Friday the 13th

Have you ever wondered about the origin of Friday the 13th?

No, not the stupid movie, the superstition! Would you have thought that Friday the 13th could have a connection to hidden treasure and even the Holy Grail? (What ever you think the Holy Grail might be)

According to history, the superstition that is Friday the 13th began in 1307 thanks to the Pope and King Phillip IV. This was the day that the church and the king decided to arrest all of the Knights Templar, also known as the Knights of the Temple of Solomon or the Red Cross Knights. This happened in France and eventually a lot of the Knights that were caught were tortured and killed. It happened on Friday, October 13th 1307 and ever since then Friday the 13th has been considered to be an unlucky day. I’m sure that if you were a Templar back in 1307 you would have agreed with this sentiment.

Not that I’m one to condone torture and theft but, thanks to the Pope and the King in 1307 we now have the multitude of legends surrounding the Knights Templar and their hidden treasures. These treasures are said to include the Holy Grail, vast amounts of wealth and religious artifacts along with lost knowledge of the world. Most of that lost knowledge has been relearned over the centuries but having the original source would be nice. The Templars had their own fleet, most of which disappeared from France at the same time that the arrests started.

Besides the “normal” treasures, the Templars are also said to be connected to the famous treasure thought to be located on Oak Island in Nova Scotia. This has come to be better known as “The Money Pit”. It has been said, and there has been some pretty good evidence found, that the Templars were here in the United States, especially on the east coast gathering precious metals and hiding treasures. They may have worked their way well into the interior of the country depending on which hypothesis you choose to believe, if any.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia, (try saying that three times real fast) or the fear of Friday the 13th, is common enough that many people will skip work, refuse to travel or not start anything new on that day. It’s also why some buildings have no 13th floor or Room 13. This of course is ridiculous because it will be the thirteenth floor or the thirteenth room even if it has some other number on it.

So the next time you think of Friday the 13th as being unlucky you should think about treasure. Maybe that will change your luck a little. It ought to at least put a smile on your face. Treasure always does that to me!

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

I know that I have touched on this subject before but I recently received an e-mail from a moron, er, I mean, a guy I know, who was out treasure hunting, ran out of water and thought he was going to have to call for a rescue. He wasn’t planning on going into his site as far as he did and he wound up out of water and far away from a refill.

We are getting into the hot months of the year, really hot in some places and if you just feel the need to get out in the heat then be prepared! Figure out how much water you think you will need and then double it! I know that adds a lot of weight to carry around but if you going to hunt in the heat, start working out so you can carry the extra weight.

I have found that the easiest and most comfortable way to carry a lot of fluids is in a camelback. I have several different styles of these and the water reservoirs are all 100 ounces each. Depending on where I am hunting and the time of year I will carry up to four of these at a time plus two quarts of Gatorade. The only saving grace here is that as the day goes on the load gets lighter!

You can buy name brand equipment like Camelback or Hydra-Storm if you want but there are others out there that are almost as good and less expensive. I prefer Camelback’s bite valves and shut-off systems but even Wal-Mart carries a generic 64-ounce bag that you can slip into a backpack you already own. These are fairly cheap, just ten bucks the last time I checked. Any of these will allow you to fill it full of ice first and then add your water. Depending on how your backpack is set up this will help keep your back cool and give you cold water to drink at the same time. Full of ice and inside a backpack the water in a camelback will stay cool for several hours.

If you are lucky enough to hunt in an area that has a water source such as a creek, pond, river or lake then invest in a backpacker's water filter, something like the ones made by Pur or Sweet-Water. Make sure to get one that kills viruses. If the area you are hunting in doesn’t have a water source then make sure you carry more water than what you think you will need.

I also can’t say enough about Gatorade. I hate to sound like a commercial for them but when you are really sweating a bottle of Gatorade will do more for you than water will. I always carry both when I’m hunting. I prefer cold clean water when I’m thirsty but there are times I know I need what is in the Gatorade so I keep it handy too.

I don’t want to have to have this conversation again.

Think before you hunt, plan ahead and be prepared.

