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Oklahoma abounds with treasure legends. They start with what possibly is the wildest wild-goose chase in recorded history when Spanish explorer Coronado searched for Quivira, or the Seven Cities of Cibola.

Coronado is believed to have crossed a portion of modern Oklahoma during the 16th century as his expedition wandered over more than three thousand miles of land previously unexplored by Europeans.

Coronado never found the seven cities where streets were supposedly paved with gold.

Other Spanish penetrated what is now Oklahoma by the 17th century and found the Wichita Mountains near modern Lawton.

Spanish miners apparently searched for gold and silver. There is no proof they found any in large quantities, but the Spanish gave rise to tales of lost Spanish mines and buried treasures.

Such legends also persist in and around the area of Quartz Mountain State Park near modern Altus in southwest Oklahoma, and in and around the Arbuckle Mountains in south central Oklahoma.

One legend tells of an army paymaster and his military escort bound for Fort Arbuckle being killed by outlaws on Mill Creek near Davis. Most of the outlaws were also killed, but one, a Mexican, managed to bury the loot before escaping. Some of the loot apparently was recovered by a party of Mexicans camped on Mill Creek during the 1930s.

Southwest of Woodward in northwest Oklahoma is the site of another legend of Spanish buried treasure. In a dry canyon west of the town of Vici, human bones were found about 1900. According to tradition, Indians harassed a party of Spanish traveling with several burros carrying gold.

The Spaniards supposedly made a stand against the Indians in the dry canyon but buried their gold before being killed by the Indians. The bones were believed those of the dead Spaniards.

About 1912 a few gold coins reportedly were found in the canyon, but no one has ever reported finding all of the Spanish treasure.

Another legend set near the Wichita Mountains involves an outlaw gang of four men who robbed a bank in Kansas about 1900. The gang fled south only to be attacked by Indians in the foothills near the Wichita Mountains.

Two outlaws were killed, a third seriously wounded. The fourth man buried the loot before being wounded, but he escaped to Texas. Near death in a Dallas hospital, the fourth man told a nurse about the treasure. He said he buried it about four miles west and two miles south of modern Geronimo, Okla. The nurse organized a party of four men and came to Oklahoma but never found the treasure.

Another treasure legend is set near modern Claremore in northeast Oklahoma. About 1873 an Indian rancher named Lindsay who lived on Scaley Back Mountain 16 miles southeast of Claremore, owned a large herd of cattle and drove his herd south into Texas and sold the cattle at Denison for perhaps $20,000, much of it in gold.

Lindsay then returned to northeast Oklahoma. For safekeeping he buried the gold in a ravine near modern Choteau. A few days later Lindsay was found dead. His treasure has never been found.

Near Jennings west of Sand Springs are the Twin Hills, two low hills strewn with rock. Tradition says a government paymaster with a cavalry escort heading for Fort Sill was attacked by a band of Indians. When the soldiers realized they were outnumbered, the paymaster supposedly buried $11,000 in gold. Only five soldiers survived the battle. Some of them later returned to the spot but never found the gold.

When Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry marched down the Washita River in 1868, the soldiers stopped to rest on Panther Creek near modern Clinton. The soldiers began to gamble. One soldier won most of it and decided to bury his winnings. Legend says it was buried next to an old oak tree. The man made a map showing where he buried the money. Later, when the soldier returned, he could not locate the site.

Early in the 20th century a man named Redman and a friend were riding in the area recalling the legend of the treasure. Redman jokingly said, "If I thought there was a buried treasure buried by the oak tree, I'd take a rod and run it down there."

Redman's friend later tried the experiment and apparently found the treasure. The only proof, however, is that Redman's friend soon bought a farm and paid for it with cash.

Another legend is set in eastern Oklahoma in the Cherokee Nation. In the early 1830s a renegade Seminole, Chief Blackface, robbed and stole. At one point he attacked and killed a party of Mexican traders carrying much gold.

Chief Blackface supposedly hid his plunder in a cave located in the hills around Tahlequah. No one has ever admitted finding the treasure. Many old-timers in the area believe it is still there.

There are countless other treasure legends set in Oklahoma. Many have some basis in fact, but whether they are true is another matter. Other legends, however, are probably little more than dreaming by those who passed them down from generation to generation. Many have undoubtedly been embellished along the way to make the story more appealing. Still they are part of Oklahoma's colorful history.

(Note: "Oklahoma Reflections" is researched and written by David Dary, emeritus professor of journalism, at the University of Oklahoma and the author of 20 books on the American West. The art was produced specifically for this series by Carolyn Chandler, an artist and illustrator of 45 years, who now resides in Norman and specializes in oil painting.)