– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

[Music]

According to legend,

Somewhere in Texas lies buried a vast

treasure of Spanish

gold. At the turn of the 20th century,

one man is on a mission to find

it. His name is Dave

Arnold. He was obsessed with this

legend. He wasn't going to let anything

stop him and prevent him from seeking

it.

Guided by a cryptic old

map, he unears three mysterious

stones. Chiseled into their surfaces are

weblike pictorial codes.

No one seems to know what it means.

Convinced these rocks are keys to

finding the treasure, Arnold begins a

seven-year quest.

One that leads to a mysterious

death, financial

ruin, and an ancient

curse. Leave it alone. You'll have

nothing but but heartache from this.

This is the story of a quest to find a

fabulous lost treasure and unravel the

mystery of the spider rocks.

The story begins in

1902 when Dave Arnold arrived in the

small town of Haskell,

Texas. Descriptions of them have him as

a large, very fat man with striking

white hair.

Every person in Haskell notices this new

person coming into town. What's he here

for? Who's he going to see? And what

does this man

want? Some say Arnold was a minor

recently returned to the US from

Mexico. But it soon became obvious he

was in Haskell for a purpose.

He was there to find treasure.

Dave Arnold is looking for anything that

might have a dollar sign attached to it.

He makes no excuse. He lets people know

that he

is looking for

something. But those who met Arnold

later recalled he was guarded about

precisely what this treasure was.

We know some of what he's looking

for. We don't know everything he's

looking for. And I'm not so sure he

wants everyone to know what he's

seeking. But Dave Arnold was certain

about one thing. The treasure he sought

was somewhere in

Texas, and it was originally Spanish.

For over 130 years, Texas was part of

New

Spain, a colonial territory which at its

height stretched from Central America to

Northern

California. The Spaniards left behind a

rich history of myths and legends

related to fabulous lost treasures.

And many of these came from their

centuries long quest to find new sources

of metals in the

Americas. West Texas country is full of

copper. Spaniards were certainly looking

for copper. They were looking for lead.

Uh anytime you have uh those metals, you

always have a little gold and silver

mixed in with it.

[Music]

But for Arnold, locating a cache of lost

Spanish gold promised to be a huge

challenge. In 1902, Texas was the

largest state in the US and almost

completely wild.

There are no roadways. There are no uh

road maps. There are no highways. There

no

automobiles. Uh this is

wilderness. And uh these people uh it

takes them, you know, a day to travel 15

miles. Finding lost Spanish gold would

be like searching for a needle in a

haystack.

But Dave Arnold had a secret

weapon. A tattered sheepkin map he

believed was an old Spanish treasure

map. It was covered with a variety of

strange symbols and

landmarks. And Arnold was very secretive

about the information it contained.

No one saw the map closely. He didn't

allow the map out of his possession. So

if others got a glimpse of it, it was

only a brief

glimpse. And he kept that map well

guarded, including sleeping, you know,

with it under his pillow at night.

Arnold believed his precious sheepkin

map led to buried

treasure. But he had a

problem. He didn't understand many of

its cryptic markings and

symbols. Luckily for Arnold, there was a

man in Haskell who might be able to

help. His name was Caleb Terrell.

Caleb Lefon Terrell. He's a drugist in

Haskell about 1900 and he has an

interest in the flora and the fauna. He

had glass showcases full of fossils and

all unusual type things that were found

in the

area. Evidence suggests Dr. Terrell was

interested in more than natural

history. He too was a treasure hunter.

Like Arnold, he owned a mysterious map

covered in bizarre

symbols. Dave Arnold must

have looked for Dr. Terrell because he

knew that he had a map that had some of

the same symbols that Dave Arnold was

seeking. Dr. Terrell had already been

involved in a search at least as early

as 1897. Somehow Dave Arnold discovers

that fact and so Dave Arnold shows up in

Haskell probably to share information

with Dr. Terrell of what he knows and

what he has and hoping that Dr. Terrell

can share information as to some of the

meaning of those symbols.

History does not record exactly what

took place during Arnold and Terrell's

meeting.

