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The Secret (a treasure hunt) / Verse 11
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Verse 11

Page history last edited by Oregonian 5 years, 3 months ago

General notes on Verse 11

 

 

Interpretation

Lines Interpretation(s)

Pass two friends of octave

- Frank and Wilbur Wright were friends with Octave Chanute. The Wright Brothers National Memorial is on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, near Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills.
In December - Take Highway 12.  It runs along the east side of the Outer Banks, past Kitty Hawk. 

Ride the man of oz

- "Man of oz" would refer to L. Frank Baum, who wrote The Wizard of Oz.  The Washington Baum Bridge connects the Outer Banks to the east side of Roanoke Island.  The current bridge was only built in 1994, but there was an earlier bridge in the same place that was dedicated in honor of Washington F. Baum in 1962.  (There is also a Thomas Baum Ferry that runs between Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands, but it was only built in 1995.  See page 33 of this pdf.)
To the land near the window - "The land near the window" is probably a reference to the outline of Roanoke Island that appears near the window in Image 3.

There's a road that leads to

Dark forest

- After crossing the Washington Baum Bridge, US Highway 64 runs through Manteo and goes to the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site at the northern tip of Roanoke Island.  The Elizabethan Gardens are contained entirely within the National Historic Site but are run by a nonprofit group.

- The words "dark forest" appear on the Memorial Plaque beside the main entrance to the Elizabethan Gardens (see below).

- The words "dark forest" also appear three times in the script for The Lost Colony, the long-running musical drama that is staged every summer at the Waterside Theatre.

Where white is in color

With two maps

- John White (c. 1540 – c. 1593) was an English artist and colonist who was the governor of the colony on Roanoke Island.  He is now immortalized as a character in The Lost Colony, which was written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green.  So "white is in color" could refer to the watercolors painted by John White or it could refer to White being a character in a play by Green. 

- A sign across from the ticket booth at the entrance to the Waterside Theatre shows two maps.  One is a watercolor map by John White and the other is a modern map of the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.  An adjacent sign describes the play and mentions that the play was created by Paul Green.  So the spot by the ticket office would work for either interpretation of "where white is in color."

- Along the Thomas Hariot Trail at the historic site, there is another sign showing two maps (see below), but there is no obvious explanation of why "white is in color" at that spot.

After circle and square

- "Circle and square" may refer to the shapes of two garden beds in the Elizabethan Gardens.  As shown on the Elizabethan Gardens map, the centerpiece of the area is a large, square bed called the "Sunken Garden" and there are several circular areas around it.  Some of these areas, particularly the "Mount and Well Head" may be represented symbolically on the armor in Image 3.

- Alternatively, "circle and square" could be a reference to the traffic circle and parking lot that one would drive through to reach the Waterside Theatre (see map below).

In July and August

- "July and August" may be a reference to the top line of the Virginia Dare Memorial, which begins "On this site, in July-August, 1585."  The memorial, however, is outside the Elizabethan Gardens and within the boundaries of the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.  One would pass the memorial on the way from the Visitor Center to the Waterside Theatre.

- "July and August" could also be a reference to the summer months when The Lost Colony is performed (although it is usually also performed in June).

A path beckons

To mica and driftwood

- The mention of mica is probably just a general hint to steer searchers to the correct state.  According to one blog, "North Carolina is the nation’s leading producer of mica."

- The mention of driftwood tells us that we should follow a path north to the coastal edge of the property, where stray logs and branches wash up on the beach.

Under that

Which may be last touched

Or first seen standing

- "Last touched or first seen" is almost certainly a reference to a tall tree.  When the colonists sailed to Roanoke Island in July of 1587, the first indication of land they would have seen over the horizon would have been the top of a tree.  When those colonists disappeared some time later, the last thing they did (apparently) was to peel the bark off the trunks of two trees and carve the letters "CROATOAN" into the trunk of one and "CRO" into the trunk of the other.  This was likely to give searchers some idea of where they went.

Look north at the wing

And dig

To achieve

By dauntless and inconquerable

Determination

Your goal.

- The instructions that we should "look north ... and dig" strongly suggest that from the actual dig site one should be able to look northwards across the water and see the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kill Devil Hills.  The base of the tower at that memorial bears the phrase "In commemoration of the conquest of the air by the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright conceived by genius achieved by dauntless resolution and unconquerable faith."

