The Star Line Nail and Transportation Company operated a stagecoach line that ran on a regular schedule between Prescott, Arizona, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Primarily serving the United States Army, the stage line carried troops, supplies, and, at times, the army’s payroll between Fort Wingate, New Mexico, and Fort Whipple, Arizona.

In 1874, Samuel Wharton and Thomas Horton held up the stage just northwest of Albuquerque, escaping with $50,000 in gold coins for the army payroll. Traveling north on horses stolen from a Navajo Indian herd, they passed through Largo Canyon before reaching the San Juan River near Blanco.

Riding swiftly and covering quite a distance, they were surprised when they looked behind them and saw the cavalry in hot pursuit. Panicked, they buried the gold near a rock-shaped arch and fled.

However, they were captured shortly thereafter. Identified by two Navajo guides as having been the men who stole the horses, Tom Horton and Samuel Wharton were tried and sentenced to forty years in the New Mexico Territorial Prison.

While in prison, Tom Horton died, but Samuel Wharton lived to be released. Thirty-five years after the theft, he returned to Aztec, New Mexico, spending the summer riding the countryside of San Juan County. Reportedly, he could never find the exact place where they had stashed the gold. The rock-shaped arch is said to be hidden in Slane’s or Potter Arroyo between Aztec and Blanco.

Aztec, New Mexico, is located in the northwest part of the state. Blanco is about 17 miles to the southeast of Aztec.

 

Reader Update, January 2006:  Thanks to our reader, Douglas McCleary, this legend is most likely just that – a legend. The loot taken, which would have probably included not only Army payroll but also payments to Bureau of Indian Affairs employees, would have been grounds for a Federal trial for Mr. Horton and Mr. Wharton. Mr. McCleary did a little research on this tale by contacting the New Mexico State Archives, which was unable to locate any criminal cases in any of the counties where the outlaws might have been tried. Additionally, the 1884 New Mexico Territorial Prison census shows no prisoners sentenced for stagecoach robbery. Mr. McCleary worked at Fort Wingate as a firefighter until the base closure in 1993. Thanks for the update, Mr. McCleary!

 

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2025.

Also See:

Ghosts, Legends, Myths, & Mysteries

Lost Treasure Tales

New Mexico – Land of Enchantment

Treasure Hunting in New Mexico

See Sources.