But the two men joined forces and began

an incredible quest for the lost Spanish

[Music]

treasure. Arnold and Terrell quickly

identified a site to search

first. an area 20 mi west of

Haskell on the salt fork of the Brasos

[Music]

River. The treasure hunters set up camp

here in spring

[Music]

1902. Arnold and Terrell recruited local

ranchers to help dig the site and

immediately put them to work.

[Music]

For weeks, they shoveled ton after ton

of

soil. It's probable they uncovered

chunks of slag and pieces of

copper. All evidence the area was once

mined for metals.

But they found no trace of lost Spanish

treasure.

It must have been frustrating for Arnold

to have spent all of this time

excavating areas that he thought would

be the location of the treasure and to

find that few bits of information are

coming out. Very few artifacts are

coming out.

The truth was neither Arnold nor Dr.

Terrell could accurately read the

sheepkin map's cryptic

symbols to pinpoint the lost Spanish

treasure.

Dave Arnold can't proceed with anything.

He he he's stumped as to where to go

next and what to do next. Without help,

his chances of striking it rich were

close to zero.

[Music]

Then Dave Arnold caught a lucky

break. His lack of progress had been

noticed.

Dave Arnold is being

watched. He sees this sheep herder where

there really should not be a herd of

sheep.

The sheep herder was a

Mexican. He and Arnold had a meeting a

few weeks into the excavation.

Arnold meets the sheep

herder. Sometime in the course of that

first

conversation, treasure is mentioned.

The sheep herder stated that he knew all

about the lost Spanish

gold and that Arnold was not the only

person who had worked out where it might

be buried.

He tells Dave Arnold that it's not that

much of a mystery in Mexico. Certain

priests are aware of this site and he

seems to know far more about it than

Dave Arnold does.

Reports also state the sheep herder told

Arnold something

else. He could read the sheepkin map.

Arnold

shows the sheep herder the map and the

sheep herder is reading Arnold's map in

a way that Arnold never considered,

thought of, or possibly never even knew

how to read.

The Mexican stated the sheepkin map

didn't reveal the actual location of the

treasure.

It would take them to another map carved

in

stone. That rock would lead them to the

gold. They would know the stone because

it would be marked with a very specific

symbol. The Mexican sheep herder is

u apparently

emphasizes that there's a certain

hieroglyphic H

that needs to be found, which is the

clue to solving the mystery. That

immediately strikes Arnold's interest

and excites Arnold to the point to where

he

thinks, I may have a real chance on

finding this treasure.

The way forward seemed clear. Finding

the stone inscribed with an

H would bring Arnold a step closer to

uncovering the lost

[Music]

treasure. The Mexican indicated a new

area for Arnold's men to excavate.

[Music]

They began removing the stubborn Texas

dirt. Soon, one of the men's shovels

struck a rock.

[Music]

Arnold brushed away the dirt and

carefully lifted away a small flat

stone. Underneath were three copper

ornaments. One was shaped like a dagger.

Another a strange looking

key. The third was a square with notches

cut into its sides.

Arnold didn't fully understand what

these objects

meant. The treasure hunter now brushed

away more

dirt and revealed an artifact unlike

anything he'd seen before.

an inscribed stone covered with Roman

numerals, numbers, and curious Spanish

letters. According to the eyewitnesses,

this is the most elaborately carved rock

that they'd ever seen.

At the center was a series of concentric

circles, and to one side was the

distinctive old-fashioned letter H.

Just as the Mexican sheep herder had

described,

nothing like it had ever been seen by

any of the men who were doing the

digging with its concentric lines and

and

various symbols and marks on them. It

must have been it must have been a a

sight to behold.

The stone's peculiar web-like design

earned it the nickname Spider

Rock. It contained no clue as to when it

was made or who buried it, but Dave

Arnold was convinced that this new

discovery held the key to uncovering the

lost Spanish treasure.

It's a highlight in his life. It's a

major highlight, a major discovery to

him. Obviously, he's quite excited about

it. He thinks he's on the verge of

finding the

treasure. But again, he hit the same

problem. Neither Arnold nor Dr. Terrell

had any idea how to read the stone's

curious

hieroglyphics. So, they turned again to

the Mexican

The sheep herder studied the spider

rock's mysterious

markings. He made a series of strange

predictions. Arnold's team would find a

stone. Underneath would be human

remains.

Nearby, they discover a huge animal

bone and a variety of man-made

artifacts. It seems that Arnold becomes

quite excited about looking for them.

