Mr. Noss, a traveling doctor who was known for a hot temper and an appetite for liquor, claimed that the cache consisted of Spanish artifacts and Wells Fargo chests, along with the gold.

He supposedly told his wife: "We can make John D. Rockefeller look like a tramp."

According to the family, Mr. Noss took some gold bars when he found the cavern in 1937, and planned to return for the rest. But while trying to blast his way to the gold in 1939, he accidentally closed the hole. A Partner and a Gunfight

For the next few years, Mr. Noss sought partners to help him find the gold. During World War II, he divorced his wife, Ova, and disappeared for several years.

Ova Noss took up the search, without success. Mr. Noss returned in the late 1940's with a new wife, and a business partner. He remained steadfast in his belief that the treasure remained, according to family members.

But in a dispute over the treasure in 1949, the business partner, Charlie Ryan, shot Mr. Noss to death. A jury ruled that Mr. Ryan had acted in self-defense.

Mr. Noss's ex-wife was barred from searching in the 1950's, when the Army extended the White Sands borders to include Victorio Peak. White Sands is the nation's largest military installation, about the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined. The world's first atomic bomb was detonated here on July 16, 1945. Topic at Watergate Hearings

After some airmen from a nearby air force base claimed they found some gold at Victorio Peak, the Army and Secret Service began a secret search in 1961. Two local ranch workers stumbled upon the search and notified Mrs. Noss. She appealed to state officials, who forced the search to stop. The Army says the gold was never found.