- From the northern end of Roanoke Island, both the view from the Elizabethan Gardens and the view from the Waterside Theatre allow one to see the memorial.

 

 

Other Notes:

  • To understand the layout of the different features, look at the map of the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and the map of the Elizabethan Gardens. (If anyone has a physical copy of either map, please photograph it or scan it so we can see it in more detail.)
  • Please note: The guidelines for The Secret specifically rule out any possibility that a casque could be buried in "any public or private flower bed."  That would rule out all of the maintained areas at the Elizabethan Gardens, so please do not do any digging there.  We don't want to create problems for the gardeners who maintain that beautiful space.  There is also no chance that the casque is buried in any of the undisturbed and archaeologically-significant areas of the historic site, so please do not dig there either.  The casque will only be buried in a place where there has already been a great deal of digging and where further digging will not create a problem.

 

 

Image Matches:

The Memorial Plaque to the right of the Great Gate of the Elizabethan Gardens Park has the following text:

 

THE ELIZABETHAN GARDENS

DOWN THE CENTURIES,
ENGLISH WOMEN HAVE BUILT GARDENS,
TO THE GLORY OF GOD, THE
BEAUTY OF THE COUNTRYSIDE AND
THE COMFORT OF THEIR SOULS
THE WOMEN OF THE GARDEN CLUB
OF NORTH CAROLINA, INC. HAVE
PLANTED THIS GARDEN IN MEMORY
OF THE VALIANT MEN AND WOMEN
WHO FOUNDED THE FIRST
ENGLISH COLONY IN AMERICA.

FROM THIS HALLOWED GROUND
ON ROANOKE ISLAND, THEY
WALKED AWAY THROUGH THE
DARK FOREST AND INTO HISTORY.

1585-1951

070
Photo by Mike Moore on Flickr.  Used with permission.

This is a map of the Fort Raleigh NHS as it was in 1982.  The "1" indicates the location of a set of signs across the path from the ticket booth. One sign features both a watercolor map by John White and a modern map of the Waterside Theatre site. Another sign describes the historical drama The Lost Colony and mentions the playwright Paul Green.  This sign may be the spot "Where white is in color / With two maps."

 

The "July and August" line in the verse has sometimes been linked to the Virginia Dare monument placed in 1896 at the site of the fort (#2 on this map). However, the monument is currently at #3 on the map. Furthermore, it may have been in another location in 1982.

 

If, however, "July and August" refers to the summer months when The Lost Forest is being staged, then a visitor would enter the "Dark forest" via the park entrance road and pass through a traffic circle before reaching a square parking area.  From there, a path leads down to the Waterside Theatre.  This would explain why "After circle and square / In July and August / A path beckons / To mica and driftwood."

 

This sign comparing two maps is posted along the Thomas Hariot Trail at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.  The map shown on the left was made 400 years ago by John White, the governor of the colony on Roanoke Island, and the map on the right shows how the same area looks today.

 

The two maps on the sign could be a match for Line 8 of the verse, but it is hard to see how White is "in color" at this spot.

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site

Photo by Jasperdo on Flickr. Used under a Creative Commons license.
Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic License 

 

 

 

Comments (26)

Carolinian said

at 10:13 am on Mar 30, 2015

I found a map of the gardens but it is different from the one that you are showing? The one I had shows different numbers and names of the things located in Elizabethan gardens?
http://gardeningwithconfidence.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/EG-Map-7-17-2011-final-21.jpg

Carolinian said

at 10:13 am on Mar 30, 2015

Is this the new one or old?

T54 said

at 6:08 am on Feb 4, 2016

There is a tone of information on the Roanoke casque and the Chicago casque in a PDF document by lemontiger.

See: http://www.lemontiger.co.uk/images/misc/thesecret/raleigh.pdf

T54 said

at 4:41 am on Jun 3, 2016

Hay Oregonian
Why did you get rid of our theory? It as the most solid yet for this image and verse?
Please could you explain?
Austin

