Almost every more or less large city has its own legends associated with treasures and treasures. There is such a myth in New York too. Researcher Vadim Burlak in his book "Unknown New York" tells the story of the missing "golden train of nineteen horses." They say that some still believe in its existence and are trying to find the treasure.
At the beginning of the 18th century, rumors spread through the city of untold treasures buried in the desert on the shores of Long Island. Some said that the treasure belonged to an ancient Indian tribe, who claimed that it was hidden here by Spanish colonists, and who generally assured that many centuries ago the treasure was brought here by ship either by the ancient Phoenicians or by the Egyptians.
One retired captain told his friends that the Egyptian queen Cleopatra herself appeared to him in a dream. She said that, anticipating her death, she equipped and sent off two ships laden with gold so that the Romans would not get it. The ships docked to a distant land behind the Pillars of Hercules …
The captain's tales have caused a real gold rush in New York. Long Island cards were sold from under the counter for huge sums of money. Enthusiasts, singly and in groups, went in search of treasures. Soon there was a rumor that the treasure had been found, but the treasure hunters shot each other, and in addition, they were attacked by the Indians who considered themselves the true owners of the treasure …
However, some of the treasure hunters still survived, and finally the news came that the "golden train of nineteen horses" was moving towards New York. The treasure was a giant golden idol, which had to be cut into pieces for transportation.
And then there were daredevils who wanted to take the gold from the miners. A gang of a dozen robbers was headed by a former convict, nicknamed the Hard-bearded Sid. Together with his friends, he developed a plan to capture the convoy.
The area where Washington Square is now located was then overgrown with trees and bushes. Around the place where the Arc de Triomphe now stands, in those days there was an entrance to the dungeon. The hard-bearded Sid ordered his assistants to make a clearing from this place to the main road to New York, and widen the underground passage so that horse carts could enter.
The wagon train was met by two guys from Sid's gang. They managed to drink the treasure hunters who had lost their vigilance. At this time, two other robbers bought a young bear from a hunter and put it on a chain. Secretly they accompanied the train. The treasure hunters did not notice anything, as they were drunk. Meanwhile, the bear, trying to break free from the chain, roared with pain, and the horses, frightened, pulled the wagon train exactly where the intruders expected.
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Everything went like clockwork at first. In the dark, the wagon train was driven into the dungeon, the robbers hiding there shot the unfortunate treasure hunters. But when Sid's gang was already triumphant, the entrance to the cave suddenly collapsed …
They say Hardbeard Sid was not there. The incident was reported to him by two henchmen, who miraculously remained outside. Having cut their throats, so as not to chat and not claim gold, Sid decided to leave for a couple of years, and later, when everything calms down, return and look for the treasure. However, two years later, when he returned from Boston, in the place where the collapse occurred, the authorities set up a cemetery for beggars and vagrants. Then the cunning Sid got a job there as a gravedigger and at night tried to enter the coveted cave …
Someone saw him and decided that the former convict was digging out the dead from the graves in order to profit from their good, and maybe for some other dirty deeds … In a word, the robber was immediately hanged on the gallows.
The New Yorkers did not hear about the gold wagon train until 1776, when the British captured the city. They suddenly began to actively carry out excavation work in the area of the poor cemetery. There was a rumor that the invaders were looking for the same missing train …
They tried to find gold more than once, but to no avail. It was said that a detachment of British troops excavating in the area disappeared into an unknown place, leaving the camp empty.
After 1826, the cemetery was closed, and Washington Square became the site of parades. But back in the middle of the 19th century, a legend arose that on the shortest night of the year, strange sounds were heard from underground in Washington Square: horses neighing, human screams and moans … By the way, this legend was especially popular among children. And it was often said about children who disappeared without a trace in New York that they were "taken by a golden train …".
Do today's New Yorkers believe in the reality of the golden wagon train? Hard to say. It is only known that after the Second World War, some people asked the mayor's office of New York for permission to conduct prospecting work in the Washington Square area. But they were refused.
Shlion Irina