This is the third of a series of Six Questions with dedicated searchers of The Secret (A Treasure Hunt) published in 1982. Each Six Questions of the series will take a look into a location for a buried Casque of The Secret Armchair Treasure Hunt. There were 12 buried casques of which only two have ever been found.
Following are Q/A’s with James Vachowski, who is active in the search for the Charleston, South Carolina casque of The Secret! James matches his Verse and Image a bit differently than normally thought. While it is often felt Image 2 matches with Verse 6, James’ solution matches it with Verse 5 (which is often thought to match with Image 9 (for Montreal, Canada)).
James’ solution reminds us is to keep an open mind. Until the casques are found, all solutions (and proposed matchings of Image and Verse) are just theories. Enjoy!
The suggested matching Image and Verse: Image 2/Verse 5
- 1Q) When did you first hear about The Secret?
Among Byron Preiss’ fans, I’m an absolute newcomer— I didn’t hear about The Secret until April 2017. I’m a writer, and I love reading about all kinds of unsolved mysteries, so when I came across a story that Zach Brooke had published for Vice News, I was instantly hooked. It was absolutely fascinating to learn just how much effort Brian Zinn, John Michaels, and others had devoted to this book, and I was quickly sucked in right along with them. I’d never been a particularly big fan of puzzles, and I hadn’t ever worked on an armchair treasure hunt before, but I joined Quest 4 Treasure determined to do my best.
- 2Q) What inspired you to look for the Charleston Casque?
Charleston is my adopted hometown! I moved to the Holy City right after college, and that’s still my “home base” whenever I’m not traveling. Mostly, though, I was a little bit jealous how some of the other suspected casque cities— namely Milwaukee, San Francisco and Houston— had received so much attention, but there didn’t seem to be any publicity devoted to “our” casque.
- 3Q) What makes you believe the Casque is in Charleston? Would you mind sharing the highlights of your solution? (Or if you’d like, its entirety)
Image 2’s most obvious clue has to be the design in the forehead area of the golden mask— any Charlestonian would instantly recognize this as an overhead view of the downtown peninsula, surrounded by the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. Also, if you take a close look at the daisy, along with that crescent-shaped shadow at the base of the pear, you’ll see that those details bear more than a passing resemblance to South Carolina’s “Palmetto Moon” state flag.
Most other clues had already been discovered by keen-eyed treasure hunters— if you were to lay a road map flat over the cypress branch, for example, you’d see that the curves are a near-perfect match for the road leading out to Sullivans’ Island. And that hanging pendant near the bottom of the painting? Could that uniquely-shaped pentagon be anything other than a hint towards Fort Sumter?
After scoring a used copy of The Secret, I spent the next few weeks scouring the Internet, digging through all the work that my predecessors had posted over the past 15 (!) or so years. That done, I chose to focus my research around one of two preferred sites for this image, the remains of Fort Moultrie out on Sullivans’ Island. As a part of Fort Sumter National Monument, there’s a great deal of historical information regarding this site, and I spent a few more days searching the National Parks Service’s online photo library.
And eventually, I got lucky and came across these great shots! As soon as I learned that cypress trees once stood outside the fort, and that they were right alongside both a “wingless bird” and a “white stone” from the accompanying verse, I knew I’d found my spot. Since that time, I’ve written out my full “solution” on my blog… feel free to have a look, and be sure to let me know what you think!
- 4Q) What is the most unique thing you found while searching or what did you enjoy most about your search?
For me, the real reward of this hunt was the chance to take a deep dive into the history of the Low country. As I worked through the clues in Verse 5, it really seemed as if there was a historical reference in every line. The city of Charleston does an amazing job of promoting its history, and Sullivans’ Island is a really interesting place in itself. The Battle of Fort Sullivan was absolutely critical to the success of the Revolutionary War, for example, and in the next century a young Edgar Allen Poe actually wrote his earliest poems here during his Army posting.
The Seminole chief Osceola was taken to Fort Moultrie after his capture in Florida, and when he died, he was buried on the grounds. Perhaps most importantly, it’s estimated that as many as 40% of all American slaves may have arrived through the port of Sullivans’ Island. Since this particular casque was meant to signify those African “spirits” who came to the New World, it’d be fitting if Byron Preiss chose to bury it here, at a place known as “the Ellis Island of slavery.”
- 5Q) What would you say is the major obstacle preventing a successful unearthing of the Casque?
The last two lines of Verse 5 are pretty direct— “Get permission / to dig out.” Some people might choose to read those lines as a suggestion, but I see them as the author’s direct instructions, another a rule of the hunt. Even though Fort Moultrie is located in a quiet, secluded location, and it’s easy to imagine how Byron Preiss could have easily hidden his casque during a “nighttime raid” here, it’s important for searchers to know that the grassy area around the fort’s perimeter is still part of the national monument. Because of that, it’d be a federal crime to dig here without permission.
Unfortunately, I was not able to secure a dig permit when I provided my “solution” to the National Parks Service team back in June 2017, but that’s understandable. Given the historical significance of the area, we agreed that the job of recovering this particular casque is best left to trained archaeologists. And so even though I’ve been fortunate enough to have my work reviewed by Rob Wrobel, one of the three “kids” who found the first Chicago casque in 1982; by Brian Zinn, who went on to find the Cleveland casque in 2004; and by author James Renner, who released a documentary film about The Secret in 2018; for now, I’m still stuck three feet short of success. I should also mention that the book’s current publisher, Mr. John T. Colby of Brick Tower Press, confirmed that he does not know the correct locations of any of these treasures. Because of this, digging a casque out of the ground is now the only way to solve the next piece of this puzzle!
I’m confident that the National Parks Service team will be able to properly explore this area during some of their regularly scheduled work, but launching a mission to recover a novelty “treasure” probably isn’t at the top of their priority list. So until that happens, it looks as if my greatest challenge left in recovering the Charleston casque may just be… having patience.
- 6Q) Do you have any advice for someone else looking for this treasure or is there something more you would like to add?
Even though I’m confident in my work, it’s important to note that none of these casques are truly found if they’re still in the ground. If anyone has a different perspective, then I’d encourage them to get out there and have a look for themselves. This puzzle always has room for more hunters!
I’d also say that it’s important to use resources which would have been available when the book was published, way back in 1982… when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Set aside your Photoshop and your Google Maps Streetview— what clues can you dig up using an atlas and a library card catalog?
But most importantly, be sure to have fun! These twelve puzzles were meant to be solved, and hopefully they all will be someday. In the meantime, The Secret community is an awesome place to meet new friends while exploring your city… so keep searching!
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Thanks so much for having me here… keep searching!