Spanish Window Photos

I wanted to put up a few more photos of some windows for you to see. Windows can come in all sizes and as I said before, can be used in different ways. These windows are from two different states.

The first is a double window but you ignore looking through the larger one on the right because the smaller window has a rock "dangling" from the top inside the window that points at what you need to go to next. This photo was taken from the opposite side that you should be looking through because it showed the pointer rock better.

The other windows are made to be looked through while kneeling. Notice that the third window actually makes an arrow shape. The pointer or triangle shape of the top gives you information about what you are looking for and the bottom part of the window is showing you where to look.

The fourth window although small, when looked through shows you a large rock in the distance that you need to go to to find the trail to what you are looking for. I have posted a photo shooting through this window so you can see that rock and how defined it is in the window. You can see that the rock you see through the window is fairly prominent and of a particular shape. While this window is made to look through and give you a point to go to it also tells you what direction to go in once you get to that point. You can see in the photo that the window points to the left and up the arroyo the large rock sits in.

The last window is of a triangle shaped window like a couple of the others. When looking for Spanish windows, the triangle shape is a VERY good thing. This last window is not a window at all but a pointer telling you to go to the left and up to find the treasure.

Spanish Windows

If you have hiked around an area with mountains and rocks you have no doubt come across a rock window or two in your travels. Some of these windows are just natural occurrences in nature but others are treasure markers telling you one or more things.

When you come across a “window” the most natural and logical thing to do is look through the window. If the window is treasure related and is intended to be looked through it is usually designed so that you can only see something by looking through it in one direction. The other direction will normally look into the sky or be blocked by something on the other side. This isn’t always the case but generally speaking it is.

When you look through the window there may be another rock in the window that makes a point into the window so that as you are looking through the window the point of another rock rests on or points at the formation in the distance you are to go to. You can have a window with a large opening and a small peep hole off to one side and the peep hole will be what you actually need to look through to see your next clue. You can also have a V formed inside a window and what you are looking for sets inside the V as you look through the window. There are several variations of how to use a window and they all depend on how the window is constructed and where you are meant to be when you look through the window. There are windows that have a deliberate step or seat on the side you are to look through that gives you a specific spot to be in to look through the window. If you run across one of these you have to remember the average Spaniard was only about 5’ 4” give or take a couple of inches and you have to adjust for that if you are taller or shorter than the average 16th century Spaniard.

Looking through a window can give you the next clue and that clue could be 20 feet away or it could be 200 feet or more away. A window is designed to be a line of site type marker and if you use logic in your thinking it should be fairly easy to decide how to look through the window and where to go next. Even though a window can be large in size, if the next clue is off in the distance the amount of area you see through the window is relative to where you are when you look through the window and how far in the distance you are looking. You will want to decide where you are expected to stand, sit or kneel to look through the window so that you will see what you are supposed to see. Even if there isn’t a marked spot to stand in, it is usually obvious if you use common sense.

A second use for a window is to depict a covered or sealed hole. If this is the case there is usually something with the window that gives a direction to go. If the window is telling you of a covered hole then you don’t need to climb up to it and look through it, what you need to do is study it from where you can see it from the trail. All of the information you need will be visible from the trail. You should be able to tell if there is a pointer with the window as they are usually obvious. If you don’t see an obvious pointer then you will need to climb up to the window and look through it to see if it is an actual window or something else. Keep in mind that an “open” window can also tell of a hole but this open window will also have a pointer with it giving you a direction to go.

If you want to get a little more complicated you can find the double window. This isn’t really all that complicated because most of the time one of the windows is telling you of a hole and the other will be giving you additional information like how close you are or even where the hole is located. I have posted a photo of a double window with this article. The definition of this window is in three parts. The first part, the small triangle window is telling you that there is a covered hole with treasure. The second part, the large open V window above the small triangle window is telling you that the hole you are looking for is at the base of the valley/gully and the third part, the pointer rock that forms the left side of the V is pointing you in the direction of that valley/gully.

It’s all about breaking the symbols down into their separate parts and looking at them in the proper order. Easier said than done sometimes!

There's Gold in Them Hills!

