The Reality About Treasure Hunting
I got hooked on metal detecting when I got my first metal detector in the early 70’s. It was a Jetco Mustang and you would have to dig everything as it did not discriminate between ferrous and non-ferrous metals. That is metals with iron and metals without iron. The thrill of going into a location with history and finding a piece of it was exhilarating to say the least.
As my skills and the thrill of the hunt expanded over the years I met up with a fellow detectorist in Weatherford by the name of Bobby Cornelsen. We became good friends and would spend hours hunting together. Our interest expanded into treasure hunting and we would do research on a tale of lost treasure and take a day or two, sometimes a week pursuing it. Overall, we were not very successful, but had a lot of fun.
The problem with Lost Treasure Tales is most are not reliable. They are but a tale told and retold so often the details and location get transferred to different locals or different time periods. One example is money from a bank robbery in Anthony, Kansas that was supposed to have been buried just over the Oklahoma Line from the bank. The source claimed it happened around the time of the 1889 land run into the unassigned land in Oklahoma, Indian Territory. He stated his Great Grandparents witnessed the events about a ½ mile from their newly staked claim. The story had passed from his Great Grandparents, to his Grandparents and then to his parents.
According to the story, bank robbers, 3-8 had robbed the bank in Anthony, Kansas and the posse was in hot pursuit. The robbers pull up on the grassy prairie, scurry around in the tall grass, get back on their horses and took off. The great grandparents had not realized a robbery had taken place, and only found out after the men were captured. The ones that were not shot that is. However, no money was recovered. The Grandparents reported what they had observed to the authorities and a search was made. With the wind blowing, there was no sign where the money was buried, and it was never recovered. Many attempts were made by the owners of the location, Great Grandparents, Grandparents and parents over the years with no success.
With a story like this it had to be true. We were offered the chance to go hunt this place under the supervision of one of the family members. Bobby and I recruited a fellow detectorist, loaded up the detectors and two box, and off we went. Permission had been obtained to hunt the farmland and the family member was sure he could pinpoint the location to within a four-city block area. After a full day of hunting our only finds was rusty tin and a cylinder head for an old Chevrolet.
I decided to do some research on my on to get a better picture and maybe some more clarifying stories of what happed the day the bank was robbed. I should have researched it from the start. There was no bank in Anthony, Kansas in 1889. One was founded in the early 1900’s. The bank had been robbed in 1936, but they caught the bank robbers and recovered all the money.
The truth of the matter is that most of lost treasure stories when properly researched cannot be confirmed. This bring me to my next account, or perhaps story as the historical facts are real. There is some collaboration from other sources for the events of the time period, but the buried treasure part is second hand information. I believe it, and we searched it several times. BUT, never found it.
It is an interesting account of historic events that might open the door to your next treasure hunt. So, until next posting, remember your real treasure is not hard to find. It is a new life found in the salvation Jesus offers. John 3: 16-17.
Enjoyed your article greatly