Treasure Clue, can you help?

[patchythepirate]

Pancho,

I agree with you about the rules, in fact I emailed MS he usually just responds "hope you're having fun' or something generic like that. I posed the question if he was being deceitful (and that I would hope not) in order to sell more books. The rules speak about announcing the finders etc...and the website I believe says "redeemed" ?? technically he could make you wait until Dec. 2007 to "redeem" the token? So I asked if he could say "found" or "missing from site" instead. He has not responded even with a generic message. I don't like how he says no special knowledge and "...anyone who can read can discover the exact location..." (that is deceiving in my book). Anyhow I won't get caught up in all of that. On with the hunt!

As for the pig ciphers...you lost me.

I was thinking about the zip code thing and 25 boxes or 5 to a side ....if you did that there'd be exactly 12 in that type of box. But trying to decode a number box like that will drive you nuts too. I tried plugging in 3 zips that I thought were right and going from there and just fried my brain.

I'll get back with you later guys...gotta run!

Patchy

 

[zuse]

Here's some info on linden tress:

BASSWODD TREE or AMERICAN LINDEN TREE Tilia Americana Linnaeus
Common Names: American Basswood, Bee Tree,Whitewood, Limetree.

In late June and early July, can you smell a sweet, haunting fragrance wafting around the city? It comes from the American Linden or Basswood tree, a large tree, growing up to 130 feet tall with a trunk diameter of 2 to 3 feet, and a rounded crown. The bark is furrowed with large "S" shaped ridges going up the trunk. The Linden is often planted as a shade or street tree because of its fairly rapid rate of growth, plentiful shade and fragrant flowers. In cities its fruit are eaten by squirrels, while in the country its fruit are eaten by chipmunks and other small rodents. White-tailed deer and cottontail rabbits eat the bark and sprouts during the winter. Old basswoods are very frequently hollow, making excellent nesting and den sites for many kinds of birds and mammals.

FLOWERS: The fragrant flowers of the Linden tree hang from the middle of leafy, ribbon-like green bracts in long-stalked clusters. The flowers are tiny, with 5 yellowish-white petals. During the last weeks of June and first weeks of July they exude a powerful, haunting scent that can be detected up to a mile away. The flowers possess a nectar which attracts bees and produces a strong flavored honey. When this tree is in flower it will be full of bees, hence its common name "Bee Tree". During the three weeks that the Lindens bloom, bees forsake most other flowers. The honey that they make of Linden nectar is white in color, and regarded as high in quality. The flowers when gathered and dried can be used to make tea. During the flowering period, the people that manufacture perfumes use the heady scent for their products.

FRUIT: When the flowers go to seed they form small nutlets that contain l to 2 seeds each, clustered beneath large leafy wing bracts which act as parachutes as they carry the seeds to the ground. The fruits are woody and about the size of peas.

LEAVES: The leaves are heart-shaped, 4-6 inches long, 3-4 inches wide, dark green with extremely shiny undersides. When the wind blows, the leaf blades are flung over to reveal a glistening bright underside.

WOOD: Linden wood is soft and creamy, and it is much favored by woodcarvers because of its workability (it is said to "cut like cheese") and its even grain. In past centuries it was used to make ship's figureheads and cigar-store Indians. Today it is used for broom handles, beehive frames, piano sounding boards and certain parts of guitars.

BARK: The Linden's inner bark is fibrous and can be twisted and woven into cords, ropes and matting. Native Americans of the Northeastern tribes used it to make bags to carry food in and thongs. Rope was made from it by "retting" - keeping the bark under water for about a month, until the soft tissues rotted away leaving the fibrous tissue. Thread made of Basswood bark was used to stitch together mats made of cattail leaves and the bark was used to bind up warriors wounds. The Iroquois carved masks from the sapwood on the living tree and then split it off from the trunk and hollowed it out from behind.

RANGE: Quebec south to Delaware, Atlantic coast west to Eastern Kentucky.

HABITAT: The Linden prefers moist soils of valleys and uplands; in hardwood forests.