Coin shooters and cache hunters alike are always hoping to find that rare coin that will sell for the big bucks. We all have our reasons and they are probably all different but we all would like to find one, okay, maybe a hand full, of rare coins. The one pictured here is just such a coin and if you look in the right place you just might get lucky.

The Parson & Company coin pictured above was made in a private mint owned and operated by Dr. John Parson. Although he was a medical doctor he was an entrepreneur and had a background in metallurgy. Dr. Parson opened his mint in Tarryall, Colorado during 1860 issuing $20 gold ingots. Around the middle of 1861 Dr. Parsons began striking $2 ½ and $5 gold coins. His mint was located near the mouth of a Canyon northwest of Como.

You’ll notice on the coin that Dr. Parson put the word “ORO” on his coins. Although this is the Spanish word for gold it is thought he put the word on the coins because he intended to move his mint to Oro City, Colorado. This is of course just speculation on the part of some book writer but you never know, maybe he was right.

I’m sure you’re wondering why I bring up coins from a private mint other than the fact it’s a little interesting. First, there are only six known Parson $2 ½ gold coins in existence and only five known $5 gold coins in existence so finding one of these coins would bring you more than $100,000.00 each. Secondly, all of the gold Dr. Parson used to make his ingots and coins came from South Park. No, I’m not talking about the annoying cartoon; I’m talking about South Park, Colorado.

Gold was discovered in the South Park area (the southern part of Park County, CO,) in 1859 and within a few months the mountains were covered with mining camps and small towns. Gold can still be found in the streams and mountains so if you like to prospect or pan for gold this would be a good area to go to. There is still plenty of gold to be found.

If you are more into relic or cache hunting then you will want to do some research into the old mining camps and ghost towns. Just in Park County, CO alone there are forty-four ghost towns, including Tarryall where the mint was located. Tarryall was the center of the gold rush in Park County and latecomers to the area found themselves locked out, not allowed to look for gold in the area. These latecomers referred to the town of Tarryall as “Graball”. Being very disgruntled and a little ingenious these latecomers started their own town at the junction of Beaver and South Platte Creeks and called it Fairplay. They recovered large amounts of gold from the area for the next thirty years. I guess the old adage ”don’t get mad, get even” worked in this case.

As a side note, if you are in this area there is a completely restored ghost town with thirty-five of the original buildings still in the town. South Park City is the name of the place. It was restored and reopened to the public in 1959, exactly 100 years from the date of the first gold find. It sits just outside of Fairplay, Colorado.

Now, back to those coins. Because the South Park area grew up so fast with mining camps and small towns there were literally thousands of buildings including cabins, houses and stores in the area. The majority of these are gone to the winds by now but a good researcher could identify some of the locations. Remember, we’re talking about miners and most of them didn’t trust banks and buried or hid their gold, a lot of which is still out there.

In 1944 a hunter (not a treasure hunter) named Francis Brayler found one of these caches. Well, it was kind of a cache. I don’t think it was hidden intentionally but I’m pretty sure the owner wasn’t coming back for it. Mr. Brayler located a natural cave while hunting and inside the cave he found pots and pans, a Colt revolver, a rifle and several gold coins dated 1880. Oh yea, he also found a skeleton, probably the man who owned the coins and other things.

A cache of coins or gold nuggets or even a can of gold dust may await the intrepid hunter. Who knows, maybe you can find a Parson gold coin.

You can’t find it if you don’t look for it!

Treasure Auras

With the common use of the digital camera comes the end of the polaroid camera. I'm 100% sold on the digital camera, but there is one use for the polaroid that some may have never thought to exploit. Dowsing with a polaroid is a little known treasure hunting technique.

If you don't have one of these cameras laying around they are easy to find. You can find them on Ebay, flea markets, thrift stores, and garage sales. The hard part is finding film these days. To try this you will need a uv filter and sx70 film.

It seems that buried gold creates a magnetic change in the earth and thus creates a shaft of light that will appear in the picture. If you have an area that you suspect has hidden treasure the best time to take pictures a half hour after sunrise or a half hour before sunset. I've been told that a foggy day is a good time as well.