They may not have gotten to the treasure

yet, but Arnold seems to be encouraged.

Convinced these clues were somehow

connected to finding Spanish gold,

Arnold immediately started

digging. Again, one of his men's shovels

struck

rock.

Underneath was a horrifying sight.

They find the cadaavvers with a great

stench. And of course, I'm sure they are

mystified as to what this means.

Reports state the Mexican claimed the

bodies were Native American slaves whose

spirits guarded a fabulous treasure.

But that was not all the men

found. 19 paces away, they uncovered a

giant prehistoric animal

bone. And nearby, what appeared to be a

pair of silver

epilelettes, possibly from a Spanish

officer's

uniform. Everything was just as the

Mexican had predicted to Arnold.

It's verification of the truth of the

map. Because if these things that the

Mexican sheep hurder told him about on

the map are true, then it only stands to

reason that the gold is still there as

well. Arnold pumped the Mexican for more

information. Where was the

treasure? The sheep herder again studied

the spider rocks. cryptic

markings and identified one that

indicated a small

hill here. He said Arnold could possibly

find

treasure. Arnold becomes very excited,

as excited as anyone has ever seen him

at that time. And he decides now or

never we are going to go find this

treasure.

Arnold's team redoubled their efforts

and began leveling the hill, cutting

through layer after layer of Texas soil.

By the time he's

through, he has almost leveled the area

known as Spider Rock Hill.

But not everyone was happy with Arnold's

methods.

[Music]

It's reported the Mexican sheep herder

and Dave Arnold's relationship started

to deteriorate.

We're told that the sheep herder was

upset when they scraped all that off

into the canyon. But he possibly

realized to solve this mystery, you need

to do it more in an archaeological

fashion, piece by piece.

The atmosphere of the dig site changed

from naive optimism to deep

mistrust. It said Arnold and his team

grew suspicious of the

Mexican. Dave Arnold and the group of

treasure hunters don't trust what the

Mexican's telling them. They think that

he's making them dig in places that they

shouldn't be digging, throwing them away

from the

treasure. Some of the men believed the

Mexican wanted the treasure for

himself. But before they could confront

him with their

suspicions, he

disappeared. Where did he go? Why did he

leave? Nobody knows for certain other

than the fact that Arnold seems very

satisfied that he left and does not seem

to miss him that

much. The next day, one of Arnold's men

made a discovery.

They look over the excavation and beyond

where they had

stopped the evening or so before when

they find the impression of a a pot in

the in the

excavation. It appeared some pots had

been removed

recently.

Could they have contained the gold

they'd spent so long looking for?

Arnold and his team must be thinking

that he has removed something of extreme

value and they feel like something

wonderful has been found uh and very

valuable. They are probably interested

in in retrieving that material.

It's now the story took a darker turn.

Shortly after the Mexicans's

disappearance, Arnold's men stumbled

upon a body.

The party discover a grizzly thing

across the river not too far from the

excavation and it is apparently a

decomposed body near some heavy copper

pots and they assume that this is the

Mexican sheep

herder. According to reports, the shape

of the copper pots matched the

impressions found earlier at the

excavation

site. Both were

empty. Arnold's crew began to

speculate. Where did the contents of the

pot go? Who took them? And doubt begins

to build in their mind. Perhaps Arnold

had a hand in this. We don't know. We

can't prove it,

but

[Music]

perhaps no one has been able to solve

the mystery of the body by the

riverbank. But one thing is

clear. Arnold still believed the bulk of

the treasure was intact.

But with the sheep herder

gone, he couldn't decipher any more

clues from the spider

rock. With no new leads, the excavation

wound down.

The farmers and the ranchers have

neglected their stock, neglected their

crops, and they begin to drift away one

by one. And it seems that at this point

Arnold himself has come to a dead end.

The treasure hunter gathered up the

mysterious spider

rock along with the puzzling metal

artifacts and then disappeared.

But Dave Arnold was not done looking for

the fabled Spanish

gold. In 1905, he reappeared.