MYTHOLOGY: The Green Dryads or tree spirits were said to be wedded to Linden trees. In Roman mythology the Linden tree was a symbol of conjugal love and fidelity.

 

[omnicognic]

Great Work zuse! That is a very interesting and enlightening post! Thanx for the info! Good Luck! HH omnicognic 8)

 

[patchythepirate]

Carol,
Ok I found the pigpen cipher in the companion book. ?The dandelions could be that but on page 52 companion book that reminds me more of the dandelions (stickman figures). ?Only because it seems like there are more dots (head, feet, hands) and with the pigpen some have no dots at all.
Patchy

 

[CMSCHUT]

PATCHY, yes you're right . i just kept thinking of the ends as being the dots and it reminded me . i gave the girl next door my companion book today to help her get started so i'll look into it tomorrow. thanks for the reply.

 

[gman]

Hey gang! Haven't posted in awhile but I thought I would jump back on for an update. I have been feverishly working a location in South Dakota and hope I have it nailed down(yet to be seen). I was able to find a fellow treasure hunter on this site that will be traveling through the area tomorrow. We've reached a deal and she will be searching with her family most of the day tomorrow. Hopefully she will be calling with the good news tomorrow night. Anyway, she promises to take plenty of pictures and tell me in great detail how the hunt went, so I will be sure to share that with everyone. The anticipation is killing me....only draw back is the weather in South Dakota tomorrow is expected to be a high of 46 degrees with rain and snow all day. She gets bonus points for searching in those conditions. Rock on my fellow hunters

 

[Juniper]

Hi All, I just got the book the beginning of this month.? Have gone through it and found the majority of the poem before I found you.? Then I took the time to read all the past posts since that is what you recommended to the "newbies'.? Now though, I feel like you.? I have a lot of info but how does it all fit together?? :-? ?Can't wait to add my two cents to the discussion.

 

[LitDoc]

> MYTHOLOGY: The Green Dryads or tree spirits were said to be wedded to Linden trees. In Roman mythology the Linden tree was a symbol of conjugal love and fidelity. <

I think this shows that MS did a great deal of research for this book, and there are many layers to understanding it to its fullest. The criters whose mates had been crystalized were living/waiting under the Linden stump.

 

[LitDoc]

I believe the rules state that you can "redeem" your token (mail it in), but prizes (jewels/cash) will not be awarded until the end of the hunt in three years because the jewels will be on display until then.

Please do not think that MS is trying to make money by selling more books. (1) The book states that he is donating all profits from book sales to chairity. (2) Ditto for the cash equivalent of any jewels not found (though he would keep the jewels).

I do not think this is a way for MS to get rich because he is already rich from selling a software company to Microsoft. I do think he might enjoy making the book publishers look foolish because a number of them rejected his manuscript, AND the book is now #1 on the New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestsellers list.

 

[zuse]

Litdoc: Yes, there were so many connections in this article to the book! That woodcravers liked the wood, making tea (the teacup), etc. My only dismay is that it said the trees basically are only on the east coast, but I'm in VA, so that's good! Zuse

 

[Gaines]

All,
? ? Let us seriously think on how to progress with this hunt. ?Those of us who have been around awhile (and even some quick newcomers) are aware of the poem (and unverified sub-poem) and the paired mates, not to mention about a thousand tiny details that we have noticed in the drawings. ?What to do next? ?I am suggesting that once you have an "idea" of a location from a certain page, that you next try and team up a creature with that location. ?This might be done by the creature speaking a lot on that page or just a general reference. ?Also, look for the much talked about "mooring cells" discussed on ATT. These are simple "linking forms" which tie one page into another. ?In other words, certain exact tree limbs or rocks or exact moon shapes mya be used repeatedly on other pages to tie them together. ?Anagram unusual sentences and see where they lead. ?Look at your "location" page as a map and see what else you can glean. ?For instance, the newest clue that I have seen involves the tree on page 65 being a Devils Stump of some kind (forget the exact name) located in Wisconsin. ?Now, if I was in Wisconsin, I would order a map of the park and tear apart that and all of the text around that page. ?I may be completely off, but I think that this is the next best logical step. ?Anyone giving it a try? I have made much progress on one creature using these methods that I am sharing. ?Hope it helps you all some.