Oregonian said

at 8:43 am on Jun 3, 2016

Hi Austin,
Are you still working on The Secret? I hadn't seen any activity from you for a few months so I thought you'd moved on to other things.
I removed the dead tree / beach theory because it was cluttering up the page and it just didn't stand any real possibility of being correct. Preiss chose his treasure spots very carefully and two of the basic rules he seems to have always followed were that the spot A) had to have been previously and obviously disturbed by humans (so it had no historic or archaeological value), and B) had to be protected from further disturbance in some way (so the casque stood a good chance of persisting for several years).
The spot by the dead tree doesn't meet either one of those criteria. There's no visible construction around it, so it might be considered undisturbed by humans and historic, yet it's completely unprotected from natural disturbance. The idea that Preiss would put a casque in sand on an exposed beach on the eastern seaboard, where the first major storm of the Atlantic hurricane season could sweep it out to sea, just doesn't pass the sniff test.
To solve Verse 11 (and Image 3) you need to follow the directions that Preiss is laying out for you. He's clearly walking you through a route, starting at the Wright Brothers memorial and going over the Baum bridge. Any solution needs to pass through some large and significant "circle and square" before going to a place where "white is in color." The final spot will be a place that has clearly been disturbed by humans but is also clearly protected from further disturbance in some way.
Good luck!

T54 said

at 12:10 pm on Jun 3, 2016

Ok I understand. I see what you mean about the casque being in sand on an exposed beach on the eastern seaboard being a little far fetched. I'm just not sure as to where t go from here because Unfortunately I think the net step to this one is to do a site visit. I live in England my self and probably won't be back in the states until next summer so I can't really do one myself. I guess I'll keep looking and see if I can find any more clues online. If there's any thing you suggest please let me know.
Austin

Odeyin said

at 1:37 pm on Jun 3, 2016

Hmm, I disagree with your assessment. The area we are talking about fits all the clues. It was definitely disturbed by human involvement, and holds no historical value. The area is above the beach by about 20-30 feet and protected from further destruction by the rocks placed on the actual beach. So I am not sure what you are talking about. The verse says you can see the wing and it is under last and first seen. So that would indicate that it must be on the eastern shore.

Oregonian said

at 1:52 pm on Jun 3, 2016

The verse does say to "look north at the wing," but it doesn't say you need to be standing on the beach. There are at least a few other places in that area where one can stand on higher, better-protected land and see the wing.

The battered condition of that tree at the end of the road shows just how exposed it is. No amount of boulders would prevent a storm from churning up the sand there. If you truly think the casque was buried there, you might as well stop searching anyway, because it would be long gone by now.

Odeyin said

at 5:09 pm on Jun 3, 2016

I never said it was on the beach or in the sand.

Odeyin said

at 5:53 pm on Jun 3, 2016

also, it is on the same plane as the cemetery that is right next to the dog walking area,. Which is annotated as the cross in the image.

T54 said

at 5:26 pm on Jun 4, 2016

Ok so I don't want to start an argument. But I have to agree with Odeyin here. The spot fitted all the clues. And the other two arias have hit a brick wall. On the other hand Oregonian has a point in that maybe that exact tree is incorrect. I think we have the correct area - 10999 Pear Pad - but maybe not the exact precise location. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I don't think we should rule it out.
Explanation of point over.

Odeyin said

at 8:07 pm on Jun 4, 2016

I don't disagree that the downed tree that I found is 'the place', it still could be, I may have not investigated it enough, but that area at the end of Pear pad seems like a very likely area.

T54 said

at 8:54 am on Jun 5, 2016

Alright so here is my plan of action. I think the next step is to re-post the theory with some modifications. I will be willing to do this in discussion with the both of you. After that we need someone on the ground to get pictures of the area. I'm afraid that I cannot do this as I live in the UK and wont be over for another year. I don think it's fair to ask Odeyin to do it as it is a 7 hour drive for him. So we need to find someone to search the area, take some pictures and report back for/to us. I wonder if it would be helpful for the person that goes there to go into the graveyard and workout whether there is a similar tombstone to the one in the picture. There might not be, who knows? Meanwhile I'll try to work out who exactly owns the land in that area.
Sound like a plan?

T54 said

at 9:12 am on Jun 7, 2016

Ok so I think I have worked out who own's the land and I have contact details for them. I is the NPS, you can see that they own the land here:

See: https://www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/maps.htm

If you zoom in on the top of Roenoke you can see that 10999 Pear Pad Road is In the green aria owned by the NPS. The contact details are at the bottom of the page. These are:

Mailing Address:

Cape Hatteras National Seashore
1401 National Park Drive
Manteo, NC 27954

Phone:

(252) 473-2111

This was wit the phone number:

"For general information or inquiries, please contact us via this phone number."

