The Set-Up

In The Thrill of the Chase, Fenn introduces us to the poem we are to follow to find the treasure; he sets the poem up with a lead-in sentence that ends with a colon.

What normally follows a colon?  A list.

How is that list usually formatted?  Bullet points.

So I wrote a poem containing nine clues that if followed precisely, will lead to the end of my rainbow and the treasure:

• As I have gone alone in there And with my treasures bold, I can keep my secret where, And hint of riches new and old.
• Begin it where warm waters halt And take it in the canyon down, Not far, but too far to walk.
• Put in below the home of Brown.
• From there it’s no place for the meek, The end is ever drawing nigh; There’ll be no paddle up your creek, Just heavy loads and water high.
• If you’ve been wise and found the blaze, Look quickly down, your quest to cease, But tarry scant with marvel gaze, Just take the chest and go in peace.
• So why is it that I must go And leave my trove for all to seek?
• The answers I already know, I’ve done it tired, and now I’m weak.
• So hear me all and listen good, Your effort will be worth the cold.
• If you are brave and in the wood I give you title to the gold.

Once Upon a While

Stories in the order that they appear:

Supplemental Punishment - Forrest's father assigns him the dishes as punishment, and Forrest sings an aria the entire time.

The Long Jump - The story about Forrest jumping off the bridge in the middle of the night.

Sweet Fragrances - The story about the spices in the drawer.

An Education from Stanley - The story about Forrest selling fake art, and his friend compares it to the two ladies wearing mink coats from different stores.

The Loom of the Desert - This is about a book titled with the chapter name.

Me and Little Beaver - This story is about Forrest's Red Rider BB Gun.

Shelling Corn - Joseph Henry Sharp's painting of two people shelling corn. 

Experiences with Joe - This story is about how Joe used to give him the torn comics without the covers to read, and how Joe used to have dinner at their house often.

Glory is Never Enough - Very short story about the Central Junior High School Kittens, the football team Forrest briefly played on.

Explosion on 3rd Street - Skippy's fireworks stand explosion

Divorce logic - It is about a woman that Forrest knows getting a divorce, and she is very distraught. Forrest suggest to her that she make a piece of pottery and they will bury it together, symbolically burying her problems at San Lorenzo.

Once in a While I do Something Right - Forrest unswears himself as a witness in a court case. 

Annabella's Hat - About a hat Forrest bought from a sheepherder for $300.

I Never go Shopping, But... - This is the story about Forrest going to the grocery store and pissing off another patron.

The Unfortunate Hiccup - This story is about a flask and a gentleman that was drinking from it during a golf game. 

In a Tuck - The story about Forrest jumping from the tower diving board at the swimming pool.

Rainy Night Blessings This story is about Forrest playing a game of Bingo and winning, only to find out he still didn't have enough money to buy a bus ticket back to Radio school.

The Quahada Chief on a Black Pony - This is about an old battleground Forrest tried to locate as a young man.

Prince of the Comancheros - About a man named Jose that was tortured and snitched on the Comanches, and about a bronze that Forrest helped create of the man.

Montana Golden - This is the story where Forrest goes fishing at Avalanch Lake, and hides a Dr. Pepper under a rock.

Remnants of the Past - This is the story about the Mammoth tusk that Forrest found, and later gave away pieces of.

Things I covet - This is the story about the Paint Pallets that Forrest collects.

Well, Here's Moses - This is about a small wooden statue of Moses that was carved, and Forrest purchased.

Salute to a Warrior - Story about Renelle.

The Iron Rooster of Santa Fe County - A story about a bronze chicken that Forrest purchased, and then commissioned an artist to paint it.

Lessons from Forrest - A story about a bronze artist also named Forrest.

Memories that Never Die - Story about George Dabich, a friend Forrest made in Vietnam.

Me and Mummy Joe - Story about Forrest's bone knife carved from a bone found in Mummy Joe's cave.

Algernon's Relative - A story about Algernon Smith, a military leader that dies along General Custer in the famous battle at Little Big Horn.

