At the end of the 15th century, gold had become rare in Europe and therefore coveted by many monarchies, especially the Spanish Crown. The conquistadors (Spanish and Portuguese colonists) began to spread into the New World, and while some were trained military warriors, many were artisans, lesser nobility, and farmers seeking new opportunities.
The Americas proved to be a gold motherlode. The indigenous peoples utilized it for its beauty and lustre, developing a strong spiritual association to the sun via the objects they created. Gold was mined and traded across the continent.
In the early 1500’s, Conquistador Hernán Cortés explored Mexico and ultimately conquered the Aztecs in the Spanish quest for wealth of any kind, which included emeralds and exotic hides, but mainly gold. The ensuing battles were brutal. Temples, palaces, and homes were looted for valuables, and locals were captured and tortured for information. Subjugated tribes were obliged to give yearly tribute in the form of gold, and the most lucrative mines were taken over by the Spanish.
The golden city of El Dorado was a myth with origins in the mountains near modern-day Colombia, originally referring to a king adorned in gold powder who leapt into a lake during his coronation. The story evolved into a “lost city,” and the Spanish Conquistadors were determined to find it. A subsequent myth was born of the Seven Cities of Cibola, an Aztec story revolving around the pueblos of today’s New Mexico and the southwestern United States.
From 1540 to 1542, Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado led a large expedition from what is now Mexico to present-day Kansas, taking him through parts of the American southwest. A leg of this journey is said to have gone through Arizona Territory, exploring the Verde River near what would become the mining town of Jerome where the local Yavapai tribe mined copper. Antonio de Espejo and a troop of Conquistadors came through Jerome looking for El Cibola, and the locals instead showed them an area that would later become Cleopatra Hill, the site of a large copper mine. Legend says the Spanish found a vein of gold, mined it, and hid the spoils in a nearby area known as Sycamore Canyon. An elderly prospector known as Jerry the Miner spent nearly thirty years in the canyon looking for the treasure, and he claimed to have found a helmet and a breastplate left by one of the Conquistadors, but it’s unclear whether he ever found any gold.
In my new novel, The Nighthawk, treasure hunters and outlaws are searching for Spanish gold in the Arizona Territory. The Nighthawk is Book 10 in my Wings of the West series, but it can be read as a standalone.
Arizona Territory
September 1899
Sophie Ryan’s dream of working for a newspaper has come true. Accompanied by her cousin, Lucas Blackmore, a newly appointed U.S. Deputy Marshal, she arrives in Jerome, one of the richest mining towns in America. And one of the most remote. Although she’s been hired to report for the Jerome Mining News on education and cultural issues, she soon finds herself immersed in something more serious when she finds an enigmatic injured man in the Black Hills claiming to be an ornithologist.
U.S. Deputy Marshal Benton McKay is undercover tracking the notorious train robbing Weaver gang, and the trail ends in Jerome. When he’s injured in the Black Hills and found by a determined and beautiful young woman, he must gain her trust to keep his identity a secret. But keeping her out of trouble proves a challenge, especially with her cousin assigned to assist him. As they track down the band of outlaws, another agenda emerges—the renegades are searching for lost gold believed to have been left behind by the Spanish Conquistadors. And Sophie Ryan is determined to report on it.
The Nighthawk is a fast-paced romantic adventure filled with humor, treasure hunting, a tenacious heroine, and a hero harboring a secret. It has light steam and a happily-for-now ending.
Read Chapter One and find vendor links at Kristy’s website.
Have you ever visited Arizona? What was your favorite location? If you’ve never been, what Arizona sites are on your bucket list? One commenter will win an eBook of THE CANARY, Wings of the West Book 9.
Join Sarah Ryan and paleontologist Jack Brenner in a quest for an elusive dinosaur fossil in the Painted Desert.
Kristy McCaffrey writes award-winning historical western romances with grit and emotion, along with contemporary adventure stories packed with smoldering romance and spine-tingling suspense. Her work is filled with compelling heroes, determined heroines, and her trademark mysticism. She lives in the desert north of Phoenix with her husband and rescue bulldog, Jeb. Learn more about her books at her website, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Graphics courtesy of Deposit Photos. Book covers by Earthly Charms.
