:03:41,500 - After 1492, 70 00:03:41,542 --> 00:03:43,750 following the landing by Christopher Columbus 71 00:03:43,875 --> 00:03:45,208 in what is today The Bahamas, 72 00:03:45,292 --> 00:03:47,917 the Spaniards established colonies 73 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:49,750 throughout the Western Hemisphere. 74 00:03:49,833 --> 00:03:53,875 - In the 20 years or so after the establishment 75 00:03:53,958 --> 00:03:55,792 of Spanish colonies, 76 00:03:55,875 --> 00:03:57,792 the Spaniards were interested in finding gold, 77 00:03:57,875 --> 00:04:00,917 but there was very little of it in the Caribbean. 78 00:04:01,042 --> 00:04:02,542 But at the same time, 79 00:04:02,625 --> 00:04:05,167 the Spaniards begin to hear stories from the mainland 80 00:04:05,250 --> 00:04:08,875 of untold riches just over the horizon. 81 00:04:09,042 --> 00:04:11,333 (intense music) 82 00:04:11,417 --> 00:04:13,875 - Gold is such a rare commodity in Europe. 83 00:04:13,958 --> 00:04:15,500 It is extremely valuable. 84 00:04:15,583 --> 00:04:18,000 So it makes sense that as soon as Columbus 85 00:04:18,125 --> 00:04:21,167 and other Spanish explorers started to discover that 86 00:04:21,292 --> 00:04:24,083 this existed in what they called the New World, 87 00:04:24,167 --> 00:04:25,625 they started searching for it 88 00:04:25,708 --> 00:04:27,875 and were really willing to do anything to get to it. 89 00:04:29,167 --> 00:04:31,833 And they start to send expeditionary trips 90 00:04:31,958 --> 00:04:35,917 into the east coast of what's now Mexico, 91 00:04:35,917 --> 00:04:38,708 trying to contact this empire. 92 00:04:38,792 --> 00:04:41,625 And that's where Hernan Cortes enters the story. 93 00:04:43,708 --> 00:04:46,125 - Cortes had been an administrator on Cuba 94 00:04:46,208 --> 00:04:47,667 for seven years, 95 00:04:47,708 --> 00:04:51,458 and he had heard stories of the great Aztec Empire 96 00:04:51,542 --> 00:04:54,000 and the great city of Tenochtitlan 97 00:04:54,125 --> 00:04:55,875 and the great treasure that they had. 98 00:04:57,083 --> 00:04:59,458 - In February of 1519, 99 00:04:59,542 --> 00:05:04,042 Cortes set sail from Cuba with over 500 men, 100 sailors, 100 00:05:04,042 --> 00:05:07,000 and 11 ships straight for the Yucatan Peninsula. 101 00:05:07,083 --> 00:05:08,792 He makes his way around the peninsula 102 00:05:08,875 --> 00:05:12,375 and eventually makes landfall at what becomes 103 00:05:12,458 --> 00:05:14,708 the important port of Veracruz. 104 00:05:14,792 --> 00:05:19,500 - They landed and then Cortes burned the ships. 105 00:05:19,625 --> 00:05:22,750 And he told his men, "You're not going back to Cuba. 106 00:05:22,833 --> 00:05:26,667 You are going forward with me to conquer the Aztec Empire." 107 00:05:27,750 --> 00:05:30,125 - [Laurence] Nine months later, they arrived 108 00:05:30,208 --> 00:05:32,125 into the Aztec capital. 109 00:05:32,208 --> 00:05:33,417 - Imagine the scene. 110 00:05:33,500 --> 00:05:36,625 The Spaniards are coming into Tenochtitlan. 111 00:05:36,708 --> 00:05:39,875 They are so overwhelmed by the size, the beauty, 112 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:41,750 the organization, the wealth, 113 00:05:41,875 --> 00:05:44,958 that later, Hernan Cortes writes about this city 114 00:05:45,042 --> 00:05:47,542 and he says, "Some of us had been to Constantinople, 115 00:05:47,708 --> 00:05:48,958 some to Paris, 116 00:05:48,958 --> 00:05:52,000 and yet we'd never seen anything as fabulous as this." 117 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:53,875 (intense music) 118 00:05:53,958 --> 00:05:56,958 - So Cortes shows up at Tenochtitlan, 119 00:05:57,042 --> 00:05:58,875 and Montezuma welcomes him. 120 00:05:58,958 --> 00:06:02,333 He's glad to see Cortes and the conquistadors, 121 00:06:02,417 --> 00:06:05,375 and he thinks that they are returning gods. 122 00:06:05,458 --> 00:06:09,792 The Aztecs had a prophecy of a god named Quetzalcoatl. 123 00:06:09,875 --> 00:06:12,500 And Quetzalcoatl was a bearded man, 124 00:06:12,625 --> 00:06:15,042 and he was to come on a certain year. 125 00:06:15,167 --> 00:06:17,833 And that was, by coincidence, 126 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,833 the exact same year that 127 00:06:20,917 --> 00:06:23,958 Cortes was marching on to Tenochtitlan. 128 00:06:24,042 --> 00:06:27,875 And Cortes was also a bearded Spanish conquistador. 129 00:06:27,958 --> 00:06:30,000 (suspenseful music) 130 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,000 - Unbelievably, Cortes marches right into Tenochtitlan. 131 00:06:34,708 --> 00:06:36,375 Cortes and his men are allowed to stay 132 00:06:36,500 --> 00:06:38,583 on the royal palace grounds. 133 00:06:39,958 --> 00:06:42,833 - When Cortes and his men are given accommodations 134 00:06:42,917 --> 00:06:44,458 in the palace, 135 00:06:44,542 --> 00:06:47,750 they notice a fresh wall 136 00:06:48,708 --> 00:06:51,333 in the palace, freshly bricked up. 137 00:06:51,458 --> 00:06:53,708 And so, their curiosity piqued, 138 00:06:53,792 --> 00:06:57,375 break down that wall and find a hidden room of treasure. 139 00:06:58,875 --> 00:07:01,500 Treasure, the conquistadors intuit, 140 00:07:01,542 --> 00:07:04,250 that Montezuma did not want them to see. 141 00:07:04,375 --> 00:07:06,542 (tense music) 142 00:07:06,708 --> 00:07:08,500 - [Laurence] With his eyes on the gold, 143 00:07:08,708 --> 00:07:12,250 Cortes takes Montezuma prisoner just days after arriving. 144 00:07:13,375 --> 00:07:17,583 - Hernan Cortes orders his men to basically rush Montezuma. 145 00:07:19,375 --> 00:07:21,833 - They essentially put him under house arrest. 146 00:07:21,917 --> 00:07:24,500 And this endures for seven months, 147 00:07:24,625 --> 00:07:28,375 where Montezuma is effectively a puppet emperor. 148 00:07:28,458 --> 00:07:30,667 (foreboding music) 149 00:07:30,750 --> 00:07:34,042 - Cortes was essentially giving Montezuma orders. 150 00:07:35,458 --> 00:07:37,917 - We now have descriptions of the Spaniards 151 00:07:38,042 --> 00:07:41,292 forcing the Aztec smiths to take the gold 152 00:07:41,375 --> 00:07:42,917 and to smelt it down. 153 00:07:43,042 --> 00:07:44,958 - The Spanish are just interested in the gold. 154 00:07:45,042 --> 00:07:47,417 They don't care if it's a bracelet or a mask. 155 00:07:47,542 --> 00:07:48,875 They just want the gold. 156 00:07:48,958 --> 00:07:50,833 And so, they begin to melt it down into bars 157 00:07:50,917 --> 00:07:53,667 and ingots with the intent of sending back to Spain. 158 00:07:55,042 --> 00:07:57,208 - The Spanish have a huge amount of gold, 159 00:07:57,292 --> 00:07:58,583 not just the gold that they've gotten 160 00:07:58,667 --> 00:07:59,875 from the treasure room, 161 00:07:59,875 --> 00:08:01,833 but all of the gold that they have accumulated 162 00:08:01,917 --> 00:08:04,333 from the point where they landed in Veracruz. 