Cultures on Top of Cultures - A story about a cave Forrest explored on his friend's ranch in Arizona. He found a stone knife in the ashes of an ancient hearth.

The Evolution of My Art Opinion - Story about how Forrest sold his gallery. 

Doug Hyde in Stone - This is about the 2 Alabaster sculptures that Doug made and Forrest possesses, and about Joe Medicine Crow.

Apaches in the Garage - The time Forrest flew to a garage sale and bought everything in it from a famous collector's estate.

Me and Michael Douglas - The story about the time Forrest flew statues to Michael Douglas' house and met Elton John without knowing it.

Is It My Candy Ann? - A poem in the style of Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven.

The Graciella Experience - About a painting Forrest purchased for someone else, then decided to keep, only to sell it to the lady later.

Partying with Suzanne Somers - The story about Forrest and Shiloh going to the party at Suzanne's house.

The Bullet Comes Home - The story about Forrest getting the Bullet back.

The Price of Freedom - The story about a bronze sculptor that Forrest knew, but died rescuing someone from a river.

Imagination

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
-Albert Einstein

Imagination isn’t a technique, it’s a key. f
-Forrest Fenn

--------------------------------

Imagination
4.
a : a mental image, conception, or notion formed by the action of imagination
b : a creation of the mind; especially : an idealized or poetic creation

Imagination: reverie, daydream, conception, pie in the sky, speculation, fancy, cup of tea, rainbow, castle in the air, art, adroitness, idea, visualization, invention, warmth, fish story, yarn, pot boiler, Einstein, aptitude, charade, disguise, legend, lore, myth, twist, flash, contemplation, reflection

Musical Connections

Call this one a rabbit hole.  It's interesting, but still just a rabbit hole.

There are 10 octaves in the range of human hearing, which is 20hz to 20khz It doesnt go back to zero, just goes higher than humans can hear. There are 24 lines in the poem, or 2 octaves.

Maqam

Arabic maqams are based on a musical scale of 7 notes that repeats at the octave. Some maqams have 2 or more alternative scales (e.g. Rast, Nahawand and Hijaz). Maqam scales in traditional Arabic music are microtonal, not based on a twelve-tone equal-tempered musical tuning system, as is the case in modern Western music. Most maqam scales include a perfect fifth or a perfect fourth (or both), and all octaves are perfect. The remaining notes in a maqam scale may or may not exactly land on semitones. For this reason maqam scales are mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to the traditional Arabic music repertoire.

Since microtonal intervals are impractical to accurately notate, a simplified musical notation system was adopted in Arabic music at the turn of the 20th century. Starting with a chromatic scale, the Arabic scale is divided into 24 equal quarter tones, where a quarter tone equals half a semitone in a 12 tone equal-tempered scale. In this notation system all notes in a maqam scale are rounded to the nearest quarter tone.

The 24-tone system is entirely a notational convention and does not affect the actual precise intonation of the notes performed. Practicing Arab musicians, while using the nomenclature of the 24-tone system (half-flats and half-sharps), still perform the finer microtonal details which have been passed down through oral tradition.

Maqam scales that do not include quarter tones (e.g. Nahawand, ‘Ajam) can be performed on equal-tempered instruments such as the piano, however such instruments cannot faithfully reproduce the microtonal details of the maqam scale. Maqam scales can be faithfully performed either on fretless instruments (e.g. the oud or the violin), or on instruments that allow a sufficient degree of tunability and microtonal control (e.g. the nay or the qanun, or the Clarinet). On fretted instruments with steel strings, microtonal control can be achieved by string bending, as when playing blues.

The exact intonation of every maqam scale changes with the historical period, as well as the geographical region (as is the case with linguistic accents, for example). For this reason, and because it is not common to notate precisely and accurately microtonal variations from a twelve-tone equal tempered scale, maqam scales are, in practice, learned auditorally.

The central tones (nucleus) of a maqam are created from two different intervals. The eleven central tones of the maqam used in the phase sequence example above may be reduced to three which make up the "nucleus" of the maqam.

