Turning eastward into a narrow canyon, the men found some meager shelter in the form of a clump of oaks protecting the defile of a deep overhanging ledge. They tied their horses up and gathered firewood, and were soon drinking hot coffee and eating warm tortillas to keep the storm's cold at bay. After a much needed rest, Demetrio decided to go looking for more firewood, though the the drifts were piled two feet high by this time.
Walking carefully along the lower edge of the cliff's wall to avoid the snowdrifts, he had only gone a few steps when he noticed a pile of debris and rocks against the wall that appeared to have been stacked there deliberately. With frozen hands he began to remove the rocks, and found that they were indeed concealing an entrance into a cave. When he had opened a hole large enough to crawl through, he yelled to his men that he was going in to investigate. With shouts of caution and warnings of bears unheeded, Valero crawled inside.
After crawling some 20 feet, he found that he could stand up to full height, and he lit a tallow candle he had carried with him in his pocket. To his amazement, he found that he was in an ancient mineshaft, clued in by the heavy support timbers along the ceilings and walls. Valero had never heard of any mining in the Organ Mountains, and was extremely curious about the mineshaft's origin. Traveling deeper into the tunnel, he stopped short abruptly upon seeing a crouching mass against a recess and drew his pistol. But it was no bear. Demetrio Valero had just stumbled upon a beast more treacherous - gold!