163 00:08:04,375 --> 00:08:05,750 (crowd shouting) 164 00:08:05,750 --> 00:08:07,625 - [Laurence] By June of 1520, 165 00:08:07,708 --> 00:08:09,667 the Aztec people reach a breaking point. 166 00:08:10,917 --> 00:08:14,500 - One day, Montezuma is addressing the crowd, 167 00:08:14,583 --> 00:08:17,958 and they've now really had it with the Spanish. 168 00:08:18,042 --> 00:08:21,083 And they feel that their king is a puppet, 169 00:08:22,208 --> 00:08:23,417 and they kill him. 170 00:08:23,500 --> 00:08:26,250 (intense music) (crowd shouting) 171 00:08:29,083 --> 00:08:33,042 The Spanish then retreat inside of the palace. 172 00:08:33,042 --> 00:08:36,250 There's about 500 conquistadors that are there. 173 00:08:37,708 --> 00:08:40,167 - So they are outnumbered by tens and tens of thousands 174 00:08:40,250 --> 00:08:41,750 of Aztec warriors. 175 00:08:42,792 --> 00:08:45,083 - Hernan Cortes and other Spaniards now realize, 176 00:08:45,167 --> 00:08:46,750 they gotta go. 177 00:08:46,833 --> 00:08:49,125 This is not tenable anymore for them to be in Tenochtitlan. 178 00:08:49,208 --> 00:08:51,708 (tense music) 179 00:08:54,083 --> 00:08:55,958 - On June 30th, 1520, 180 00:08:56,042 --> 00:09:00,208 Cortes makes the faithful decision to flee Tenochtitlan. 181 00:09:01,250 --> 00:09:03,333 - Many historians estimate that Hernan Cortes 182 00:09:03,333 --> 00:09:07,667 and his men had gathered up to eight tons of gold. 183 00:09:07,875 --> 00:09:10,208 So they had to figure out a way to get 184 00:09:10,208 --> 00:09:13,083 at least most of that gold out of Tenochtitlan 185 00:09:13,167 --> 00:09:14,917 when they escaped. 186 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:17,625 - So initially, Cortes gives direction 187 00:09:17,708 --> 00:09:20,333 to take a specific amount of treasure, 188 00:09:20,375 --> 00:09:21,917 but then after that, he tells his men 189 00:09:22,042 --> 00:09:24,500 that they can take whatever else they can carry. 190 00:09:24,625 --> 00:09:28,208 This is a seminal example of eyes being too big 191 00:09:28,292 --> 00:09:29,542 for your stomach. 192 00:09:31,208 --> 00:09:33,708 - [Laurence] Getting all that gold out of Tenochtitlan 193 00:09:33,833 --> 00:09:35,417 will be no easy feat. 194 00:09:35,542 --> 00:09:36,875 (tense music) 195 00:09:36,958 --> 00:09:40,292 - The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was like a Venice 196 00:09:40,375 --> 00:09:41,875 of the Americas. 197 00:09:42,042 --> 00:09:45,000 It was a city that was built on an island 198 00:09:45,083 --> 00:09:48,250 in the middle of this shallow lake of Lake Texcoco. 199 00:09:49,458 --> 00:09:52,167 - It's a maze of canals and causeways. 200 00:09:53,875 --> 00:09:55,958 So, they basically have to get boats. 201 00:09:56,042 --> 00:09:58,083 Some people are gonna swim next to the boats. 202 00:09:58,208 --> 00:10:00,292 It's a very complex process of getting out, 203 00:10:00,375 --> 00:10:02,083 a very dangerous one. 204 00:10:02,083 --> 00:10:04,208 (suspenseful music) 205 00:10:06,917 --> 00:10:10,833 Nightfall comes, and they begin their escape. 206 00:10:11,917 --> 00:10:14,333 Now, the escape is going well, 207 00:10:14,458 --> 00:10:15,750 but then they're spotted. 208 00:10:17,792 --> 00:10:20,208 - [Laurence] 50,000 Aztecs descend 209 00:10:20,333 --> 00:10:25,167 upon Cortes's 500 conquistadors. 210 00:10:25,250 --> 00:10:29,625 The Spanish remember what follows as The Night of Sorrows. 211 00:10:30,875 --> 00:10:34,500 - You have these conquistadors who are not light on their feet. 212 00:10:34,625 --> 00:10:36,000 They're weighed down with gold, 213 00:10:36,083 --> 00:10:38,250 many of them falling into the water. 214 00:10:39,375 --> 00:10:42,958 - Ultimately, only Cortes and about 50 conquistadors 215 00:10:43,042 --> 00:10:45,208 and indigenous allies made it out alive. 216 00:10:47,875 --> 00:10:49,833 - [Laurence] Hundreds of lives are lost, 217 00:10:49,833 --> 00:10:51,208 and according to some, 218 00:10:52,708 --> 00:10:54,833 so is the gold. 219 00:10:54,917 --> 00:10:56,792 - So on The Night of Sorrows, 220 00:10:56,792 --> 00:10:59,292 many of the Spanish soldiers who died, 221 00:10:59,375 --> 00:11:01,500 sunk to the bottom of the waters of Tenochtitlan 222 00:11:01,583 --> 00:11:04,583 along with the gold they were trying to smuggle out. 223 00:11:04,667 --> 00:11:07,083 (intense music) 224 00:11:09,167 --> 00:11:12,333 - [Laurence] A discovery more than 450 years later 225 00:11:12,333 --> 00:11:15,333 adds weight to the theory that Montezuma's treasure 226 00:11:15,417 --> 00:11:19,958 was lost in battle, sunk in the Aztec canals. 227 00:11:21,583 --> 00:11:23,917 - In 1981, president of Mexico, 228 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:28,833 Miguel Lopez Portillo, ordered the building of a new bank 229 00:11:28,958 --> 00:11:33,208 near the Alameda, the great park in downtown Mexico City. 230 00:11:33,292 --> 00:11:36,167 - The construction worker, who's digging about 15 feet 231 00:11:36,292 --> 00:11:39,333 under the ground, happens upon a gold bar. 232 00:11:39,458 --> 00:11:42,833 He is absolutely amazed by what he has found. 233 00:11:42,917 --> 00:11:44,833 (equipment whirring) 234 00:11:45,875 --> 00:11:51,000 - What it ends up being is a nearly 23 karat gold bar, 235 00:11:51,125 --> 00:11:54,042 11 inches long, 2 inches wide. 236 00:11:55,083 --> 00:11:58,333 - [Laurence] The story makes headlines around the world. 237 00:11:58,375 --> 00:12:00,792 Archeologists say the location matches up 238 00:12:00,875 --> 00:12:04,292 to one of Tenochtitlan's ancient canals. 239 00:12:05,875 --> 00:12:09,625 And one of Cortes's men may have also left a clue 240 00:12:09,708 --> 00:12:11,583 in his memoirs. 241 00:12:11,708 --> 00:12:13,958 - The shape and proportion of the bar match 242 00:12:13,958 --> 00:12:17,250 almost exactly to what one of Cortes's lieutenants 243 00:12:17,375 --> 00:12:20,458 described as the process by which they melted down, 244 00:12:20,542 --> 00:12:23,500 with the help of the Aztecs, their gold, their masks, 245 00:12:23,583 --> 00:12:26,875 their jewelry, into these very distinctive gold bars, 246 00:12:26,958 --> 00:12:29,417 11 inches long, 2 inches wide. 247 00:12:31,292 --> 00:12:33,292 - [Laurence] Then, nearly 40 years later, 248 00:12:33,375 --> 00:12:37,000 new technology may tell even more of the story. 249 00:12:37,083 --> 00:12:39,667 - In 2020, this gold bar is subjected 250 00:12:39,708 --> 00:12:42,292 to fluorescent X-ray chemical analysis. 251 00:12:43,958 --> 00:12:46,000 - Based on the composition of the gold, 252 00:12:46,083 --> 00:12:48,792 as analyzed by the chemists, they know that this is gold 253 00:12:48,875 --> 00:12:51,042 that comes from central Mexico, 254 00:12:51,167 --> 00:12:54,000 and it was mined by the Aztecs. 