 

[LitDoc]

Gaines, could you explain what you mean as a "location" page? Thank you.

 

[CMSCHUT]

GAINES, That's a great idea . i was getting tired of trying to find more on my pages or chapters that i started looking at other pages to take my mind off it for awhile ( that's when i started to find my creatures ) now you've given me a reason to go back . it's been awhile so maybe i'll see with a different perspective. thanks , carol

 

[jewels1301]

It might be helpful to start a log/thread of all creatures found and the page they are found. This is in addition to the thirteen that are in the story. I recall a post about a dolphin and some others on different animals.

Jewels

 

[Gaines]

LitDoc,
A location page is a page where you believe a certain US location is hinted at. For example, the stump I pointed to on page 65 or maybe page 41 which some believe points to Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a starting place from which you work out and find clues which fit or which do not. It seems a logical process to me. I sincerely believe that the clues to each puzzle are scattered all over the book and we have to find the links ourselves. I just do not believe that one 5X5 box "solved" is going to give us all that we need. At least, it is not working for me and I am moving on to other methods.

 

[Zharkaya]

5X5 OR Five to a side My husband and I think we came across and solution on that however it doesn't help us much because if we are right then it is something we already knew. PG. 16 The Box that the letter Z is in is 5 across and five down. Also PG 86 The box that the letter H is in is 5 across and five down. We are working on something to do with the colors but have not came up with much that makes since. So for us we made it simple and then it made since. But like I said it did not help much. OK So 5 X 5 is 25, We have 12 jewels, 12 mates, and pook. That makes 25. I am also working on another theory with the State and the numbers mapping something out maybe. 25 and 25 is 50 and we have 50 states. I don't know, something maybe..... also recently I have been on google researching plants, bugs, etc... I was working directly from the drawings. It seems a for sure match is pg 69 the purple/red wierd looking plant, matches perfectly to wild artichokes which from my research only grows in California. That total blows my orignal idea out of the water. I thought that this was all poiting to TN. with the beetle but then I came across the CA wild artichokes and beetle being on that same page and well I am back at square one again. UGGHHH! I also found that the Orange spotted mushroom is what I beleive to be a :
Boletaceae
Boletus auriflammeus Berk. & M. A. Curtis
det. R. E. Halling
United States of America. South Carolina. Oconee Co. Oconee State Park
What it means or anything more I do not know this is as far as I got. I hope this all helps someone and please give me back your comments on what I have found. THANX

 

[Zharkaya]

Hey Haily. I was reading over the post and I saw your about the dotts around the tree on pg. 76. i see them too. Now I have a new hang up. Oh my I am going to have working on this. You are not crazy but take it easy this book can make you crazy.

 

[CMSCHUT]

ZHARKAYA, early on i noticed those same two drop cap boxes. i decided they might be letters found on pg 16. i thought i'd take all the letters the fairies made and put them with the colors that are in the box on pg. 16 . the boxes on pg 16 and the boxes on pg 86 are the exact same colors and in the exact same spots. i came up with zip and soon gave up . patience was running out . maybe it will help you . also the tree evryone is talking about on pg. 76 resembles the tree on pg 86. i've always thought that there was something in those leaves also. maybe the two are supposed to match up some how. one image over the other . welcome zharkaya and your great ideas.

 

[LitDoc]

Zhar,

Don't give up yet. I think those are purple thistle blossoms--not wild artichokes. Somewhere in the story it mentioned that eating purple thistles gave Pook gas!

 

[LitDoc]

Check out Vic's animation of the Snail!

For fun, I've put the animation of the snail together. You can view or download it at:
http://www.medialair.com/atreasurestrove/snail_animation.mov

I've doubled each picture and looped them 10 times. Enjoy. I look forward to reading the posts and catching up with everyone.

Your Old Pal, Vic