70 mi southeast of the Brassos River

site near the tiny settlement of

Clyde and at a ranch run by John and

Lucricia

Sritzky. The Simbrinskys were farmers in

Callahan County who originally are

German settlers to the US. Being

farmers, the Sbrinskys

uh probably grew cotton or wheat or

vegetables. Uh, they probably had

chickens and pigs. They're just humble,

poor, hardworking American

[Music]

farmers. The Samritzkies welcomed Arnold

into their

home. Eyewitnesses recalled that at

dinner he struck up a lively discussion.

[Music]

During this conversation, Arnold

skillfully guides the subject around to

strange things. Just how he did this, we

don't know for certain, but he appears

to have been a master at directing

conversation the way he wanted it to go.

The Seamritzkies were unaware that

Arnold was hunting for information.

He wanted the location of specific clues

marked on his sheepkin

map. Two entwined

trees and a pile of

rocks. He suspected both were on the

Simritzky's

farm and that they held the key to

uncovering the lost Spanish treasure.

And he begins to ask questions. Did you

ever see anything strange around here?

Have you seen any trees twisted

together?

And Mrs. Simbiski says, "Yes, I have

seen them in a 80 acre southern part of

the ranch." And Dave Arnold gets real

excited. And then they get excited.

A short time after Lucricia Sbritzky's

disclosure, Dave Arnold found the

entwined trees and the pile of

rocks. Reports say that he immediately

started

digging. Late in the afternoon, he made

another

discovery. An unidentified object just

inches beneath the soil.

and he ran as fast as his legs would

take him to the Sriski house and told

him that that he had found what he was

looking for and come to police come and

help

him. With John Sbritzky's help, Arnold

freed the

object. It was another spider rock.

Carved into one side were puzzling

diagonal channels framed by square

partitions. Scattered about were what

appeared to be

numbers,

letters, and cryptic

[Music]

symbols. On the other side were four

concentric circles.

The rock was strikingly similar to the

one Arnold had found years earlier near

the Brassos River

site. What a

coincidence. Or is it a

coincidence? Could they be tied in? I

imagine that the thoughts, the questions

racing through Arnold's mind at this

time are just staggering.

Later that day, Arnold told the

Sambritzkies his theory about the rock's

purpose. And the family are looking

around and in great

anticipation when Arnold starts

revealing what it's he's come there to

find and what this stone is telling him

that will be found.

It's only now that Arnold finally

revealed what he'd been seeking for the

past four

[Music]

years. The stone was a map to a lost

underground city stacked with gold

bars. He is seeking $60 million in gold

bullion, Spanish bullion. They had a

hidden city, a buried city there. The

Spaniards did. And this is where they

left the treasure when they had to leave

the country in a hurry because of the

Native Americans that were attacking

them.

$60 million of gold in

1905 would today be worth almost

$1.5 billion.

[Music]

Arnold claimed the underground city

could only be accessed through a secret

tunnel. Find its entrance and they would

find the

treasure. The Sbritskys were amazed and

eagerly agreed to allow Arnold to

excavate their property.

He was convincing enough or he showed

John Sbrinsky something that was

convincing enough to make him quit his

farming duties and dig for

treasure. If somebody's telling a

fantastic story and there's a

possibility of a great amount of

treasure or gold to be found, you're

going to put all your effort into

helping this man.

But Arnold didn't tell the Sambritzkies

the full story. He didn't say he dug for

treasure years earlier and failed to

find the

gold. He didn't tell them of his

discovery of the first spider

rock, nor of the Mexican sheep herders

mysterious death.

Arnold is apparently a master at

manipulation. He recognizes the

desperate need that the Simritzkis have

just simply to

survive. And he plays upon this. And the

Simbritzkies fall right into his trap.

The Samritzky farm dig began in mid

1905. Very soon, Arnold uncovered

mysterious

artifacts. Strange copper

objects cut into the shapes of daggers

and

crowns. The similarity to those found at

the Brassos Riverside was

obvious. Whether Arnold knew what they

signified is not

known, but to him they were evidence he

was closing in on the underground

city. And soon he made a startling

discovery. Just beneath the Texas soil,

he found brick work.

[Music]

Dave Arnold believed that it was the the

archway, the doorway, and to the the

secret tunnel that would lead him to the

special treasure room where all the

bullion would be

found. Arnold felt sure he was close to

striking it rich.