Does this work? All I will say is I have a friend that had taken pictures of an area that he wasn't treasure hunting in and one picture had a shaft of light. He went back to the area in which the picture was taken and sure enough there were treasure signs that he had overlooked.

If you want to read more about this Louis Matacia has written several books that covers this and much more. Finding Treasure Auras and Finding Treasure Combining Science and Parapsychology are the titles.

Interpreting Spanish Faces

If you have ever worked a Spanish trail to anything, be it treasure or a camp, you know that they used all sorts of markers to point you in a direction or give you specific information. One of several markers you can find on a Spanish trail is a face. Most of the faces you find will be in profile but occasionally you will come across a full face.

Most of you will think this explanation is pretty much a given but I’m going to give it to you anyway because some people like to read more into signs than what is actually there. Faces almost always look or point in the direction you need to go. They are made to be seen from the trail, therefore most of the time they will not be directly on the trail like some other markers.

What I mean by this is that a face can usually be seen as you are walking on the trail and before you actually need to do what the face tells you, which usually is to change directions. You may be walking in a gully and see a face 30 feet or more in front of you as you are on the trail but you won’t actually go in the direction the face is looking until you get closer. In most cases the direction to go is obvious because you are seeing the face in profile and it is simply looking in the direction you should travel. Nothing more, just “go this way”.

There are some exceptions to this rule and sometimes these exceptions are obvious and sometimes they aren’t. One exception to this rule is if the face isn’t giving a direction. A face can be looking at what you want to find or at something that is very important in taking you to what you are looking for. In other words, a face can be looking directly at the location of a treasure or it may be looking at an important marker or sign that you will need to find the treasure. If this is the case, the face usually can’t be seen from too far away and you usually don’t see it until you are almost right on it. A face can also be used to “oversee” a treasure location. You may go into an area where there is a large face or head on the side of a hill or mountain or even on a cliff and the face or head is looking out over the area where the treasure is. In this case the face probably won’t be looking directly at the treasure but at an area where you will find additional clues that lead you to the treasure in the area the face is looking over.

A face can also be giving you specific information as I talked about in a previous article. In the event the face is looking at the location of the treasure, the face will more than likely also give you some very important information about the hole and how to find it. It all depends on where the face is located. In the same previous article I explained that a face with one eye could be pointing you in a direction to go and telling you which side of the trail to look on. If it is looking at the location of the treasure then the parts of the face such as the mouth and eye can give specific information. There may even be something on the forehead or chin that gives information, all specifically designed to take you to the hole. Remember the KISS theory. Don’t get too elaborate in your theories and break each piece of information down to its basic meaning. Don’t try to read something into it that isn’t there. You have to remember these signs were made so that the person following them could look at them and know what they mean. In most cases there isn’t any surprise information in the sign. You also need to keep in mind where the sign was meant to be seen from. If it was meant to be seen from a distance then any small detail you might notice by going up to the sign and studying it is probably not important.

In the case of the photo I have posted with this article, because of the location and where it is looking, this face is simply telling you to go to the right, the direction the face is looking. I’m sure a lot of you are wondering just how the hell do I know what the face is telling me? Sometimes this is a trial and error thing and sometimes it is obvious. In the case of this face it was very obvious because the ground in the direction the face is looking is basically flat and wide open. Because of that I couldn’t be looking for anything on the right (the side of the face that the eye is on) so it was a matter of going in the direction the face was looking. By going that direction I found another clue about 100 yards a way, in a straight line in the direction the face was looking. I will also say that the next clue could be seen from the face but it was far enough away that you couldn’t see the detail until you got closer.

This face also told me that there was a covered hole in the direction I was to go.

Interpreting faces or heads is as much about where they are located and where you can see them from as it is about the faces themselves. Sometimes you get more information from the face based on where it is and where you are when you see it than the face itself. In the case of the face in the photo I have posted with this article, the face is what I would consider low to the ground and can only be seen from one direction and you have to be fairly close to it before you can see it because of the terrain. This indicated to me that this particular face was giving me a change in direction and I should go in the direction the face was “looking”.

Keep it simple and you will go far.