There are nine maqam families:

Ajam
Segah
Bayātī
C minor
Rast Panjgah (means right or direct)
Hijaz, aka Phrygian Dominant Scale (aka "Spanish gypsy scale")
Saba
Kurd
Nawa Athar (aka "Hungarian Gypsy Scale")

Indulgence

Indulgence anagrams to "ending clue".

The end is the beginning, the beginning is the end.

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. 
T. S. Eliot

The last clue is also the first clue, is also the ending, but also the beginning. 

First Clue Confirmed!

Back in April 2013, Forrest Fenn was interviewed on a radio program in New Zealand.  At the time, two people had figured out the first clue, but had walked past the other seven.  In that interview, Fenn noted that the first clue IS "where warm waters halt"!

Listen here!

How the Treasure May be Hidden

__________________________________________________________________

Just...

It's amazing how many synonyms some of the words in the poem have.  Take "just" for a moment...here are some of the words to consider:

Good, holy, accurate, distinct, detailed, correct, specific, true, unmistakable, definitive, definite, exact, explicit, fair, logical, likely, justifiable, all, totally, exactly, entirely, well-suited, desired, relevant, generous, lavish, bountiful, straight forward, honest, befitting, germane, happy, balanced, proportional, symmetrical, uniform, evened, candid, objective, upfront, upright, plain, impartial, equal, blunt, fortunate, stone, rarely, flawless, pure, common, self-ruling, laid-back, aloof, cool, poker-faced, due, rightful, fitting, earned, ethical, even-handed, inspired, telling, applicable, fit, wise, worthy, fitting, not quite, with trouble, scantly, little.

So what do you think "just" means in "Just take the chest and go in peace"?

Who-Why-What-When-Where and How

Who, Why, What, Where, When and How are the basics of writing - readers want each answered throughout a story, otherwise the story is difficult to follow. The story can be fiction or non-fiction, the elements are the same where it's a mystery novel or a newspaper article.

As we read The Thrill of the Chase, we learn the "who" (Fenn), the "what" (hidden treasure), "when" (79 or 80 years old, or 2009-2010), and perhaps some "why" (he was going to die and wanted to take it with him, on his own terms).  Fenn does tell us though that he tells the truth, but not all the truth.

What the story told in the book lacks is the "where" and the "how" and the fully truthful "why" (which you'll understand why I say that when you solve it).

It seems many search diligently for the "where" but not so much on the "how" in the poem.  IMO, the "why" in the poem becomes self-evident as you solve it, so you don't have to specifically look to figure that out, just understand it when it does come to light as you solve the where and how.

And Hint of Riches New and Old

To me, this is a very interesting line in the poem.....

And     hint     of riches     new and old

And    hint of    riches    new and old

And hint     of riches     new and old

And hint of     riches     new and old

And hint of riches     new and old

where, and hint of    riches    new and old

where, and hint     of riches     new and old

And hint of    riches new and old

secret where, and hint of    riches     new and old

where, and hint of    riches new and old

Each of the above groupings of words works out to different potential meaning.....

Hint

cue, key, nod, coax, dash, help, fish, idea, look, mark, open, salt, seek, show, sign, tint, vein, wind, wink, angle, flash, gleam, infer, point, press, refer, sauce, savor, spark, taste, taint, token, touch, track, whiff, denote, gossip, naming, pepper, prompt, shadow, bid fair, caution, key word, marking, mention, pointer, promise, signify, suppose, symptom, warning, whisper, allude to, disclose, associate, inference, penetrate, symbolism, ultimatum, undertone, allegorical, disclosure, expression, foreshadow, make likely, scattering, smattering, sprinkle, etc.

Adjusting the View of the Nine Clues

CLUE 1:
As I have gone alone in there and with my treasures bold, I can keep my secret where, and hint of riches new and old.

CLUE 2:
Begin it where warm waters halt and take it in the canyon down, 

CLUE 3:
Not far, but too far to walk.

CLUE 4:
Put in below the home of Brown.

