Thanks Bob for posting the info. And thanks guys for at least debating the issue. Im always one to believe that no matter how far-fetched a theory may be, there is always a shred of truth...and history is often times stranger than fiction!

Well, I appreciate this theory of KGC wealth amassed after the war. In fact, it did occur, I believe, on a minor scale, but probably never initiated on the massive scale described here. (Again thats my opinion, and based on very limited information, yet some underssanding of basic history.) I think all mafia-like organizations have thier well-laid plans, their secret stashes, their code of conduct, their secret policies and code signs....this is nothing new. But I agree with Steve's question as to what purpose is served in having individuals hold onto such cryptic beliefs. Ill give my answer in a minute...

Im an old southern boy, and many of my ancestors fought in the Civil War and survived many of the battles back then....but Im not so sure people (or anyone, for that matter!) down here had the accumen (no offense) to create a dedicated network of individuals capable of creating such an elaborate sytem of treasure deposits and maintaining them for posterity's sake..... On the other hand, their is alot of proof that alot of old stashes have been sought by ex-confederates and actually found all along the border of Texas. Ive read about these many times. And Im sure there is evidence to believe that alot of ex-guerillas (James Gang) went on after the war to continue robbing and burying carpet-bagger treasures and other stuff, motivated equally by Confederate issues and plain old greed! We all have read about discoveries of these caches, and some do have alot of elaborate maps asociated with them. Many are still lost, or being sought now! But, it is like any form of historical research....a matter of separating the chaffe from the wheat and deciding what is fact and what is fiction. But I appreciate you, Bob, sharing this really important history about little known facts on Treasurenet. We need more people willing to share information on here.

As for why such places could be maintained today, I think the answer is probably that only those holding the lost maps and clues now maintain these treasures, not for political reasons, but because even they still dont have all the clues required to find these treasures, or at least, dismiss those that really are based on someone's fancy. Thats my best guess, and just one guys opinion. Its my opinion also, that the true treasure here is in the historical research, which if published, is a gold mine of information and capable of making money in book form for those researchers willing to publish it.

I think that is the greatest irony of all; that these treasure stories and their histories are probably more valuable than anything buried in the earth!

Curly