The KGC, the enigma of the depositories

First off, let me say that this article is not about IF the KGC existed. I’m sure we can all agree to the fact that the group itself existed. What this article is about is being logical in your research and the treasures you hunt for. The KGC and its members and alleged members are one of those discussions that will continue long after I and others are dead and gone. But while I am still breathing air and not dirt I will take it upon myself to point out some inconsistencies in the KGC mega-bucks treasures that supposedly exist.

To start with, I have not seen any information that the KGC put down massive amounts of treasure anywhere except for Del Schrader's book, “Jesse James Was One of His Names” and the subsequent books that used information from that book. Del Schrader got his information from a man named Orvus Lee Howk who, because he wanted to be famous and sell information and books, changed his name to Jesse Lee James III. This in itself should tell you something sense there was never a Jesse Lee James I or II. It is also my understanding that Del Schrader tried to back out of the book deal once he heard some of the more preposterous things Howk wanted to put in the book. Due to a contract, Mr. Schrader was unable to get out of the deal.

With that said, if there were any of the KGC “depositories” that are supposed to contain millions and even billions of dollars actually in existence wouldn't there be some new information about these alleged treasures and the maps since Schrader's book? All of the "new" info is just the old info rehashed. Orvus Howk was selling info to anybody that had money. Would a secret group hiding "billions" in treasure actually let that happen if Howk actually knew the secrets? Why isn’t there any independent research materials that verify the existence of, or even mention the KGC “depositories”? Could it be that it doesn’t exist. Researchers such as Warren Getler and Bob Brewer have supposedly looked at documents in the Library of Congress that prove their theories but none of those have been published anywhere, not even in their own book.

If you believe J. Frank Dalton when he said it was acceptable to tell the KGC’s secrets because everyone involved with the group was at least 100 years old then wouldn't that mean the KGC vanished when those few that were left died? And if it was acceptable after the age of 100 then why didn't all of the families allegedly tied to the KGC dig up the treasures they were supposedly guarding or had maps to? How can a group continue to exist into the 1970’s or longer, supposedly rearranging clues at treasure sites, if everyone left in the group was over 100 years old back in the 1940’s? If the alleged head of the KGC came out and said it was OK and started giving out information about treasure sites, wouldn't you dig up any you knew about if you were a member of the group? Dalton was all over the country physically and in the papers telling his stories so its not like anyone who would be part of a secret group hiding billions of dollars in treasure didn't know he was talking about those treasures. If, and that’s a really big if. If Dalton was Jesse James and Jesse James at one time was the head of the KGC and the KGC actually continued to exist into the 1900’s, wouldn’t it seem reasonable that someone from the group would have stopped him from talking, one way or another? Does it seem plausible that such a super secret, and if you believe the books, apparently super intelligent group such as the KGC would allow a con man such as Orvus Howk to have actual information about the locations and layouts of sites containing billions of dollars? Really??

If you don’t believe that J. Frank Dalton was Jesse James then all of the stories about the KGC and their alleged treasures would at least be suspect and at most would be false. Since there isn’t any independent sources of information (that I am aware of) about the KGC’s alleged treasures it would stand to reason that if J. Frank Dalton wasn’t the real Jesse James then all of the information concerning the huge treasures is false. Could these all be fabricated stories just to make a few bucks from the gullible public? That seems to have been the modus operandi of both Dalton and Howk.

I would also point out the fact that any group that continued to exist today would have, in my opinion, recovered any large treasures that were buried/hidden and put them in a secure facility somewhere or would completely control the property they were located on. If the group was still in existence today and had large treasures out there that they wanted to keep hidden do you really think they would give permission to anyone to come onto land and look for them? Wouldn’t a group like that control the land their treasures were buried on? Do you think they would leave it to chance that no one would stumble onto one of these treasures so they would just let the site be open to anyone that wanted to look around? Would you just open the door and let someone into your house knowing they were wanting to take your valuables?

There are just so many discrepancies in the original material about the KGC and no new material has been brought forth concerning their alleged treasures. Keep in mind that I am not saying the KGC didn’t have treasures. I know the group did have some small “road money” caches and even some weapons/supplies caches. It’s very possible some of these are still in existence today. What I am questioning is the large depositories that supposedly hold millions and billions of dollars, not to mention the use of the infamous template.

There have been many theories about where the KGC got all of it’s money, from the far fetched to the more mundane but no one has ever proven any of these theories. Some say the KGC were treasure hunters themselves. It is said that some of the members of the KGC were the elite businessmen of the time and donated all of their hard earned money to be buried forever, ok, maybe not forever but apparently for a very long time. Some say that Jesse James knew the secrets to alchemy and could change lead into gold and on and on and on. Most of these are preposterous and easily proven false. The others can’t be proven either way and that is why the KGC continues to be a hotly debated topic.

One other thing, why would a group who got it’s start back in the 1830’s put all of this money in the ground and just leave it there? What are they saving it for? Again, there are many stories as to why but consider this; if the group doesn’t exist anymore then why hasn’t any of it been found? No one would be guarding it and the families that were guarding it would have known exactly where it was. Why not dig it up? Why hasn't even one of these large depositiories ever been found, even by accident? If the group does still exist, and are chasing treasure hunters off sites with helicopters and effigies then what is all that money for? Why leave it in the ground for more than 140 years?

If you want to start somewhere in researching the alleged “depositories” of the KGC start your research at the beginning with J. Frank Dalton, Orvus Lee Howk and the origination of the depository stories and the supposed treasure template.