CLUE 5:
From there it's [it is, it has] no place for the meek, the end is ever drawing nigh; There'll [there will, there shall] be no paddle up your creek, just heavy loads and water high.

CLUE 6:
If you've [you have] been wise and found the blaze, look quickly down, your quest to cease, but tarry scant with marvel gaze, just take the chest and go in peace.

CLUE 7:
So why is it that I must go and leave my trove for all to seek?  The answers I already know, I've [I have] done it tired, and now I'm [I am] weak.

CLUE 8:
So hear me all and listen good, your effort will be worth the cold.

CLUE 9:
If you are brave and in the wood I give you title to the gold.

Over time I may continue to adjust how the clues line up as I continue to solve the poem, but for now, that is the nine clues as I am seeing them.

Where is the Treasure?

“There isn't a human trail in very close proximity to where I hid the treasure.” f

Later, when asked for clarification, Fenn answered:

Dear Mr. Fenn,
You once wrote: “There isn’t a human trail in very close proximity to where I hid the treasure.”  You also once wrote: “And in close proximity were stone projectiles and crudely made hand axes that could have been 30,000 years old.”
Can you clarify for us your definitions of “close proximity” and “very close proximity?” (e.g. 10 feet, 50 feet, 100 feet, 500 feet, etc.?)
Thanks, Milan


It’s not that easy Milan. Are you asking me to carry a caliper in my pocket? Each “close proximity” is different, relative, and site-specific, as you pointed out. So I can’t answer your question. To an ant a mud puddle can be like an ocean. f

There isn't [is not] a human trail in very close proximity to where I hid the treasure.

The automatic assumption is that Fenn is telling us there is no trail near the hiding spot.  But if we use the method of the 'word that is key' to define what Fenn is saying, here is what we get:

Not = no
No = dissent, decline, negative, nothing, refusal, opposite, not by any means
Human = person, imperfect, errant, frail, faulty, gentle, natural, practical, uncertain, weak
Trail = course, stream, dangle, shadow, path, linger, shadow

So, while Fenn has misdirected us with words, what he did really say is that there IS a declining, weak path in close proximity to his hiding spot for the treasure.

Close = near, adjacent, adjoining, neighbor, warm, bordering on, joining, border, matching
Proximity = relation, area, territory, surroundings, vicinity, contiguity, contact, region

It's interesting that contiguity is a synonym of proximity - Fenn has said the clues are contiguous, so let's see what we get from that word:

Contiguity = touch, close, hit, nearness, adjacent, familiarity, locality, tract, region

So, taken together, we're looking for a faint/weakly defined trail, perhaps one that is used infrequently, but remains visible, even if difficult to see...it is declining, so either going down in elevation or getting narrow along the way, and it is bordering the area of where the chest is hidden, or joining that area in some way.

Unlocking the Clues

“Many have given serious thought to the clues in the poem but only a few are in tight focus with a word that is key.”

Serious = deliberate, thoughtful, significant, skillful, thorough, critical
Thought = attention, thinking, understanding, concentration, care
Clues = suggestion, hint, proof, solution, idea, cue, definition
Tight = narrow, solid, strong, close, compact, familiar, constant
Focus = target, heart, center, adjust, core, gist, compact, converge
Key = access, entry, answer, legend, base, central, primary, crucial, telling

Deliberate attention to definitions of familiar words you adjust to get the gist of where they converge for the answer.

Forrest Fenn is a wordsmith, he used words to hide the answers to the clues in the poem, and now you have to use words to unlock those clues to reveal the answers!