255 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:59,125 - They also were able to date the gold bar to 1519, 1520, 256 00:12:59,208 --> 00:13:02,792 exactly the time Cortes was in Tenochtitlan. 257 00:13:04,875 --> 00:13:07,083 - [Laurence] Experts believe it's likely the gold bar 258 00:13:07,167 --> 00:13:09,500 is part of Montezuma's treasure. 259 00:13:09,583 --> 00:13:12,000 (suspenseful music) 260 00:13:12,125 --> 00:13:14,458 But if so, where's the rest of it? 261 00:13:14,542 --> 00:13:18,042 - Finding that one gold bar in that one spot 262 00:13:18,167 --> 00:13:21,000 implied that there must've been a chaotic situation 263 00:13:21,042 --> 00:13:23,208 in which the gold was basically spread out 264 00:13:23,208 --> 00:13:25,917 all over what would've been Tenochtitlan. 265 00:13:27,375 --> 00:13:29,125 People were sinking under the water, 266 00:13:29,125 --> 00:13:31,042 people were getting killed everywhere. 267 00:13:31,125 --> 00:13:34,042 So the implication is that there may be more gold 268 00:13:34,125 --> 00:13:35,958 sitting under Mexico City. 269 00:13:37,208 --> 00:13:40,833 - But we're dealing with 500 years worth of construction 270 00:13:40,958 --> 00:13:43,083 on top of what was initially 271 00:13:44,375 --> 00:13:45,875 an ancient city, 272 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:47,958 in an island, in the middle of a lake. 273 00:13:49,792 --> 00:13:51,667 Who knows what remains to be found? 274 00:13:51,750 --> 00:13:54,125 (suspenseful music) 275 00:13:59,542 --> 00:14:02,250 - [Laurence] June 30th, 1520. 276 00:14:02,333 --> 00:14:04,375 In a bloody battle between the Aztecs 277 00:14:04,542 --> 00:14:08,125 and Spanish conquistadors in what's now Mexico City, 278 00:14:10,208 --> 00:14:12,542 most of the Spanish soldiers are killed, 279 00:14:13,917 --> 00:14:15,792 and Montezuma's gold is supposedly dropped 280 00:14:15,875 --> 00:14:17,417 in the city's canals, 281 00:14:18,750 --> 00:14:22,000 but Hernan Cortes survives. 282 00:14:22,083 --> 00:14:24,833 - Cortes is eventually able to escape back 283 00:14:24,917 --> 00:14:26,958 to another city, Tlaxcala, 284 00:14:27,042 --> 00:14:29,667 where he spends months rebuilding his army. 285 00:14:29,792 --> 00:14:31,792 And it's with this enlarged army, 286 00:14:31,917 --> 00:14:34,042 hundreds more conquistadors, 287 00:14:34,125 --> 00:14:37,250 thousands more Mesoamerican allies, 288 00:14:37,333 --> 00:14:41,958 that he determines to return, for the last time, 289 00:14:42,042 --> 00:14:43,292 to take Tenochtitlan. 290 00:14:43,292 --> 00:14:45,667 (intense music) (warriors shouting) 291 00:14:45,792 --> 00:14:47,167 (weapons clanking) 292 00:14:47,208 --> 00:14:50,167 - When the Spaniards come into the Aztec capital, 293 00:14:50,208 --> 00:14:53,792 they're accompanied by over 20,000 Tlaxcalan warriors. 294 00:14:53,875 --> 00:14:56,250 Tlaxcala is a kingdom 295 00:14:56,375 --> 00:14:59,208 that the Aztecs have never been able to defeat. 296 00:14:59,292 --> 00:15:01,667 And so, they're the enemies of the Aztec. 297 00:15:01,750 --> 00:15:03,917 (tense music) 298 00:15:05,375 --> 00:15:08,333 - During a nearly three-month siege 299 00:15:08,417 --> 00:15:11,750 during which Cortes is able to cut off the causeways, 300 00:15:11,875 --> 00:15:13,625 isolating Tenochtitlan, 301 00:15:14,875 --> 00:15:16,167 the Aztecs finally give up. 302 00:15:16,250 --> 00:15:19,833 And when Cortes and his Tlaxcalan allies march 303 00:15:19,875 --> 00:15:23,000 into the city, they are ruthless. 304 00:15:23,042 --> 00:15:25,458 (ominous music) 305 00:15:25,542 --> 00:15:27,250 - The Aztec Empire, 306 00:15:27,333 --> 00:15:30,625 which had existed for over a hundred years, 307 00:15:30,750 --> 00:15:32,042 is over. 308 00:15:34,042 --> 00:15:36,500 - [Laurence] Cortes is determined to take back any gold 309 00:15:36,583 --> 00:15:39,500 that wasn't lost during his previous escape. 310 00:15:41,542 --> 00:15:44,417 But whatever gold Cortes does find, 311 00:15:44,542 --> 00:15:46,417 he can't keep all of it. 312 00:15:46,500 --> 00:15:51,083 - One fifth of all gold and treasure that was taken 313 00:15:51,167 --> 00:15:55,375 by conquistadors was to go back to Spain and to the king. 314 00:15:56,708 --> 00:16:01,167 It was a, basically, 20% tax on all the treasure they found. 315 00:16:01,250 --> 00:16:03,458 (suspenseful music) 316 00:16:05,292 --> 00:16:07,125 - [Laurence] After coming to the New World, 317 00:16:07,208 --> 00:16:10,542 Spain takes unprecedented quantities of gold 318 00:16:10,625 --> 00:16:13,875 from the indigenous peoples of the Americas. 319 00:16:13,958 --> 00:16:18,000 - It's thought that about 181 tons of gold 320 00:16:18,042 --> 00:16:20,333 was brought back to Spain, 321 00:16:20,417 --> 00:16:24,500 and that the value of that would've been around $4 billion. 322 00:16:25,542 --> 00:16:28,667 It made the king of Spain incredibly wealthy, 323 00:16:28,750 --> 00:16:32,042 and Spain at that time was the most powerful country 324 00:16:32,125 --> 00:16:33,333 in Europe. 325 00:16:33,417 --> 00:16:35,542 They had tremendous amounts of money. 326 00:16:38,125 --> 00:16:40,958 - The Spanish established a series of ports 327 00:16:41,042 --> 00:16:43,333 in the Caribbean and along the Gulf of Mexico 328 00:16:43,458 --> 00:16:46,708 for gathering all of the Aztec treasure 329 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:49,792 and then sending it back to Spain 330 00:16:49,917 --> 00:16:51,917 in massive fleets of ships. 331 00:16:52,042 --> 00:16:54,583 (dramatic music) 332 00:16:54,667 --> 00:16:57,750 - [Laurence] Much of the gold shipped from Mexico to Spain 333 00:16:57,875 --> 00:17:01,167 left from the port of Veracruz. 334 00:17:01,250 --> 00:17:04,833 Could Montezuma's treasure have taken the same route? 335 00:17:04,917 --> 00:17:07,167 (suspenseful music) 336 00:17:09,417 --> 00:17:12,333 - Even though we know that most Aztec gold was melted down 337 00:17:12,417 --> 00:17:16,333 into bars, some artifacts did make it back to Spain. 338 00:17:16,417 --> 00:17:18,667 - The great painter Albrecht Durer describes in one 339 00:17:18,708 --> 00:17:21,417 of his diary entries, seeing treasures coming 340 00:17:21,500 --> 00:17:24,250 from Montezuma's world as sent by Cortes. 341 00:17:25,292 --> 00:17:28,000 He describes a great, circular, silver object 342 00:17:28,125 --> 00:17:31,125 as well as a golden sun that is now being shown 343 00:17:31,125 --> 00:17:32,708 to the royal families of Europe. 344 00:17:34,542 --> 00:17:38,125 - [Laurence] 450 years later, fisherman Raul Hurtado 345 00:17:38,125 --> 00:17:40,417 is working near Veracruz 346 00:17:40,500 --> 00:17:42,625 when he makes an astonishing discovery. 