Nighthawk History

(1/2) In 1861, $30,000 in silver bullion was stolen from the Heintzelman Mine (later known as the Cerro Colorado Mine and the Silver Queen Mine) in the recently formed Arizona Territory. This robbery would lead to an ex*****on, 3 murders and the destruction of the mine. The silver was never recovered.
A few months before the robbery, the United States pulled all cavalry from the area to direct resources to the Civil War. This vacuum meant less protection for the workers in the mine. Shortly after, a cave-in cost the lives of 15 miners from Sonora, Mexico, creating even more tension between the miners and the managers of the mine. It is said that stealing silver from the mine became more prevalent after the cave-in.
One of the miners, a foreman by the name of Juanito, decided to leave the mine for good, believing it was haunted by the 15 killed miners. On his way out of town, he managed to steal $30,000 worth of silver bullion. Adjusted for inflation, that’s almost 1 million dollars today.
The manager of the Heintzelman Mine, John Lee Poston, had just taken over the mine from his brother, Charles D. Poston who is known as one of the founders of Arizona. Mr. Poston was able to apprehend the foreman but was unable to locate the silver. Juanito is said to have buried the silver somewhere close to the mine.