. . . A recent discovery near Cape San Martin has brought to light a gruesome tale of violence that many old-timers connect with the history of Los Burros. This grisly tale first became known in 1962, when four prospectors from the San Francisco Bay Area discovered a mysterious "cave of death"! The century-lost death cave was spotted after bats were observed seeming to fly in and out of a Santa Lucia peak.

Discussing the possibility that the bats' tiny cliff-side opening could be the sealed entrance to a larger cave, the gold seekers wasted little time in working their way up to the sloping peak. Finding a tiny aperture in the rock, the eager prospectors settled down to serious digging. After an hour of energetic work they managed to clear an opening large enough for a man to squeeze through.

As the cave opened up, the gruesome sight that greeted the first visitor was one that will long remain etched in his memory. Scattered about the rocky uneven floor were the remains of several long-dead human beings! After the initial shock, he, with the help of his dumbfounded companions, counted the bones of at least ten human skeletons.

Upon exploration, the cave, which initially appeared to contain only one room, was found to contain several chambers at various depths. Twenty feet inside the entrance, a drop of fifteen feet was discovered. Lowering themselves down the drop, the intrepid explorers found a second drop-taking them approximately fifteen feet deeper into their chamber of horror.