347 00:17:43,875 --> 00:17:45,375 - [Raul] (speaking Spanish) 348 00:18:08,875 --> 00:18:10,333 - It's a small gold ingot, 349 00:18:11,292 --> 00:18:13,833 which Hurtado doesn't think too much of 350 00:18:13,958 --> 00:18:15,208 at this particular moment in time. 351 00:18:15,208 --> 00:18:16,583 It's just a trinket. 352 00:18:17,583 --> 00:18:20,000 But he at least has it in the back of his mind 353 00:18:20,042 --> 00:18:23,833 for a while that, where there's one piece of treasure, 354 00:18:23,917 --> 00:18:25,208 there might be more. 355 00:18:26,208 --> 00:18:27,917 - So about a year later, 356 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,208 Raul Hurtado returns to the same spot looking for more gold. 357 00:18:31,333 --> 00:18:32,500 This time, he discovers 358 00:18:32,583 --> 00:18:36,042 42 pre-Columbian items in the water, 359 00:18:36,167 --> 00:18:39,583 which amounted to about 15 pounds of gold, 360 00:18:39,667 --> 00:18:42,875 which would've been about $300,000 in today's money. 361 00:18:45,500 --> 00:18:47,708 - [Laurence] Raul's discovery becomes known as 362 00:18:47,792 --> 00:18:52,833 "Las Joyas del Pescador", or "The Fisherman's Jewels". 363 00:18:52,917 --> 00:18:57,125 - Tellingly, some of the items are stamped with a C, 364 00:18:57,208 --> 00:18:58,917 C for Carlos. 365 00:19:00,042 --> 00:19:02,458 King Charles V, king of Spain, 366 00:19:02,583 --> 00:19:05,167 emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, 367 00:19:05,167 --> 00:19:09,417 at the time Cortes was in the New World. 368 00:19:09,542 --> 00:19:12,667 - Some of the gold was marked with Carlos V's stamp 369 00:19:12,667 --> 00:19:16,542 because he was owed a 20% tax on what was collected. 370 00:19:16,625 --> 00:19:19,417 So, to make things easier and more clear cut, 371 00:19:19,500 --> 00:19:22,333 simply mark his portion with his name. 372 00:19:23,458 --> 00:19:25,708 - So a lot of people believe that this was a sign 373 00:19:25,875 --> 00:19:28,708 that this was Montezuma's gold being returned to Spain. 374 00:19:30,417 --> 00:19:31,875 - [Laurence] But if so, 375 00:19:31,958 --> 00:19:35,333 how might the fisherman's gold have ended up in the water? 376 00:19:35,333 --> 00:19:37,625 (intense music) (waves crashing) 377 00:19:37,708 --> 00:19:41,250 - Well, if it was on a boat making its way to Spain, 378 00:19:41,333 --> 00:19:44,458 it's very likely that at least a few of those boats 379 00:19:44,542 --> 00:19:47,792 would've sunk or some of it would've fallen off the boats. 380 00:19:47,875 --> 00:19:50,417 It's not likely that every single piece 381 00:19:50,542 --> 00:19:53,625 of gold would've made it from Mexico back to Spain. 382 00:19:55,083 --> 00:19:56,458 - [Laurence] Today, these ingots 383 00:19:56,542 --> 00:19:59,208 and the rest of The Fisherman's Jewels are exhibited 384 00:19:59,333 --> 00:20:02,167 in a museum in Veracruz. 385 00:20:02,208 --> 00:20:04,375 But is there proof that this gold was part 386 00:20:04,500 --> 00:20:08,417 of Montezuma's stolen treasure en route for Spain? 387 00:20:08,500 --> 00:20:10,125 - It's a great story, 388 00:20:10,208 --> 00:20:12,875 but what it would need is the type of verification we have 389 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:16,833 in other cases, where we have X-ray or chemical analysis, 390 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,125 and that has yet to be conducted. 391 00:20:19,208 --> 00:20:21,667 - So the mystery remains unsolved 392 00:20:21,792 --> 00:20:24,167 until that kind of testing is done. 393 00:20:24,208 --> 00:20:26,500 (dramatic music) 394 00:20:33,292 --> 00:20:34,875 - [Laurence] While some historians believe 395 00:20:34,958 --> 00:20:38,292 Cortes likely got the bulk of Montezuma's gold, 396 00:20:38,375 --> 00:20:41,333 others suspect that might not be true. 397 00:20:41,417 --> 00:20:43,833 - The Spanish records tell us that they took 398 00:20:43,875 --> 00:20:46,917 and plundered every piece of gold they could find. 399 00:20:47,042 --> 00:20:49,333 - But one of the other theories about what happened 400 00:20:49,375 --> 00:20:51,542 to Montezuma's gold is quite interesting. 401 00:20:51,625 --> 00:20:54,167 What if they stashed away the gold 402 00:20:54,208 --> 00:20:57,458 before the Spanish could actually steal it? 403 00:20:57,542 --> 00:21:00,958 They understood that Cortes and the Spanish were coming 404 00:21:01,042 --> 00:21:02,583 for one thing, gold. 405 00:21:02,667 --> 00:21:06,208 So there is a scenario in which Montezuma decided, 406 00:21:06,292 --> 00:21:08,750 "I need to get this gold out of Tenochtitlan." 407 00:21:08,833 --> 00:21:10,833 (suspenseful music) 408 00:21:11,875 --> 00:21:14,167 - [Laurence] A man named John Carmichael believed 409 00:21:14,250 --> 00:21:15,583 that's exactly what happened. 410 00:21:16,750 --> 00:21:18,750 The explorer's story was recorded 411 00:21:18,833 --> 00:21:21,750 in a 20th century American newspaper. 412 00:21:21,875 --> 00:21:24,833 - John Carmichael was a British officer who was working 413 00:21:24,875 --> 00:21:29,833 in British Honduras in 1868, which is today Belize. 414 00:21:30,833 --> 00:21:33,333 - So, when he was there, he was told a story 415 00:21:33,417 --> 00:21:36,667 by a father and son, local indigenous family, 416 00:21:36,792 --> 00:21:39,792 about gold that was stashed by the Aztecs 417 00:21:39,875 --> 00:21:43,000 in a temple in Guatemala called Tikal. 418 00:21:43,042 --> 00:21:45,375 (tense music) 419 00:21:48,167 --> 00:21:51,375 - The local legend is that Montezuma ordered the gold 420 00:21:51,458 --> 00:21:53,917 to be stashed there after the Spanish showed up. 421 00:21:55,958 --> 00:21:58,167 - And it's not crazy to think that Montezuma would've sent 422 00:21:58,292 --> 00:22:02,667 some of the gold that he had south to what's now Guatemala, 423 00:22:02,708 --> 00:22:05,125 because he must've understood on some level 424 00:22:05,208 --> 00:22:07,042 that Hernan Cortes was dangerous. 425 00:22:09,875 --> 00:22:11,542 - [Laurence] Intrigued with the story, 426 00:22:11,625 --> 00:22:13,667 Carmichael convinces the father and son 427 00:22:13,792 --> 00:22:15,458 to guide him to the site. 428 00:22:15,542 --> 00:22:17,708 - It was an arduous three-day journey, 429 00:22:17,833 --> 00:22:20,375 but they finally arrived at Tikal. 430 00:22:20,458 --> 00:22:22,542 - Tikal is a fabulous Mayan city, 431 00:22:22,625 --> 00:22:27,333 but it was already ruins at the time of the Aztecs. 432 00:22:27,417 --> 00:22:32,083 So Tikal itself had very steep, high pyramids, 433 00:22:32,167 --> 00:22:36,000 but the jungle had taken over this entire city. 434 00:22:36,083 --> 00:22:37,958 It was completely deserted. 