He approached his old associate Caleb

Terrell to finance a fullscale

excavation. The pharmacist injected his

own funds into the

project. Arnold hired local muscle to

shift the tons of soil covering the

underground treasure

vault. And they began stripping the

Sbritzky's farm.

He made this 100 square foot area

uh kind of like a prairie dog town just

digging randomly wherever wherever he

might think he could he could get into

something. The digging continued at

breakneck

speed even when water started pouring

into the excavations.

The only problem is uh you dig down

29 ft and the water table at Clyde is

about 29 ft. So water fills in the

tunnel and they didn't have scuba diving

equipment at that particular time.

But Arnold was not giving

up. He ordered holes dug all over the

site in a desperate bid to find the

underground city.

And at this moment, Dave Arnold is

crapshoot. He can't find the way in to

the chamber that he's seeking.

By autumn

1905, the Sbritzky's farm resembled a

battlefield peppered with deep holes and

flooded shafts.

There

are

holes,

excavations, trenches, piles and piles

of dirt everywhere made by

hand, shovel,

pick and greed.

But the underground city and the Spanish

treasure were nowhere to be found.

Dave Arnold was not one for quitting. He

now sought help from an unlikely

source. The American enlisted a Mexican

seer to find the treasure.

I don't think it was all at all unusual

for Dave Arnold to bring in a

clairvoyant. The man was groping for any

help he could find. And this was an age

when people did believe in the

supernatural.

At that particular time, it is viewed as

a gift and these people have a

power to find things that are lost.

The seer communed with a mysterious

rock. What he saw horrified

him. He warned Arnold that anyone who

sought this treasure would suffer dire

consequences.

that there was

a terrible curse placed upon this

treasure.

Leave it alone. You'll have nothing but

but heartache from this. And that wasn't

what Dave Arnold wanted to hear.

To a man like Arnold, the seers talk of

curses and disaster probably sounded

ridiculous. But it's then things started

to go very

wrong. First, John Sbritzky fell out

with

Arnold. Dave Arnold turns to the wife

and she begins to spend some time with

him. He does have a magnetism and John

Sbritzky recognizes this and becomes

jealous. He even accuses

Arnold of having an affair with his

wife. And when that sort of thing

happens, everything just kind of falls

apart.

To make matters worse, evidence from Dr.

Terrell's account books suggests the

excavation's costs were

mounting. Tensions on site

rose. Eyewitnesses recalled Arnold

arguing with his associates.

He even started arming himself.

Dave Arnold was sleeping with his

pistol. He'd wear it during the day. And

when you're wearing pistols at a work

site, you may have

problems. Arnold's dream of finding the

lost Spanish treasure had crumbled.

It was now the end of the road for him

at the Sbritzky's farm in

[Music]

Clyde. He gathered up the stone map and

all the copper artifacts found at the

site and then he left.

The story goes Arnold later deposited

them in the safe at Caleb Terrell's

pharmacy in

Haskell. Afterwards, he disappeared for

a second

time. Dave Arnold was devastated at the

trials of problems that took place at

Clyde, but Dave Arnold is not one to

give up.

In 1909, Dave Arnold and Caleb Terrell

reappeared 70 mi northwest of Clyde near

the small settlement of Rotan in Fischer

County. And once again, they were on the

trail of treasure.

He won't take no for an answer. He does

not give up. He will not give up.

As with the quests near the Brassos

River and Clyde, it's likely they found

this

site by decoding clues on Arnold's

sheepkin map.

Historians know very little about the

search at

Rotan except that one afternoon Arnold

made a discovery close to a small

creek. A third spider

rock. On one side were two concentric

circles.

on the other bizarre irregular

markings bisected by two parallel

lines. The stone featured intriguing

circles and pictograms just like those

on the other two spider

rocks. But just as with those stones,

their exact meaning and significance was

a mystery.

Although some of the symbols are the

same, there are new and different

symbols. Symbols which he cannot

interpret. At this point, Arnold is

virtually

alone with no one to assist him in

interpretation. No one to tell him dig

here. Dave Arnold's quest had hit the

buffers once again.

[Music]

But that is not the end of the story,

nor the misfortune that had plagued the

hunt for the lost Spanish

treasure. In October 1908, Dr. Caleb

Terrell had declared himself bankrupt.