First Clue: Fun with Words

As I have gone alone in there and with my treasures bold, I can keep my secret where, and hint of riches new and old.

as adverb \əz, (ˌ)az\ 
1
:  to the same degree or amount :  to such an extent :  equally — used to modify an adjective or an adverb
<I haven't found any new poems as good as my old favorites — Randall Jarrell>
<neither of them wrote as well after the experience as before it — Van Wyck Brooks>
<nowhere else in the world is there a people as intelligent or perceptive of humor — F. P. Adams>
2
:  for instance :  by way of example :  thus — usually used to introduce illustrative details
<high-pitched sounds come to suggest spatial height, as in bird songs — Thomas Munro>
3
:  when considered in a specified form or relation — usually used before a preposition or a participle

<my opinion as distinguished from his>

as conjunction \əz, (ˌ)az\ 
1
:  to which (degree or amount) :  in which (degree or extent) :  in or to the same degree in which — usually used as a correlative after an adjective or adverb modified by adverbial as or so and often followed by a noun or pronoun representing an incomplete clause whose verb would be the same as that of the main clause
<the position of this science is as honorable as it is secure — L. A. White>
<no general presentation … can interest the children as much as the learning of the foreign language — Ruth Mays>
<his dull red hair was snow-powdered nearly as white as that of a British grenadier>
2
:  in the same way or manner that :  in the form or condition in which
<his hair is brown as are his eyes>
<studied the simile as Horner used it>
— sometimes followed by a noun or pronoun representing an incomplete clause whose verb would be the same as that of the main clause
<during his stay on the island he lived as an islander>
3
:  according to what :  in accordance with that which or the way in which
<as he said, the stream was full of trout>
<his criticisms, as I remember, were coldly received>
<he is really quite good as boys go>
4
:  as if
<were saying farewell to each other as to their childhood — Edith Sitwell>
<this mechanical thought is crushing as with an iron roller all that is organic — W. B. Yeats>
5
:  during or at the same time that :  while, when
<promptly opened fire again as he turned away — C. S. Forester>
<as he paced back and forth the idea occurred to him>
<you will see the tower as you cross the bridge>
6
:  notwithstanding the degree to which :  though
<some see in him, Gael as he was, the earliest Protestant — Gilbert Highet>
7
:  in a manner or degree befitting or having equal certainty with the fact, belief, or hope that
<this swears he, as he is a prince, is just and as I am a gentleman, I credit him — Shakespeare>
<as I live, I cannot believe it>
8
:  for the reason that :  because, since
<remained in great loneliness and considerable privation as he had no income — W. L. Sullivan>
9
dialectal :  than — used in comparisons
<he better not be later as midnight — T. B. Costain>
10
a :  that the result is :  that — used with preceding so or such
<so clearly guilty as to leave no doubt of his conviction>
<and such a son as all men hailed me happy — John Milton>
b :  that — used to introduce a noun clause and now dialectal except in certain negative expressions with know, say, or see that have wide usage in informal speech
<he said as he would come>
<I don't know as it makes any difference>
c dialectal :  in so far as :  that — used to introduce an adverbial clause
<he hasn't come out again as I've seen>
— as is
:  in its present condition :  without any repairs, improvements, or alterations being made
<the car was priced at 00 as is>
— as it were
:  as if it were so :  in a manner of speaking
<her triumph, as it were, did not last long>
— as new
:  practically new :  in the best secondhand condition
<the clothes offered for sale were all prewar and all as new>
— as was
British, informal
— used after a former name
<Myanmar—Burma as was [=Myanmar, which was formerly called Burma]>
— as you were
— a military command used (1) to cancel another command that has not yet been executed or (2) to direct troops to return to the position occupied before the last command
Origin of AS

Medieval Latin as, alse, alswa

The point of this post was to highlight the dimension of just one word, as, in the poem.  How did Fenn use the word "as" in the above sentence?

The Eighth and Ninth Clues

The last stanza of the poem,

So hear me all and listen good, 
Your effort will be worth the cold. 
If you are brave and in the wood 
I give you title to the gold.

...contains two sentences, thus two clues.

Eighth Clue:
So hear me all and listen good, your effort will be worth the cold. 

Ninth Clue:
If you are brave and in the wood I give you title to the gold.

The Seventh Clue

So why is it that I must go 

And leave my trove for all to seek?

The answers I already know, 

I've done it tired, and now I'm weak.