What do you think?

Odeyin said

at 9:42 am on Jun 7, 2016

It was already established that it is National Park Service land. It is not the Elizabethan Gardens nor the Theater company that own the land at the end there. I think I said that weeks ago.

T54 said

at 5:23 pm on Jun 7, 2016

Oh ok. I feel a bit stupid now. What do you think of my plan?
Any good?

T54 said

at 5:40 am on Jun 16, 2016

Nobody's has told me no so I'm going to re-upload the theory with modifications. If anybody wants to make contributions let me know.
Lets find this casque!

em said

at 9:27 am on Mar 1, 2018

i have long thought that it was at the end of pear pad road as well. it would fit the circles and the crosses imagery in image 3. also, "last touched" could mean it is the last paved place there. it is by the cemetery, which is man-made but not in the cemetery. anyway, i am going there in a few weeks and i am going to take pictures.

T54 said

at 12:14 pm on Jun 3, 2016

Don't want to sound patronising to anyone but could White be in color because the maps and text are white?

Oregonian said

at 1:44 pm on Jun 3, 2016

I think both in scientific usage and in common usage, black and white are not considered colors.

spacemunkay said

at 2:28 pm on Nov 22, 2016

"Which may be last touched, Or first seen standing" seems like a riddle. Brainstorming a little bit here, it alludes to a life/death scenario, with "last touched" alluding to a death and "standing" alluding to alive. Given the multiple cross references in image 3, "a cross" could be weak solution. Another potential solution to the riddle could be "your feet" or "the ground", assuming you're standing upon death, the ground is the last thing touched by your feet. Crawling as a baby, you don't really "see" the ground or your feet until you can stand. Pretty weak, but hoping this can be fodder for better ideas.

T54 said

at 8:12 am on Mar 13, 2017

OK interesting fact: Paul Green's (the writer of the lost colony) first play was the lost colony. So could he be the 'first seen standing' when eh ply debuted?

T54 said

at 5:42 am on Mar 14, 2017

Just so we are all on the same page here, don't bother trolling through all of the images on google maps about the Elizabethan gardens or the lost colony play as ai spent a good two hours going through all the pictures digging up what I could. To be honest, there is nothing much of interest and what is of interest I have already mentioned above and on the Image 3 page.

Limey said

at 2:43 pm on Jan 9, 2024

To achieve
By dauntless and inconquerable
Determination

The Japanese hint is “lines 18 to 20….this is a direct quote from a book”
I think that BP was referring specifically to line 19.
This would discount the WBM as the source of this line, also the memorial has the word ‘Unconquerable’ and not ‘Inconquerable’, but I think that BP was using the wording on the memorial along with words from the “Britannia” poem by James Thomson (..”quote from a book”), to lead us to the spot where we look north at the memorial while standing on old colonial British soil.
James Thomson was a Scottish poet who wrote the poem “Britannia” which later became the British patriotic song “Rule, Britannia!” - this would be the British immigrant clue, which is also noted on the Roanoke Facebook page.
The original poem can be found in books such as ‘The Four Seasons, and other Poems’ by James Thomson
See also:
Britannia – A poem by James Thomson (1700-1748) https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/ecco/004864211.0001.000/1:2?rgn=div1;view=fulltext

Key extracts:
“But soon, regardless of the cumbrous Pomp,
My dauntless Britons came, a gloomy Few,”

“By Wisdom polish'd, and of Manners fair;
But on the Sea be terrible, untam'd,
Inconquerable still: let none escape,”

Limey said

at 2:19 pm on Jan 18, 2024

A path beckons
To mica and driftwood

The information sign near the ticket office has a central map that looks like an arm beckoning us down the path. If it was here in the 1980’s, BP may have found it humorous and used it in the verse. http://thesecret.pbworks.com/w/file/155770353/path_sign_beckons.jpg
Mica can not only refer to some types of sand or rock but is also used in makeup to add shimmer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mica
We’re urged to follow the path to the Waterside Theatre.

Limey said

at 12:34 pm on Jan 27, 2024

To mica and driftwood
Under that
Which may be last touched
Or first seen standing

Here’s a thought.
What if lines 12 to 15 refer to the casque itself.
“Under that” (under mica and driftwod), would be the casque “Which may be last touched” by BP when he buried it (if it is not found), “Or first seen standing” (upright) if it is found.

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