435 00:22:39,500 --> 00:22:41,083 - When they arrive in front of the temple, 436 00:22:41,083 --> 00:22:45,500 they realized, oh my gosh, this temple was sealed shut. 437 00:22:45,583 --> 00:22:48,042 Perhaps intentionally sealed so shut, 438 00:22:48,167 --> 00:22:51,417 they would've needed modern equipment to break it open, 439 00:22:51,542 --> 00:22:52,833 which they did not have. 440 00:22:53,042 --> 00:22:55,708 So they had to leave and return with that modern equipment 441 00:22:55,792 --> 00:22:56,917 to do it. 442 00:22:57,042 --> 00:22:58,667 - [Laurence] Before Carmichael can arrange 443 00:22:58,708 --> 00:23:02,333 another expedition, he gets transferred overseas. 444 00:23:02,375 --> 00:23:05,083 - Carmichael basically accepts that he's just gonna have 445 00:23:05,167 --> 00:23:06,500 to let this one go. 446 00:23:07,542 --> 00:23:10,958 - So he returns to England, he gets busy with life. 447 00:23:11,042 --> 00:23:13,208 - [Laurence] But more than 20 years later, 448 00:23:13,292 --> 00:23:15,458 a chance discovery inspires him 449 00:23:15,542 --> 00:23:18,042 to pick up the search once more. 450 00:23:18,042 --> 00:23:20,125 (mysterious music) 451 00:23:21,250 --> 00:23:23,208 - He gets an assignment in his job 452 00:23:23,333 --> 00:23:25,625 and returns to Mexico City. 453 00:23:25,708 --> 00:23:28,000 And while he's there, he goes to a library, 454 00:23:28,083 --> 00:23:31,875 and he's just reading up on some local kind of legends. 455 00:23:31,875 --> 00:23:34,167 - He says that he happens upon an account 456 00:23:34,208 --> 00:23:37,917 from a priest that says that Aztec gold was stashed 457 00:23:38,042 --> 00:23:39,750 at a temple in Tikal. 458 00:23:39,833 --> 00:23:42,000 - Almost a confirmation of what the father 459 00:23:42,083 --> 00:23:44,500 and son had told him 20 years earlier. 460 00:23:44,583 --> 00:23:48,208 And that sets him off on another obsessive mission 461 00:23:48,333 --> 00:23:50,250 to go back and find that gold. 462 00:23:50,333 --> 00:23:52,542 (tense music) 463 00:23:53,667 --> 00:23:56,375 - [Laurence] In 1903, Carmichael embarks 464 00:23:56,375 --> 00:23:58,875 on his second expedition. 465 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:02,125 - Well, he tries to find the father and son unsuccessfully. 466 00:24:02,208 --> 00:24:04,000 He has to rely on his old notes, 467 00:24:04,083 --> 00:24:07,083 but he's determined to find this temple. 468 00:24:07,167 --> 00:24:09,292 And he makes his way back to Guatemala, 469 00:24:09,375 --> 00:24:12,958 back into the jungle, to go back to the temple in Tikal. 470 00:24:12,958 --> 00:24:15,000 - Carmichael leaves with his new guides, 471 00:24:15,125 --> 00:24:18,000 but they return several weeks later without Carmichael 472 00:24:18,042 --> 00:24:20,625 and said that he died of malaria while they were trying 473 00:24:20,708 --> 00:24:22,125 to find the temple. 474 00:24:22,250 --> 00:24:24,167 - And one story is that the guides that were taking him 475 00:24:24,292 --> 00:24:28,208 had no choice but to bury his body on the side of a road. 476 00:24:29,583 --> 00:24:31,333 - [Laurence] Carmichael may be gone, 477 00:24:31,375 --> 00:24:34,125 but that's not the end of his quest. 478 00:24:34,125 --> 00:24:37,583 - And then some years go by and in 1926, 479 00:24:37,667 --> 00:24:41,667 a British archeologist named Thomas Gann then takes 480 00:24:41,750 --> 00:24:43,917 up the quest again. 481 00:24:43,917 --> 00:24:47,333 And he tries to follow Carmichael's expedition 482 00:24:47,375 --> 00:24:51,708 to find this pyramid with the lost treasure in it, 483 00:24:51,708 --> 00:24:53,292 but he also fails. 484 00:24:54,708 --> 00:24:58,125 - That the Victorian explorers didn't find any gold 485 00:24:58,208 --> 00:25:00,417 in Guatemala doesn't prove that it was never brought there. 486 00:25:00,417 --> 00:25:02,292 in Guatemala doesn't prove that it was never brought there. 487 00:25:02,375 --> 00:25:05,083 Could it have been there? Could it have been moved? 488 00:25:05,167 --> 00:25:06,458 We don't know. 489 00:25:06,542 --> 00:25:08,708 (mysterious music) 490 00:25:13,417 --> 00:25:15,125 - After 500 years, 491 00:25:15,208 --> 00:25:17,583 the quest for Montezuma's lost treasure has turned up 492 00:25:17,708 --> 00:25:19,667 some incredible finds, 493 00:25:19,750 --> 00:25:24,167 but hardly the entire hoard of gold rumored to exist. 494 00:25:24,167 --> 00:25:26,792 Is that because there's more to the story 495 00:25:26,875 --> 00:25:30,792 of Spain's Aztec conquest than we've been told? 496 00:25:30,875 --> 00:25:33,917 Could it be that no one's found Montezuma's lost treasure 497 00:25:34,042 --> 00:25:37,667 because everyone's looking in the wrong place? 498 00:25:37,667 --> 00:25:39,875 (tense music) 499 00:25:40,917 --> 00:25:43,292 When the Aztecs came to central Mexico 500 00:25:43,375 --> 00:25:48,500 and founded the capital city of Tenochtitlan in 1325, 501 00:25:48,583 --> 00:25:51,667 it was the culmination of an epic journey. 502 00:25:51,708 --> 00:25:55,250 - The story goes, about the Aztecs' origins, 503 00:25:55,333 --> 00:25:57,833 are very... murky. 504 00:25:57,875 --> 00:26:01,333 The official tale made by the Aztecs is that they came 505 00:26:01,375 --> 00:26:03,417 from a place called Aztlan. 506 00:26:03,542 --> 00:26:05,917 (suspenseful music) 507 00:26:06,042 --> 00:26:09,250 - Aztlan is the place of origin of the Aztec people. 508 00:26:09,375 --> 00:26:12,833 The story being that a priest received in a dream, 509 00:26:12,958 --> 00:26:15,875 a message from the deity who told him, 510 00:26:15,958 --> 00:26:18,083 "You need to move out of Aztlan 511 00:26:18,167 --> 00:26:20,792 and go south to find a new homeland. 512 00:26:22,875 --> 00:26:28,833 You will finally see my image as a giant eagle on a cactus, 513 00:26:28,958 --> 00:26:30,792 blooming in the middle of a lake. 514 00:26:32,250 --> 00:26:34,417 And that is to where your home should be." 515 00:26:36,375 --> 00:26:41,292 - The sign happens to be on a small island in Lake Texcoco, 516 00:26:41,375 --> 00:26:45,333 and that is where the legend of Tenochtitlan begins. 517 00:26:46,833 --> 00:26:49,167 - But the Aztecs continued to have a deep connection 518 00:26:49,292 --> 00:26:50,875 to Aztlan. 519 00:26:50,958 --> 00:26:53,875 It's in their art, it's in the stories of their migration, 520 00:26:53,875 --> 00:26:55,667 and the written codices. 521 00:26:56,875 --> 00:26:59,083 - [Laurence] But where was Aztlan? 522 00:26:59,208 --> 00:27:02,750 Scholars believe the Aztec language may be a clue. 523 00:27:02,833 --> 00:27:06,708 - The language that the Aztecs speak is Nahuatl. 524 00:27:06,833 --> 00:27:11,250 It is a similar language to the Paiutes 525 00:27:11,375 --> 00:27:14,625 and to the Zunis and the Hopis. 