In the above stanza, we have two sentences, but I believe it is just one clue - the first sentence is a rhetorical question, thus requiring no answer because the next sentence answers the question....making it one clue in two sentences.

So why is it that I must go and leave my trove for all to seek?

The answers I already know, I've [I have] done it tired, and now I'm weak.

The Sixth Clue

If you've been wise and found the blaze, 
Look quickly down, your quest to cease, 
But tarry scant with marvel gaze, 
Just take the chest and go in peace.

Yes, once again, a single sentence with a complete thought.

If you've [you have] been wise and found the blaze, look quickly down, your quest to cease, but tarry scant with marvel gaze, just take the chest and go in peace.

The Fourth Clue

From there it's no place for the meek, 
The end is ever drawing nigh; 
There'll be no paddle up your creek, 
Just heavy loads and water high.

Here again, we have a grammatically correct sentence:

From there it's no place for the meek, the end is ever drawing nigh; there'll be no paddle up your creek, just heavy loads and water high.

The semi-colon does, however, present a challenge - as it is used to separate what could be two sentences, but maintains the sentence as one, we need to decide if this is one clue or two clues.

Clue Four only:
From there it's no place for the meek, the end is ever drawing nigh; there'll be no paddle up your creek, just heavy loads and water high.

OR

Clue Four:
From there it's no place for the meek, the end is ever drawing nigh;

Clue Five:
There'll be no paddle up your creek, just heavy loads and water high.

For now, let's leave the option open - the above may be one clue, or it may be two clues.  Instead, let's focus on the words that contain apostrophes since they could mean different things.

From there it's [it is, it has] no place for the meek, The end is ever drawing nigh; 


There'll [there will, there shall] be no paddle up your creek, Just heavy loads and water high.

From there it is no place for the meek,
From there it has no place for the meek

There will be no paddle up your creek
There shall be no paddle up your creek

The Second and Third Clues

Begin it where warm waters halt 

And take it in the canyon down, 

Not far, but too far to walk. 

Put in below the home of Brown.

As I noted previously, many searchers break this stanza up into four clues:

1. Begin it where warm waters halt,

2. And take it in the canyon down,
3. Not far, but too far to walk.
4. Put in below the home of Brown.

In the second stanza, we have two sentences - and two clues.

How do I get from the above, to just two clues?  Like the first stanza - sentence structure.

Begin it where warm waters halt and take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk.

That is a grammatically correct sentence.  

Waters is pluralized not because it is multiple waters, but so as not have to use the plurals of halt (halts) and take (takes) as that sounds awkward.  So instead you pluralize waters because they will do two things, the water will halt and take.

And they will halt and take "it" "in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk."

Begin it where warm waters halt and take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk.

THEN the next clue is Put in below the home of Brown.

Note: Brown is capitalized, indicated a proper noun.  Proper nouns have two distinct features: they name specific one-of-a-kind items, people or places, titles, etc. and they begin with capital letters, no matter where they occur within a sentence.  

Basically a proper noun "names" a common noun; where the restaurant in the shopping center is a common noun, The Taste of Thai is the proper noun.

The First Clue

As I have gone alone in there 
And with my treasures bold, 
I can keep my secret where, 
And hint of riches new and old.

The first clue which needs to be solved is the first stanza; not within the first stanza - the clue is the first stanza.

Look above at the words again, then let's make it into a sentence - it is a complete thought, a complete sentence.

As I have gone alone in there and with my treasures bold, I can keep my secret where, and hint of riches new and old.

How have I come to the conclusion that the first clue is the first stanza?

1. The entire poem is grammatically correct.
2. The first stanza is a complete thought, in a complete, single sentence.

When you read The Thrill of the Chase, Fenn talks a lot about his lack of education, how he prayed for D's (the implication being that he'd at least get a passing grade), and how he's just not that smart.  To create a poem that is grammatically correct is not something an uneducated person just gets lucky with - it is carefully crafted to be grammatically correct, it does not just happen.

So then, we have a complete thought, in a sentence - what does it mean?  I'll explore that in upcoming posts.