In early August 2019, John Michaels, creator of Tribute: Hunt for the 13th Casque of the Secret treasure hunt, released a clue. It was a simple note, in his handwriting, that was said to offer a minor hint for the Tribute Hunt. He thought it would be solved quickly, but it remains unsolved as of this writing.
It’s time to get it solved.
This is what we know…
When asked how the answer or the solution to the clue would help with the Tribute Hunt, JM (John Michaels) commented,
“I can’t say. All I can say is the answer to the note is 11 words, the clue about how to solve the note is one of those two interviews, and a further clue about how to solve it is ‘wheel’. Once the note is solved it will give information about the Tribute.”
The two interviews JM is referring to in the above comment are:
Six Months Down and Still in the Ground (Q/A at the end)
and
In Search of the Charleston Casque of The Secret Treasure Hunt with John Michaels
So a clue on how to solve the note is in one of those interviews.
In a recent livestream which JM did in the Tribute Facebook page, a few more things were mentioned:
JM says:
Nothing from Note is needed to solve the Tribute Hunt… It’s just a clue.
Obviously there is a Code in the Note….
If you can count, you can solve the note…..
JM wouldn’t say if it was a cipher, anagram, acrostic or whatever type of code, but said there is definitely a puzzle going on in the note…
And while the note is a very general clue in itself (and the book is confirmed to be THE SECRET book), within the note there are 11 words which form a more pointed clue that may help you in the Tribute…
When asked if those 11 words were those words with the weird capped 3’s, JM said he wasn’t paying attention to capitalization and said Capping doesn’t have any significance. So it seems the fact there are 11 words with E’s, when turned, look like 3’s is not intended.
And it would seem the ‘Wheel’ hint does NOT mean to turn the E’s to 3’s. So it must mean something else.
I feel one other piece of info could be gleaned from the Livestream. Evan commented he had translated the phrase /sentence- A Tribute to The Secret – into numbers – and added up all those numbers… and applied it with the Dewey decimal system or something.
JM interrupted him there and said:
You were actually getting close- until you mentioned Dewey decimal-
With JM saying ‘If you can count you can solve the note’, and Evan mentioning numbers, it seems some type of number/counting/adding scheme or something similar might be in play to solve the note and get the 11 words.
I find it interesting that the word TREASURE is word 13, and it is the 13 casque that is hidden. This seems to me that counting or numbering might be key.
And at some point JM mentioned, suggesting maybe the usage of words or letter positions was important:
As simple as that note looks, it took me a while to craft it.
JM mentioned he will confirm the answer if given. So let’s figure this clue out!
Below was the previous clue:
Previous Clue: Which is decoded via anagramming and concerns the once popular bench.
(answer: You will find nothing at that bench- Tigger)
.
Some additional notes that are buried in comments on the Facebook group:
“13 – Wheel – 2 interviews – there are your parameters.” – John Michaels
“I thought it was 11? Then I guess we’re all really terrible at whatever kind of puzzle it’s supposed to be.” – Matt G.
“11 words” – John Michaels
“11 words = the correct answer. your clues to find them rest in the number 13 – Wheel – and something in the 2 interviews I did with Jenny. If I give you anymore, I may as well just give you the answer.” – John Michaels
I flew out to Louisville today and in the next few days I will show people where the treasure ground is. I was in the marsh, hillside, and valley deep along the Beargrass river which does flood seasonly during a rainy season. See why the box was reinforced better. Because it will be wet all time soon of the year. I found lots of confirmers all over the area, the four spans, glyphs etc, etc. etc. this note you have has intrigued me as I am in Louisville now having lunch going over an exact spot. When I wasn’t in the woods along the creek people ran past me and some were dog walkers, The dragon of the a C is a surname again and it represents Paulina Christensen and a Viking past with the warboat. The fair folk took the Ohio river to beargrass Creek and floated along that when they hid the casque.