526 00:27:14,708 --> 00:27:18,417 So, here we have a linguistic link 527 00:27:18,417 --> 00:27:20,583 between the Aztecs 528 00:27:20,667 --> 00:27:24,375 and tribes that are in northern Arizona 529 00:27:24,375 --> 00:27:26,917 and in southern Utah. 530 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:32,125 - This suggests that Aztlan is somewhere in northern Mexico 531 00:27:33,042 --> 00:27:35,125 or in the southwest United States. 532 00:27:36,958 --> 00:27:40,458 Aztlan is something that the Aztecs were obsessed about, 533 00:27:40,542 --> 00:27:43,250 and that obsession eventually led one of their emperors, 534 00:27:43,333 --> 00:27:46,667 Montezuma I, to send a large expedition north 535 00:27:46,750 --> 00:27:48,083 to try to find it. 536 00:27:50,042 --> 00:27:52,500 - [Laurence] Is it possible that after the Spanish 537 00:27:52,542 --> 00:27:54,667 invaded Mexico searching for gold, 538 00:27:54,750 --> 00:27:58,000 Montezuma II enacted a similar plan? 539 00:27:58,125 --> 00:28:00,625 - It's a story that has been passed down orally 540 00:28:00,708 --> 00:28:02,792 from generation to generation. 541 00:28:02,875 --> 00:28:06,083 - The idea is that seven caravans were sent out 542 00:28:06,167 --> 00:28:09,208 from Tenochtitlan to the north, 543 00:28:09,208 --> 00:28:12,833 and each of these caravans had a considerable amount of gold. 544 00:28:13,875 --> 00:28:16,333 - There is some evidence to suggest that 545 00:28:16,458 --> 00:28:20,167 the Aztecs did make it as far as present-day Arizona. 546 00:28:20,250 --> 00:28:23,625 We found some evidence in the form of cocoa beans, 547 00:28:23,708 --> 00:28:26,667 in the form of a rubber ball that was used 548 00:28:26,750 --> 00:28:29,917 in an Aztec ball game, that suggests that maybe 549 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,417 some may have made it that far north. 550 00:28:33,792 --> 00:28:35,583 - [Laurence] After the long journey, 551 00:28:35,708 --> 00:28:39,542 a legend says the Aztecs supposedly placed the treasure 552 00:28:39,667 --> 00:28:40,750 in a cave. 553 00:28:40,875 --> 00:28:43,167 (mysterious music) 554 00:28:45,708 --> 00:28:49,125 - Half of the Aztecs stayed with the treasure 555 00:28:49,208 --> 00:28:53,875 while the other half returned to Tenochtitlan. 556 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,875 And the hope was that they would eventually go back north 557 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:01,667 to the hidden treasure and bring it back to Tenochtitlan, 558 00:29:01,708 --> 00:29:03,583 but that wasn't to happen. 559 00:29:03,667 --> 00:29:07,458 And therefore, the remaining people up in northern Arizona, 560 00:29:07,542 --> 00:29:11,583 they were just integrated into the local population 561 00:29:11,583 --> 00:29:15,875 and ultimately, the treasures were forgotten. 562 00:29:15,958 --> 00:29:18,625 (suspenseful music) 563 00:29:18,708 --> 00:29:20,375 - [Laurence] 500 years later, 564 00:29:20,375 --> 00:29:24,125 a story emerges of a prospector named Jake Johnson. 565 00:29:24,208 --> 00:29:26,333 - There really is only one written version 566 00:29:26,375 --> 00:29:28,042 of Jake Johnson's story, 567 00:29:28,125 --> 00:29:31,833 and that comes from a miner's newspaper printed in 1903. 568 00:29:33,042 --> 00:29:34,875 - [Laurence] In 1902, 569 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:37,792 Johnson is alone in the Arizona desert 570 00:29:37,875 --> 00:29:39,250 when he breaks his leg. 571 00:29:39,333 --> 00:29:42,000 - And he's then nursed back to health 572 00:29:42,083 --> 00:29:45,208 by a Paiute named Rabbit Tail, 573 00:29:45,375 --> 00:29:48,958 and his wife helps him recover from his broken leg. 574 00:29:50,417 --> 00:29:53,125 - And in the process of healing, Rabbit Tail 575 00:29:53,250 --> 00:29:55,500 and Johnson would get into conversations over a fire, 576 00:29:55,542 --> 00:29:58,125 and Rabbit Tail tells him this story about gold 577 00:29:58,208 --> 00:30:01,625 that made its way north by Aztecs 578 00:30:01,708 --> 00:30:03,375 and was there in Arizona. 579 00:30:04,542 --> 00:30:06,500 - But then comes the bombshell. 580 00:30:06,583 --> 00:30:08,083 Rabbit Tail tells Johnson that 581 00:30:08,208 --> 00:30:10,125 the tribe still knows where the gold is. 582 00:30:11,542 --> 00:30:14,208 - And, of course, Johnson becomes extremely interested 583 00:30:14,208 --> 00:30:17,167 and begs Rabbit Tail to take him and show him. 584 00:30:17,250 --> 00:30:20,167 Rabbit Tail says no initially, that it was a secret, 585 00:30:20,250 --> 00:30:22,125 and he would not reveal it to him. 586 00:30:23,125 --> 00:30:25,000 - [Laurence] Then, as the story goes, 587 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:26,875 Johnson gets his opportunity. 588 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:28,667 (intense music) 589 00:30:28,792 --> 00:30:31,042 - While Jake Johnson is recuperating, 590 00:30:31,167 --> 00:30:34,042 a mountain lion comes into their camp 591 00:30:34,125 --> 00:30:38,250 and is about to attack Rabbit Tail's wife. 592 00:30:38,375 --> 00:30:39,667 (gun cocks) 593 00:30:39,750 --> 00:30:41,292 Johnson has a rifle with him. 594 00:30:42,875 --> 00:30:45,625 (suspenseful music) (mountain lion growls) 595 00:30:45,708 --> 00:30:47,292 (gun firing) 596 00:30:47,292 --> 00:30:50,333 And he has essentially saved her life. 597 00:30:51,375 --> 00:30:54,208 - And Johnson, realizing how grateful Rabbit Tail is, 598 00:30:54,292 --> 00:30:57,500 asks him, "Can you please show me where the gold is?" 599 00:30:57,542 --> 00:30:59,042 So Rabbit Tail agrees. 600 00:31:00,042 --> 00:31:01,500 But he blindfolds Johnson, 601 00:31:01,542 --> 00:31:03,917 so Johnson would not see where the gold was. 602 00:31:05,958 --> 00:31:07,958 And so, they enter this series of caves. 603 00:31:08,042 --> 00:31:10,042 They climb through with their blindfolds on. 604 00:31:11,875 --> 00:31:13,833 - They take him to a secret place, 605 00:31:13,958 --> 00:31:16,333 and then they take the blindfold off. 606 00:31:16,458 --> 00:31:19,833 And he sees this fantastic gold treasure that is being kept 607 00:31:19,875 --> 00:31:21,708 in the cave by the Paiutes. 608 00:31:22,875 --> 00:31:24,375 - So he gives him a couple minutes 609 00:31:24,458 --> 00:31:26,333 to gather as much gold as possible. 610 00:31:26,417 --> 00:31:29,333 Johnson puts the blindfold back on and they leave. 611 00:31:31,375 --> 00:31:34,208 - After Rabbit Tail is on his way, greed kicks in, 612 00:31:34,208 --> 00:31:37,083 and Johnson tries to relocate the cave, 613 00:31:37,167 --> 00:31:38,625 but he never finds it. 614 00:31:40,583 --> 00:31:45,875 - Johnson is able to sell his gold for about $15,000. 615 00:31:45,958 --> 00:31:50,333 It's the equivalent of about $450,000 today. 616 00:31:50,417 --> 00:31:53,750 It's quite a treasure in 1902. 