Hell Mary Hill is a forested hill, "tolerably high", near Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

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According to legend, near its top is a cave reputedly containing a chest of money. In The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, v. 10, n. 285, December 1, 1827, the legend is described thus:

--a great iron chest, so full, that when the sun shines bright upon it, the gold can be seen through the key-hole; but it has never yet been stolen, because:

* in the first place, a huge black cat (and wherever a black cat is there is mischief, you may be sure) guards the treasure, which bristles up, and, fixing a gashful gaze on the would-be marauder, with fiery eyes, seems ready to devour him if he approach within a dozen yards of the cave;

• and, secondly, whenever this creature is off guard, (and it has occasionally been seen in a neighbouring village,) and the treasure has been attempted to be withdrawn from its tomb, no mortal rope has been able to sustain its weight, each that has been tried invariably breaking when the coffer was at the very mouth of the cave; which, being endowed with the gift of locomotion, has immediately retrograded into its pristine situation!

This tradition is curiously coincident with the German superstition

German folklore

German folklore shares many characteristics with Scandinavian folklore and English folklore due to their origins in a common Germanic mythology. It reflects a similar mix of influences: a pre-Christian pantheon and other beings equivalent to those of Norse mythology; magical characters associated...

 of treasure buried within the Hartz mountains

Hartz Mountains

Hartz Mountains can refer to one of:* Hartz Mountains, a mountain range on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada* Hartz Mountains, twin mountains in Tasmania, Australia...

, guarded, and ever disappointing the cupidity of those who would discover and possess themselves of it.