assateague/Chincoteague pirate treasure

[Parangjim]

Does anyone have any information about ten chests of treasure a pirate buried on Assateague years ago. as I heard the story, he mailed a letter to his brother explaining how to find it but the mail was delayed...about a hundred and fifty years. Does this sound familiar or is my brother pulling my leg once again?
What are the regs about MDing on the islands?

[Siegfried Schlagrule]

you can get the basics from the Terry volume. This is called the wilson Treasure and the complete instructions have been in print and known for many years. The main problem is that the island does not seem to exist anymore. More properly none of the islands that do exist match the description in the letter. If this is a true story you may need to be a diver to recover it. exanimo, ss

[Parangjim]

SS,
I should have asked you first. I am constantly amazed by your extensive knowledge of treasure legends and sites!
I love scuba so it's a short leap of faith to go MD'ing underwater. Oh,darn! That means I'll have to buy a new machine. Isn't it awful?
Thanks for the feedback. Wilson treasure..
jim

[TOWcritter]

Bad news guys. Both islands are, I believe, National Parks. Wild ponies habitat and all. Oh....well.....

[Siegfried Schlagrule]

as a general rule the well known treasures are either not located where they are reported or they are long gone. I only chase them if I can get new information. exanimo, ss

[Connecticut Danny]

I agree with #4................

[1750treasure]

I have not only researched this story but have searched for the treasure. It was in 1982-1983. My partners and I explored a number of interesting places on Assateague within the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. After being caught with a magnetometer, I told the refuge manager I was looking for Wilson's treasure. Actually, I was looking for La Galga but we decided to pursue the permit route for Wilson's treasure. After nearly a year of waiting for answer to the application, I was summoned to the refuge manager's office. I was told that in order to get the contract from the General Services Administration I would need an access permit from the refuge. And to get the refuge permit I was told that we needed to supply the refuge manager evidence "stronger than rumor or legend" that the treasure did actually exist. I was told that the information would be locked in the manager's drawer and would be safe. We certainly had no proof to support the validity of the infamous treasure letter written by a Charles Wilson to his brother George. After very extensive research, I later concluded that the letter was a hoax. One line is a dead givaway: it was said that ten iron-bound chests were buried on a bluff between three cedar trees about one and one-third yards apart. Ten chests simply wouldn't fit. And such a precise measurement between the trees is suspect and if the trees had any age to them it would be very difficult for all three to survive that close together.

I believe this "legend" was put out by real estate developers who were trying to sell lots on the Maryland side of Assateague in the early 1960s.
Below, I am on left, then Ned Middlesworth, then Chip Bane. The picture was taken "on a bluff overlookng the Atlantic Ocean on a woody knoll." You can read all about this at http://www.thehiddengalleon.com