617 00:31:53,875 --> 00:31:56,625 - [Laurence] But as for the location of this treasure cave, 618 00:31:56,708 --> 00:31:58,500 it remains a mystery. 619 00:32:03,042 --> 00:32:05,042 (tense music) 620 00:32:05,125 --> 00:32:06,958 - [Laurence] For well over a hundred years, 621 00:32:07,083 --> 00:32:09,875 legends have persisted of Montezuma's gold 622 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:12,000 being sent thousands of miles north. 623 00:32:13,375 --> 00:32:16,500 - There are a lot of stories about how Montezuma's gold 624 00:32:16,583 --> 00:32:19,750 might've made its way to northern Mexico 625 00:32:19,833 --> 00:32:21,292 to the southern United States, 626 00:32:21,375 --> 00:32:25,875 states like Utah, California, or Arizona. 627 00:32:25,958 --> 00:32:28,250 - You can't necessarily ignore a story 628 00:32:28,333 --> 00:32:30,125 because it's a legend. 629 00:32:30,208 --> 00:32:33,667 There's oftentimes a kernel of truth in the story 630 00:32:33,750 --> 00:32:36,125 if it's been passed down for so many years 631 00:32:36,208 --> 00:32:37,667 between so many people. 632 00:32:40,583 --> 00:32:42,208 - [Laurence] One enduring tale involves 633 00:32:42,292 --> 00:32:45,750 an American prospector from Utah named Freddy Crystal. 634 00:32:46,833 --> 00:32:51,167 - In the early 1900s, Freddy Crystal was in Mexico, 635 00:32:51,250 --> 00:32:52,833 and there was a monastery that 636 00:32:52,917 --> 00:32:55,333 was being demolished at the time. 637 00:32:55,417 --> 00:32:58,250 - Supposedly, Crystal is able to gain access 638 00:32:58,375 --> 00:33:00,750 to this ancient monastery, 639 00:33:00,833 --> 00:33:03,375 and he finds old documents, 640 00:33:03,500 --> 00:33:06,042 documents dating back to the time of Cortes. 641 00:33:07,708 --> 00:33:12,042 Supposedly, some of which even describe how Cortes tortured 642 00:33:12,167 --> 00:33:14,625 some of the priests of Tenochtitlan 643 00:33:14,708 --> 00:33:16,083 after he retook the city, 644 00:33:16,167 --> 00:33:18,542 asking them where the treasure was. 645 00:33:20,417 --> 00:33:22,375 - [Laurence] And then, according to the legend, 646 00:33:22,500 --> 00:33:25,958 he makes an even bigger discovery. 647 00:33:26,042 --> 00:33:29,625 - He finds a map that looks like the stump 648 00:33:29,708 --> 00:33:32,000 of a tree with branches hanging out of it 649 00:33:32,083 --> 00:33:33,667 that contains petroglyphs. 650 00:33:33,708 --> 00:33:37,167 And to him, he feels like he recognizes this map. 651 00:33:38,250 --> 00:33:41,458 - The landscape draws Crystal's attention. 652 00:33:41,542 --> 00:33:46,417 - Freddy Crystal recognizes a mountain range on these maps 653 00:33:47,417 --> 00:33:50,792 as a mountain range near Kanab, Utah, 654 00:33:50,875 --> 00:33:52,708 which is where he's from. 655 00:33:52,792 --> 00:33:57,042 - Crystal is convinced that this map is going to lead him 656 00:33:57,167 --> 00:34:00,167 to treasure, a treasure that has a connection 657 00:34:00,292 --> 00:34:04,667 that goes all the way back to Cortes and Montezuma. 658 00:34:04,792 --> 00:34:07,083 (suspenseful music) 659 00:34:11,708 --> 00:34:13,708 (tense music) 660 00:34:13,792 --> 00:34:17,625 - So he then goes up to Kanab, Utah with his map, 661 00:34:17,708 --> 00:34:22,167 and he finds three caves that are unusual. 662 00:34:22,250 --> 00:34:25,833 And he thinks that these caves are the location 663 00:34:25,958 --> 00:34:28,625 of Montezuma's treasure. 664 00:34:28,708 --> 00:34:32,625 So he gets some of the local townspeople to help him, 665 00:34:34,250 --> 00:34:36,000 and they go into these caves, 666 00:34:37,042 --> 00:34:42,333 and they figure that the Aztecs have walled up the treasure 667 00:34:42,458 --> 00:34:45,792 by creating piles of rocks and plaster. 668 00:34:47,250 --> 00:34:50,167 And behind these walls, will be the treasure. 669 00:34:52,958 --> 00:34:54,583 - They break it down. 670 00:34:54,667 --> 00:34:56,667 (tense music) 671 00:34:57,625 --> 00:35:01,792 Freddy goes inside, and what does he find? 672 00:35:01,875 --> 00:35:04,833 - And there, behind that little wall is a tunnel 673 00:35:04,917 --> 00:35:06,708 into the mountain. 674 00:35:06,792 --> 00:35:10,083 - [Laurence] Freddy thinks he's hit the jackpot. 675 00:35:10,167 --> 00:35:12,375 - Freddy Crystal and his friends, 676 00:35:12,458 --> 00:35:14,542 they're extremely excited. 677 00:35:14,625 --> 00:35:18,042 They spend weeks tunneling and tearing down walls 678 00:35:18,125 --> 00:35:19,917 inside these tunnels. 679 00:35:19,917 --> 00:35:21,292 (pickaxes clanking) 680 00:35:21,375 --> 00:35:23,042 - They find some chambers. 681 00:35:23,125 --> 00:35:25,333 They find some other kind of clues. 682 00:35:27,208 --> 00:35:29,333 - They find, in the caves, chisel marks. 683 00:35:29,417 --> 00:35:32,917 They find some animal bones and things like that, 684 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:35,500 but there's no treasure at all. 685 00:35:35,542 --> 00:35:39,042 - So after months of digging, after months of frustration, 686 00:35:39,042 --> 00:35:43,833 eventually, most of the town just gives up and returns home. 687 00:35:43,875 --> 00:35:46,833 - And eventually, Freddy Crystal decides that, well, 688 00:35:46,958 --> 00:35:50,208 he's going to give up his quest for the lost treasure. 689 00:35:50,292 --> 00:35:53,000 And he leaves town, and he's never seen again. 690 00:35:53,042 --> 00:35:55,333 (dramatic music) 691 00:35:58,542 --> 00:36:00,833 - But that Freddy Crystal never found 692 00:36:00,875 --> 00:36:03,458 any of the rumored treasure has had no effect 693 00:36:03,542 --> 00:36:06,375 in terms of dissuading future treasure hunters. 694 00:36:08,208 --> 00:36:11,167 Every year, every season, there is a new batch 695 00:36:11,250 --> 00:36:12,583 of treasure hunters. 696 00:36:12,583 --> 00:36:14,833 There are returning treasure hunters who think 697 00:36:14,875 --> 00:36:17,458 that they have finally found the missing piece 698 00:36:17,542 --> 00:36:18,542 that will ultimately lead them to Montezuma's missing treasure. 699 00:36:19,042 --> 00:36:19,500 that will ultimately lead them to Montezuma's missing treasure. 700 00:36:20,792 --> 00:36:23,500 And they will probably continue for many years to come. 701 00:36:28,375 --> 00:36:29,917 (intense music) 702 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:32,833 - [Laurence] When Montezuma became king in 1502, 703 00:36:32,917 --> 00:36:36,042 the Aztecs had been ruling what's now central Mexico 704 00:36:36,125 --> 00:36:38,458 for over 130 years. 705 00:36:39,542 --> 00:36:41,833 - We know that Montezuma enjoyed a lavish lifestyle 706 00:36:41,917 --> 00:36:45,167 that would've been the envy of any monarch of Europe 707 00:36:45,250 --> 00:36:48,083 or sultan of the Middle East. 708 00:36:48,167 --> 00:36:50,500 - Montezuma was living large. 