OKLAHOMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 91 



of a roof. Hollow trees also serve as hiding places, and not infre- 

 quently it will be out on the flat prairie in direct line half way 

 between two natural objects, such as a cottonv/ood tree and a 

 rock ledge. 



The marks of identification are varied. Usually there is a 

 map, with curious markings, letters and signs, showing the location 

 of the treasure, but there are also marks on the trees and rocks 

 that serve to guide the searcher. Three notches on an oak or an 

 arrow cut on a rock are common, but one also learns of five 

 stones in a row pointing to a spring, and a bois d'arc peg driven in 

 an oak tree. In one case prominent limbs on two oak trees grow- 

 ing 100 yeards apart on the point of a hill pointed to the fatal 

 spot half way down the slope. 



Usually the only people who escaped were two boys who hap- 

 pened to be off at a spring getting water, but often it was two 

 hunters who had left the party to kill game. Once it was two 

 Mexican girls who escaped and once a five year old child who was 

 adopted by the Indians and grew to manhod with the tribe but 

 who never forgot the experience and late in life left the Indians and 

 set out to find the treasure. 



So it goes. Incidents and instances might be multiplied almost 

 indefinitely, but all are variants of the main story. 



Recently I ran onto a variant which in may experience is 

 absolutely new and I pass it on for v/hat it is worth. While hunt- 

 ing "structure" (not treasure) in Oklahoma a few Vi^eeks ago, I 

 ran onto an old cattle man v/ho came to that country from 

 Arkansas 15 years ago. I had in my hand a U. S. G. S. topographic 

 sheet of the region and noted that the map showed that on the 

 next hill to the west there was a symbol indicating that surveyors 

 had there built a tower such as are used in the prelimiinary steps 

 in making contour maps. I asked the cattleman if he knew just 

 were the tower was loca'ted, and he said there was no tower on that 

 hill, and that none had been there since he came to the country. 

 "But," said he, "There was a mighty queer thing happened up there. 

 We found a stone with some queer marks and letters on it, and 

 some pieces of pine scantling and big spikes." We climbed the hill 

 and came out on the flat woods country. There we found where 

 great piles of dirt and rock had been thrown out from an excavation 

 that at one time might have held a small house My friend the 

 cattlem.an explained that the man who found the stone with the 

 qu-er letters in it had been digging there for hidden treasure. I 

 'dd ed him to describe the stone. He said, "It was a flat stone 

 about 6 or 8 inches thick and I should judge about 14 or 16 