Funding Dave Arnold's

excavations destroyed his family's

wealth and likely left him a broken

[Music]

man. Then on the night of the 7th of May

1909, his drugstore in Haskell burned to

the

ground. Apparently, Dr. Terrell never

knew there was a fire. He died about

that same

night. There's the curse for

[Music]

you. Inside the safe were two of the

stone rocks and many of the metal

artifacts found near the Brassos River

and Clyde.

And the story was that everything was

destroyed. That was the story that was

always told. That ended the story.

Everything burned up in the fire.

When the ter pharmacy

burns, it seems to be the end of the

road for Arnold. If at any other time in

his career he thought about a curse,

this must have been the crowning curse

of all.

[Music]

Historians know very little of Dave

Arnold's quest following the Haskell

drugstore fire.

Evidence suggests he continued his

search around

Texas, but he failed to find the

treasure he

sought. Arnold died in 1911.

[Music]

But was the treasure hunter's quest a

waste of

time? Had there ever been anything out

there to

find? The answer may lie in the objects

that Dave Arnold unearthed.

His excavations found evidence of copper

smelting parts of a Spanish officer's

uniform and the possible remains of

buildings. Some historians believe this

leads to an obvious conclusion.

All the evidence points to lost Spanish

minds. uh in the early

1800s they were seeking copper and they

were seeking lead. They had to have lead

for the bullets and copper for the

vessels. And whatever those stone maps

relate to relates back to the mining

sites.

One theory is that the stone maps are

elaborate markers the Spanish left

behind to help them one day relocate

their valuable

mines. If this is true, there exists no

stash of

gold, only rich veins of copper and lead

ore.

But other historians believe the

mysterious rocks Dave Arnold

unearthed point to the existence of a

more valuable

prize. The treasure definitely exists.

Nobody goes to that much trouble by

accident. Why make these elaborate

markings to just depict some mining

sites?

So, where there's smoke, there's

[Music]

fire. If the legendary Spanish treasure

exists, finding it could still be

possible.

The spider rock Arnold found near Rotan

has survived to the present

day along with accurate rubbings of the

other two

rocks. These tantalizing clues may lead

one lucky treasure hunter to the

jackpot.

[Music]

I think there's something there. I don't

know that it's gold and silver bars

stacked like cordwood in a cave, but I

believe there's at least one or two

archaeological sites, and I believe

they're Spanish, that are begging to be

[Music]

discovered. But until these sites are

found, the spider rocks mystery promises

to entice new generations of treasure

seekers.

Treasure legends never die. There is

always something that keeps them going.

Spider Rock and its associated maps,

they're always just beyond your reach.

And that keeps the mystery alive.

[Music]

[Music]

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
treasure /ˈtreʒ.ər/ B1	noun - a collection of valuable things such as gold or jewels
map /mæp/ A2	noun - a representation of an area of land or sea, showing physical features, cities, etc.
stone /stoʊn/ A1	noun - a hard solid substance found in the ground, often used for building
quest /kwɛst/ B2	noun - a long search for something that is difficult to find
gold /ɡoʊld/ A1	noun - a valuable yellow metal used for making jewelry and other items
mystery /ˈmɪs.tə.ri/ B1	noun - something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain
curse /kɜːrs/ B1	noun - a word or phrase used to call upon someone or something to suffer misfortune
buried /ˈber.id/ B1	verb - past tense of bury: to put something under the ground adjective - hidden under the ground or in a grave
seek /siːk/ B1	verb - to try to find or obtain something
find /faɪnd/ A1	verb - to discover something by searching or accidentally
dig /dɪɡ/ A2	verb - to make a hole in the ground using tools
rock /rɑːk/ A1	noun - a large hard mass of stone
artifact /ˈɑːr.t̬ɪ.fækt/ B2	noun - an object made by a human, especially one from an earlier time
clue /kluː/ B1	noun - a sign or hint that helps solve a problem or mystery
symbol /ˈsɪm.bəl/ B1	noun - a sign or object that represents an idea or quality
mark /mɑːrk/ A2	verb - to make a visible mark or sign on something noun - a sign or symbol on something
lost /lɑːst/ B1	adjective - unable to be found or recovered
legend /ˈlɛdʒ.ənd/ B1	noun - a traditional story or group of stories told about a particular subject, especially one that has been important in a particular culture