709 00:36:50,542 --> 00:36:55,333 He had his own zoo, which had a plethora of birds. 710 00:36:55,375 --> 00:36:58,417 He had jaguars, other kinds of wild animals. 711 00:36:59,792 --> 00:37:01,458 (suspenseful music) 712 00:37:01,458 --> 00:37:04,125 - As the story goes, in the Palace of Axayacatl 713 00:37:04,208 --> 00:37:08,875 was Montezuma's treasure room where he stored all manner 714 00:37:08,875 --> 00:37:13,625 of jewels, gold, silver, 715 00:37:13,708 --> 00:37:16,583 such that when the conquistadors said that they saw it, 716 00:37:16,667 --> 00:37:18,583 they were simply dumbfounded. 717 00:37:19,750 --> 00:37:22,667 - [Laurence] Cortes and his men likely raided that room 718 00:37:22,708 --> 00:37:25,667 just before escaping on The Night of Sorrows. 719 00:37:26,625 --> 00:37:28,167 - There's really no way of knowing 720 00:37:28,333 --> 00:37:30,333 how much gold the Spanish got. 721 00:37:30,417 --> 00:37:32,250 We know that they took some portion of it. 722 00:37:32,333 --> 00:37:36,500 Did the Aztecs hide caches of gold in multiple locations? 723 00:37:36,625 --> 00:37:38,958 And how much of the gold was hidden? 724 00:37:38,958 --> 00:37:41,667 How much of the gold may have been left behind? 725 00:37:41,750 --> 00:37:43,833 (tense music) 726 00:37:47,750 --> 00:37:50,500 - [Laurence] Is it possible the Aztecs hid the treasure 727 00:37:50,542 --> 00:37:53,625 in another part of the palace before Cortes 728 00:37:53,708 --> 00:37:56,458 and the Spanish returned to conquer the city? 729 00:37:57,917 --> 00:38:00,667 Uncovering the palace's remains to find the proof 730 00:38:00,750 --> 00:38:01,875 is a challenge. 731 00:38:03,375 --> 00:38:04,875 - After retaking the city, 732 00:38:04,875 --> 00:38:07,875 Cortes and his man began a process of dismantling it. 733 00:38:10,958 --> 00:38:13,833 All of this progress, all of this technology, 734 00:38:13,875 --> 00:38:17,625 all of this human achievement brought down to rubble. 735 00:38:18,958 --> 00:38:20,375 They begin erecting new structures. 736 00:38:20,458 --> 00:38:22,042 They begin to drain the lake. 737 00:38:22,042 --> 00:38:25,500 And thus, begins a process that leads us from Tenochtitlan 738 00:38:25,542 --> 00:38:27,625 to present-day Mexico City. 739 00:38:32,208 --> 00:38:35,958 - [Laurence] But then, in 2017, a stunning discovery. 740 00:38:37,167 --> 00:38:40,833 - In 2017, construction on the Nacional Monte de Piedad, 741 00:38:40,917 --> 00:38:44,917 a historic pawn shop in Mexico City, 742 00:38:44,917 --> 00:38:48,625 reveals, 10 feet down, a basalt floor dated back 743 00:38:48,708 --> 00:38:50,833 to the time of Montezuma. 744 00:38:50,875 --> 00:38:53,250 - Experts looked at the pattern of the stones, 745 00:38:53,375 --> 00:38:54,750 and because of the way they were laid, 746 00:38:54,833 --> 00:38:58,375 believe it was some kind of patio or outdoor space. 747 00:38:58,458 --> 00:39:00,208 - [Laurence] Maybe even a courtyard 748 00:39:00,208 --> 00:39:03,208 from the Palace of Axayacatl. 749 00:39:03,292 --> 00:39:05,917 As the archeologists continued to dig, 750 00:39:05,917 --> 00:39:10,375 they uncover an adjacent room that may provide a clue. 751 00:39:10,458 --> 00:39:13,708 - They find, embedded in the corner of the room, 752 00:39:13,792 --> 00:39:17,833 two large Aztec stones with carvings on them. 753 00:39:17,917 --> 00:39:19,667 - One of the stones depicted Quetzalcoatl, 754 00:39:19,708 --> 00:39:21,000 who was the serpent god 755 00:39:21,125 --> 00:39:23,125 and the creator of the world and humanity. 756 00:39:23,208 --> 00:39:26,542 And the other was a carving of a feather headdress. 757 00:39:27,875 --> 00:39:29,500 - [Laurence] Archeologists confirm 758 00:39:29,542 --> 00:39:31,833 only a king's home would have such 759 00:39:31,917 --> 00:39:35,417 intricately carved stones, concluding this courtyard 760 00:39:35,500 --> 00:39:38,375 and room were sections of the long lost 761 00:39:38,458 --> 00:39:40,792 Palace of Axayacatl. 762 00:39:40,875 --> 00:39:42,667 (dramatic music) 763 00:39:42,708 --> 00:39:45,417 The same palace Cortes and his men were brought to 764 00:39:45,500 --> 00:39:48,500 when they arrived in Tenochtitlan. 765 00:39:48,583 --> 00:39:52,208 This may have been the same stone floor that Cortes 766 00:39:52,292 --> 00:39:54,458 and his men would have walked across 767 00:39:54,542 --> 00:39:56,833 upon first meeting Montezuma. 768 00:39:59,500 --> 00:40:02,500 - The palace is where Cortes and his men lived, 769 00:40:02,583 --> 00:40:04,667 where Montezuma might have put the treasures 770 00:40:04,750 --> 00:40:05,958 that have been lost. 771 00:40:06,042 --> 00:40:08,250 But the truth is, there's no hard evidence 772 00:40:08,333 --> 00:40:10,583 that this is where it was all stored. 773 00:40:10,667 --> 00:40:13,167 (dramatic music) 774 00:40:13,250 --> 00:40:14,875 - [Laurence] Could there still be 775 00:40:14,958 --> 00:40:17,583 an underground vault nearby filled with treasure 776 00:40:17,667 --> 00:40:19,875 Cortes and his men didn't take? 777 00:40:20,958 --> 00:40:23,000 (suspenseful music) 778 00:40:25,750 --> 00:40:28,583 - Is it possible that there is a room full 779 00:40:28,667 --> 00:40:30,417 of gold somewhere 780 00:40:30,500 --> 00:40:32,875 beneath Mexico City, today? 781 00:40:34,333 --> 00:40:35,750 It's a fantastic thought. 782 00:40:35,833 --> 00:40:40,792 But if the treasure is still in downtown Mexico City, 783 00:40:40,875 --> 00:40:44,500 which has cathedrals and huge buildings around it, 784 00:40:44,583 --> 00:40:47,542 they're not gonna be tearing that up to find 785 00:40:47,625 --> 00:40:50,500 some hidden room full of gold. 786 00:40:51,750 --> 00:40:53,917 - To me, the most interesting part of the search 787 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:56,958 for Montezuma's lost treasure is that to find it, 788 00:40:57,042 --> 00:41:00,000 we have to not only peel back layers of city, 789 00:41:00,042 --> 00:41:03,333 but we have to go back through an entire change 790 00:41:03,417 --> 00:41:06,000 in the historical context of the world. 791 00:41:06,083 --> 00:41:08,125 (mysterious music) 792 00:41:09,333 --> 00:41:12,500 - After 500 years, the legends about what really happened 793 00:41:12,583 --> 00:41:15,250 to Montezuma's treasure live on. 794 00:41:15,333 --> 00:41:18,958 Did it disappear entirely after the Spanish conquest? 795 00:41:19,042 --> 00:41:22,333 Or was it hidden somewhere from future threats, 796 00:41:22,417 --> 00:41:24,667 just waiting to be found? 797 00:41:24,708 --> 00:41:26,167 I'm Laurence Fishburne. 798 00:41:26,208 --> 00:41:30,375 Thank you for watching "History's Greatest Mysteries". 799 00:41:30,542 --> 00:41:32,667 (dramatic music)